Parties – Page 2 – Vicarious Living

English Tea

Tabitha keeps checking her phone, ignoring the frowns and judgmental looks clients give her. She just needs to keep an eye on the time today. Any other day she loves to spend time with customers, helping them to make the most of their photoshoot. It’s not just snapping pictures, as Chris used to sneer, to her it really is a work of art. She wants to make sure that the photos she takes are top quality picture, with the right lighting, the correct background, the best position for the customer.

Today is a little different, though. She still enjoys it of course, it’s just that today they are hosting a special party. She is the hostess, actually. The four of them had sat down a few nights ago, chatting, relaxing. Now that Chris is less obsessed about his Destiny, he is actually good fun to be with. She remembers him as the little boy, when he was like that too. Before the pressure and the tales and expectations turned him, and made him Mr Awkward. Now the pressure is gone, and Victoria is helping him to overcome his insecurities and social struggles, and she is doing a great job.

Tabitha actually smiles, causing the customer to audibly sigh, roll his eyes, and step back a little. Oh right, she is working…the guy must have worried she was trying it on… In fact, she was just remembering some of Chris’ jokes! He is using his wit on jokes, rather than on suspicious accusations and slipping into the victim role. She manages a little private giggle in the prop box, thinking about some stories Chris told them. Honestly, who knew Chris could be so funny? Poor Harry, his manager…not much love lost between those two, that’s for sure!

“I’m really sorry I can only finish off this last photo shoot, then I’ll have to dash,” she explains to a potential customer who just dropped in on the off chance. “I will be back at work tomorrow, so if you’d like to make an appointment, I can do that?” She helps the girl with the soft pink hair to fill out the form, starting to look forward to working with her. The hair colour will go very nicely with the standard background, she thinks, looking at the girl with half closed eyes, imagining her in different lights, from different angles. When the girl looks up, she finds Tabitha staring at her with half closed eyes, head tilted. The girl freezes a bit, and takes a careful shuffle back.

Tabitha smiles reassuringly at the girl, “Don’t worry, I was just thinking ahead, wondering which light setting would be best. It will be great, your hair colour is lovely, and will come out well against any background, really.” The girl looks relieved, and after setting a time she goes off. Tabitha hurriedly packs up the cameras and props, tidying things up, as she won’t be back till much later. She doesn’t want to come back exhausted, all partied out, just to have to hunt for her photography items.

The party! She is getting exciting now, as she locks the last box, and goes off home. She needs to get changed. “This is going to be tricking,” she mumbles to herself, making people look at her in a alarm, watching her march home, mumbling, frowning. “Whose idea was this, I wonder.” Then she grins, it was actually Chris who thought of it! “Imagine that,” she mutters, grinning, and doing nothing to alleviate people’s worries! “Imagine Mr Grouch coming up with a theme for a party, an English Tea Party! What on earth made him come up with a theme like that? I wonder what he’ll be like today… The wedding party was awful, with all of us worried about poor Richard. Then Victoria organised the party for us, after Eva was born. He was awful then, hardly speaking to anybody at all, glaring at guests, growling at Victoria… He really was the end, or rather, as Mum used to say, ‘the absolute terminus’, and he was.”

“I don’t know how Victoria managed all those years. Well, I do, of course, but she is one strong woman, and I’m glad that her prayers have been well and truly answered! Mind you, with that little rascal Samuel, I hope she hasn’t stopped praying just yet…!”

She is glad to be home, checking her phone for the time again. Good! Not much time, but enough, hopefully. She shakes her fist at Chris when she sees him, but he just laughs. She rolls her eyes, if only he knew how hard this is! What is she going to wear? She will probably need something new, which might be easier said than done. Just yesterday they all clubbed together, and managed to pay for another plot of land to be cleared, which doesn’t leave much money for new clothes!

Tabitha is relieved when she finds that the outfit which reminds her of the theme a lot, is actually quite reasonable. She finds a shade that doesn’t clash with her hair too much. She would have liked pink, but that really doesn’t suit her. It’s a shame, as the theme for her party will be an English Tea Party, and the colour that comes to mind is pink. Pink and flowers. She heard the stories of people who went to visit England, and everywhere they went were pink flowers. The curtains, carpets, upholstery of chairs were all decorated with pink flowers, often different shades and shapes of flowers in one room, clashing, and reminding you of wonderful gardens all at the same time. She looks round, if only there were pink flowery dresses available, Laura Ashley Style, with the huge hats to match, like English ladies wear to events like Royal Ascot! She twirls round in front of the mirror and sighs, if only…!

She quickly tidies up the house a bit, moves a few pieces of furniture around, and sets up a little tea corner. Stools here, tiny tables here, right…no, better over here. Tea tray on this one, biscuits on that one…Two jars I think, digestives, ugh, and ginger ones, that should do it. She stands back, and can’t think how to improve it, which means that it’s alright for now. She feels a bit worried, as she knows that some of her friends who will be here any minute now are amazing designers, with great taste and they might have done a much better job. Never mind, she sighs, and moves on, checking that there is enough food for everyone, the party signs are up…She is ready!

