2.3 She's in control

Another catastrophe was upon the recently shriveled family. Benjamin had lived a happy life with his wife Anna, after it had taken them a very long time to get together. He had been one of the first sims she met when she came to Appaloosa Plains, and even though they seemed to be very different, Anna had been drawn to his strength and manliness immediately. When she was involved with Jo, she often met with Benjamin, hooking up behind the bushes of the house where nobody could see them. He never left her life and waited patiently until she was free again.

His life had taken a strong turn, but he had never been happier. Anna and her kids were lovely, and it didn’t matter to him that all of these were technically another man’s children. He loved all of them, just as much as he loved his own children who had stayed with their mother when he left them to be with the love of his life.

When death appeared on the doorstep to take him away from his beloved ones, no one was ready, but at least everybody was around. In the actual moment of his transformation Kokette had been the only one to be there, but everybody else sensed something was wrong outside, and so they came running. Seeing Benjamin’s ghost broke a lot of hearts, but it shattered Anna’s to a million pieces.

Benjamin accepted his fate. He was old, and recently he’d had troubles getting through a day without pain. In addition, he would not be gone completely. His ghost would always watch over Anna and her kids, something he had not anticipated when he started his adult life so many years ago. It had always been his wish to be with many different women, at least 10, and then leave them before they could break this heart. But that was before he met Anna, and as soon as he did, this lifetime wish of his was no longer relevant. Other things mattered more.

It was hard for everybody to deal with this catastrophe, but the children tried to cheer their mother up whenever possible.

But even though this probably was the most fatal thing to happen at the moment, it was not the only thing on Britney’s mind. Lately, she had seen her boyfriend with a lot of other girls, including her own sisters, and it had not always looked like a conversation between friends. She had refused to give in to his advances, and maybe this had been a wrong decision. He wanted more of her than she was willing to give, and it looked like he was going to get it somewhere else now. Barbra of all people seemed to be the new center of attention; they spent an enormous time laughing and giggling together.

This behavior hurt, but Britney decided not to let herself go right now. By focusing on her classes in school, she managed to avoid most contact with him. It almost killed her at first, but she got better with time.

Besides, she was going to leave all of this behind her now, anyway. High school finally got to an end, and soon she was about to enter the real world. The wish she made to herself was a secret, and she would never ever tell anybody.

And just like that Britney became a determined woman, ready to conquer the world.

There was no time to lose, so she immediately sat down on her computer, which had already helped her to gain first writing skills, and applied to the local newspaper. Weeks ago, she had talked to some of the people working her, and they assured her there would be an open position, as long as she applied on time. She would be the best journalist they had ever seen over there.

Graduation, which was celebrated a few days later, brought the results of her final exams: she had passed every test summa cum laude, and finished high school a valedictorian, and without a boyfriend who could make her feel bad. This life was all about her, and she was going to savor every moment of it.

While Britney started her life in the business world, Anna decided to end hers. She had been a scientist for a very long time, while she had been with both Jo and Benjamin, whose loss still made her heart ache every single day, and now it was time to lean back and watch her children live. This was the biggest reward she could imagine. If only her husband had been there to celebrate with her. He had been the only one she had told all her secrets to, and not having him around meant keeping quiet sometimes. She had never confided to Jo that it had been, in fact, his best friend Chuck who had threatened her on the day of them moving in together. He had blown his cigar’s smoke right into her face, and had told her that she would not have a single day of joy and contentment if she did not leave Jo there and then. She had been scared, and she had cried a lot, but she had not given in. Jo had made her much stronger than she had ever hoped to be, but she did not dare to weaken him by revealing what kind of person his best friend really was. She had kept it a secret.

Her entire past had been a secret to everybody, too, until she fell in love with Benjamin. He was the only one who knew, and the only one she would ever speak to. Nevertheless, she realized that her children, and her grandchildren, deserved to know where they were coming from, so she had decided to write a journal, keeping track of her life in a written form, that was to be passed on to each generation. Every girl and boy who took on the task of carrying on this family would be able to read and learn from it, and then add their own story, as well. This way, nothing and no one would ever be forgotten.

Soon after Anna’s retirement, Beth ended high school, too. She could not wait to finally leave the house and the sisters she had never really gotten along with. Unforgotten were those days of laughing at her, mocking her and her uniqueness, and they were also unforgiven. It was time for her to leave and figure out what made her happy.

The household got smaller and smaller, but Britney was not too sad about this. She loved her family, but with her job came new responsibilities she had to take care of. Once her mother was no longer there, she would have to take care of her younger siblings, unless they had moved out. She did not want to live for others, she craved for a life that was just about her and her passions.

Her bosses noticed her commitment to the job early, and rewarded her with a promotion rather quickly, which brought her to the attention of her colleagues. They had made the fatal mistake of underestimating her, and now had to realize that she could be better then all of them. Surely, this would not result in regular tea parties and friendly get-togethers. Success always meant troubles, but Britney – being her mother’s daughter – was ready to face them all.