Wainwrights Forever -- A Townie decaDynasty (failed -- move to Graveyard)

[MarianT]

Chapter Six – Andrew (continued)

   Abbie has bolstered her claim that I’m a sexist parent by pointing out that I talked to Byron about jobs



But to Claire about love.



   “Love is a very important part of life,” I protested, but to mollify Abbie I also talked to Claire about a career in law enforcement.



   Abbie has been touchy lately. I told her she looked younger than ever when she came back from the salon, and apparently that was the wrong thing to say. I think what has shaken her up is my turning into an old man practically overnight, so soon after Bebe died.



   Byron has started school. I’m a little worried about him. The other morning he was almost late for school because he got some blue dye in his hair and had to wash it out. He claimed he was the victim of a booby trap laid by Petie, his imaginary friend. As far as I know, Petie is this decrepit-looking rag doll that he’s been playing with since he was Claire’s age. Now, I know I didn’t booby-trap the shower, and Abbie would be offended if I suggested she might do such a thing, and Claire can’t climb up to the shower-head, so that only leaves Byron himself. Abbie thinks he pulled the prank to convince us of the reality of Petie’s existence. I suppose that’s the kind of thing a writer would think of.

   I’m still waiting for the space program to get funded again. I’ve had a very long leave of absence and am raring to go, despite having a few gray hairs. I’ve taken up nectar-making during my “vacation.” Abbie just hopes I don’t break a hip.

[ratchie]

Watch you don't slip on the grapes there Andrew.

Rachel

[TheChronicR]

Watch you don't slip on the grapes there Andrew.

Rachel

Yeah especially at his age.

Awesome update Marian, totally loved it.

[MarianT]

Chapter Seven – Andrew

   I don’t know what’s going on in this house. First Bebe decided to leave her pleasant resting-place under the apple tree in order  to stay with us. I thought ghosts were supposed to disappear during the daylight hours, but she just keeps hanging around. Abbie doesn’t seem to mind, even when Bebe rattles the furniture.



Claire has been playing hopscotch with her.



Abbie and Bebe talk about books and read together. It’s all very companionable, but a little strange. Maybe this is the place where I should mention that I’m really proud of Abbie. She’s branched out from being a drama queen (as an author) to writing a biography and now a mystery. The next thing she’ll tackle will be a romance. She says it’ll be about two firefighters, but that’s all I can get out of her.



   Then there are the little boys with purple hair. They just showed up within a few days of each other. They remind me of Jody, except he had green hair. Abbie had no idea where they came from. One of them is named Petie, like Byron’s little doll.



   The other is Bean, like Claire’s doll.
   I’m still concerned about Byron. He has to get on the Honor Roll today, otherwise my efforts come to naught. He should make it; he got A’s last Thursday and Friday. But today is the last day he can make it.
   Today is also my first day back to work in years. Finally I get to go to work as an astronaut. Who knows what the rest of the day will bring?

[ratchie]

Good luck Byron I hope you get on the honor roll.

Is Abbie Bebe's sister?

Rachel

[MarianT]

Yes, Bebe Hart's younger sister.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER SEVEN – Andrew (continued)

   Byron did squeak onto the honor roll, giving me more gray hairs among the few I have left. He’s a teenager now, and looks a little like my father might have looked when he was young, but with dark brown hair.



   I’ve been teaching him how to drive. He didn’t want to go in the van, asking if we could get something a little easier to handle like a Bwan Speedster. I pointed out that if he could handle the van he could handle anything smaller than a fire engine.



   While we drove, we had a little talk. Not the one about girls, the one about his future. I told him that he would be carrying on the Wainwright Program. Before he could get married and leave home, he would have to reach the top of his career and become an expert in his chosen skill. He would have to make friends with ten service people and best friends with ten people total. He would have to accomplish ten opportunities that were different from the ones I’d accomplished. He would have to amass a collection of ten items and buy two properties in town that were not Wainwright-owned. His mother and I would help with the friends, the collection, and the properties; but he would have to take care of the job, the skill, and the opportunities. Moreover, he would have to marry a girl who lived in a house in Sunset Valley.