She spots Victoria in a lovely salmon pink dress, looking really pretty, matching earrings and bracelets, and she tugs at her blouse, hoping she doesn’t look too much out of place! The men look smart too, and then the first guests start to arrive! Tabitha is so excited, she wonders who will make it, as of course, the Sims Mobile Government doesn’t allow parties to grow too big, and even then they can shut down the party without a moment’s notice! The Renaldi family is actually the first to arrive. She is glad; she gets on very well with Bristol, and Victoria is very friendly with Kiera. She can’t believe Kiera has children, she still seems so young! Even Amara, hardly been promoted, and already had a baby. She gasps, Amara herself is here, at their Tea party! How amazing that is!

She chats with Bristol, gets to meet Amara, who looks stunning and congratulates her with her baby. The party is busy with so many friends, some of them Tabitha meets for the first time. She smiles, pours tea, chats, rubs aching jaws, keeps an eye on her adult daughters… She just hopes they accept her advice. Tabitha had sat them down the night before and had explained the whole thing again. “You need to make sure that you arrange things properly. If you don’t you’re heading for heartache. You can get married very easily, have a baby even easier, but to actually have a family, a strong steady family…well, that takes careful planning. You see, it’s almost impossible to get a Moving In Permit when you just meet a random person. For one thing, they might be married already, or have all their traits. You just don’t know, and can’t bank on it. So, if you hear of somebody that you like, meet the family, and try to make arrangements.”

The girls had both nodded and smiled, but Tabitha knows that with girls the nodding and smiling could mean anything! She is worried, she wants to prevent heartache and sadness, and on the other hand, she wants them to meet somebody they love or come to love. “Life can be so cruel,” she says softly, “and on the other hand, each day can be an amazing, precious gift, to be cherished and enjoyed. I pray both my daughters will find their days happy and full. Theodore as well of course, but somehow to me it feels different. I don’t know why, it just does.”

The house is humming, there are people everywhere, chatting, laughing, meeting and greeting each other. Then, suddenly, there is a gasp, followed by growing silence wherever the news is received. “Vivien Leigh has accepted retirement unexpectedly!” Tabitha stares at the girl in front of her, not believing her ears. Vivien? Retired? No, no way, that can’t be! Vivien, who has been such a help to so many people, and is so needed for her wise counsel. How can she retire, and so suddenly, with no warning, no preparation?

She rushes over to Vivien the moment she arrives. “Oh Vivien, is it true? Is it really true?” Tabitha struggles, she really mustn’t cry, what will Vivien think? She might actually be relieved to retire, and have some peace and quiet, and with everyone weeping all over her, well, she might be hurt! “I just heard the news,” Tabitha continues, looking at Vivien’s smooth face, trying to figure out if she is alright about it all, “the others told me. We will miss you, really truly miss you…” Her voice is starting to do things of its own accord, and Tabitha knows that’s the time to stop words from coming out. Words will misshape themselves, tumble and flow like a river over a rocky patch, and they will sound all disjointed. No, far better to just keep quiet, catch your breath, work up a smile, until you can feel your throat and tongue relaxing and ready to be controlled once again.

Vivien on the other hand looks very composed, calm and serene as usual, with her dark eyes and ready smile. She explains that yes, it had come rather suddenly, and she would miss everyone, especially Penny who had only just had her Coming Out party. Tabitha nods, she’d hoped to have gone, despite not owning a scrap of clothing that could be considered cowgirl style clothing, but by the time she got up, Sims Mobile Government had closed down the party. She wonders briefly if Vivien’s retirement was something to do with the party? Vivien explains that she’s at peace with it all, really. You have to accept certain things in life, she says, very philosophically Tabitha thinks, still struggling to breathe properly.

Tabitha is determined to spend as much time as possible with Vivien, and she begs the others to take as many pictures of them both as possible. She can’t believe it, but when she looks over at Vivien at some stage, she looks so happy, so at ease! As if nothing has happened, as if there is no monumental decision made, because there she is, chatting, drinking tea…looking stunningly beautiful as ever!

Tabitha and Victoria both say that the rest of the party passed in a bit of a blur after that. They meet some lovely people, one girl in particular they had never seen before. Her name is Alyssia, she has beautiful hair, and came with the rest of her family. There was the young Amara, very, very pretty, standing her ground it seemed, going round lots of people; Hank was new as well. “That’s the thing I love about these parties,” says Tabitha that evening, “meeting friends, making new friends, saying bye to amazing friends…” They all go quiet at that, feeling sad and missing Vivien, as if she’s gone already! “I loved meeting lots of new people today, having tea with them,” continues Tabitha after awhile, “saw some old friends as well, I also had some important chats! I’ve seen some of the pictures…it really was a wonderful time. I even saw Chris smiling!”

She laughs out loud at his scowl, and he just has to laugh with them all. “Yes, funny enough, I did enjoy myself. I’d never have believe it myself, but I actually had a great time, I don’t know how that happened? I have never been one for parties, so not sure why this one was so different. Maybe the tea got laced..?”

