@carlystur03 Thanks for the comment There are no relationships yet!
Anyway I cannot say much but there is a male in my profile picture. Something has happened and now I am free to return to the forums more. I am coming home
Ah heck...it's almost Midnight which means technically it's almost Friday! I can't hold it back any longer...
So the wait is over everyone!
Before I send you off to read I deeply apologize for any tears that may fall from your eyes while reading Part 2.
They were certainly falling from mine as I was writing it so......have a tissue ready.
They say you should write what you know...and in this case I very much know what it's like to suffer from the darkest pit of depression and to send the love of your life off to war.
Granted the Iraq war was nothing compared to World War II, but the sadness and fear that comes from sending your lover/husband away to the war zone is very much the same. In 2007 emails were the most popular form of communication, as well as instant messaging if we were able to find a moment to be online at the same time. Skyping may have been around at the time, but the military refused to use it for security purposes and actually my husband's company was one of the first to do a "video teleconference" with their family members to where we could see each other for the first time in almost a year. It only happened once. I'll never forget the look in my husband's eyes when he saw me.....if we could've jumped through that screen to be in each others arms again, we would have.
A few of the emotions I felt when my husband was away, I conveyed in this chapter. And there were also things my husband told me that he wished for me to do if something would have happened to him...that too I incorporated into this chapter. Perhaps that is mostly why the tears fell from my eyes while writing this, but a big part of it was that stories like this really happened and...they were devastating! It's not something that is completely made up.
I dedicate this chapter to those brave men and women who have fought for our freedoms past and present, and also to their family members who sometimes sacrificed more than they did. May God forever be with you.
And now without further adieu, please enjoy Chapter 7, Part 2.
❄Chapter 7❄ Part 2
Alan and Maureen returned to the large, old sofa with some snacks and continued to read the journals.
Dear Journal,
I know I do not write as much as I used
to. It is because my mind is forever
occupied with thoughts of my dear Stanley
and his well being. I have not heard
from him in nearing three weeks.
My heart is sick with worry!
A family from England recently
moved to town, the father taking over
the shoe shop, and one of their sons
named Richard Cuthburt has taken
a liking to me and been pursuing me non-
stop, even while I have expressed to him that
I am promised to another in the war.
When I asked him with disdain why he wasn’t
in the service of his country back home nor
his country now, he simply stated that
he did not qualify to be a soldier
as he had been plagued with flat feet
since childhood and has chronic back
pain because of it. I feel sorry for the poor
dear and yet at the same time I am jealous
that he gets a ticket out, but not my dear
Stanley. I would never wish any infirmity on
my love, but I certainly am now.
“So THAT’S why Grandpa wasn’t in the war and why he always had crazy back and foot problems!” Maureen exclaimed.
“Oh this Richard Cuthburt is your Grandpa?” Alan felt to confirm. “This is about to get interesting.”
“Totally! Let’s keep reading!”
The two found out that Richard was annoyingly persistent, mostly in a gentlemanly way, in his desire to court Maureen which was really beginning to wear on the woman’s nerves.
“You know, I know this is going to sound bad,” Maureen stopped to say, “but right now I’m just like, ‘LAY OFF GRANDPA!’”
She laughed, and Alan did too. “I mean, don’t misunderstand me. My Grandpa was a wonderful man who treated my Grandma like a princess, obviously since he won,” she said with a hint of displeasure, “but seriously it’s like he couldn’t take no for an answer!”
Alan didn’t feel he had the right to pass on any judgement, even though Maureen was inviting it. “Let’s just keep on reading,” he suggested.
Dear Journal,
Christmas day is approaching and here
I am spending it in paradise…not.
Oh it would truly be paradise if my
Maureen were here with me. Speaking of, I
have just written her a Christmas card and in it
I expressed my deepest thoughts of her, but more
importantly I proposed to her! I couldn’t
constrain myself any longer, and with her
mentioning this Richard guy trying to pursue
her back home I felt I needed to ‘stake my
claim,’ as they would say. But
honestly it was overdue and I love her deeply.
I needed to remind her of that. For
nothing shall tear me away from her save
death itself, but as God as my witness
death will not claim me!
Alan’s voice choked a bit while reading that last part and he didn’t expect himself to. He continued to read.
We are heading closer to the enemy’s base
tomorrow morning. I will be part of an
ambush team. It may get bloody, but we
are prepared and Maureen’s love for me
will be my shield.
Wish me luck.
As Alan and Maureen gazed at each other again, Maureen thought she could see tears forming in the proud man’s eyes. She knew the tears would be coming soon for her too…
Alan turned the page in the journal and there was no more writing, with many blank pages left within. He looked up at Maureen with wide eyes. “The rest of the journal is empty. That means he was taken as a POW during that ambush the next morning!”
“Kinda what I was thinking…”
“I won’t move on to his other journal yet, until we read a bit more of your Grandma’s. Let’s find out how she was informed!”
“Yes!”
Her Grandma’s next journal entry was four days after Stanley’s last one.
Dear Journal,
My tears dot this page as I write this.
My heart has just been shattered into
A million pieces! My beloved Stanley
has been declared ‘Missing in Action.’
His parents just received the notice
through telegram this morning.
From what I understand MIA
is just a nice way of saying they
cannot find a body; or there is nothing
left of a body.
Now Maureen’s voice choked, feeling like a spear just pierced her own heart. She continued.
I want to believe
my Stanley is still alive, but every fiber
of my being is telling me that holding
out for hope will be in vain because
he most likely isn’t.
I cannot bear it!
I just CANNOT bear it!
Oh God help me! For I cannot breathe
and fear I will surely die!
Maureen cupped her hand to her mouth, trying not to cry in front of Alan, but she was failing miserably. He watched the tears fall from her eyes onto her lap. He wished he had a tissue to offer her, but he could only offer his arm around her back while gently gripping her shoulder in consolation.
“So she wasn’t told he had become a prisoner of war because the Army didn’t know!” she sniffed. “She was told that he was MIA which is super vague and even worse news to receive! No wonder she couldn’t--” she shook her head, unable to finish.
Alan rubbed at her back now. “I know this is difficult, but we need to keep on reading.”
With a tearful nod, Maureen turned the page. When she checked the date of her Grandma’s next entry, it was dated two months after her last one.
“Interesting,” Alan said, noticing it himself from looking over her shoulder. “Do you want me to read it?”
“No,” she replied, wiping at her nose. “Thanks, but I got this.” She cleared her throat and did her best to suppress her emotions.
Dear Journal,
It has been two months since I last
wrote and what an eventful two months
it has been! I do not wish to write any
of this, but Richard suggested
that I should for posterity’s sake.
Alan and Maureen shot a glance at each other and then their eyes darted back down to the page.
Since learning of my dear Stanley’s death
I was in the gall of great sorrow. So
much so that I had exhausted all
my energy through my tears and
suddenly became unable to move, or
even speak. It was bad. I was in no
state of awareness. I could not
eat, I would soil myself, and barely slept.
I became a prisoner to my broken heart
and mind.
The doctors said it was unlikely
that I would recover and greatly
encouraged my parents to have me
institutionalized, to get the care they
could not provide for me as my mother
had fallen gravely ill and my father
was barely keeping up caring for her
and working at the same time.
The doctors also felt that sending
me away would spare my parents
watching me die in such a
broken-hearted state. My parents were
so conflicted and scared they didn’t
know what to do. Richard overheard
the doctor’s words and he would not hear of it!
They thought I could not hear the things
they would say, but I did some.
I very much remember Richard kneeling
before me, taking my hand. He implored
me to awake from my depressive prison.
And he told me that he would marry me
so he could care for me on his own
to keep me from dying alone in an institution.