   He braked suddenly when I finished telling him everything, and I was glad I’d fastened my seat belt. “So you’re saying it doesn’t matter what I want, it’s what you want for me.”

   “Those are your orders, soldier,” I said. Wrong thing to say.

   “I’m not in the military,” he said. “And the last thing I want to do is become an astronaut.”

   “Good,” I said, “because that’s the only career option not available to you. Also, I forgot – you have to make the honor roll in high school.”

   Byron gave me a wicked smile. “In other words, if I don’t make the honor roll, that brings the whole Wainwright Program to a halt.”

   To say that I was disappointed is putting it mildly. I’d envisioned us planning strategy together, discussing what properties to buy and what opportunities to take. I’d intended to tell him that his mother’s novels would make a good collection – not as lucrative as gems, but solid. I’d even considered giving him advice about which girl to marry. I never would have predicted such a negative response.

   We drove back to the house in silence. Everything was pretty normal there. Claire was showing Abbie how she could pirouette. I got her to do it again so I could see, and that cheered me up a bit. It's hard to feel depressed around a little ballerina.



   Abbie’s sister Bebe was polishing off the autumn salad.
 


   I don’t know why women have this affinity for rabbit food. Abbie won’t eat anything but salad, hoping to lose weight, even though I keep telling her she’s beautiful just the way she is.



   The result is that I end up doing most of the non-salad cooking. After today’s chat, I’m not about to suggest that Byron start learning his way around a kitchen.



   One thing I didn’t tell him was that either his mother or I would have to die before he could marry, and that given our ages, the person to die would probably be me.  Before today, I’d have predicted he would have a big negative reaction to that, but now, I just don’t know. I can’t help wondering if John D. Rockefeller had these problems.

[loveSims]

Great update, that was a tipical teenager response so funny

[ratchie]

Typical teenager always wants to do the exact opposite to what their parents want.

Rachel

[MarianT]

CHAPTER EIGHT – Andrew

   Byron and I have not discussed his future anymore. I’m giving him some time to think about it, or maybe he’s the one who’s giving me time. His grades have improved, but that might be because his mother, independent of me, told him he wouldn’t be allowed to go to the prom unless he had an A average. Since he now has a girlfriend – Daphne Bachelor – this was a strong incentive.



   He did a research project on the Landgraab Science Facility, and that brought his grades up. It was also his first BlackOp, but I’m keeping quiet about that. I hope the interest in science continues; I’d be delighted if he went for a career in that like his grandfather. He and Daphne were outside looking at the stars the other night, but I think they were more interested in the stars in each other’s eyes.



   Speaking of young love, Abbie has completed her first romance novel.



   Tramp Burns couldn’t wait to get out of Riverview. He knew he got scared easily, and he had learned to live with that. Then one day he fainted when a burglar appeared, and word got around town that he was a real scaredy-cat. After that, life in Riverview became untenable. “Coward!” people shouted at him. “Loser!” girls hissed. It was no wonder he was grumpy all the time. Tramp moved to Twinbrook and applied for a job with the Fire Department.

   Hero Flame was tired of people not taking her seriously. Just because she had blonde hair and a nice figure, all the guys in Sunset Valley thought she was only interested in romance. She liked guys, and she was interested in the same things they were – auto repair and paintball battles – but as soon as she became friends with a guy, his eyes would glaze over, and he’d start mumbling compliments. Maybe if she wore a firefighter’s uniform all the time, she could make a few friends and save a few lives, too. As soon as she had the money for bus fare, she moved to Twinbrook and applied for a job with the Fire Department.

   “We need to find out how you handle stress,” said the Fire Chief, after she had reviewed their applications. “If there’s an earthquake, you may have to go many hours without a break – no food, no shower, maybe even no time to visit a bathroom. I can guarantee that you’ll get filthy and exhausted. I always say it’s not the fire you have to fight, but yourself.”

   She dumped them at a vacant lot and told them to wait two days before they returned. “And don’t even think about going to a restaurant,” she warned. “I’ve got eyes all over town.”