They chat a bit longer, feeling a little drowsy after the long day, content, blessed, at peace. Looking out the large lattice windows they can see the new patch being cleared. Night noises come in, cheeky Samuel can be heard softly snoring on the baby monitor. That Samuel, he had a great time too! Tabitha smiles over at Victoria, and giggles a little, probably the tea? “You better watch that irrepressible son of yours… He met a lot of people, and not once did he look shy…He was quite happy to go up to all sorts of guests, chatting away, telling them all sorts…”

Yes, she thinks, it really was a great party. She smiles, looking satisfied as a cat in Spring time, thinking back over her conversation with Kiera. “She’s a real character, she is! I just hope it will work out, I’m actually starting to feel quite excited now, but there we go, only time will tell. Who knows what will happen, but I have learned to have patience, and faith, and to trust that all things will work out the way they should. Just trust, although there is no ‘just’ about it, it is one of the hardest things I have learned in all this time. Looking back on all my traits, jobs, hobbies and friendships, there have been lots of difficult lessons, time consuming events, painful memories, but the hardest of all is still Trust. I wonder why…”

Calm Waters

Tabitha is standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the Peacock table, trying to think why she had gone into the kitchen in the first place! She looks at the table, looks round, catches sight of two little pigtails, and remembers! The spare nappy bags! Quickly she digs through the drawers where she was sure she had some stashed away, and dashes out of the kitchen the moment she lays hands on them. Great! Now, where is Eva? “Eva, where are you, sweetie, come here quickly, because Mummy needs to check on Theo.”

Tabitha grins to herself, and can feel her smile growing the moment she lifts Eva high up in the air! She has a daughter! A sweet, cheeky toddler, cute little face, little pigtails, auburn hair of course. She still needs to remind herself that it is really true, she has a daughter, and now, in the bassinet there is a little baby. She actually laughs out loud, which sends Eva into a fit of giggles!

“Do you think that’s funny?” She croons, tickling her, “You have no idea how special you are, little one, you really have no idea! One day, when you’re old enough, we will tell you. We will tell you about the miracle that you are, and why we called you Eva. I suppose we will tell you also why your little brother is called Theodore, which means Gift from God. You are, yes, you are, you both are,” she continues, and probably would have continued a lot longer, but for the footsteps coming into the lounge.

Cousin Chris, she groans to herself, just what I need. I wonder how much he heard. I know I shouldn’t care, really, but I do. She looks up, mainly because of Eva, who is looking up with a very confused expression. She never knew that toddlers could look that confused, and it worries her a little. Chris is standing nearby, a scowl making his eyes almost disappear under his bushy eyebrows. “Great way to go, cousin,” he grates out at her, “nice and kind, ha ha. Great to rub it in, as if you’re the only ones favoured by your God. You know, some peace and quiet in the house could also be a gift from God, and that is exactly what I would be enjoying, if your kids didn’t make such a racket.”

With that, he is out of the lounge again, leaving Tabitha almost as confused as Eva. The little girl looks at her face, and Tabitha brings on the sunniest smile she can pull, and they both giggle, and spin round, and play, until Tabitha feels all the anger floating out of the huge latticed windows. She tidies herself up a bit, straightens the lounge, and as she turns to go to the room with the bassinet, she glimpses a shade of red going round the corner. Victoria.

Tabitha’s happiness has a little wobble, she feels so sad for Victoria! After all, the girl grew up in an amazing house, a mansion, richly decorated and furnished, with fun loving people. Now she is living in their cluttered house, as varied in colour as the ‘amazing technicolour dreamcoat’, apart from the amazing bit that is. She wonders if Victoria ever regrets marrying Chris? Not at first of course, as Chris was all smiles and hugs whilst courting her. He dressed immaculately for their wedding, and even for the wedding reception. The pictures show him smiling broadly at Victoria, hugging her, talking to her.

Tabitha tries to think when that changed. She knows that straight after their wedding Richard was diagnosed with Llama Flu. She shivers, like she always does when she thinks of that time. Her stomach still does a flip when she remembers the fear and anxiety of those days. Victoria had been so sweet then, helping her, supporting her and Richard. They had lived in the Granny Annexe for a while, until just before Eva was born. Victoria had suggested they moved back, and she and Chris would live in the Annexe.

Tabitha thinks through the moments they have had, and that is when Richard notices her. He is feeding Theodore when she walks into their room. “You alright?” he asks, looking a bit concerned, but still focussed on his son. His son! He can’t get over it, one moment he is going to live with Llama Flu, and all that entails, the next moment he is the immensely proud father of two children! “You look like you’re thinking,” he smiles at Tabitha, “trying to remember something you needed to do? Bath Eva? Clean Theo? Kiss me?”

Tabitha laughs, honestly, Richard can cheer her up any time! “I was just thinking about Victoria,” she says, “I was trying to remember when Chris stopped being outgoing, smiling, and returned to his usual sulky self. I spotted Victoria walking past the lounge, and I just wondered how she really is doing at the moment. You both grew up in such a lush environment, with so much luxury, it must be hard to leave all that behind.” She looks at Richard, and tries to smile at him. She doesn’t want to sound like she thinks he is ungrateful or materialistic, but she is a realist!

Richard looks at the tasteful blue room, the little boy in his arms, beautiful wife standing in front of him, and his smile reaches from one ear to the other ear, splitting his face in two. “Oh sweetheart, don’t you worry about that, not ever! I have all I need, all I want, you’re the best thing any man can have. I also have two adorable kids, what more would I want? I’m the richest man in Sims Mobile, who cares about stuff? You know, having the Flu helped to get life into perspective. It’s so sweet of you to think about that though, you’re my love!”

Tabitha is relieved, she knows he really means it. He really is the kindest man she could imagine, and to be married to him is, well, amazing doesn’t really do it justice! She looks round the room as well, happy with the blue bedspread… “I’m so glad we have a blue bedspread,” she says with great conviction. Richard straightens up from the bassinet, and stares at her.

“Excuse me?” he hesitates, looking totally confused, “did I miss part of the conversation? I thought we were talking about something different?”