He also said, “Maureen I promise to love
you as deeply and care for you the
way Stanley would have. I know I
may never measure up to him, but I will try.
And I vow to always make you happy.
I love you.”
I do not know how it happened, it was
truly a miracle. Perhaps it was because I
could see Richard sincerely fulfilling his
promise as he never left my side and
cared for me. Maybe it was feeling the touch
of a man again in my life, but one day
I awoke from my ten days in
the darkest abyss and began to function
normally again. Richard and I married two days
later as it had been arranged for us to
whether I ‘woke’ or not.
Truthfully I was alright with it. I had
known Richard well enough and he
proved his devotion to me.
I would be lying if I had not developed
some feelings for him in Stanley’s
absence, and in a big way I owe him my life,
but no matter how strong our love grows,
no matter how close we become,
my love will always and forever flow deeper
for my beloved Stanley.
God rest my Beloved’s soul!
And God help me move forward in life with
this ever present gaping hole in my heart.
Maureen lowered the book and began to cry again in her free hand. “Oh my gosh…,” she barely uttered.
At that point, Alan felt the need for them to speed up learning the conclusion of their Grandparent’s tragic love story. The sun had long set on the day and Maureen's crying, as well as the story, was tugging at his heartstrings.
He quickly grabbed his Grandfather’s next journal that he wrote in, finding the passage on the day he returned home from the war as a rescued Prisoner of War and began reading the most relevant part.
As the war came to an end, I and a few
of my brothers in arms, were rescued
and our families were promptly notified.
They were encouraged to keep silent
of our return so that we as the soldiers
could surprise and inform our loves of our
return in person. A certain kind of protocol
was set in place once the war ended as a
courtesy because so many lives and
circumstances had changed during the war...
First thing I did after my return was
quickly greet my parents, siblings, and
my best friend Joseph, whom I was happy
to see survived the war, and desired
to rush to my dear Maureen. They were
trying to tell me something, but I was out
the door in a flash. Oh how I longed to see
her! I knew of a surety that she waited for me,
for our love runs deeper than the ocean’s depths.
When I was making my way to her home
I took notice of a beautiful woman in the
park. I would recognize that beauty anywhere!
It was my Maureen, sitting on a picnic
blanket with another man. I tried to figure
out how I would approach her, until I saw
her stand and...she was great with child.
My heart sank! I realized she thought me
to be dead during my three year torturous
imprisonment and oh how I wanted to show
her that I was not!
But I painfully stopped myself. For there was
a baby now and I could not do it. I could not
destroy her family. I love her too much to do that.
I watched her for a while there, with tears
streaming down my cheeks. When I saw her
bright smile, I realized something...
She did exactly what I would have
wanted her to do had I died. I would never
want her to live life alone in sorrow over me.
I would want her to have a good man by her side.
I would want her to be happy. And she is.
With the heaviest of hearts I went back
home and told everyone I had been in contact
with since I arrived (which was only my parents,
siblings, and Joseph) that it was better for
Maureen if I was dead and made them vow
never to reveal to her or anyone else that I was
alive. Was it the best course of action, maybe not,
but I did not want to risk being the reason a family
got torn apart. But more importantly, I did not
want to put Maureen through such agonizing
sorrow again.
This secrecy would prove very difficult for my parents,
and mostly myself. People began to suspect my
return and I could not stay hidden forever.
So we decided that at the earliest
convenience we would leave Evansville to
build a new life in the city of Brighton and never
look back.
It is a grand city, I shall never be recognized.
Oh cruel fate! Thou hast robbed me of
everything that I hold dear!
But I shall find a way to recover.
God spared my life for a reason.
I MUST recover. For if she can...I can too.
My dear Maureen I will love you.
Forever and for always.
Alan dropped the book; his eyes weighed down with tears. He had to pull Maureen in for a hug as her crying had turned to wailing and her shoulders shook rapidly. He gently “shh’ed” her as he stroked her hair.
When she could speak, Maureen said, “My gosh Alan it’s just so SAD! The fates brought them together! They were supposed to be together!” she said through spluttering. “Now I know why my Grandma never spoke about him. It hurt too much to talk about. And I can’t believe she went through all that! Then she kept on living life never even knowing he was still alive! It's not right!” she sniffed. “I know she was happy with my Grandpa, and apparently them being together was meant to be instead, but oh the kind of life she could’ve had with Stanley. Fate was cruel to them indeed!” She buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed all the more.
“Yeah,” was all Alan could say with a choke, as he continued to hold her tightly.
“I wish I could tell her he survived,” Maureen wept, “and how sorry I am for what she went through, but I can’t because she’s gone! I miss her SO much!”
“I miss my Grandpa too,” he finally admitted. “There’s so much I wish I could tell him also." Releasing a breath he went on to say, "at least now we can take comfort in knowing that they’re in Heaven together. They know the truth now...and it’s all okay.”
But Maureen continued to sob into his shoulder, the sadness and sorrow penetrating too deep. Nothing had ever been so heartbreaking, devastating, and unfair to her.
“Hey,” Alan gently addressed her, breaking the hug to look into her eyes.
“It’s okay now,” he tried to assure her. He placed his hands upon her cheeks and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “It’s okay.”
Her breathing began to slow as she stared deeply into his caring eyes. His loving, gentle touch sent a calming shock wave throughout her entire body.
In that moment both of their hearts began beating rapidly against their chests, as if trying to break through so they could reach the other. A surge of passionate emotions began to flow through their veins and consume them. Their eyes revealed everything they were thinking and couldn’t say. Alan was dying trying to hold back his desire to comfort her in the only way he knew how. He promptly leaned in and fiercely kissed her lips. One...two...then three. Maureen accepted the kisses, then hesitated for a second, leaning her forehead against his; their noses touching. The second passed quickly and she gave in to her innermost desire. She kissed him just as fiercely in return, placing her hands upon his cheeks, and he hers, gently pulling each other closer in to seal their lips together.
Numerous breaths were lost as they began making out on the sofa.
As silly as it might seem, both had the thought that they felt like they owed it to their Grandparents to kiss in such a passionate way, but mostly they just deeply longed for each other. They’d been longing for days. They liked each other, even if there was a hint of dislike. They’d grown closer in a single day through reading old family journals than most couples do on their first three dates.
During all the intense kissing, Alan slowly laid Maureen down upon the sofa, hovering over her with his lips still locked onto hers. They continued to kiss non-stop for a good fifteen minutes. It was the greatest intimate high both of them had been on in years!
In the heat of the moment, right before things were starting to get a little out of hand, Maureen pulled her lips away. “Alan,” she whispered, her hands upon his cheeks and their foreheads touching again. “I am so tired,” she admitted. “I just need to rest for a bit.” She really did. She’d finally found out all the details and conclusion to the love story after days of searching on little sleep. Her mind was finally able to be at peace.
“Ok,” he respected, even though he didn’t want to stop. His lips still craved her luscious ones; he’d never experienced a kiss like hers before and he thought he knew what a kiss was. He was sorely wrong! All the other women he’d been with before didn’t even come close to measuring up to Maureen Young, in more ways than the kiss.
He got up from the couch and found himself shiver a bit. The room had become chilly again as the fire was once again burning out, and there was no more split wood left to feed it with. He tried to revive it. It was 8 pm and he figured he could allow Maureen at least a half hour to rest while he cleaned up his Grandpa’s belongings a bit, maybe even read more of his journal entries and learn about what he experienced as a POW, if he wrote it down, and how he met his Grandma.
