BFFs: Setting Goals
Week Three - Liberty
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She knew it would be a rough week when she slipped in the mud left by the thunderstorm. Liberty was clumsy. She took extra care at work not to let that become a liability, but at home she tended to relax a little.
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And then at the gym, she took another tumble. That one hurt, the treadmill being much harder than grass and mud.
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The thunderstorm made it impossible for Liberty to continue working on her rocket, but there were other possibilities. Travis couldn't understand why she wanted to go up into space. Perhaps now was the time to show him what a trip into space could be like. Particularly one accompanied by kisses, etc.
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Unfortunately, the weather was really not cooperating. "Are you sure it's safe?" Travis asked, as he and Liberty approached the rocket. Liberty's "Absolutely" was drowned out by a crack of thunder. "Maybe some other time?" she called after Travis as he left to go home. She hoped he wouldn't get struck again. Everyone said the second time was the one that killed you.
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Liberty had to work the next day, but her job didn't start until noon. Since the weather was nice, she decided to take a short trip in her rocket. Although she found a space rock, the landing didn't go well. She did walk away from it, but she was a bit dazed when she left for work. Should she call Travis and tell him about the crash? On the one hand, it would be nice to have someone exclaim "Poor you!", but on the other hand, Travis would probably say that space travel was too dangerous, and this crash proved it. Then again, if he came over and saw the wreckage... Liberty hurried up and fixed her ship.
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Only to have it get struck by lightning during the next thunderstorm.
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She told Travis about the lightning strike (but not her crash) the next time she saw him. "I don't have the money to replace it," she said.
"It's just as well," Travis replied. "I can't help worrying every time you go up in that thing. The longer it takes you to scrape together the simoleons to replace it, the happier I'll be."
And that meant that Travis probably wouldn't move back in with her so she could have access to his household funds.
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Later, during another thunderstorm, Liberty learned how to make a replica of the camping mascot statue in Granite Falls.
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With the money from her small wooden mascots, Liberty was able to replace her rocket ship. She returned from her next trip with a couple more space aliens -- a blue slug and a squid.
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"With just one more alien, I'll be qualified as an extraterrestrial zoologist," she bragged to Travis, "but of course, I want to collect all the types available."
Travis sighed. "Do I need to tell you again how dangerous your trips are?"
"That's rich, coming from someone who lives in an apartment where a murder occurred," said Liberty. "Anyway, my ship will be a lot safer once I upgrade my landing computer."
Uh-oh, she hadn't intended to refer to the crash. Luckily, Travis was still focused on the lightning strike. "What if your ship gets struck while it's up in the sky?" he asked.
"Will it make you feel better if I promise not to go up while there's a thunderstorm?" asked Liberty.
"A little," he said.
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That evening, Liberty got a call from her friend Clara Bjerson. Would she like to come over and see Clara's new baby?
Holding little Jacob, Liberty couldn't help thinking that it would be nice to have one of her own. But if she married Travis (and it looked as if he might propose), he would probably want her to give up exploring space in her rocket. He might even want her to quit her job as an astronaut. Well, he hadn't proposed yet, so she wouldn't worry about it.
Week Three - Summer
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Hi Liberty!
I haven't been in touch for a while, and I thought I should catch up. I met another low-level celebrity at the gym -- Kayla Flemming. She gave me some pointers on my technique, and we got to talking. Anyway, I told her I wanted to live in Del Sol Valley, and she said she was looking at a house there, so we decided to move in together.
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It turned out that the house she was looking at was Chateau Peak. Kayla laughed and laughed when she saw the expression on my face. "I guess you didn't know I won the lottery," she said.
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This place is huge. We added some exercise equipment. Kayla works as a personal trainer, and she also does infomercials on the internet -- fitness tips, that sort of thing.