Tabitha laughs, “It’s my wild train of thought,” she jokes, “it just took an unexpected turn. I was thinking about the Llama Flu, and the horror of those days, and how I used to wake up looking at the yellow bedspread. I vowed at one time that I would get rid of it, and never sleep under a stripy yellow bedspread again! Life is so different now, the Llama days seem a different lifetime, something that happened to another generation, and I just thought how grateful I was to have a blue bedspread.”

They laugh, her wild thought patterns a standing joke between them. Tabitha maintains that it helps her in her job, that it makes her a more creative photographer. Richard winds her up, and says that she just uses it as a smart excuse in order to get away with chaotic conversations! They look at each other, holding hands, smiling into each other’s eyes. “Can you remember that party Victoria threw for us? The one straight after Eva was born? Everyone seemed to turn up in yellow! In fact, one of the guests thought they had misread the party invite, and missed the fact that it was supposed to be a yellow party!”

“That was such a wonderful night, and I remember the feeling of your hands, your kisses, when we renewed our vows…It was so special, I was so moved…” Tabitha’s throat isn’t being very cooperative just now, she can only swallow, not speak. “I remember,” she manages to squeak out, “I remember us both promising to love and to hold, to cherish, in everything, in sickness and health… By then we really knew what those words meant, we weren’t just rattling our way through them in order to finish the Event. We meant them. Doesn’t that seem forever ago? But I can still see us both, standing under the arch, you in your canary shirt…” she can’t talk, she is laughing too much now, remembering Richard, by then the picture of health, wearing a ridiculous getup, love radiating off him in huge waves, encapsulating her, captivating her, enveloping her, until they were the only people on Sims Planet, let alone Sims Mobile.

Nothing else mattered, nothing else was needed, just the two of them. She remembers the tiny pitter patter of Eva’s staggering first few steps, and how it had reduced her to tears, overwhelmed with God’s goodness in all their riches.

Looking at the little bassinet, just able to spot a tiny fist waving about, she thinks back to those days, dreaming, floating on the memories. She looks up at her Mr Handsome, and says, in a much more serious voice, “You know, I can’t ever forget those hair raising days, the heartache and grief, but you know, I realise how easy it is to become placid. It is so easy to slide into everyday life, and to just take it all for granted!”

Richard agrees, “Yes, I sort of vowed that I would never take good health for granted again. Most days I do, though, and it’s scarily easy to do so! Life is so full and busy, and we lap it up, and we forget to actually stop and thank God for it. We just live it, love the gifts, enjoy the gifts and use them, and we actually in all our busy moment forget the Giver! It’s only when things go wrong that we look for something or someone to blame. We never blame anyone when things go the way we want them to go… It’s just so easy to do, I mean, life is so amazing, and the days just glide from one day into the next, it’s so surreal after the manic stress and devastating terror of those Llama days!”

Tabitha goes back to the kitchen, thinking about this. Victoria helps her to get dinner ready, and they chat a little in between grilling and stirring. “How are you doing?” asks Tabitha, “I meant to ask you the other day, we just seem to move past each other all the time!”

Victoria smiles, she always smiles thinks Tabitha, and shrugs, “Oh, I have been busy too, although not in the same way as you have of course! The Court is just quite busy at the moment, there have been quite a few parties in town, so that always brings extra work of course.” Tabitha grimaces and nods, parties can be like that. Looking at Victoria’s cute pixie like face, she realises that she could actually listen to Victoria’s voice for ages, it’s so sweet!

“I saw your friends quite a while ago, you know, the guy with the cowboy hat? They came in to register their daughter’s birth! It can’t have been that long before Eva was born, it was definitely around the time of…of…well, you know, that awful time, when everyone in town was so worried. Penny they called her, so sweet! She really is a cute little girl, and they are so happy! They were both at the Celebration Party as well, you know, after…after…” Victoria’s melodious voice actually harpers a bit, Tabitha notices in shock, “They said they had someone keeping an eye on Penny, and they took it in turn to pop back home to double check. I wonder if they have had another baby yet, or whether they will just have the one. Its such a responsibility, you know, so I can understand about families with just one child. Seems a tiny bit sad for the child though, if you know what I mean. Also, it’s then easy to put all your hopes and expectations on the one child, which could be awkward, like with…” she stops, blushes a bit, and turns to the microwave, “Oh, this one is done, I just love how you can nuke things quickly!”

Tabitha is a bit dazed after all that, and grins in herself, “I know I said I could listen to her sweet clear voice all day? Well, I think I just did…!”

Victoria breezes out of the kitchen once they’re finished, smiling, and chattering to Adrianna. Tabitha looks at the two of them disappearing off to some project no doubt, Mum loves projects, an Victoria always seems to have a surplus of energy… I wish I could borrow some, at least till Theo sleeps through the night… Interesting that she suddenly stopped though, when talking about small families. Maybe she isn’t as happy as she looks. After all, Chris is Mr Awkward at the best of times, with his longsuffering attitude…with the stress on suffering… Honestly, I’m sure he just looks for opportunities to become the victim of something or other! I wonder what they think about our children? I have seen Victoria watching, smiling as usual, and Chris seems to glare every time they make a noise. I just wonder…poor Victoria,, I hope she really is alright?