First he gathered up Maureen’s Grandmother’s journals to put back away into the beautiful wooden box and as he attempted to do so, he found a ring at the bottom of it. Placing the journals down to the side he picked up the ring and held it close to his eye to inspect it. It was a simple silver band, with a few scratches on it, and it seemed pretty obvious that this was the promise ring his Grandpa had given to his love all those years ago. He smiled and his gaze soon shifted toward Maureen asleep on the couch. A thought came to him, but he shook his head at it, and put the ring back into its rightful place.
After a bit of enjoyable reading (his Grandpa didn’t write much at all of what he experienced as a POW and met his Grandmother in a cute way at the city library), it was now almost 9 pm and the temperature in the house had to have been 50 degrees or less. The fire was dead. He leaned over Maureen a bit, placing a hand on her shoulder and shook it to wake her. “Maureen,” he said, “it’s time to wake up. We gotta go!” But the woman was out like a log and no matter how hard he shook, she wasn’t waking.
She looked so peaceful in such a deep, dreamlike sleep, and he couldn’t help kissing her gently on the forehead. He hoped that might be just the thing to wake her, but no. Surrendering he figured they’d just spend the night in the cold house together...or at least until she decided to wake up. He was exhausted himself and while he intended to be a perfectly good gentleman and sleep on the floor, that wouldn’t be comfortable, and he figured their body heat was necessary to keep them both warm in this situation.
After turning off all the lights, he carefully positioned himself beside her on the couch, and snuggled in close to her. He ran his hand up and down the curves of her body and tried not to get aroused. Sleep, Alan. Sleep! He ordered himself. Besides she’d probably slap you if she was awake and caught you doing that! He certainly wanted to be respectful to her. He couldn’t think of treating her in any other way. The smell of her must have had a calming effect on him, or perhaps it was his continued inhaling and exhaling of the lavender scented shampoo still present in her hair, because within just a couple of minutes he found himself drifting off to sleep.
I give comments in your story thread as per
usual. Thank you this is a Christmas edition so
it's just all pure fluff and romance going on lol.
@coco
Heh, yeah they are grandparents already at their younger ages ( 68 days until age up since its on epic),
but his look was all like come on let's make one more lol.
So I decided they could, and they have the space for it too.
Didn't take any pictures but my sim mother (has 4 kids already) lost her baby during birth. It was actually kinda cool, I have a pregnancy mod to lengthen pregnancies and I hadn't set its settings yet so her pregnancy was 3 days, I didn't know so it was a shock, they went to the hospital and something musta happened error-wise cause they stayed in there from like 5pm to 7 am-ish before I decided to reset them and end pregnancy using NRaas.
Decided I would give them both the mourning moodlet (again using nraas-mc) and keep them stressed for 2 days lol. Poor simmies, they really wanted more kids too. With two toddlers and two teens in the house, plus a sad/frustrated mom and a dad that works a lot..the house is a mess and everything is pretty much chaotic. Really kinda fun, but sad too.
Day 13 of the advent calendar consist of a gift wrapped dog/cat bowl and the dog/cat bowl... https://aroundthesims3.com/
Sorry that I don't have any in-game pictures of the items as I am having a hard time getting into my computer, so I am using the hubby's computer which I hate using.
Winter had finally arrived and Christmas was only a few weeks away.As promised, Catarina
decided to spend the holiday with Tom instead of Jake; as expected, Jake could care less he was
already with someone else.
After a long train ride, they fnally arrived in Tom's Hometown of Winterberry.
Catarina could see why the town had such a lovely name; It was beautiful.
After a 20 minute ride across town, they arrived to Tom's childhood home.
"Here we are, the home I grew up in." He said excitedly as they exited the taxi.
"Its beautiful!" Catarina gazed up at the massive victorian that stood before her.
You could feel the history.
"Glad you like it.I wanted to get you away from a certain someone." Catarina looked him
over suspiciously."You weren't jealous were you?" Tom was taken back by Catarina's question.
"You want the truth or do you want me to lie?" He asked."The truth." "Extremely jealous.It was driving me
crazy."
"Aww, you didn't have to be." Catarina smiled at him with her big eyes.
They settled into the home for a little bit.Watching tv and getting warmed up,
until Catarina got hungry and they both realized there was no food in the house.
Tom offered to run to the store.
Catarina got a little nosy and started browsing the shelf.She came upon an old diary.
"Miriam Webster's 1955" Hmm, this is most likely Tom's mother's diary.She sneakily took
the diary and sat in a corner.
Dear Diary, Nov 28th 1955: My son is home!
Another frigid day in Winterberry.All this christmas preperation is
starting to get the best of me.Luckily my son is visiting from college
this week, which also means its time for the winter formal.I couldn't
be more proud of Tom.Only 2 months left until he graduates.A mom
couldn't be more proud.
Miriam
This was a long time ago Catarina thought, Tom looks much younger than that...She continued to
the next diary entry.
Dear Diary, Dec 10th 1955: Wonderful night!
Winter formal! My baby boy looks so handsome in his Tux.He's taking
his beautiful girlfriend, Sarah to the winter dance! I pray he'll marry this
girl one day.She's everything I would want for my son.I have never seen
him so happy.Talk to you later
Does he have a girlfriend? He said he didn't.Who is Sarah? So many questions.She kept reading.
Dear Diary; Dec 10th: 6:45 PM Heartbroken mother.
Just when all things were going so well, the worst news a mother could
receive...my poor..
Just as Catarina was getting to the interesting part; the alarms went off.
"Omg! Fire! I should call 911" She searched frantically for her phone.
"Where's my phone.Help"
Tom arrived back just in time and knew exactly where the fire extinguisher was
He managed to put out the fire.
"Not a good idea to leave fires unattended." He laughed."Yeah, I learned
that now.Thanks." "As long as you're okay." "I'm fine." She was itching to read
that diary but couldn't with him standing there.And was itching to ask about Sarah.
But if she did, he would know she read his mother's diary."
Tom decided to take Catarina out for some ice skating, when the park was closed.
It was quiet and no one would bother them.
"I never ice skated before Tom, spinning may not be a good idea." "Its fine Catarina, I'll
teach you." He took her hands gently, and they slowly glided across the cold ice.
They both fell flat on their bums.The look on Tom's face says it all.XD
"Sorry Tom, I told you I wasn't any good." She got up slowly, ready to head
back home, mostly so she could read the diary.She was dying to know what it said
and she couldn't stop thinking about it.But Tom wanted to keep going, he tried to take her hands
but she pulled away.
"What?" He asked confused as to why she was pulling away."I'm tired of skating.Maybe we can
just go for a walk?"
They both discovered a stone bridge on the other side of the park.
@Silverofdreams30 Thank you! I'm sure hoping I can get that desktop running the game and have all my stuff installed. I would love to have seasons again.
Oh wow!! Ty and Audra making babies again. Twins might be fun though! Great pics of them.
@lisasc360 The bottles are so cute!
I like your coke sweater too!
@GraceyManor Dag, the game culled her! That's just mean!
Hope you are feeling better.
I'm glad she decided to spend more time with Tom.
Looks like a pretty town!
Oh...reading someone else's diary. Wonder what she will find out.
Daggum fire! Interrupting the good part.
Love the skating pics! Even if they did fall down.
Aww, sweet kisses!
@coco Thanks so much for the comments. Their log cabin started out as one room and grew to be a bit more comfortable. It still only had two bedrooms cause they never had kids before I had to port them in a file and put them on hold.
@emorrill Thanks for the comments on the Christmas pics with Bekka and Patrick. I'm sure hoping I can get it going soon.
Yay, rest of the chapter!!
Well, now we know why Grandpa didn't serve in the war. I've always wondered why that was a restriction!
It sounds like Grandpa knew what he wanted and went right after it with gusto...kinda like his Granddaughter!
