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

[ratchie]

Tell Daphne that Byron will be worth waiting for.

Rachel

[Sophie98]

I love this. Very clever.

[BellaClo]

It's really great story you're writing with the Wainwrights, MarianT. It's very well written and funny. The whole Lime Green thing was absolutely hilarious. I especially like the way you include challenge requirements in the story itself. You even included the hobos to heros race, that was brilliant!
 
Good luck to the Wainwrights, Byron and Daphne.

[MarianT]

Thanks, BellaClo! Considering how well you write, that's a real compliment.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER ELEVEN – Andrew

   A couple of days ago, I took Byron with me to the cemetery. I was curious to see if Mom’s tombstone was there. It was, so I picked it up to place next to Dad’s at our old house.



   It turned out that Bruce wasn’t home, so we couldn’t enter the yard. I’ll have to go over sometime when he’s there. I could put her tombstone in our yard, but I think one ghost is plenty for now. Also, I don’t know whether Bebe would like the company. She and I get along well, which is good, seeing that we’ll be spending a lot of time together. I’m 97 at the moment, shooting for 100.



   Byron has been experimenting with my old chemistry set. So far, the only potion he's developed has been the exploding one.



   He’s been promoted twice at work, in spite of (or maybe because of) his unusual fashion sense. He’s a Useless Contraption Manipulator now. I’m hoping that Useless is intended to modify Contraption rather than Manipulator.



   Meanwhile, my baby girl is growing up. Besides being named Prom Queen, she also received an award as Shop Captain. You wouldn’t think it to look at her, but she can fix anything if you give her a hammer and some duct tape.



   She and Bean grew up at the same time. Bean’s planning to move out, but I don’t know what Claire’s plans are. I think she turned out quite pretty.




       Whee-haw! That’s astronaut-speak for jolly good show, totally awesome, and far-freaking-out. I just saw something I thought I’d never live to see – my little girl getting married.

   She and Tyson decided to go the whole hog. First, he let Abbie interview him, just to make sure he’d be a suitable husband. He doesn’t like art, but other than that he’s a fine young man. His ambition is to become an astronaut, which is something I can relate to.



   After that, there was the proposal.



   Then, Claire got on the phone and invited a few friends over for a bachelorette party. That turned out to be more fun than I expected. (Yep, that's me on the left, in the sunglasses.)



   Someone hired a male dancer. Claire got to talking with him and found out his name was Jack Hammer. A stage name, I’m guessing.



   The party went so far into the wee small hours that Claire got sprayed with champagne when she got up this morning. Afterwards, everyone agreed it had been awesome, verging on epic.



   Byron had been quiet about the whole thing, and I was afraid that perhaps he was jealous because Claire was able to marry her sweetheart so soon. His only comment was that they ought to consider using the beach for the wedding, seeing as it was named after their grandmother. I must confess I did him an injustice, thinking he wanted to keep the B.W. Falls for himself and Daphne.

   Well, when I got there, I nearly dropped my teeth (except I still have all of them so couldn’t do that). He’d fixed up the place, putting in a platform for a band, installing a restroom, and replacing the juice bar with something more professional. And of course, putting up a wedding arch.



   Claire looked beautiful, of course. She and Tyson are going to live with us, which means I’ll get to see my grandchildren! Either in this life or the next, that is.



   Meanwhile, Byron is still working on that potion for Daphne.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER TWELVE – Andrew

   Yep, the old geezer (that’s me) is still going strong. Things have been quiet since the wedding, if you don’t count things like P.T. playing hopscotch with Bebe in the hallway.



   Byron completed the most ridiculously easy challenge I’ve ever heard of – washing five plates. I can’t believe he’s getting a raise for doing that. I told him about the time I had to clean every latrine on the base – after somebody’s “flying up” party. He just laughed.



   Still, when you have a couple of newlyweds in the house, they can get a trifle rambunctious.



   Unfortunately, Claire got over-excited and threw up. She always has had a sensitive stomach.



   Or so I thought until she told me



   (and Tyson, of course) the good news.



   Time passed slowly after that. All of us were just waiting for the new addition to the family. Abbie worked on her novel; Byron fished; Claire invented a floor hygienator and a whale toy, and P.T. tried, unsuccessfully, to get tips for playing the guitar. Tyson joined the army, which made me very happy. Privately speaking, I doubt that he’ll make it to astronaut – his major fault is that he’s forgetful, in a general sort of way.



   Meanwhile, I did something very selfish. Claire wanted a boy, but I was really hoping for a granddaughter, so I gave her some watermelon and told her it would affect the baby’s gender. Which was true, supposedly, only not in the way she wanted.

   The big day arrived finally, and all of us who were at home pitched in to help. First Byron acted as coach.



   Then Tyson reminded her that she was supposed to think of happy things – like the time she was valedictorian.