Friends

Slowly sounds and smells creep into Tabitha’s consciousness. She feels warm, cocooned, safe and protected. The smell becomes stronger and stronger, a good smell, a good quality smell, a smell powerful enough to make you open one eye, and peek. She looks at the wallpaper, the yellow stripy bedspread… Tabitha opens both eyes, closes them again as the light is way too bright. Squinting, she looks round to locate the wonderful smell…ah! Her coffee. Lovingly provided by her sweet husband.

She drags herself into a sitting position, slowly, her pulse banging a arrhythmic rhythm in her head, like a third rate nightclub gone bad. She groans quietly, shuffles and snuggles until she is comfortable, and reaches for her coffee. “Mmmm, bliss! Just what I needed!” she sighs, contentedly. “I know this headache is mainly self-inflicted, but even so…nothing like a good, strong coffee to cure everything.” She pulls a face at that, when her words register with her half sleeping brain. A cure for everything that is but Llama Flu.

She sniffs the coffee, hugging the mug, looking round at the wallpaper of the Granny Annexe, where she and Richard are now living. Seeing that they will probably just meander through life, no children, no traits in Richard’s case, just plain boring old couple, so why not put the in the Granny Annexe already? She can feel the tears, but manages to swallow them down with some more coffee. Looking at the coffee she remember the little Dutch tile on her friend’s house: “A man must be as coffee, Good, Strong and Warm” it said. She smiles, too true!

Thinking of friends makes her think of the previous night. What a night it was! She had dreaded it, worried about it, fretted over it, until she was exhausted before the party even started! The worst thing was, she and Richard were expecting a message from the Hospital Specialist at moment, which made it very hard to concentrate. She did enjoy her gorgeous dress though, with beautiful necklace complementing her eyes. She had fussed, and kept looking at herself, until she thought of her friend quoting that beautiful song by Eric Clapton, called Beautiful Tonight.

It was so true, she smiles at the memory, they were like that last night, wondering if she looked alright. Richard smiling, saying it was fine… Knowing it could be one of the last parties to go to ever made it extra special. Knowing that the handsome husband at her side might never be at her side again made her fuss, she admits. She was so worried, not just about how she looked, but that she would do him proud. Richard was feeling terribly unwell, but was determined to make it to the party. He was wearing a tux, looking as strong and handsome as ever. She wanted him to be proud of her, to feel that he could show her off a bit, to have a grand party, just in case it was his last!

How she struggled though! People arrived soon after everything was set up, the cake and huge flowers in the foyer. They took some pictures of the two of them, as well as of Chris and Victoria. She loved Victoria’s gown, white with bits of pink. Victoria looked stunning, and well put together. She sighed, and remembered how hard it had been even then in the foyer, before the party had even started, to not cry. She had felt so jealous! Grumpy Chris, married to stunning Victoria, both healthy young people, probably ready to have a honeymoon baby. Standing next to her and Richard, who might not live long enough to see the end of the honeymoon, and who would never be able to give her a honeymoon baby. Any baby for that matter, not even an adopted one. Tears come then, in spite of the comfort of her soft bed and hot coffee.

She remembers her brave smile, and Richard’s strong arm round her. That helped, and by the time the first guests arrived she was ready for them. She blushes a little then, thinking of how wild she had been at the chess set. What had she been thinking, explaining a game in such a ridiculous way! How embarrassing, what with some very distinguished guests, like Greta Garbo around! Never mind, better than hiding in the bathroom, like she did later that evening… She just needed the break, the music and happy chatter getting to her. She had looked into the gold star mirror, and cried and cried…

Her mum, Adrianna had found her there, and she had poured out her heart to her mum, which really helped. They chatted a while, and she had rejoiced the party. She feels herself relaxing as she remembers one of the guests. Very beautify, and wearing lovely clothes, she was also named Victoria, very confusing that was, Victoria McDonnell. She had been so sweet and kind to her! She had found her in the main bedroom, having a secret peek at the bassinet, and of course, Victoria knew about Richard, about the Llama Flu. Rather than brush it off, or trying to cheer her up with well meaning platitudes, she had really listened to her. She had comforted her, just by being there, and by looking her straight in the eye, listening, nodding, Victoria’s face mirroring hers.

“Wow, she was so kind and amazing,” breathes Tabitha, “I wonder when I will see her next…” for one awful moment the word ‘funeral’ trails through her brain. No, she won’t allow that thought! No, she has to keep hold of hope, grasping it with both hands, cherishing it like this hot mug of coffee. That is one of the things Victoria counselled her to do, to not give up hope, rather than live her life grieving something that may not even happen!

The party had actually been pretty good fun, she smiles, breathing in the smell of coffee; great fun in fact. Many details seem a bit fuzzy, probably to do with the drinks fountain, but she remembers the overall atmosphere. Every now and then she caught sight of Richard, smiling, chatting to people. Only she could tell that he really wasn’t feeling well. Once she saw him sitting on one of the little round cushions they had won, and oh dear, he looked so very, very sad. She thought her heart might break! Her sweet darling husband, looking like a broken man, a drowning man, a man without any hope.

She had quickly left the room, gone to chat outside the kitchen wall, to…well, she can’t even remember now! Kiera, I think her name was, she mumbles, Kiera something. I probably remember her, blue hair, short top, bit of a live wire… Glad I’m married to Richard, and even gladder that he has no interest in females at this time! In fact, scanning in her mind’s eye through the guests that were there last night, she can actually think of some blessings to count on that score…! Mind you, they were amazing friends though! Bristol had chatted with her a lot, in fact, they became quite good friends in just one evening! Vivien Leigh came to mid, she was so kind! “I can’t believe it,” she says to herself, with awe in her voice, “she is an amazing looking woman, yet she spent a lot of time with Mum that evening! She really cheered her up, Mum said she had been so kind and understanding, haha, even Mum couldn’t believe it!”