The writings in the journals are so full of love and hope and despair...definitely Kleenex territory!
I love the picture of Alan holding Maureen as she cries reading her Grandmothers words.
So sad that they thought he was dead.
I guess it was good that Maureen had Richard in her life or she might not have made it.
What a sacrifice Stanley made not going to talk with Maureen when he saw her. That's what really made me lose it!
You write so beautifully that I could feel his pain seeing her again and knowing he couldn't be with her.
He is strong, had to be to survive 3 years as a POW. It's nice knowing how things came about for him after his move.
I hope it helps Alan understand his Grandpa better.
Alan is sure being a supportive and loving guy taking care of her in her sorrow and then wham!
That look between them is all they needed and the spark flared! Loved it!
Hot, hot kisses.
I'm sure they were both emotionally exhausted after reading the journals and crying and then all those kisses!
Love the cuddles on the couch and he is trying to keep her warm and falling asleep.
Can't wait to see what happens when they wake up together.
It actually took moving the family to a new neighborhood and now I really want to try and see if the glitch happens again when the mod is back in since I really like it. Too late for tonight, though. By the way, here's the current version of the family with a few of them split off and back in the old neighborhood:
@bekkasan I was especially anxious to read your comments on Part 2 as much as I was with @Silverofdreams30 ! (Same with you @coco , I'm excited to read what you think! But take your time...no worries. )
Well, now we know why Grandpa didn't serve in the war. I've always wondered why that was a restriction!
^Yeah hubby told me about that years ago. And I've heard stories about the pain people experience when they have no arches. It doesn't sound fun...
It sounds like Grandpa knew what he wanted and went right after it with gusto...kinda like his Granddaughter!
^LOL! It's funny you should say this too as Silver pretty much said the same thing in my story thread. I totally didn't even have that thought on my mind when writing the story, but it absolutely makes sense that Maureen inherited her determined spirit from her Grandpa.
Perhaps that's one reason why Alan kept silent when she made that comment!
Yeah we got to see a whole different side of Alan in this chapter didn't we? Almost like his Grandpa's personality from deep within him was coming out. And I think he learned a thing or two on how to treat a woman properly from his Grandpa.
I guess it was good that Maureen had Richard in her life or she might not have made it.
^Yes.
I made it a point to show that Richard was not a bad guy, even if he was a little persistent in trying to win Maureen over. A lesser man, when discovering the girl he likes had suddenly lost her mind, would've been like, "Wow...she's gone nutso so I'm outta here!" I know that sounds awful, but...you know what I mean? Richard didn't have to step up and care for her like that...but he did. He proved that his pursuit of her was not just because of infatuation. Anyway...
What a sacrifice Stanley made not going to talk with Maureen when he saw her. That's what really made me lose it!
^Yes! A great, great sacrifice. Very selfless.
Scenarios like that really happened with some of these men who were rescued POWs back in WWII and it's just heart-wrenching! And hubby said those same selfless words to me. He told me if something happened to him over in Iraq he'd want me to remarry and I was like, "No way! I could never be married to someone who's not you!" I really didn't even want to think about that...
You write so beautifully that I could feel his pain seeing her again and knowing he couldn't be with her...
Alan is sure being a supportive and loving guy taking care of her in her sorrow and then wham!
That look between them is all they needed and the spark flared! Loved it!
Hot, hot kisses.
^Awwww, you fill my heart with warm fuzzies with your compliments. Thank you.
Ohhh yes a makeout like that would definitely make two lovers sleepy.
I'll be posting Chapter 8 on Monday. It will most likely have to be a another two-parter... *sigh*
Thanks for all the sweet comments. They were a joy to read!
@carlystur03 I'm happy you were able to post pictures! The family looks great! I love the child alien in the family. I don't have seasons installed right now (blah puter) so I'm missing that bit of fun.
I use relationship panel and have never had issues with it so hopefully you won't. I couldn't play my large families without it and a few other of their mods.
@emorrill I was sorry I had to wait so long to give you my comments. I read the story before going to work, just didn't have time to comment before needing to leave.
Sheesh, You mean I have to wait all weekend for the next chapter??? Dag girl, you are so cruel!! Just kidding, I know how busy your weekends are.
@Silverofdreams30 Yes, it is quiet isn't it. I know I've been busier with work and don't have quite as much time so am kind of glad its a bit quiet. Easier to make comments and I do love making comments.
I logged in the game the other evening and this is the view from the gates of Adam and his household's property. I sure do love that lighting mod for Midnight Hollow. I'm still using it in Dragon Valley. It makes for such awesome skies like this. This will last a few sim hours and start to clear up.
@lisasc360
Thank you for posting those every day.
I kind of forgot to grab some of them though LOL.
@emorrill
Her reaction to bugs is exactly what I would do.
There was a spider in the shower and I wouldn't get in it until my fiance
came and got rid of hit...He squashed it with his hand and I nearly threw up LOL.
Loved the diary entries, it made me cry for sure! I'm warming up to Alan a bit.
The way you described their kiss was so romantic XD I wish my fiance would kiss
me like that LOL
@bekkasan
I'm feeling a little better.Been under the weather.
I'm using two worlds for this part, Christmas village and Winter Wonderland by @Rflong7
Yup, reading a diary, she's a nosy one.I would probably do the same.XD
@meerkattime Then "Happy Birthday!" from me, too A quiet day isn't the worst thing to have. Still better than living in "interesting times".
@emorrill I have been enjoying your story. Well, I guess the "girl meets boy" part was foreseeable, but the fun part lies in how it's executed. Unfortunately, I'm not any good at that part, but that's okay, as I don't intend to bore you with my efforts. As for you, congrats.
Other than that, I have been regularly reading the thread and given out my likes and awesomes as I go. Thanks for the stories, everybody.
Rachel teleported into the garage:
And she gave Princess Peach, one of the cars, a tune up:
And a wax:
Then Rachel teleported into the living room and read the newspaper: 'A large supply of mince pies has gone missing from the bakery today. Witnesses say that the suspect was wearing a red suit and a Christmas hat. Police think it's someone trying to impersonate Father Christmas, and assured children all over Riverview that they will get their presents when winter comes.' Rachel read.
'Stealing mince pies. That's bound to get the culprit on the naughty list' she thought:
Time for an all picture section!
Sometimes, pictures speak louder than words, so that's what I'm going to do!
Rachel teleported into the skill room, above the Arcade room, and started to make things, learn a new recipe and tended to her plants:
Jumping on the Trampoline and playing games
Drake and Iris decided to jump on the trampoline:
And of course it starts to hail:
After a few hours of jumping, Drake and Iris went inside. Meanwhile, Rachel was at it again at the artisan station:
She created two glass gnomes. This is just one of them:
Later on, Drake and Iris played a skating game:
Inventing, this time without a mishap!
Drake then teleported into the skill room and started inventing:
He invented a floor hygienator!
Drake rode his hoverbike to the junkyard:
And collected 30 units of scrap metal:
Back over to Loveheart Chateau:
More plant care
Rachel tended to her plants again:
She then grabbed the mail:
Pretty sure I botched that saying.
Sims 4 Family: Benjamin, Shine, Princess Roddy, Sophia and Hamish Furystrykar and Shelly Heart. Princess Roddy is my avatar, and he's a boy!
Been quite silent on the thread again,
guess its cause holidays get closer and people are busy
^I was thinking the exact same thing...
@bekkasan You're ok. I know you were busy yesterday, and I always know you'll get to commenting when you can.
{{{{Hugs}}}}
Yeeeah this weekend is a busy one. Some choir members from the city choir are going to do some caroling at the Care Center, Adult learning center, and at an Elderly couple's home so I decided to join them. I haven't been caroling in forever! It seems like a lost art anymore these days...
