Alaina performed her heart out that night. She mimed like no mime has ever mimed before. She might have just given birth only a handful of hours before but being on maternity leave for so long also had built up a lot more restless energy than she realized. Also, without her big belly in the way, she was able to stretch her legs and move her body in positions she hadn’t been able to in awhile. It was a good thing too because little did Alaina know, there was a talent scout in the audience that night. He had been off duty, casually strolling through the square, when he noticed a small batch of people in a semi circle watching a street performer. He knew that being off the clock with payroll didn’t mean he was not working and stopped to take a look. The mysterious man walked up to Alaina after her performance was done, handed her his card, and said, “You done good kid,” and walked away into the night.
Ray was awake and waiting for Alaina when she came home that night, excited about her raise. She jumped on top of Ray faster than a Sims City minute that knocked the breath right out of his body. He recovered quickly enough to keep pace. After their cuddle couch time, Ray grinned from ear to ear, not knowing what had gotten into his wife but wasn’t going to ask either. They both slept very soundly that night. (Click the arrows on the picture to scroll)
Back at the now former Mason’s, now Markovich’s we tread back in time just a few days to just after the Markovich and Mason wedding. It was very early in the morning and the rest of the house was sleeping when Mandy ran herself to the toilet only to stick her head right inside the bowl. How she missed is still beyond everyone’s guess but Mandy still took the time to clean it up even though she was thoroughly uncomfortable from being on her knees.
Ray was still bitter about the divorce and also from moving on so quickly. How dare she and how dare she get married before him. This author speculates that while in the previous chapter, Ray might have married Alaina to squash rumors about her being the other woman, one can speculate that maybe Ray was hurt Mandy had moved on so quickly. He didn’t mean to after all. It just happened. And it wouldn’t have happened, Ray tells himself, if only Mandy had been there for him instead of galvanizing off at her career. It just wasn’t the same. Stealing the paper subscription he paid for off of Mandy’s doorstep, was only the just thing to do.
The Markovich’s on the other hand, settled into married life just fine. Mandy had the sudden urge to learn about couples counseling after Alaina had called the previous night in the middle of the night. Maybe, she thought, just maybe, there could be a way to reunite the two households amicably. She didn’t have any hate for her ex-husband nor Alaina and had even heard about the baby.
Mandy felt really good once she finished the book and felt like she had quite a good handle on the next steps going forward with her ex-husband even has she had to make another run for it to the toilet to throw up again. Yup, she remembered these feelings before and was growing ever more certain her family would be growing again too.
Anton left for work as Melanie was coming home from school and putting her homework in her room. After she set it down, she received a phone call from Christopher White himself! Christopher White was notoriously known to throw epic parties in the deserted hipster part of Disarray Harbor. While he wasn’t inviting her per say to any parties, her reputation had seemed to spike enough to be on his radar as one of the “cool” kids. Would the Van de Burg’s have anything to do with this? Who knows except her new boyfriend Daniel Van de Burg was pretty influential.
Anton was having a rough day at work. He had another so called celebrity come by work, they liked to “run away” to Disarray Harbor thinking no one would bother them. That wouldn’t be a big deal but that so called celebrity, today Paula Plumbbob, does love to bother the wait staff. Anton didn’t have time for it today, the restaurant was just too busy with too many tables to bust, and of course tips to collect. How could those snooty wanna be actor’s actually tell the difference. Anton was positive they couldn’t, they weren’t old money like the Van de Burg’s and grew up with taste. Read the pictures to see how that went.
Anton wasn’t bitter that he was fired at all. Screw Paula Plumbbob and her no good attitude. It wasn’t his responsibility to know of any allergies that any guests failed to inform the staff. If she had actually drunk the real water she requested, she would have known that it had come with lemons after all. Further proof that celebrities only wanted to cause a scene to boost their career and remain relevant with the public.
Then the realization of not having a job though hit Anton like a bag of Simoleans falling from the sky. How they were going to pay bills on a single salary?! He reached into the mailbox and took care to pay the ones they had before the debt grew.
Anton had wanted to talk to Mandy about what had happened but she was off to her own job. He knew that she would have called in or be late for work for him but the guilt of jeopardizing both of their jobs wasn’t worth it. He did need to talk to someone. Melanie was just a teenager and didn’t need to be burdened yet with such worries about bills. So he picked up the phone and started to vent. Melanie was practicing her dancing skills to be able to participate in the local community dance contest. The competition could be ruthless and grudges between households were intense. For instance between the The Silvertone’s and the The Chesterfield’s. Beth and Justin kept accusing the other one of cheating or using illegal dance moves but none of the judges or standby-er’s could make an official call.
Meanwhile, Mandy was having her own work related issues herself. She’s used to top secret missions and this one was no exception. It felt like an easy enough open and close case. Her body skills while they weren’t the best, were fit enough and skilled enough to logically feel comfortable for your average in and out job. But just because one has the skills, it doesn’t mean you are immune from making errors. Mandy was humbled to remember not to judge a book by it’s cover, or to always be on one’s toes no matter how simple a task appears to the naked eye.