She giggles to herself as she thinks back to the time when she’d come out of the Granny Annexe, eyes still a bit tender from all the tears, to find Richard dancing with some girls! Hilarious! She actually laughs out loud, nearly spilling her coffee, as she tries to imitate some of the dance moves used…Honestly, there should be a proper dace academy in Sims Mobile! Any self respecting town, with so many parties as well, should have some top notch dance teachers! That dancefloor is great, but the dancing…!

Her hilarity ebbs away though, as another memory from the dancefloor comes to mind… The microphone had been placed on the dancefloor, to help any impromptu DJs, or singers or whatever. This time the memory is one of herself, holding the microphone, singing, her voice sounding hoarse and choked up, rasping out, ‘Who Wants to Live Forever?’, desperately trying to not break down. Truth is, she does! Or rather, she and Richard do. Maybe not forever, but just to live a normal life, just them two together, to love, to hold, to cherish…to have a family, and to live a full and rich life!

“Heaven will be forever,” she sighs, “I know that, but this life? I wanted to make this life count too, Lord. Is that so wrong? Is it wrong to be sad when life is slipping away from my sweetheart? Is it wrong to want to hold onto him just that bit longer, and to live, not forever of course, but to live to a good, ripe old age?” She knows it’s not wrong, of course it’s not. Her desperation and fierceness and demanding health and life and strength? Mmm, that might be different matter…

She pulls a face, yes, I know I’m a desperate woman, who is ambitious and probably demanding as well. I know I take things to heart. She feels her face grow warm as she remembered how a good part of the Wedding Reception she had been standing in the kitchen, staring at the highchair, working herself up into a state! Oh dear, I am a bit silly, she grimaces, I do need to practise a bit more self control I think.

Mind you, one of the guests, Ginamarie could do with some as well, the way she and some of the other girls behave…or Tyler for that matter… She pushes all guilty feelings away, “I know I’m being judgmental, but seriously, some of them go too far,” she says defensively. “They play with lives of others, and they play hard, I have never seen people more competitive than that lot last night!” she says, remembering them playing a game together. Richard was there, laughing, and seemingly totally relaxed. Actually, it had been quite funny, she thinks, softening, memories marching past her one by one.

The party had finished very late, but all of the Mortinas had managed to make it till the end, even Richard. She laughs, as she remembers the end of the party: they were all standing in the foyer together, waving and yawning rudely at the same time! Good grief, what would their friends think! Especially as some were so well to do…

The party had been better than she had expected, really. Having her friends round, all dressed in wonderful style, was such a comfort. It had helped to divert them a bit as well, although she knew that Richard kept checking his phone, hoping, praying the specialist would contact him, and give him some hope. By the time they crawled into bed in the Annexe there was still no message, nothing. She wondered if that was a good sign or a bad sign?

Her friends had all assured her they were thinking of them, that they were empathising with them, and all of them said how sad they were, and how they hoped some help could be found. Tabitha stares at the divider at the end of her bed, and wonders where Richard is. He obviously made the coffee, so he must be around somewhere. She goes quiet, and then she can hear him. He is on the phone! Is it the doctor, what’s his name, Dr Dean? Will there be hope? Is the man just bringing more bad news, even though she can’t imagine what else could go wrong. Apart from the very worst that is, but she just cannot bring herself to go there, praying fervently that it will not come to that. When will they know? Come on, Richard, how long can a phone call take?!

Posh Parties

Posh parties

Guinevere is looking at the invites, turning the cards round and round, thinking. Should she go? Wear something special? What about some makeup? Will the others be there, she has been desperate to meet Audrey Hepburn and the other girls, and as for Alex…well, should she go? On the other hand, the invite is there, with their names on it!

Parties are a great part of life in Sims Mobile. For such a small town, their parties are phenomenal. Guinevere has been to parties before, of course, but that just felt different. These two parties feel much more ‘by special invitation only’, even if they aren’t. Meeting Alex is always a bit exciting, you never know with him…and then a party at Audrey’s place, well, how about it?

Guinevere really feels a bit stuck. She can’t really discuss it with Sebastian, even though their marriage is on a much better footing since the Roman outing. Sebastian hates parties, and kind man that he is, still struggles with small talk. He has absolutely impeccable bedside manners, is kind and thoughtful when it comes to staff and patients, but at a party he feels like a fish out of water. Guinevere giggles, then feels guilty, but she had a quick vision of Sebastian gasping and flapping around Audrey’s posh lounge…

In the end Guinevere decides to go. “I do love parties, I never know what to wear, everyone else seems to have such wonderful, posh frocks, but I’m sure to find some glad rags, and I’m just going to really enjoy myself!” she says a little vehemently to Genevieve when she asks about the invitation cards. Genevieve had popped in, and saw the cards on the Peacock kitchen table, and asked about them. She smiles at her little sister.

“Of course you must go! Just beware of Alex…” she says with a very mischievous smile. Guinevere spins round immediately, “Why? What have you heard? Tell me!”

“Well…” drawls Genevieve, “well, I heard that he had set himself a goal, that’s all! Oh, and take your swimsuit, they have a gorgeous hot tub in their garden!”