   As soon as she left, Tramp turned to Hero. “So,” he said, “what’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?” Ordinarily, Hero was too laid-back to get upset when guys flirted with her, but those were fighting words.

   Andrew was not at all surprised that Hot, Flaming Heat* was turning out to be a hit. Even though he could guess the outcome without reading through the 570 pages Abbie had written, he could see that it would be a page-turner.

   Love was a funny thing. His mother, Susan, had started seeing Zelda Mae’s son, Cody, and Andrew could remember playing with him in grade school. And his brother Bruce was dating Aurora Thibodeau, who was old enough to be his mother. Closer to home, he was a little concerned about Claire and her friend Bean. They were cute playing together as children, but he didn’t know what would happen when they got older.



   And they seemed to be getting older right in front of his eyes.



*Note:  This was actually the title that appeared when I clicked on “start romance novel.”

[MarianT]

CHAPTER NINE – Andrew

   Prom night has come and gone, leaving four teenagers in various stages of emotional upheaval. Worst off is Petie. The girl he has a crush on wouldn’t dance with him, and he got into a fight with someone. Even though he “won” the fight, he still feels bad about it. Abbie’s comment was that it served him right. She was annoyed because he wore his usual shorts and t-shirt to the dance instead of the suit she’d picked out for him. She was even more annoyed about the temporary dye job his pranks gave her and Bean.



   To my way of thinking, Claire was the only one who looked appropriate for the prom. Her classmates did elect her Prom Queen, which made her happy, but the guy she had a crush on (she won’t tell anyone his name) was interested in someone else, which made her miserable. I tried telling her she had plenty of time to find a boyfriend, but she wasn’t ready to hear that yet.  “Time wounds all heels,” I then said, and that made her laugh. Whoever the guy is, he’s not worthy of her, that’s for sure.



   Bean had a good time at the prom. He danced mostly with Beth Acosta, and they have become an item. That’s a relief to me; I didn’t want to see a romance developing between Claire and Bean.

   Byron came home with his head in the clouds. He was named Prom King, and Daphne Bachelor agreed to go steady with him. I like Daphne, but it worries me that she’s older than Byron. This is not something I can discuss with him, however. He went off fishing today, which was a good idea as he was in a bad mood this morning. He's coming back to homeostasis, I guess -- the pendulum swinging wide before it returns to normal.

        Petie was still feeling unhappy, so I offered to give him some training in athletics. There's nothing like exercise to get you in a good mood is what I've always believed.

[loveSims]

I'm glad the Pets demo did not harm your game! I realy would have missed your stories

[MarianT]

Thanks -- I was really in a panic for a while yesterday afternoon. Luckily, the fix is pretty easy.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER NINE – Andrew (continued)

   Sshh – Byron made the honor roll, but I’m not officially cognizant of that fact. Yesterday, he went fishing over at the Science Center, and when he came back, he told Bean that he was thinking about going into science as a career after he graduated. I’m not supposed to know about that either. He’s gone fishing after school most days. Does all this mean he’s thinking about taking up the Wainwright Program? I’d like to think so, and maybe I’ll ask him in a few days. Right now, he’s going through a mood swing. He dyed his hair and eyebrows orange-red, and he says he plans to keep it that way.



   The thing that worries me is that his girlfriend Daphne graduated from high school some time ago. I can’t suggest to Byron that they break up for the sake of the Program; he would never go along with it then. What I may do is give her some life fruit nectar. It’s supposed to slow down aging.

   I might try some myself. The last time I went to work, it was very exhausting. Not wanting to be the first Sunset Valley astronaut to die on the job, I decided to retire. Even though my life bar is full, I could have some time left. My mother is still going strong, maybe because of the anti-aging drug she took. In other words, this could be my last day on earth or the start of a long golden year.

   I hope it’s the latter. I noticed Claire flirting with her first boyfriend – not the loser who wouldn’t dance with her but someone else. I’d like to see her grow up, maybe marry and have children.



Obviously the only way I’ll get to see Byron’s children is if Abbie goes before me, which is the last thing I want to happen. I’m really proud of her. Besides writing ten novels – many of them best-sellers – she’s been working out on the treadmill and slimmed down.



