It Happened One Christmas/A Short Seasonal Tale (Completed)

[Seabody]

I'm speechless!  I've been sitting here for ages just laughing my head off!  Seabody, in just a few perfectly-chosen words you have masterfully summed up all my stories!  I'd put those words in my signature if I had room!  And you've just made me realize that I've had some pretty loony Sims over the years.  Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that my Sims have had a loony writer. 

But I digress.  Returning to your question:

Here's my answer:  "What, you don't think a talking dog is enough?"  Ok, maybe I'll throw in a piece of Fire Cake, just for you. 

Aw, thanks! And as for loony sims vs. loony writer... I think the Sims are loony.

Here's my answer:  "What, you don't think a talking dog is enough?"  Ok, maybe I'll throw in a piece of Fire Cake, just for you. 

And, of course, any dog associated with Mr Payne can be expected to be rather unusual. 

This makes me think... can Incubus fly?

[Schipperke]

Another good story to read! I just l just reading your stories Schipperke. I don't always remark, but I am always reading. 

Thanks very much, Sdhoey!  Glad to have you along for the ride.

This makes me think... can Incubus fly?

Not as far as I know, but who knows what that little devil gets up to when nobody's watching.

What on earth prompted you to ask that? 

[Seabody]

What on earth prompted you to ask that?

I have no idea. It just popped into my mind when I read the end of the last chapter.

[Gogowars329]

Incubus has got quite the evil looking smirk!

[Schipperke]

Chapter 4

Sandy soon learns that living with a dog isn't all fun and games.  The fancy automatic dogfood dispenser that she bought doesn't work, so she has to get up in the middle of the night to put down a bowl of food for Incubus.  She goes back to bed.  A couple hours later, Incubus, who slept earlier in the evening, decides it's time to go and wake Sandy.



Sandy is less than thrilled at being woken before she's ready to get up.  Guess what, Sandy - from now on, the dog will decide when it's time to get up.  No more sleeping in for you, girl!



Sandy:  Why are you waking me up?  I don't have my well-rested moodlet yet!
Incubus:  Time to get up!  We have a lot to do today.  Rise and shine, Sandy.
Sandy doesn't have anything to do today.  Her life stretches in front of her, with nothing to do.  But she's more or less awake by now, so, grumbling, she gets out of bed and goes to take a shower.

After breakfast Sandy and Incubus continue getting acquainted.



As a side note, I think EA did a very good job creating realistic teeth for the dog!  And the paw detail is perfect too.



Soon Sandy and Incubus are best friends.



Sandy:  Why don't I teach you to sit?
Incubus:  Are you serious?  I know how to sit!
Sandy:  Well, what would you like to do?  Play tug-of-war?
Incubus:  Sandy, Sandy.  You can't spend all day playing! 
Sandy:  I don't have anything else to do.
Incubus:  What do you usually do at Christmas?
Sandy:  When I lived in SV, I would tend my garden and then Christopher and I would go fishing together.  That's if I didn't have to work at Christmas.  But now I have no job and no garden.  And Christopher is far away.  Anyway, he's too busy with some Dynasty girl to have time for me.
Incubus:  Then you'll have to find something else to do, Sandy.  There are a lot of unhappy, lonely people at Christmas.  Some of them are poor and can't afford toys for their children or pets.  How about doing something for them?  If you got an inventing table, you could make toys to give away.
Sandy:  I don't know how to make toys.  I've never used an inventing table.
Incubus:  The path less travelled, Sandy!  The way I see it, you can either sit around in your comfortable rut and feel sorry for yourself, or you can try something new.  Which will it be?

And so it comes to pass that Sandy spends the rest of the day in the basement, learning to use her new inventing table and wondering at the strange turn her life seems to have taken.



She watches a bit of television before going to bed.  Notice the program she has chosen.



For many people, Christmas is a time of visiting with friends, old and new.  Sandy has no friends other than Incubus, but elsewhere in the world of Sims, visits are being made.