Guinevere arrives at the party, and can’t believe her eyes, she doesn’t know where to look first! The house is huge, and amazingly decorated. Some items are clearly in a totally different league than their own furniture. Everything in the house is sought out carefully, it seems. Yes, there is the hot tub, with Alex hovering nearby. She recognises Ginamarie, and suddenly feels relieved to see a face she knows! This place is enormous, and so very beautiful! She recognises some of the Luxury Event items, and would have loved to just wander round, drinking it all in. Manners matter though, she says sternly to herself, so she goes to meet the host and other guests.

Before Guinevere knows it, she is sitting in the hot tub. With Alex! As soon as he smiles at her over his snazzy sunglasses she realises his goal for the party: get everyone into the hot tub with him! She laughs, and splashes water at him. “Honestly Alex, you’re a card! If I’d know that was your goal…” He just laughs and dodges the drops. “You wouldn’t have joined me? That would have spoiled my party!” He smiles at her, and she has to smile back. She realises that really, he is actually very sweet. He can be such a charmer, though! She is quite determined to stay away from that hot tub for the rest of the party.

She gets changed in one of the charming bathrooms, and rejoins the party. To her utter delight Audrey, Julie and Ginamarie are standing together. Guinevere walks over to the little group, and Ginamarie introduces her. Fancy meeting Audrey here, I’m so glad I came, thinks Guinevere, as both she and Audrey join Alex and another bloke at the hookah. Blowing bubbles at each other, sitting on beautiful purple cushions, seeing all these famous people, wow, this is one cool party!

Guinevere feels more relaxed than she has done for a long time. She was very worried about her Roman dress, but a few people said something kind already. Audrey especially has been so kind and thoughtful, that Guinevere secretly thinks of her as a friend! Fancy telling people at home, “Oh yes, I was at this party with my friend Audrey Hepburn!” How fortunate I am, she sighs. The more relaxed she feels, the more she can feel joy bubbling up inside. Joye the vivre, she thinks, I’m full of joy at the moment. Soon Guinevere is sharing some of her music ideas with the other three ladies who lap it all up.

“I felt I was dreaming,” she explain to Genevieve later, “there was little me, dancing with Audrey, and some other definite divas…I could have floated away on one of those bubbles, you won’t believe how happy I felt!”

Guinevere smiles when she says this, an interesting incident playing though her mind. It was this new girl in town, Sierra. “She has a reputation already. Nobody wants her near their boyfriend, she gets and gives the cold shoulder everywhere. Se is quite tough, you know. I saw her being unkind and rude at the party, and people weren’t quite sure what to do. She makes a lot of the girls cry, you see. So in the end I thought, well, why not? I’m not scared off by people like that, we get them at the Club all the time. So I went over to Sierra, and actually wasn’t very nice to her. The thing that shocked me was that she backed down straight away, and turned away a bit sad. Of course, next thing you know, she was in the hot tub with Alex. There was some sort of incident with that, I’m not quite sure.

Well, we were all talking about Sierra, and how to watch out for her and her cattiness. Then I needed the bathroom, so I went indoors, and guess what? I found Sierra! By herself, in a bathroom, looking at the mirror, crying! Can you believe it? That tough as nails Sierra, crying! Of course, she straightened up as soon as she heard me, and pretended she was just touching up her makeup. I felt bad then. After all, everyone is on their guard with her, people all treat her abruptly, banter brusquely or whatever. So the next time I saw her, I went up to her, and just asked her genuinely how her day had been. And you know, we actually had a really nice chat, I was so amazed! I didn’t really tell the others, as I didn’t want them to feel I was trying to be different or something!”

Sadly, life calls, and Guinevere has to says goodbye to her new friends and acquaintances, to go to work for a very quick shift. Sebastian isn’t very happy, as she knew he would be. “Two parties in one day? Really? What about the garden extension, who is going to pay for that? You know it’s only about two days before the current one is done, and then we really need to do the next! It will cost something like 18,000 Simoleans, you know!”

Yes, Guinevere knows, and yes, she does want the garden extended, the Granny Annexe moved round to get more privacy. On the other hand, what sort of a girl says no to a party at Audrey Hepburn’s house if they can help it? Parties fall through for all sorts of reasons, the Sims Mobile Government keeps close tabs on things, and if the party gets too big they stop anyone else attending. Sometimes they arbitrarily close down a party midway.

“That is really the worse thing to happen,” Guinevere explained to her new friends, “when you’re having a great time, chatting and giving out stickers, and suddenly you get a notice, closing the party down. They say it’s no longer valid, and off you go! All the party decorations come down, everything. Mind you, you still get the money and what not, but it’s awful!”

That afternoon, Guinevere sets off for Audrey’s house. She knows Ginamarie will be there, and Alex…she has to smile to herself, at least there is no hot tub. I wonder if he has a goal for somebody else’s party as well? She has no idea what to expect, except that it is bound to be classy, judging by the way Audrey and the others dress…

When she arrives, she is so stunned, she actually just stands on the doorstep and stares. “Wow,” she whispers when she can’t hold her breath any longer without passing out. “Wow, this place…oh my…wow, I don’t even know what to say? It’s incredible, it’s so perfectly suited to you guys…” Guinevere knows that she must look like some country bumpkin, staring open mouthed around her, gasping for breath. The house truly is amazing, everything black and white, extremely tasteful, the effect mind blowing.