So yeah we have like 4 gigs to do on Sunday afternoon (right after church ). So that means I gotta do any shopping and other errands today.
I'm excited for it. I'm just hoping L will cooperate through it all as she has to tag along since daddy is working. Hopefully I can show her the value of giving service.
@meerkattime You hadn't officially confirmed it was your birthday so I wanted to wait until you did before I posted:
Hope you had a very lovely day.
@GraceyManor When I was younger I'd usually call my dad in to get rid of spiders in the bathroom. He always used a tissue, but yeah if he had used his fingers or hands I would've been like "EWWWW!"
Loved the diary entries, it made me cry for sure! I'm warming up to Alan a bit.
The way you described their kiss was so romantic XD I wish my fiance would kiss
me like that LOL
^I knew you'd warm up to Alan. Like I said, everyone has a story...
Thank you.
I'm sure your fiance will kiss you like that on your wedding day. 🙌
Hubby used to kiss me like that when we were first dating (I experienced my first makeout session with him and...I might've been thinking about that when writing that scene. ) and during the first year of our marriage, but...we've calmed down since. It happens. Mostly because he's gotten so sick over the past decade with his autoimmune disorder so he becomes breathless rather quickly during a kiss. Anyway.......
I have been enjoying your story. Well, I guess the "girl meets boy" part was foreseeable, but the fun part lies in how it's executed. Unfortunately, I'm not any good at that part, but that's okay, as I don't intend to bore you with my efforts. As for you, congrats.
^Aww, thank you. That means a lot.
I'm sure you could execute it better than you think.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
Comments
Russ Wells
Carl Walters
Ellie Costello
Amy Locket
Katie Bexhill
Anyway I cannot say much but there is a male in my profile picture. Something has happened and now I am free to return to the forums more. I am coming home
So the wait is over everyone!
Before I send you off to read I deeply apologize for any tears that may fall from your eyes while reading Part 2.
They were certainly falling from mine as I was writing it so......have a tissue ready.
They say you should write what you know...and in this case I very much know what it's like to suffer from the darkest pit of depression and to send the love of your life off to war.
Granted the Iraq war was nothing compared to World War II, but the sadness and fear that comes from sending your lover/husband away to the war zone is very much the same. In 2007 emails were the most popular form of communication, as well as instant messaging if we were able to find a moment to be online at the same time. Skyping may have been around at the time, but the military refused to use it for security purposes and actually my husband's company was one of the first to do a "video teleconference" with their family members to where we could see each other for the first time in almost a year. It only happened once. I'll never forget the look in my husband's eyes when he saw me.....if we could've jumped through that screen to be in each others arms again, we would have.
A few of the emotions I felt when my husband was away, I conveyed in this chapter. And there were also things my husband told me that he wished for me to do if something would have happened to him...that too I incorporated into this chapter. Perhaps that is mostly why the tears fell from my eyes while writing this, but a big part of it was that stories like this really happened and...they were devastating!
I dedicate this chapter to those brave men and women who have fought for our freedoms past and present, and also to their family members who sometimes sacrificed more than they did. May God forever be with you.
And now without further adieu, please enjoy Chapter 7, Part 2.
❄Chapter 7❄
Part 2
Alan and Maureen returned to the large, old sofa with some snacks and continued to read the journals.
I know I do not write as much as I used
to. It is because my mind is forever
occupied with thoughts of my dear Stanley
and his well being. I have not heard
from him in nearing three weeks.
My heart is sick with worry!
A family from England recently
moved to town, the father taking over
the shoe shop, and one of their sons
named Richard Cuthburt has taken
a liking to me and been pursuing me non-
stop, even while I have expressed to him that
I am promised to another in the war.
When I asked him with disdain why he wasn’t
in the service of his country back home nor
his country now, he simply stated that
he did not qualify to be a soldier
as he had been plagued with flat feet
since childhood and has chronic back
pain because of it. I feel sorry for the poor
dear and yet at the same time I am jealous
that he gets a ticket out, but not my dear
Stanley. I would never wish any infirmity on
my love, but I certainly am now.
“So THAT’S why Grandpa wasn’t in the war and why he always had crazy back and foot problems!” Maureen exclaimed.
“Oh this Richard Cuthburt is your Grandpa?” Alan felt to confirm. “This is about to get interesting.”
“Totally! Let’s keep reading!”
The two found out that Richard was annoyingly persistent, mostly in a gentlemanly way, in his desire to court Maureen which was really beginning to wear on the woman’s nerves.
“You know, I know this is going to sound bad,” Maureen stopped to say, “but right now I’m just like, ‘LAY OFF GRANDPA!’”
She laughed, and Alan did too. “I mean, don’t misunderstand me. My Grandpa was a wonderful man who treated my Grandma like a princess, obviously since he won,” she said with a hint of displeasure, “but seriously it’s like he couldn’t take no for an answer!”
Alan didn’t feel he had the right to pass on any judgement, even though Maureen was inviting it. “Let’s just keep on reading,” he suggested.
Dear Journal,
Christmas day is approaching and here
I am spending it in paradise…not.
Oh it would truly be paradise if my
Maureen were here with me. Speaking of, I
have just written her a Christmas card and in it
I expressed my deepest thoughts of her, but more
importantly I proposed to her! I couldn’t
constrain myself any longer, and with her
mentioning this Richard guy trying to pursue
her back home I felt I needed to ‘stake my
claim,’ as they would say. But
honestly it was overdue and I love her deeply.
I needed to remind her of that. For
nothing shall tear me away from her save
death itself, but as God as my witness
death will not claim me!
Alan’s voice choked a bit while reading that last part and he didn’t expect himself to. He continued to read.
We are heading closer to the enemy’s base
tomorrow morning. I will be part of an
ambush team. It may get bloody, but we
are prepared and Maureen’s love for me
will be my shield.
Wish me luck.
As Alan and Maureen gazed at each other again, Maureen thought she could see tears forming in the proud man’s eyes. She knew the tears would be coming soon for her too…
Alan turned the page in the journal and there was no more writing, with many blank pages left within. He looked up at Maureen with wide eyes. “The rest of the journal is empty. That means he was taken as a POW during that ambush the next morning!”
“Kinda what I was thinking…”
“I won’t move on to his other journal yet, until we read a bit more of your Grandma’s. Let’s find out how she was informed!”
“Yes!”
Her Grandma’s next journal entry was four days after Stanley’s last one.
My tears dot this page as I write this.
My heart has just been shattered into
A million pieces! My beloved Stanley
has been declared ‘Missing in Action.’
His parents just received the notice
through telegram this morning.
From what I understand MIA
is just a nice way of saying they
cannot find a body; or there is nothing
left of a body.
Now Maureen’s voice choked, feeling like a spear just pierced her own heart. She continued.
my Stanley is still alive, but every fiber
of my being is telling me that holding
out for hope will be in vain because
he most likely isn’t.
I cannot bear it!
I just CANNOT bear it!
Oh God help me! For I cannot breathe
and fear I will surely die!
Maureen cupped her hand to her mouth, trying not to cry in front of Alan, but she was failing miserably. He watched the tears fall from her eyes onto her lap. He wished he had a tissue to offer her, but he could only offer his arm around her back while gently gripping her shoulder in consolation.
“So she wasn’t told he had become a prisoner of war because the Army didn’t know!” she sniffed. “She was told that he was MIA which is super vague and even worse news to receive! No wonder she couldn’t--” she shook her head, unable to finish.
Alan rubbed at her back now. “I know this is difficult, but we need to keep on reading.”
With a tearful nod, Maureen turned the page. When she checked the date of her Grandma’s next entry, it was dated two months after her last one.