The agency returned Mandy home early, not using her car that day, while Melanie used the opportunity to head out to try her luck at tonight’s dance-off. Mandy remained stoic and not give her driver the satisfaction of a reaction. As a woman, Mandy had to appear at work above emotion and any crack was a sign of weakness. And weakness got you killed.
Melanie was almost too late to join but she ran in, submitted her entry and stood in the back. The other contestant’s had mixed reactions from nervous, calm and determined. Melanie was the only one who seemed eager to just have a good time. The music started and the beat dropped and Melanie gave it all as she slid from side to side.
In the end, Elisa Van den Berg was declared the winner. This author speculates that the judges may have preferred Elisa’s more conservative dancing to Melanie’s hip hop or the bodacious free style of the smustle but I do wonder how ethical the judges are overall. One does not upset the Van de Berg household after all. Tonight’s results would be in tomorrow’s paper of The Disarray Harbor Gazette.
Melanie however, was gracious about her defeat and congratulated Elisa and would have even if they hadn’t been friends. With the hour growing late and school tomorrow, she got back into her car and drove home.
Meanwhile, back at home, Mandy struggled to keep it together. She had never failed before. Sure she had heartbreak and was upset when her husband left her but she didn’t make that mistake, Ray had. Mandy ached all over and the signs of some sort of bug all yesterday morning wasn’t helping. She saw the leftover turkey Anton had pulled out of the fridge but it didn’t sound appetizing. She knew she should eat something and her stomach rumbled yet at the same time, Mandy couldn’t concentrate on what she was doing.
Mandy was so distracted that she burnt the pork chops she was trying to make. Just when she thought tonight couldn’t get any worse, as Mandy put a plate of burnt food down, she stood up, and felt her belly pop! Mandy was pregnant! Just like that, Mandy’s mood completely shifted to a 180. She ate her overcooked food and promised herself she’d get it right next time, and went to study some more recipes from the bookshelf. She still thought about work but more so about the new direction her family was going to take. She still dreamed of running the SCIA one day but she was also happy to start her next chapter in life.
This meant a completely fresh start. Everyone was crowded and there was now going to be no place for a baby to live. Together Mandy and Alla hired movers to pack everything up that morning, sold the house before you could say rama lama ding dong. Their stuff would be arriving shortly but together Alla and Mandy walked into their new home, just on the other side of town to Riviera Lane 2. With the sale of their estate and their savings, the two households had a more than comfortable settlement to afford something grander than they were accustomed towards. Who knows if and how long they are going to be able to afford it but this author hopes so. I hope their fortunes rise within Disarray and become contenders for one of the most established and well to do families within the neighborhood. It’ll be awhile till we see these guys again but don’t you worry, we will be back!
Speaking of babies and back to the Mason/Black household, little baby Stephanie cried with a dirty diaper in her crib. She had been sleeping for hours with it till she finally awoke and started screaming her head off. Unfortunately, no one heard her as her parents were fast asleep.
It is worth noting that now both Ray and Alaina worked completely opposite schedules. Sort of similar and worth noting to Ray’s former marriage. This author isn’t saying that history repeats itself but this author isn’t going to say that history doesn’t repeat itself either. Alaina wanted to keep climbing that career later and just like Satine from Moulin Rouge, become a real actress! At least between Alaina and Ray, there was never need to call for a nanny.
Alaina was still sleeping when Ray left for work that morning.
Alaina did not sleep much later and went to check on the baby. She snuggled and cooed Stephanie down afterwards till she had calmed down. After Alaina made sure the baby was fine and put back down in her crib, she had a desire to buy something new for herself, starting with a new outfit and makeover.
Alaina noticed that it had been some time since the bills had been paid and were not only on their last final notice but, only one day away from the repoman himself stopping by! She got up and took care of that before it got any worse when Alaina’s phone rang from a mysterious unknown number.
“Hello?” she asked. She listened for a moment when Alaina thought she recognized the voice speaking. It was the robber! She nervously looked out the window to see if they were around. Should she call the cops?!
“Wait,” Alaina said. “You aren’t going to get away with this! Call or threaten my family again and I’m calling the cops!” She ended the call before the robber could respond. Technically the robber hadn’t threatened her… yet. But I’m sure that didn’t make the situation better.
Alaina sat down on the couch to calm her nerves and picked up the newspaper to see if there had been any reporting or crime sightings in the paper. Thoughts of the robbery burned through her memory as she flipped through the pages. At least there wasn’t any news and with that she put the paper down. Alaina turned on the TV but couldn’t find anything good playing. Looking to do something, Alaina got up and started attempting to tidying around the house. There were dirty plates and dirty bottles while not a copious amount, were still laying around from yesterday. Alaina didn’t know what would happen tomorrow but those were tomorrow’s problems.
Thanks for sticking around once again for reading another chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one and the series so far as I am having fun writing it. I mentioned in Chapter 3 that I was still figuring out a posting schedule and I decided to post one chapter a week on Thursdays. Please consider subscribing to this blog if you enjoy sim stories and their neighborhood.
There’s only one more chapter left for these two families (we will revisit them at some point) and hopefully the next chapter will melt your heart.
As always, a big thank you to RecklessJerry for their creating the neighborhood. And if you play the Sims 2 and want to download the neighborhood, you can do so Here.
Until Next Time,
Sarah
Everyday Sims2 Stories 
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