   Not only does she look great, but her effort has been an inspiration to Claire.



   It goes without saying that I think both my girls are gorgeous no matter what, but Abbie’s been concerned about her health, and Claire is sensitive about what people might say. She’s joined the Shop Club at school (maybe because Tyson is a member?) and wants to make robots. Frankly, I think we already have enough strange creatures in the house.



   Today Abbie joined the ranks of elders, and she’s not happy about it.



   She spent about an hour trying on clothes before she gave up and grabbed something out of the closet.



 “All the weight I lost came back and attached itself to my hips!” she wailed. “And I can’t do anything with my hair!”  I tried to tell her she was beautiful, but she turned on me. “What do you know?” she responded. “You never bother to wear the glasses you were prescribed. I’m just a gray blob to you!”

   “But a beautiful gray blob,” I said. Luckily for me,that made her laugh.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER TEN – Andrew

   Whew! Whew and double Whew! Byron has agreed to go through with the Program.

   I began to think this might be a possibility when I noticed him cooking the other day. I asked him about it, and he said, “Well, you and Mom aren’t always going to be able to cook for me, so it’s probably good if I learn to do it myself.”
 


   Since I didn’t so much as boil an egg before I was an adult, I was much impressed and said so. That broke some of the ice between us, but I was still hesitant to bring up the subject of his future. One evening, he spun around, and suddenly he was a young man.



   He and P.T. (who has decided to change his name to just initials – crazy, but then so is P.T.) went to graduation together. I took this picture of them and the rest of the family. Abbie, incidentally, has decided to return to her "real" hair color.



   To my delight, Byron made valedictorian and was voted Most Likely to Win his Lifetime Wish. P.T. graduated with honor and was voted Most Likely to Have a Large Family. Byron’s lifetime wish is to become a Creature-Robot Cross-Breeder, which means he’s going into Science. He headed over to the lab immediately after graduating, wearing some clothes he grabbed out of the closet. They took one look at him and hired him on the spot.



   When he came home, he told me that he was going to give the Program a try. I reminded him that a fair amount of time would pass before he and Daphne could get married. He said that if I could wait, so could he, but he’d have to talk to Daphne about it.

   “And if she says marriage now or never?” I prodded.

   Byron winced. “I don’t know. I’m hoping she’ll go along with it.”

   “You might tell her that women who marry Wainwrights tend to have long and youthful lives,” I said. “Your grandmother passed away just yesterday, and your mother is now quite a bit younger than I even though we graduated at the same time. That’s not mere coincidence – your grandmother discovered a formula, and I was able to produce a less potent one for your mother. If you put in some time at the chemistry lab, you might be able to come up with something for Daphne.”

   “So why haven’t you taken the formula?” he asked.

   That’s when I told him about the last requirement of the Program – that he leave a tombstone behind.

   “We already have Aunt Bebe’s,” he said.

   “She didn’t have a happy enough life,” I answered.

   “We could ask some older person to move in,” he suggested.

   I shook my head. “You can try that in your household, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m your designated tombstone.”

   We both got a little teary-eyed at that moment, but before things became too soppy, Abbie appeared and took Byron off to get some decent clothing. His next step was to arrange to meet Daphne at the Falls.

   I don’t know exactly what happened, but I can guess at some of it. He probably gave her flowers.



   They probably kissed.



   And he probably told her about the Program when they were watching the stars together.



   I was still up when he came home at 3 a.m. (us old people don’t sleep much). Byron said he talked to Daphne, and she said she had to go home and think about it. He decided to do some fishing before coming home because he was too keyed up to sleep. To his surprise, Daphne returned, and gave him some flowers. She said the Falls would make a lovely spot for a wedding either now or ten years from now, if that was what it took. They're not exactly engaged, but they have an understanding.



   So that’s taken care of. I should hand over the story to Byron, but I figure he’s going to be too busy to do much writing, what with working, fishing, completing opportunities, and developing a potion for Daphne. He won’t be able to take it with him, but if he has the skill, he can make it for her.