2.0 Not a girl, not yet a woman

The choice had been made. Anna had thought about who was going to carry on her family for quite a long time, but she felt like she had made the right choice with Britney. Her second eldest daughter was a really good sim, which meant a lot to Anna, just like her passed on passion for music. Britney hadn’t played the guitar much, but when she did, it was clear that she was a virtuoso, just like her mother. 

Britney had always wanted to write down people’s stories, and to discover what was going on in the world. Anna admired that and decided to give her a good start into her life by making her the family’s heir. When Anna told Britney about her decision, Britney was beyond happy. She had never thought her mother would choose her; instead she had assumed that her older sister Birdy would be the one to carry on the family traditions. But it was her. She had won, and now the family was her responsibility. 

The first thing she initiated was a remodeling of the house. It was pretty, but it didn’t feature enough space for seven sims and a unicorn. With the money she had been handed immediately, she hired a building company and an interior decorator, who she spent hours with, discussing and planning. The result was a house that stunned all of them.

The backyard featured Anna’s little garden, as well as a space for Jo’s tombstone. She still wanted to make some alterations to this area, but that could easily be done, especially with Anna being so gifted in gardening. 

The first floor was still mostly unfurnished, because they had run out of money. Britney wanted to feature a home office and a room to party in, but that still had a little time. She had to finish school first, anyway.

The ground floor was completely furnished, even though the living room looked a little empty at times. Three bathrooms, a kitchen with an integrated dinette, a huge living room and four bedrooms for the seven of them seemed appropriate.

Britney spent most of the first night in the “new” house in the living room, enjoying the silence. Even though everybody had enough space now, they still spent most of the time together, and it was nice to be alone for once. She had to think. The burden her mother had put upon her suddenly hit her, and she was a little afraid of what was to come. She was now responsible for the family, although her parents were still around, of course. This was a huge challenge, but she was going to face it. The world was going to be hers.

Britney Vocis is a good virtuoso who loves to read. People describe her as charismatic, as well. 

Author's notes: we're officially in the middle of Gen 2! This was just a small introduction, the plot will start in the next post.

I will post the objections for the current generation in a minute, so that you know what is going to happen here. The great thing about DITFTs is that there are many choices as to the course of the story :)

1.30 I hope you'll be happy

Jo was a rather frequent visitor from now on. He seemed to make sure that nothing happened without him knowing about it. And even though he never said a single word, Anna knew what he felt. She could see it in his eyes. Nobody noticed him, besides her.

And she sometimes was glad it was this way. They had become a wonderful family, completed by Benjamin, and she wondered what would happen if Jo somehow came back into their lives. It was hard to predict how the children would react, but it definitely would make things much more complicated. And she didn’t want to risk that, which is why she never told anybody about the late visits from the afterworld.

The only one who didn’t seem happy was Beth. Now that she was a teenager, she had hoped to catch up with her older siblings, but she was never fully accepted. Birdy and Britney were an item – at least when Birdy was not around Sandra, which actually happened a lot –, and there was no third person fitting in. Billy had found many friends in school and was quite popular. That left Beth alone, in her room, playing some dull games on the computer or reading a book. Her time would come, she knew that. 

Besides everything that was going on, Anna and Benjamin still made sure they had time for themselves. Of course, Benjamin had noticed that his wife had been tenser within the last few weeks, but when he addressed that problem, she laughed and kissed him.  Everything was fine.

In fact, everything was really fine for her. Even though those visits confused her sometimes, she had a wonderful life and nothing to complain about. Every day was filled with excitement and fun, and she couldn’t believe her children were grown up enough to start their lives, as well, independent from hers. 

Sometimes she still felt like a child, and she just hoped her children would make sure to enjoy life, too. 

The situation between Birdy and Beth got worse in the meantime, which, unfortunately, Anna didn’t notice. Birdy made fun of Beth’s unusual dressing habits, and her little moments of what she called craziness. One night, she told her that there were only two kinds of people – regular people, and Beth.

From now on, Beth was even more alone than before. Her parents finally noticed something was going on, but she assured them that she was fine. Just like her mother, she didn’t want anybody to worry, and she wanted to make it on her own.

Every single day got Anna thinking about her future, and her kids’, as well. Lately, she had been feeling like she was almost done with life – in a sense of having achieved everything she had wanted to.

On a very sunny afternoon, in fact Barbra’s birthday, she did it. When she grabbed the first onion from her plant, which was already covered in weed, it hit her: she had collected, planted and harvested every plant available in this town. The legacy she had felt like carrying was fulfilled. Now it was time to settle back and watch one of her children take over. The only question was who she wanted to burden with this task. She wanted her family to stay together, but inevitably one or the other child was going to move out soon. It was a tough decision, and she wanted to wait after the birthday party to announce what she had been thinking.

First, it was time for Barbra’s big day. She had been waiting to become a teen for what had seemed decades, even though it only had been a few years. 

Anna stood there, celebrating and cheering on her youngest daughter. This was the fifth child aging up to a teenager. She had raised five of them successfully, hopefully preparing them for what waited for them in the world. Her biggest wish had come true, at the same day as officially completing her garden and everything she had worked for. It was over for her now.


Author's notes: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of Generation 1! I made it! :)
Since Anna fulfilled the requirements for the Generation AND her Lifetime Wish (Raise 5 children to teenagers) on the same day, which I found cute, Generation 2 can get started.
But first an evaluation of Anna's generation:

• Date/Marry girl/guy with Loves Outdoors and/or Green Thumb and/or Angler
• No Woohoo before marriage (Oopsie, kind of missed that objection. Moving on.)
• Get Married
• Have BOTH Boy and Girl
• No watermelons/apples to sway the gender of the child
• Master Gardening Skill
• Plant every plant from the grocery story
• obtain all plants/seeds
• if you get call for learning Steak, Egg, Cheese, Omni plant, complete it (didn't get them)

 Not bad for the first generation! :) 

The next post will include an official introduction of our heiress, and some information about Generation 2. Stay posted! 