Guinevere has a great time, talking to so many different people and trying different food and just being herself. Guinevere finds that that is the things she appreciates most on this day, that people accept her for who she is. “They seemed genuinely glad to see me, they made me feel welcome and appreciated. You don’t know how important that is, and how much I needed that!” She and Sebastian are snuggled up on the sofa in the Annexe, reviewing this amazing day. Sebastian smiles, and gives his lovely wife a squeeze.

“I’m sure it did you good,” he says, “and I know you actually managed to work as well. I’m sorry I mentioned it, it’s just that I would love to see the Annexe all done before we both retire! You do look lovely today, though, not at all like a retire’s wife!”

Yes, retirement looms round the corner for them all. Lancelot and Adrianna have both had their papers as well. They would hate to go, though, especially as Jephta is just a child. How long can they hold off, and how long should they hold off, if at all…?

Lancelot and Guinevere, his sister!

Lancelot looks round the house that is now his own home. He grew up in it, of course, but that is totally different from being the one to keep the Mortina line going. That is, if he finds a wife. And soon! He is the representative of the seventh generation, no way is he going to be the last!

Time in Sims Mobile moves fast, and it isn’t easy to find a wife that will get permission to move in. To make matters even more complex, his sister Guinevere has shared responsibility. He groans when he thinks her name. Whatever were his parents thinking, giving them all Arthurian names, apart from his eldest sister, Genevieve, which sounds as if it should be Arthurian anyway! Having a sister called Guinevere, and an older brother named Arthur made for some very awful jokes when he was younger, and smaller, and physically weaker. And as for his little sister Morganna, well, his parents obviously didn’t read the King Arthur stories very carefully…!

He is actually a very handsome young man, with the Mortina auburn hair, a small beard, broad shoulders, and straight back. He has dreamy eyes which look just a wee sad, but that just adds to his charm. He is neatly dressed, and catches your eyes with his good looks and aura of friendliness.

Guinevere also has the trades mark auburn hair, in a ponytail, green eyes smiling away at the world. She is tall, like her brother, but much slighter, which make her legs seem endless. Guinevere loves to dress in different styles and colours, and fortunately Sims Mobile has provided them with several options, although some at great costs! She just got the key to the family home as well, and found herself a job soon after. “I’m the new DJ,” she grins at Lancelot, “together with some old guy who has been there for centuries it seems!”

“All staff in this town seems to have forgotten to fill in their retirement papers,” grumbles Lancelot, “I hope it’s not going to be like that all our lives? I would love to meet someone, you know, go to the restaurant for a meal with someone younger than 86!”

They share a look, and Lancelot rolls his eyes. It’s no secret that he has absolutely no patience for older people. In fact, it was his grumbling, and covert comments that made his grandparents move into the retirement home before they actually were made to! Guinevere felt bad about that…

“I know what you mean, but working with someone old is different than living with them, you know, especially your own family.” She looks at Lancelot’s proud face, and sighs, yes, he is handsome and he knows it. She loves him though, although somewhere deep down she can feel annoyance bubbling away. She loves her grandparents, and now she will miss out on Family Events with them.

“Don’t try to send me into a guilt trip, just because Gran and Grandpa moved out! You know they preferred their own apartment, and anyway, our house was getting ridiculously crowded.” He sulks, something he has down to a fine art, it seems.

“Don’t sulk too long, you’ll get wrinkles in the wrong place, and my children will evict you,” says Guinevere pointedly, knowing that his will make his mad.

She is right, it works, the sulk is replaced by a fierce scowl. They both know how hard it can be to find a spouse, and they are absolutely determined that their spouse will be on the Family record, which means that they have to have a moving in permit. They know about the previous generations who were so desperate that they got married without a permit in sight. They are aware of how much trouble and heartache that caused, so just like their grandparents Gabriella and Zachery, and their parents Joash and Christie, Guinevere and Lancelot are both determined to do things the right way.

“I have already got a party invite, dear sister, so don’t you worry about children and evictions, etcetera,” he says with only a little bit of a nasty smile. He may be proud, and he may not like the fact that they have to share the house, and probably endure more King Arthur jokes, but he is really very fond of his sister Guinevere. Lancelot is also very kind, and having his grandparents actually move out was quite a shock to him. He does love them, he just never realised that they were taking his ageist jokes seriously. It has taught him to be more guarded in his words, as he truly hates grieving people.

Lancelot also found a job, as the ASOS photographer. He really enjoys it, in spite of the horror stories his Gran told him. There seems to be a fault with the equipment box, which can be very nasty if you are looking for suitable props. It hasn’t happened to him yet, but he is dreading it, as he hates being in awkward positions, especially as his co-worker is rather ancient as well. He has tried to cut down on snide comments about missing papers, and pension funds gone missing, as he knows she will pay him back the moment he lands face first on the prop box!

Both Lancelot and Guinevere work hard, something they learned from their parents. Christie was a successful doctor, who is at the brink of retirement as well, having jut received her last Trait. She has spent a lot of time with her medical senior nurse, so Lancelot hopes that when his mum retires, the nurse will too. “The new nurse will hopefully be young, and sweet and pretty, although by that time tomorrow’s party might have paid off!”

What will happen at the party? How long will all these seniors carry on working? Surely some place must be able to get younger staff? Questions aplenty, finding answers is another matter! Thankfully there is the EA forum…!