Ralph
The kindest eyes, and sweetest smile goes completely unnoticed by Anselma. All she sees is the worst face in SiMobile, a body out of shape, and ears…well…Anselma quickly averts her eyes, her cheeks burning with anger, humiliation and horror! This man in front of her is her Adonis, Ralph Snowdon? Her hero, her muscular man, with the handsomest face in town? The one that she was going to show off to all her friends, watching their eyes turn green with envy? Anselma gasps for breath, and suddenly mumbles a quick excuse, something about choosing bad leftovers, and dashes to the nearest bathroom. Not that bathrooms can’t be invaded, but she just hopes for a few minutes respite. Anselma just needs some quietness, in order to process this disaster. Staring in the mirror, clutching at the cool sink, Anselma tries to get her head round the facts. This young man, this…this man that must have the worst looks in SiMobile, is really and truly Ralph Snowdon? Could there be a mistake, somewhere? There are a lot of people called Snow, because of the Townie family with that name. The same could be true for Snowdon? Maybe he is not the one that she thinks he is? Surely her parents called him a good match? Surely they mentioned his good looks, and how they wanted to make sure she knew that good looks weren’t everything?
Anselma groans, bending over the sink in despair. In her heart she knows that there is no mistake, no doppelganger, no second Ralph Snowdon, with amazing looks and a body to match. She has just met her future intended husband. She starts to shake, and sobs flood over her before she can stop them. “No,” she whimpers, “no, it can’t be true, I can’t be promised to this man! There must be a mistake somewhere, oh…what will I do! I can’t even bear to look at him! Those ears..” Her sobs give way to wails and groans, and Anselma allows her grief to overwhelm her. How can she marry him? How can she even spend time with him? She can’t possibly be seen with him, what will that do to her aspirations and plans? How will she ever get a career in the fashion industry if she is spotted with a husband as ugly as that! She briefly stops when the word ‘ugly’ comes into her head, feeling guilty even thinking the word. Surely nobody should be called ugly? It can’t be right to call anybody by that word to describe them, and Anselma actually glances over her shoulder, suddenly worried that somebody could read her thoughts. She worries that somehow it will get known that she called her future husband ugly. She can feel shame wiggling into her heart, and suddenly she understands her parents words.
They were not urging her to get her priorities right before meeting her stunning husband. They were urging her to get her priorities right, because she would need to see beyond people’s outward appearance, before meeting her…her…”Ugly,” she whispers softly, new tears splashing on her cheeks, “there is just no other word available! He is just so ugly, and I could never look past that! If he had a few problems, you know, sticking out lips, or bright ginger hair, or if he was a bit overweight, of course I could learn to look past that. This is too much to ask though, for everything about him is awful! His face…!” and she bends over the sink again, clutching on for dear life, grief pouring over her in huge torrents. The party noises start to get through to Anselma after a while, and she somehow manages to calm herself down. She blows her nose, dries her eyes, and checks her appearance in the mirror. This brings new tears, as she has a vision of things to come seeing her beautiful face in the mirror. She can just imagine his ugly face with ridiculous grin next to her face… Anselma manages to pull it together though, and with a deep sigh, ending in a groan, she leaves the bathroom, and rejoins the party.
Within seconds Ralph is at her side again, his face contorted in a concerned frown, doing nothing to improve his looks. “I hope you will feel better soon,” he says, surprisingly beautiful eyes looking at her with kindness, “it can take eight hours before the effect has worn off! Could I get you something to drink?” He continues, his face with the huge mouth grinning at her. Anselma cringes every time she looks at him, and finds herself focussing on his eyes. They are totally the wrong shape, of course, and in the wrong position as well, but they sparkle, and are a beautiful stormy grey. It’s the only redeeming feature, she thinks, a seed of bitterness firmly planted in her heart. She manages to nod, and mumble something. Ralph nods enthusiastically, and lumbers off to get her drink. She watching his retreating bulk, and shivers.