1.29 Love keeps its promises

It didn’t take very long until new problems appeared. Birdy had been spending most of her free time outside of the house for a few weeks now, and Anna was worried. Not only did she miss curfew more than once, and even had to be brought home by the police, but she never told her mother where she was going or who she was meeting with. Every time Anna asked, Birdy just smiled and didn’t say a word. 

One night, Benjamin got home from a meeting with an old friend, and reported that he had seen Birdy at the pool, accompanied by a pretty girl. They had been giggling and laughing, obviously having a lot of fun.

And then Birdy had kissed her. Benjamin hadn’t stayed very long to watch this scenario, since he didn’t want to spy on his stepdaughter, nevertheless he could tell that this girl – a stranger to him – had been quite pleased.

When Birdy got home that night, obviously way too late, almost her entire family was waiting for her. As soon as she entered the house, Barbra ran up to her and told her she’d be in trouble.

And she was right. Anna was furious about Birdy staying out until midnight again, and, even worse, not telling her about what was going on in her life. She knew that her daughter was growing up, and that she was supposed to lead her own life. It was not about that. Her anger came from the feeling that Birdy didn’t trust her enough to tell her about her feelings. 

The two girls didn’t speak to each other for a few days, and Birdy turned to painting for comfort. She had been grounded for her actions, which meant she couldn’t see any of her friends after school. Anna watched her oldest daughter suffer, and she hated herself for making her feel that way. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Birdy, she only wanted her to trust her parents, especially her as her mother. So she talked to her one afternoon, and explained what her constant worries were really about. There was no screaming or yelling, instead they had a long conversation. Birdy understood that her mother was sad about her secrets, and she explained that she hadn’t been too sure about her feelings in the beginning. That’s why she had kept it down for so long. But now she knew that she was in love with Sandra, a girl from high school, and that she no longer wanted it to be a secret.

At the following weekend, the family planned a trip to the pool. Birdy asked to stay home, because she wanted to get some schoolwork done. Anna looked at her daughter, and smiled. There was no way she really wanted to do something for school. But she didn’t object, instead she wished her a nice day, and then they left. Birdy stayed at home, alone.

But not for long. As soon as she could be sure that her family was gone, she called Sandra and invited her to her house. Finally they could spend some quality time together, without the fear of being interrupted.

They barely made it inside before Birdy pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. Sandra hadn’t been at school for the last few days, and she had missed her terribly. 

Being busy with each other, they didn’t realize somebody was approaching the house. Birdy had plucked up courage and asked Sandra to be her official girlfriend, which Sandra had happily agreed to. Nobody could steal them away from each other now.

Outside, Benni Hennessey arrived, bringing her youngest son with her. She had called Anna a few minutes earlier, announcing that they were on their way to pick up Beth for a play date. Of course, Beth was thrilled about having someone to play with, since she got a little bored at the pool with her older siblings and Barbra. When she arrived at home, Benni and her son were already waiting for her, not knowing that the happy couple inside hadn’t noticed them.

While Beth and the two visitors – Benni had decided to stay for a couple of minutes – played in the living room, Birdy and Sandra tried to remain some privacy. Moving to Birdy’s room would have required moving at all, and as long as they were undetected, they were fine.

At night, after Sandra had left, Birdy once again turned to the easel. She had been painting a lot lately, producing some lovely paintings that she put all over the house. Her parents’ pension was enough to live on, she didn’t have to sell them.

The next day, Anna and Benjamin officially invited Sandra over in the late afternoon. It was time they met the person that had captured their daughter’s heart. Soon, Benjamin and Sandra were lost in a discussion about local sport teams, noticing that they mostly shared the same thoughts. 

Billy was also fond of who might become his sister-in-law at some point. Sandra was a sweet girl, despite her weird clothing habits, and he really liked her. Even though he hadn’t had any luck with girls so far, he didn’t even try to hit on her. She was clearly in love with his sister, and he respected that.

To tighten the family bonds, all of them went to the summer festival again the next day. A few new attractions had opened, and they couldn’t wait to participate in all the contests. 

Benjamin had a very unpleasant encounter with a former love affair, somebody he had met while waiting for Anna. This woman had never heard from him again after he dumped her, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to tell him everything that had been on her mind. Billy stood next to them, watching, and already trying to memorize some of the replies Benjamin shouted out. After all, he was going to be a star, and as a star he had to turn people down at some point. It couldn’t hurt to know how to do it smoothly.

At night, while Anna was taking some time for herself – the first time in ages –, she was suddenly joined by somebody she hadn’t seen for a long time.

Jo’s ghost appeared next to her, not saying a word, just watching. She tried to communicate with him, since there was so much she wanted to tell him, but he didn’t reply. Instead, he remained silent and finally floated away, in the direction of the house. It seemed like he wanted to check on everybody. After a few hours he was gone again, and Anna wondered whether she had imagined this situation.

Before she could think about it for too long, it was birthday time. Beth had finished elementary school with good grades, and was about to change schools now.

She hoped that the sun would shine a little brighter for her in her teen years, since she had often been bothered by her older siblings. She had always been the crazy little one, and now she wasn’t.

Her parents were astonished about how different she looked as a teen. Not only had she grown, but she had aged a lot. And now she was just beautiful. A beautiful young lady, with a future wide open.

Imagine...

....you are pulled out of your home, and sent to a new existence in a world you have never seen. How would you feel? What would you do?

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