“Interesting,” Alan said, noticing it himself from looking over her shoulder. “Do you want me to read it?”
“No,” she replied, wiping at her nose. “Thanks, but I got this.” She cleared her throat and did her best to suppress her emotions.
It has been two months since I last
wrote and what an eventful two months
it has been! I do not wish to write any
of this, but Richard suggested
that I should for posterity’s sake.
Alan and Maureen shot a glance at each other and then their eyes darted back down to the page.
I was in the gall of great sorrow. So
much so that I had exhausted all
my energy through my tears and
suddenly became unable to move, or
even speak. It was bad. I was in no
state of awareness. I could not
eat, I would soil myself, and barely slept.
I became a prisoner to my broken heart
and mind.
The doctors said it was unlikely
that I would recover and greatly
encouraged my parents to have me
institutionalized, to get the care they
could not provide for me as my mother
had fallen gravely ill and my father
was barely keeping up caring for her
and working at the same time.
The doctors also felt that sending
me away would spare my parents
watching me die in such a
broken-hearted state. My parents were
so conflicted and scared they didn’t
know what to do. Richard overheard
the doctor’s words and he would not hear of it!
They thought I could not hear the things
they would say, but I did some.
I very much remember Richard kneeling
before me, taking my hand. He implored
me to awake from my depressive prison.
And he told me that he would marry me
so he could care for me on his own
to keep me from dying alone in an institution.
He also said, “Maureen I promise to love
you as deeply and care for you the
way Stanley would have. I know I
may never measure up to him, but I will try.
And I vow to always make you happy.
I love you.”
I do not know how it happened, it was
truly a miracle. Perhaps it was because I
could see Richard sincerely fulfilling his
promise as he never left my side and
cared for me. Maybe it was feeling the touch
of a man again in my life, but one day
I awoke from my ten days in
the darkest abyss and began to function
normally again. Richard and I married two days
later as it had been arranged for us to
whether I ‘woke’ or not.
Truthfully I was alright with it. I had
known Richard well enough and he
proved his devotion to me.
I would be lying if I had not developed
some feelings for him in Stanley’s
absence, and in a big way I owe him my life,
but no matter how strong our love grows,
no matter how close we become,
my love will always and forever flow deeper
for my beloved Stanley.
God rest my Beloved’s soul!
And God help me move forward in life with
this ever present gaping hole in my heart.
Maureen lowered the book and began to cry again in her free hand. “Oh my gosh…,” she barely uttered.
At that point, Alan felt the need for them to speed up learning the conclusion of their Grandparent’s tragic love story. The sun had long set on the day and Maureen's crying, as well as the story, was tugging at his heartstrings.
He quickly grabbed his Grandfather’s next journal that he wrote in, finding the passage on the day he returned home from the war as a rescued Prisoner of War and began reading the most relevant part.
As the war came to an end, I and a few
of my brothers in arms, were rescued
and our families were promptly notified.
They were encouraged to keep silent
of our return so that we as the soldiers
could surprise and inform our loves of our
return in person. A certain kind of protocol
was set in place once the war ended as a
courtesy because so many lives and
circumstances had changed during the war...
First thing I did after my return was
quickly greet my parents, siblings, and
my best friend Joseph, whom I was happy
to see survived the war, and desired
to rush to my dear Maureen. They were
trying to tell me something, but I was out
the door in a flash. Oh how I longed to see
her! I knew of a surety that she waited for me,
for our love runs deeper than the ocean’s depths.
When I was making my way to her home
I took notice of a beautiful woman in the
park. I would recognize that beauty anywhere!
It was my Maureen, sitting on a picnic
blanket with another man. I tried to figure
out how I would approach her, until I saw
her stand and...she was great with child.
My heart sank! I realized she thought me
to be dead during my three year torturous
imprisonment and oh how I wanted to show
her that I was not!
But I painfully stopped myself. For there was
a baby now and I could not do it. I could not
destroy her family. I love her too much to do that.
I watched her for a while there, with tears
streaming down my cheeks. When I saw her
bright smile, I realized something...
She did exactly what I would have
wanted her to do had I died. I would never
want her to live life alone in sorrow over me.
I would want her to have a good man by her side.
I would want her to be happy. And she is.
With the heaviest of hearts I went back
home and told everyone I had been in contact
with since I arrived (which was only my parents,
siblings, and Joseph) that it was better for
Maureen if I was dead and made them vow
never to reveal to her or anyone else that I was
alive. Was it the best course of action, maybe not,
but I did not want to risk being the reason a family
got torn apart. But more importantly, I did not
want to put Maureen through such agonizing
sorrow again.
This secrecy would prove very difficult for my parents,
and mostly myself. People began to suspect my
return and I could not stay hidden forever.
So we decided that at the earliest
convenience we would leave Evansville to
build a new life in the city of Brighton and never
look back.
It is a grand city, I shall never be recognized.
Oh cruel fate! Thou hast robbed me of
everything that I hold dear!
But I shall find a way to recover.
God spared my life for a reason.
I MUST recover. For if she can...I can too.
My dear Maureen I will love you.
Forever and for always.
Alan dropped the book; his eyes weighed down with tears. He had to pull Maureen in for a hug as her crying had turned to wailing and her shoulders shook rapidly. He gently “shh’ed” her as he stroked her hair.
When she could speak, Maureen said, “My gosh Alan it’s just so SAD! The fates brought them together! They were supposed to be together!” she said through spluttering. “Now I know why my Grandma never spoke about him. It hurt too much to talk about. And I can’t believe she went through all that! Then she kept on living life never even knowing he was still alive! It's not right!” she sniffed. “I know she was happy with my Grandpa, and apparently them being together was meant to be instead, but oh the kind of life she could’ve had with Stanley. Fate was cruel to them indeed!” She buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed all the more.
“Yeah,” was all Alan could say with a choke, as he continued to hold her tightly.
“I wish I could tell her he survived,” Maureen wept, “and how sorry I am for what she went through, but I can’t because she’s gone! I miss her SO much!”
“I miss my Grandpa too,” he finally admitted. “There’s so much I wish I could tell him also." Releasing a breath he went on to say, "at least now we can take comfort in knowing that they’re in Heaven together. They know the truth now...and it’s all okay.”
But Maureen continued to sob into his shoulder, the sadness and sorrow penetrating too deep. Nothing had ever been so heartbreaking, devastating, and unfair to her.
“Hey,” Alan gently addressed her, breaking the hug to look into her eyes.
“It’s okay now,” he tried to assure her. He placed his hands upon her cheeks and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “It’s okay.”
Her breathing began to slow as she stared deeply into his caring eyes. His loving, gentle touch sent a calming shock wave throughout her entire body.
In that moment both of their hearts began beating rapidly against their chests, as if trying to break through so they could reach the other. A surge of passionate emotions began to flow through their veins and consume them. Their eyes revealed everything they were thinking and couldn’t say. Alan was dying trying to hold back his desire to comfort her in the only way he knew how. He promptly leaned in and fiercely kissed her lips. One...two...then three. Maureen accepted the kisses, then hesitated for a second, leaning her forehead against his; their noses touching. The second passed quickly and she gave in to her innermost desire. She kissed him just as fiercely in return, placing her hands upon his cheeks, and he hers, gently pulling each other closer in to seal their lips together.
Numerous breaths were lost as they began making out on the sofa.
As silly as it might seem, both had the thought that they felt like they owed it to their Grandparents to kiss in such a passionate way, but mostly they just deeply longed for each other. They’d been longing for days. They liked each other, even if there was a hint of dislike. They’d grown closer in a single day through reading old family journals than most couples do on their first three dates.