“What were you two thinking?” she hisses under her breath, the seed of bitterness cracking open, when she thinks of her parents choosing this man for her groom! “How could you,” she moans under her breath, gulping down salty tears, whilst keeping her bright smile firmly in place. She looks around, and promptly gives up. Where ever she looks there are tall, handsome men, laughing, smiling with well shaped mouths. Their well trimmed bodies complementing their wives and girlfriends, and Anselma can’t bear to see anymore. Ralph returns with their drinks, and smiles his smile at her. Anselma accepts the drink, even somehow finds the strength to smile at him, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on his eyes. “Thank you,” she says, only the slightest tremor in her voice, “I wasn’t really expecting you at this party. I thought I would have to wait till the one at our house, and I was so disappointed!” She stops suddenly, and her hands start to shake, almost spilling her drink over her new Izzy gown. Yes, she had been so disappointed, and so impatient! She had been counting the days, she had been complaining about the delay…but all that was before he had actually met Ralph! Now she wished, oh how she wished that they had never met, that their party would crash before he managed to get in, that the party setting had gone wrong and the party had opened to all and sundry… Anselma can feel her cheeks burning again, and her eyes sting with unshed tears. So many things could go wrong, so many arranged marriages fail because of the Government interference. The one arranged meeting that she would have liked to fail actually took place before schedule. Not only were they at the same party, they met up early on in the party as well. They even established contact.
She clutches at her drink with both hands to stop the glass from slipping from her shaking hands. She tries to sip, hiding her face in the glass tumbler, hoping it will hide her tears and the desperate look on her face. As a fashionista in training she manages to control herself after a while, however. Ralph seems oblivious to her little breakdown, and the first thing she sees when she raises her face from the glass is his idiotic grin, making her shake all over again. “It’s a wonderful party, isn’t is?” His warm voice is rumbly and clear at the same time, his oddly shaped eyes roam the house where the party is held. “I’m so very glad to see you here,” he continues, his eyes looking at her, “I was disappointed too that we would have to wait so long. Here we are, all of a sudden, and it’s such a blessing too! I was just chafing against the wait, so I feel very grateful that the wait is finally over. Till meeting you I mean,” he adds hastily as he sees Anselma’s face turn as pale as chalk. “I really can’t wait to spend more time with you, and as all the arrangements have been made, and the papers can come any day now, I don’t think we ought to hang around! I know from somebody in the office that they will process my Moving Permit as soon as I meet you, so I will let them know straightaway when I get home. I’m so excited and your parents told me that you want to get married as soon as possible as well, which I think is great. It prevents a lot of common problems if people marry sooner rather than later, don’t you think?”
Anselma nods, and somehow manages to squeak out a sound that sounds like an affirmative noise. Marry this man as soon as possible? Really? How dare her parents suggest that to this man! Of course, she had been very keen to marry quickly, and to have a family as soon as was appropriate, but that was when she was still convinced that she was betrothed to the most handsome man in SiMobile… Not to the worst looking one! Anselma feels trapped. She feels that Ralph is kind and thrilled to meet her. Well, she thinks, with an edge to her words, at least he has good taste when it comes to women! “I can’t tell him different now, can I,” she groans in silence. “He might be ugly, and I just dread the thought of marrying him, but I couldn’t ever tell him. He has kind eyes, and it isn’t his fault, really.” She nods and makes agreeing noises whenever he says something, and Anselma manages to retreat into herself far enough to block Ralph out. Then his rumbling voice breaks through her slight trance, and Anselma hits the ground with both feet.