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Because we're living in the most expensive part of Del Sol Valley, our Welcome Wagon consisted of Judith Ward and Thorne Bailey. THORNE BAILEY! (Sorry, but that screech has been sitting in the back of my throat for hours, and I had to let it out.) They were both very nice, and brought over fruitcake. Kayla loves fruitcake, so if you have to get rid of any, let me know.
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Because of where we live, we had to hire a butler. His name is Sheldon, and he is a pretty good cook.
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We got rid of one of the pools (yes, the house came with 2 swimming pools) and converted the area to a butler's quarters. But there's still plenty of room if you and Travis would like to move in with us. Has he asked you yet? I'm assuming you said yes.
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There was one day when both Kayla and I were free (her work starts at 7 am; I usually don't have anything until noon), so I took her for a walk near Mt. Komorebi. As soon as she saw the peak, she said that we have to summit that. I'm not as fond of the outdoors as Kayla is, but I think there's some rock climbing in my future. Let me know how it's going with you, and remember, I want to be your Sim of honor.
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One thing Summer didn't tell Liberty was that she and Kayla were romantically involved. It started when Kayla told her "You had me at 'Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of Salty Suds.'" And then Summer practiced her romance scene with Kayla, and fireworks went off. Both of them were keeping quiet for the moment. Kayla said there was a lot of prejudice against athletic women in general ("Guys don't like it when you're lifting heavier weights than they are.") And Summer had just joined a new agency, G.R.A.N. They sent her flowers after every successful audition, but they were also very conservative. Liberty probably wouldn't tell anyone, but you never knew who might hack into her computer.
Week Three - Travis
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"Oh my God, is that a rat?" Liberty called out one night when she was sleeping over at Travis's.
"It's just a mouse," said Travis.
"We have mice in the lab at work," said Liberty. "They're small and white. That was a rat."
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Travis called the San Myshuno shelter and asked them to send over the biggest, meanest-looking cat they had. His name was Axel, and he was a Siberian. Travis hoped that Axel would frighten the mice, preferably getting them to move into the apartment next door, which was almost as noisy as the apartment down the hall from him in the Spice District had been.
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Axel did enjoy playing with mice, but only the squeaky, rubbery ones. He dealt with real mice (and cockroaches) by pretending they were someone else's problem. Travis could get rid of the roaches, but the mice - or rats - required an intervention by his grumpy landlord.
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The landlord didn't want to be called too often, which was why Travis was trying to fix a leaky pipe on his own the next time Liberty came over. "You know, if you moved back in with me, you wouldn't have these problems," said Liberty.
"Could we have this discussion later? I'm trying to focus."
Liberty waited until Travis finished pounding on the pipe. "The wedding is coming up soon, and we still haven't decided where to live afterwards," she pointed out.
"I know," said Travis, "and I appreciate that you want to keep your rocket. But I feel the same way about living in the city that you feel about having a rocket. I love the energy here - although I could do without the mice. We're two adults who love each other; we should be able to work out a compromise. If you sold the house - and put the rocket in storage - we could probably afford to move into the same building where Miko and Akiba live. And then when I make it big with my computer company, we can move into a penthouse, and you'll be able to take off from our roof."
"I'm pretty sure San Myshuno has a noise ordinance," Liberty grumbled.
"You wouldn't know it from my neighbor," said Travis. "And once I can afford a penthouse, I'll be able to bribe the city inspectors."
Liberty laughed.
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Since she was in a good mood, Travis tried to tell her about his last journey to Batuu. "There was a vulture up on one of the roofs," he said. "It was probably a mechanical vulture, but it certainly looked real."
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"And I got to fly a distraction mission in an X-Wing," he continued. "I know it's not the same as a rocket, but you might like it. When we get married, I'd like to keep going back to Batuu, at least until I've made a difference to the Resistance. And I'd like for you to come with me."
"Okay," Liberty said slowly. "And I'd like for you to come and see Sixam with me."
It was a start, thought Travis. They didn't know where they'd live yet, but they did know where they would go for vacations.