During all the intense kissing, Alan slowly laid Maureen down upon the sofa, hovering over her with his lips still locked onto hers. They continued to kiss non-stop for a good fifteen minutes. It was the greatest intimate high both of them had been on in years!
In the heat of the moment, right before things were starting to get a little out of hand, Maureen pulled her lips away. “Alan,” she whispered, her hands upon his cheeks and their foreheads touching again. “I am so tired,” she admitted. “I just need to rest for a bit.” She really did. She’d finally found out all the details and conclusion to the love story after days of searching on little sleep. Her mind was finally able to be at peace.
“Ok,” he respected, even though he didn’t want to stop. His lips still craved her luscious ones; he’d never experienced a kiss like hers before and he thought he knew what a kiss was. He was sorely wrong! All the other women he’d been with before didn’t even come close to measuring up to Maureen Young, in more ways than the kiss.
He got up from the couch and found himself shiver a bit. The room had become chilly again as the fire was once again burning out, and there was no more split wood left to feed it with. He tried to revive it. It was 8 pm and he figured he could allow Maureen at least a half hour to rest while he cleaned up his Grandpa’s belongings a bit, maybe even read more of his journal entries and learn about what he experienced as a POW, if he wrote it down, and how he met his Grandma.
First he gathered up Maureen’s Grandmother’s journals to put back away into the beautiful wooden box and as he attempted to do so, he found a ring at the bottom of it. Placing the journals down to the side he picked up the ring and held it close to his eye to inspect it. It was a simple silver band, with a few scratches on it, and it seemed pretty obvious that this was the promise ring his Grandpa had given to his love all those years ago. He smiled and his gaze soon shifted toward Maureen asleep on the couch. A thought came to him, but he shook his head at it, and put the ring back into its rightful place.
After a bit of enjoyable reading (his Grandpa didn’t write much at all of what he experienced as a POW and met his Grandmother in a cute way at the city library), it was now almost 9 pm and the temperature in the house had to have been 50 degrees or less. The fire was dead. He leaned over Maureen a bit, placing a hand on her shoulder and shook it to wake her. “Maureen,” he said, “it’s time to wake up. We gotta go!” But the woman was out like a log and no matter how hard he shook, she wasn’t waking.
She looked so peaceful in such a deep, dreamlike sleep, and he couldn’t help kissing her gently on the forehead. He hoped that might be just the thing to wake her, but no. Surrendering he figured they’d just spend the night in the cold house together...or at least until she decided to wake up. He was exhausted himself and while he intended to be a perfectly good gentleman and sleep on the floor, that wouldn’t be comfortable, and he figured their body heat was necessary to keep them both warm in this situation.
After turning off all the lights, he carefully positioned himself beside her on the couch, and snuggled in close to her. He ran his hand up and down the curves of her body and tried not to get aroused. Sleep, Alan. Sleep! He ordered himself. Besides she’d probably slap you if she was awake and caught you doing that! He certainly wanted to be respectful to her. He couldn’t think of treating her in any other way. The smell of her must have had a calming effect on him, or perhaps it was his continued inhaling and exhaling of the lavender scented shampoo still present in her hair, because within just a couple of minutes he found himself drifting off to sleep.
I give comments in your story thread as per
usual. Thank you this is a Christmas edition so
it's just all pure fluff and romance going on lol.
@coco
Heh, yeah they are grandparents already at their younger ages ( 68 days until age up since its on epic),
but his look was all like come on let's make one more lol.
So I decided they could, and they have the space for it too.
But I did give out likes.
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
Decided I would give them both the mourning moodlet (again using nraas-mc) and keep them stressed for 2 days lol. Poor simmies, they really wanted more kids too. With two toddlers and two teens in the house, plus a sad/frustrated mom and a dad that works a lot..the house is a mess and everything is pretty much chaotic. Really kinda fun, but sad too.
https://aroundthesims3.com/
Sorry that I don't have any in-game pictures of the items as I am having a hard time getting into my computer, so I am using the hubby's computer which I hate using.
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
Winter had finally arrived and Christmas was only a few weeks away.As promised, Catarina
decided to spend the holiday with Tom instead of Jake; as expected, Jake could care less he was
already with someone else.
After a long train ride, they fnally arrived in Tom's Hometown of Winterberry.
Catarina could see why the town had such a lovely name; It was beautiful.
After a 20 minute ride across town, they arrived to Tom's childhood home.
"Here we are, the home I grew up in." He said excitedly as they exited the taxi.
"Its beautiful!" Catarina gazed up at the massive victorian that stood before her.
You could feel the history.
"Glad you like it.I wanted to get you away from a certain someone." Catarina looked him
over suspiciously."You weren't jealous were you?" Tom was taken back by Catarina's question.
"You want the truth or do you want me to lie?" He asked."The truth." "Extremely jealous.It was driving me
crazy."
"Aww, you didn't have to be." Catarina smiled at him with her big eyes.
They settled into the home for a little bit.Watching tv and getting warmed up,
until Catarina got hungry and they both realized there was no food in the house.
Tom offered to run to the store.
Catarina got a little nosy and started browsing the shelf.She came upon an old diary.
"Miriam Webster's 1955" Hmm, this is most likely Tom's mother's diary.She sneakily took
the diary and sat in a corner.
Dear Diary, Nov 28th 1955: My son is home!
Another frigid day in Winterberry.All this christmas preperation is
starting to get the best of me.Luckily my son is visiting from college
this week, which also means its time for the winter formal.I couldn't
be more proud of Tom.Only 2 months left until he graduates.A mom
couldn't be more proud.
Miriam
This was a long time ago Catarina thought, Tom looks much younger than that...She continued to
the next diary entry.
Dear Diary, Dec 10th 1955: Wonderful night!
Winter formal! My baby boy looks so handsome in his Tux.He's taking
his beautiful girlfriend, Sarah to the winter dance! I pray he'll marry this
girl one day.She's everything I would want for my son.I have never seen
him so happy.Talk to you later
Does he have a girlfriend? He said he didn't.Who is Sarah? So many questions.She kept reading.
Dear Diary; Dec 10th: 6:45 PM Heartbroken mother.
Just when all things were going so well, the worst news a mother could
receive...my poor..
Just as Catarina was getting to the interesting part; the alarms went off.
"Omg! Fire! I should call 911" She searched frantically for her phone.
"Where's my phone.Help"
Tom arrived back just in time and knew exactly where the fire extinguisher was
He managed to put out the fire.
"Not a good idea to leave fires unattended." He laughed."Yeah, I learned
that now.Thanks." "As long as you're okay." "I'm fine." She was itching to read
that diary but couldn't with him standing there.And was itching to ask about Sarah.
But if she did, he would know she read his mother's diary."
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
Tom decided to take Catarina out for some ice skating, when the park was closed.
It was quiet and no one would bother them.
"I never ice skated before Tom, spinning may not be a good idea." "Its fine Catarina, I'll
teach you." He took her hands gently, and they slowly glided across the cold ice.
They both fell flat on their bums.The look on Tom's face says it all.XD
"Sorry Tom, I told you I wasn't any good." She got up slowly, ready to head
back home, mostly so she could read the diary.She was dying to know what it said
and she couldn't stop thinking about it.But Tom wanted to keep going, he tried to take her hands
but she pulled away.
"What?" He asked confused as to why she was pulling away."I'm tired of skating.Maybe we can
just go for a walk?"
They both discovered a stone bridge on the other side of the park.
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
@emorrill: Left a comment in your story thread.
@GraceyManor: Adorable picture of them ice skating.
@Karritz: Hello
@Emily4331: Hello
@coco: Hello
@bekkasan: Left a comment in your story thread I think.
@lisasc360: Thanks for posting the advent calender items from ATS3.