“Shall we leave the party now, and go to the café for our first date? It’s still quite early, and I’m sure you’ll agree it’s best not to waste any time.” She looks at the ugly face, his eyes happy and hopeful, huge mouth wider than ever, and just manages to nod. Then Anselma makes another dash to the bathroom, and throws up in the glittering golden toilet. Her legs are to shaky to support her, and she lowers herself on the tiled floor, sobbing, and groaning. The café! She really and truly has to go with Ralph to the café? She shudders, and wonders how to disguise herself enough to not be recognised. She runs through the list in her head of people she normally encounters at the café, and which ones will cause issues. She groans, thinking of the Simstagram posts going up! Pictures of her and Ralph sitting in the café, dancing, contemplating the beauty of nature…
Anelma decides to make it look like she is doing an interview with somebody. An interview with a random Sim, for her fashion blog… She giggles then, for who would believe that? Doing an interview with the worst looking Sim in town, for her fashion blog with its many glowing reviews! She drags herself back on her feet, and leaves the bathroom, determined to make the date look like a business meeting, in case any of her followers spots her with this man. Ralph is very polite and kind, and if he is surprised by her insistence to just sit at the table and chat he doesn’t show it. He gallantly holds the chair out for her, and orders their teas. They talk about all sorts, and Anselma feels herself relaxing a little. He isn’t pushy anyway, she thinks, and he is actually very kind. I like the way he treats the waiter, although I do think that waiter is a bit forward. Oh well, hopefully that means that this doesn’t look like a date, for surely the waiter wouldn’t be that flirty with a very young woman on her first date? “Thank you Will,” she says to the waiter when he brings their bill at the end, and flashes him a bright smile, hoping to convince him even more that this is definitely not a date, but a business meeting…
Ralph and Anselma leave for home, and she feels herself relaxing a little. Her parents are very pleased to see Ralph, treating his with respect and kindness. Anselma grinds her teeth, bitterness growing inside her. She watches her parents, and when she sees them sharing a smile, she spins round and storms off to her room. “I knew it!” she sobs, hot angry tears appearing instantly, “I just knew it as soon as I saw him! They chose him to punish me. They think I’m too vain, and too concerned with outward appearances, but I’m not! There is nothing wrong with liking beautiful things, is there? There is also nothing wrong with enjoying the company of beautiful looking people. I hate how they promised me to the most ugly lump in SiMobile, just to teach me a lesson! They have ruined my life, and everybody will be laughing at me!” This isn’t actually true, but there would be nothing her parents could have said to Anselma to convince her of that. They liked Ralph, and saw his kindness and godly character straight away. They found him a good listener, somebody with a great interest in others, and a calm and steady man, strong and capable. They realised that his character would be just right for Anselma, and that of all the young men in SiMobile he would be the best suited to her moods and vain personality. Neither of them paid much attention to people’s looks, having learned over time that looks can be deceiving… It hadn’t even occurred to them until Anselma told them…
The courtship is progressing well, and Ralph seems happier than ever. His large round face carried a permanent blush, and his large fleshy lips are puled into a fixed grin. His heavy lumbering steps seem somehow more bouncy, and his warm generous laugh can be heard in every room. Anselma on the contrary looks more and more sulky, struggling to keep an edge out of her voice. It isn’t that she dislikes Ralph, in fact, she has started to find him quite acceptable. In the Mortina House that is. She has learned to enjoy his company, still thinks his eyes are beautiful, and finds herself wanting to hear his laugh. Going out with him is a different matter though. She somehow manages to block out the terrible ears, ugly face and huge bulky frame when she is at home. As soon as they leave the house, she becomes painfully aware of his looks. She just imagines people looking twice in horror, expecting people to raise their phones to take a picture to put on Simstagram, and Anselma finds herself checking all social media anxiously every time they have been out together.
“No! Oh, I can’t believe it,” her voice sounds so desperate and distraught that her mother, Tessa, comes running up to the hobby room, in spite of her stooped shoulders and grey hair. “Look, she has put a picture of me and Ralph up!” Tessa opens her mouth to correct the grammar, but changes her mind when she sees her daughter’s face. Anselma looks like her life has just ended, and Tessa peers at the computer screen. All she can see is a lovely photograph of her daughter and Ralph at the restaurant bench, engrossed in conversation. “Can’t you see?” wails Anselma, when her mother looks at her with a blank expression, “everybody will know that we weren’t together for business! They will know that we are in some sort of relationship! Now the news will come out soon, for they will look into it, and more pictures will probably turn up! That’s it, I’m ruined!” Dropping her head on her arms, Anselma sobs and wailes and speculates about her ruined social life and career.