[Katluvr]

Oh wow, what a cliff-hanger.  I can't wait to see what happens next!  Awesome story as always Schipperke!

[moonshadow]

Can't wait to see what Mr Payne is up too.

[ZapKid]

Quite the cliffhanger! 
Say, can anyone tell me who the gray-hair man is/was? I think that his name is Mr. Payne... did he have anything to do with Schipperke's other stories?

[moonshadow]

Quite the cliffhanger! 
Say, can anyone tell me who the gray-hair man is/was? I think that his name is Mr. Payne... did he have anything to do with Schipperke's other stories?

Mr, Payne is a lawyer, he shows up in Riches Galore: The Orphanage Project and The Flowers Waiting for Grim. Both are Schipperke's stories and they awesome.

[Schipperke]

Thanks very much for the comments, Katluvr, Moonshadow and Zapkid!  Yes, Mr Payne gets around.  He can also be found in the Swap Shop, where his biography includes this line: 

His raison d'etre is to help other Sims.

Which may give us an idea what he's up to here!  In any case, the story will be finishing on Saturday - just 3 more installments, so it won't be long before all shall be revealed. 

[loveSims]

Great update! Can't wait for next one

[Sophie98]

Best. Christmas. Story. Ever! 

[Schipperke]

Thanks very much, loveSims and Sophie.  Here's the next update:

Chapter 5

Sandy may like to watch romances on television, but her dreams are all about her only friend.



And Incubus?  What is he dreaming about?  Christmas dinner, what else.



Sandy has barely had time to finish her breakfast when Incubus asks her:  Sandy, why is there no mirror in the house?
Sandy:  I bought only the things I needed.  I don't need a mirror.
Incubus:  Most people would consider a mirror an essential item.  Why don't you need a mirror?
Sandy:  I don't wear makeup.  I wear the same outfit all the time.  And I don't need a mirror to put up my hair - I've been doing it this way for years.
Incubus:  Yes, and it shows.
Sandy:  Pardon me?



Incubus:  Sandy, everything about you says "I've given up!"  Look at yourself!  Oh, I forgot - you can't look at yourself - you don't have a mirror.  Well, allow me to hold up a figurative mirror and tell you what I see.  I see a woman who hasn't bothered to change her hairdo since the days of the original Sims.  I see a woman who's too young to look as old as she does but who doesn't care enough about her skin to do something about those lines and wrinkles.  And as for that, that - outfit - you wear, it's beyond me why anyone would wear something so awful unless she was trying to win a prize for dowdiest spinster of the year!
Sandy:  You're mean!  How can you be so cruel!



Incubus:  Honest is the word you're looking for, Sandy.  You could be very attractive if you made a little effort.  Why not try?
Sandy:  I am what I am.  New clothes won't change that.
Incubus:  I'm not talking about new clothes alone, although they're definitely needed.  No, I'm talking about plastic surgery.  They can do wonders at the hospital with their new plastic surgery.
Sandy:  Plastic surgery!  Do you know what that costs!  I can't afford that!



Incubus:  Sandy, how much money did I bring with me when I came to live here?
Sandy:  About $14,000.
Incubus:  Yes.  And I'm giving it to you.  It's my present to you.  Now you can afford the plastic surgery, a trip to the spa, and a new wardrobe too.
Sandy:  Well ... I'll think about it.
Incubus:  I know - you'll think about it and think about it and never do it.  The path less travelled, Sandy! Go now.  Or are you too afraid to break out of your comfortable little rut?  Too chicken?

Sandy, hurt and furious, whirls and storms out of the house, slamming the door behind her, as Incubus yells after her:  Get something bright!  No more boring beige and white!

Sandy hails a passing taxi and she's gone. 



The little dog grins and sets about the next part of his plan.  Only two more days to wrap everything up.

[loveSims]

I can't wait to see Sandy after the surgery! Such a clever dog!

[ladybug53]

This is a great Christmas story .  I'm really enjoying it . Can't wait for the next chapter .