@king_of_simcity7: Hello
@Silverofdreams30: Hello
@Mikezumi: Hello
@PalmArrow: Hello
@Sleepstar: Sorry about your mouse.
@all: Thanks for letting me read/comment on your videos, pictures. I've been busy for a little while, but getting to play tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
@Silverofdreams30 Thank you! I'm sure hoping I can get that desktop running the game and have all my stuff installed. I would love to have seasons again.
Oh wow!! Ty and Audra making babies again. Twins might be fun though! Great pics of them.
@lisasc360 The bottles are so cute!
I like your coke sweater too!
@GraceyManor Dag, the game culled her! That's just mean!
Hope you are feeling better.
I'm glad she decided to spend more time with Tom.
Looks like a pretty town!
Oh...reading someone else's diary. Wonder what she will find out.
Daggum fire! Interrupting the good part.
Love the skating pics! Even if they did fall down.
Aww, sweet kisses!
@coco Thanks so much for the comments.
@carlystur03 Glad you got your twins fixed!
@king_of_simcity7 Nice to see your new sims!
@emorrill Thanks for the comments on the Christmas pics with Bekka and Patrick. I'm sure hoping I can get it going soon.
Yay, rest of the chapter!!
Well, now we know why Grandpa didn't serve in the war. I've always wondered why that was a restriction!
It sounds like Grandpa knew what he wanted and went right after it with gusto...kinda like his Granddaughter!
The writings in the journals are so full of love and hope and despair...definitely Kleenex territory!
I love the picture of Alan holding Maureen as she cries reading her Grandmothers words.
So sad that they thought he was dead.
I guess it was good that Maureen had Richard in her life or she might not have made it.
What a sacrifice Stanley made not going to talk with Maureen when he saw her. That's what really made me lose it!
You write so beautifully that I could feel his pain seeing her again and knowing he couldn't be with her.
He is strong, had to be to survive 3 years as a POW. It's nice knowing how things came about for him after his move.
I hope it helps Alan understand his Grandpa better.
Alan is sure being a supportive and loving guy taking care of her in her sorrow and then wham!
That look between them is all they needed and the spark flared! Loved it!
Hot, hot kisses.
I'm sure they were both emotionally exhausted after reading the journals and crying and then all those kisses!
Love the cuddles on the couch and he is trying to keep her warm and falling asleep.
Can't wait to see what happens when they wake up together.
@animexlife How sad for them.
@Sleepstar Bummer about your mouse!
@Puddinroy Thanks!
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
It actually took moving the family to a new neighborhood and now I really want to try and see if the glitch happens again when the mod is back in since I really like it. Too late for tonight, though. By the way, here's the current version of the family with a few of them split off and back in the old neighborhood:
And, here's a closeup of the female twin:
@bekkasan I was especially anxious to read your comments on Part 2 as much as I was with @Silverofdreams30 !
Perhaps that's one reason why Alan kept silent when she made that comment!
Yeah we got to see a whole different side of Alan in this chapter didn't we?
I made it a point to show that Richard was not a bad guy, even if he was a little persistent in trying to win Maureen over. A lesser man, when discovering the girl he likes had suddenly lost her mind, would've been like, "Wow...she's gone nutso so I'm outta here!"
Scenarios like that really happened with some of these men who were rescued POWs back in WWII and it's just heart-wrenching! And hubby said those same selfless words to me. He told me if something happened to him over in Iraq he'd want me to remarry and I was like, "No way! I could never be married to someone who's not you!" I really didn't even want to think about that...
Ohhh yes a makeout like that would definitely make two lovers sleepy.
I'll be posting Chapter 8 on Monday. It will most likely have to be a another two-parter... *sigh*
Thanks for all the sweet comments.
guess its cause holidays get closer and people are busy.
@GraceyManor
I love the photo with the train cool job there.
@Mikezumi
* waves* miss you on here hugs.
@meerkattime
Happy birthday, girl!
@bekkasan
Hehe in the Christmas/ Holidays edition anything romantic goes lol,
they still have 68 days until aging up since I play on epic.
@carlystur03 I'm happy you were able to post pictures! The family looks great! I love the child alien in the family. I don't have seasons installed right now (blah puter) so I'm missing that bit of fun.
I use relationship panel and have never had issues with it so hopefully you won't. I couldn't play my large families without it and a few other of their mods.
@meerkattime Hope you had a fantastic birthday!
@emorrill I was sorry I had to wait so long to give you my comments. I read the story before going to work, just didn't have time to comment before needing to leave.
Sheesh, You mean I have to wait all weekend for the next chapter??? Dag girl, you are so cruel!!
@Silverofdreams30 Yes, it is quiet isn't it. I know I've been busier with work and don't have quite as much time so am kind of glad its a bit quiet. Easier to make comments and I do love making comments.
I logged in the game the other evening and this is the view from the gates of Adam and his household's property. I sure do love that lighting mod for Midnight Hollow. I'm still using it in Dragon Valley. It makes for such awesome skies like this. This will last a few sim hours and start to clear up.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Thank you for posting those every day.
I kind of forgot to grab some of them though LOL.
@emorrill
Her reaction to bugs is exactly what I would do.
There was a spider in the shower and I wouldn't get in it until my fiance
came and got rid of hit...He squashed it with his hand and I nearly threw up LOL.
Loved the diary entries, it made me cry for sure! I'm warming up to Alan a bit.
The way you described their kiss was so romantic XD I wish my fiance would kiss
me like that LOL
@bekkasan
I'm feeling a little better.Been under the weather.
I'm using two worlds for this part, Christmas village and Winter Wonderland by @Rflong7
Yup, reading a diary, she's a nosy one.I would probably do the same.XD
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
@emorrill I have been enjoying your story. Well, I guess the "girl meets boy" part was foreseeable, but the fun part lies in how it's executed. Unfortunately, I'm not any good at that part, but that's okay, as I don't intend to bore you with my efforts. As for you, congrats.
Other than that, I have been regularly reading the thread and given out my likes and awesomes as I go. Thanks for the stories, everybody.
Happy Birthday!
And she gave Princess Peach, one of the cars, a tune up:
And a wax:
Then Rachel teleported into the living room and read the newspaper:
'A large supply of mince pies has gone missing from the bakery today. Witnesses say that the suspect was wearing a red suit and a Christmas hat. Police think it's someone trying to impersonate Father Christmas, and assured children all over Riverview that they will get their presents when winter comes.' Rachel read.
'Stealing mince pies. That's bound to get the culprit on the naughty list' she thought:
And of course it starts to hail:
After a few hours of jumping, Drake and Iris went inside. Meanwhile, Rachel was at it again at the artisan station:
She created two glass gnomes. This is just one of them:
Later on, Drake and Iris played a skating game:
He invented a floor hygienator!
Drake rode his hoverbike to the junkyard:
And collected 30 units of scrap metal:
Back over to Loveheart Chateau:
She then grabbed the mail:
Pretty sure I botched that saying.
@bekkasan You're ok.
{{{{Hugs}}}}
Yeeeah this weekend is a busy one.
So yeah we have like 4 gigs to do on Sunday afternoon (right after church
I'm excited for it.
@meerkattime You hadn't officially confirmed it was your birthday so I wanted to wait until you did before I posted:
Hope you had a very lovely day.
@GraceyManor When I was younger I'd usually call my dad in to get rid of spiders in the bathroom.
Thank you.
I'm sure your fiance will kiss you like that on your wedding day. 🙌
Hubby used to kiss me like that when we were first dating (I experienced my first makeout session with him and...I might've been thinking about that when writing that scene.
@Turjan ^Aww, thank you.
I'm sure you could execute it better than you think.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story.