Tessa is stunned, she had never expected this! She genuinely thought Ralph and Anselma got on well together, and she was pleased that her daughter seemed to be over her obsession with people’s looks! “Sweetheart, what do you mean?” she asks, confusion written all over her face, “I think that is a lovely picture of the two of you! Such a sweet couple!” Her eyes widen when Anselma sits up with a shock, eyes blazing, her wet face red and blotchy, and her mouth pulled in an angry sneer.
“Exactly! We look like a couple, and I have done everything I could to avoid that! I don’t want people to realise that I’m in a relationship with him! How will anybody take my fashion advice or my career seriously if they know that I’m married to the worst looking man in the whole of SiMobile? This picture will ruin me! I will lose my followers, and what sort of fashion shop will promote me, knowing that I don’t even know what a handsome husband should look like?” She glares at her mother, and carries on in a voice filled with bitterness, “How could you do this to me? What sort of parents choose a husband as a punishment for their daughter? How could you do this, when you knew I would be unhappy for the rest of my life?” Fresh tears pour down her cheeks, and Anselma buries her face in her hands, and cries like her heart is broken. Tessa is stunned, and far too shocked and upset to speak. Erik has come in, drawn by the commotion, and it is Erik who answers his daughter.
“We had no idea, Anselma, and we hadn’t even thought about Ralph’s looks. We can assure you that the thought of punishing you didn’t come into it at all. Of course, we realised that he might not reach your ridiculous high standard when it comes to handsome young men, but we think that character is far more important. Somehow we never managed to instil that into you, and as such we have failed as parents. On the other hand, you are an adult, capable of making your own decisions, as well as responsible for your own attitudes and actions. I think it is scandalous the way you think about Ralph, and if you lose friends over him? Well, good riddance I would say! No proper friend would dump you over this, and if they do, it just shows how shallow and conceited they were. I cannot imagine that Ralph will harm your career, that is just the ramblings of a vain young girl, who has a lot of growing up to do! It hurts me to say this, but as your father I’m horrified by your attitude and your weak character. I can only hope and pray that you will change and mature, before you cause more grief. Your words and thoughts are harmful to yourself and others, and only a change of heart can bring healing, I fear!”
He storms off, worried that he may say too much, sadness clouding his eyes. Tessa is in tears, of course, and Anselma sits at her desk, looking sullen and grieved. Guilt makes her insides wobble, as she knows her father is right. Her eyes fall on the picture on the screen again, and she groans. She is still convinced that all her friends will look down on her and laugh at her behind her back. Why did she have to be promised to Ralph… Then she remembers his kind eyes, and his care for her. She knows deep down that her father is right, and she also knows that her attitude stinks. Anselma struggles, as she knows all that, but on the other hand is her glowing career prospects, and her blog with its beauty loving followers… She sighs, and looks at her mum, guilt winning it this time. “I’m sorry, Mum,” she sighs, hugging Tessa, “I will do better, I promise. I don’t know how, but somehow I will get there, and I accept that you didn’t choose him as a punishment. I do actually like his company, it’s just that…”
She looks at the picture, and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ slides through her mind, and she shivers. “It’s just hard for somebody like me, you know, somebody who makes a living out of fashion, it’s hard to…to…” mmmm, how is she going to put this, without getting in trouble again? “It will be fine, Mum, I’m sure it will be fine. Don’t cry over us, for I’ll manage…” She cringes inside, as somehow she doesn’t think that was the thing to say. It doesn’t sound like she has changed really, and she knows for a fact that she hasn’t. She also knows that she will have to find a way to deal with it, as she refuses to give up on her career and her dreams. On the other hand, she knows that she has fully accepted her pending marriage to Ralph. Somehow she will have to merge the two. She smiles at her mum, the effort making her jaws ache. It is one of the important skills in the fashion industry though, to smile at all times, and Anselma is a great fashionista, and Tessa soon smiles back at her daughter. Anselma sighs with relief as the drama seems to have passed. Now for some damage control, she thinks, turning back to the computer.