   Then Abbie and I took over, Abbie concentrating so hard I was afraid she might bite her tongue.



   At long last, Dennis made his appearance. (I guess I was wrong about those watermelons.)

[ratchie]

Welcome to the world Dennis. I am pleased that Abbie and Andrew get to see their grandchildren while they still have the chance.

Rachel

[MarianT]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Andrew

   Just when you think you’ve done it all – an ice cream truck pulls up!



   I really needed that because I was feeling jealous of Byron. He got an all-expenses-paid trip to China from the lab to collect bugs, the lucky dog. And I was also feeling annoyed because all he talked about were the places he went fishing and how beautiful they were.







   He did manage to catch a pygmy tortoise, but he decided to let it go. His rationale was that he didn’t know whether he’d have time to take care of it, and it was better to set it free in its natural habitat than carry it off to a foreign ecosystem.



   I would have liked to see the tortoise, but I suppose there’s nothing to stop me from going to China and finding one myself. Last but not least, I was grumpy because in a household of six adults, somehow I’m always the one that gets diaper duty.



   But at least Tyson took the little fellow out for some fresh air.



   The big topic of discussion these days is what kind of animal to get for a pet. I would have expected a puppy to be the obvious choice for everyone, but no. Abbie wants a quiet lazy cat to sleep on the couch. P.T. thinks a bird would be cool. Byron doesn’t care what we get as long as he’s not expected to look after it. Claire wants a horse. Badly.



   Apparently Tyson and I are the only ones who want a dog. I decided to exercise my prerogative as head of the household and declared that we would get a puppy from Stiles McGraw (thereby avoiding arguments over the breed), and that we would wait until Dennis was walking. Everyone agreed to this, but Claire was a bit sulky, so I told her that if she could tame a wild horse, she could keep it.

[Sophie98]

Claire may like the horse, but it doesn't seem all that keen on her!

[Jonna]

Claire may like the horse, but it doesn't seem all that keen on her!

That's because the horse knows what she's thinking!  The expression "I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse" has to come from somewhere!

[MarianT]

Haha! Good one, Jonna.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Andrew (continued)

   We had a little birthday party for Dennis a few days ago.



   All of us had a lot of fun, but in the excitement, Dennis got behind us.



   As soon as Dennis started walking (in my book, lurching towards your mother counts as walking), I went over to see Stiles about the puppy.



When I got home, Claire was making some kind of widget – she’s been getting orders from the spa and the lab and I don’t know where else. I don't know why she's in her formal. She's not crazy like P.T., just a little eccentric.



Meanwhile, Byron was blowing himself up again. I hope Daphne appreciates his efforts.



   Here’s the puppy. We decided to call her Eppie. If she looks a bit blurry, it’s because she needs a trim.

[loveSims]

The puppy is too cute!

[MarianT]

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Andrew

   Would you believe I’m 109? I attribute my longevity to all the jogging I did in my youth. That, and the fact that I’m leading a very active and busy life.

   I play with Dennis.



   I play with Eppie.



   I play with Dennis some more.



   I watch Eppie and Dennis play with each other.



   I have a very vital role in this household:  I’m the only one whom Eppie will allow to pick her up and take her outside to pee.



   As far as I’m concerned, Grim can take his time about paying me a visit. Life has never been better.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER FIFTEEN –Andrew

   Memo to self:  never, ever, say something like “Grim can take his time about paying me a visit.” You refer to the Grim Reaper, you’re just asking for trouble.

   Saturday was a really good day. Eppie had grown up from being a puppy the night before, so we took our first walk together. I’m so glad those days of carrying her downstairs to pee are over. She decided I was her BFF, which made me happy.



   Claire took Dennis over to the library to read a few books. Of course, the little fellow set up a squawk when she went over to the bookcase. The funny thing is, he was as annoyed by his crying as everyone else was.



   When they came home, Claire went down to the basement to do some inventing. We never did put a fire alarm down there – my mistake. Luckily, I heard her screams and was in time to put her out.



   Meanwhile, Byron had a date with Daphne over at the beach. He decided it was time to pop the question and explain why they had to wait just a little while longer. Right after he proposed, something told him it was time to come home.



   I think what happened is this:  Grim was hovering, ready to collect Claire, and then he noticed me. “There’s someone who’s 110!” he said to himself. “That’s way too old. I’d better do something about that.”



   I seem to recall that Dad died in the basement, too. Anyway, Byron has a handsome obelisk to put next to Mom’s and Bebe’s graves. Now he just has to get a few more promotions, catch 200 more fish, complete another 5 opportunities, and make a few friends. I’ve had a great life, so I’m not complaining. I plan to stick around as narrator, anyway, until Byron moves out. If ghosts can play computer games (and we all know they can), they should be able to type.