Sim 66, part 25 One....hngh!....two....argh! two and a half, OK I'm good
Suzy came away from her complimentary free session at Movers & Shakers feeling aching, stiff and in need of a stiff drink. It made a distraction from a pretty boring work day, where the editor was more interested in what flavours of ice cream were in for '66 than in Suzy's ongoing work into the skullduggery of Sim City.
As she limped home she was stopped near her house by a well built, tanned man who was out for a fitness run.
"Hey, I know you!" he said, pointing to her.
"Erm....you have me at a disadvantage" Suzy replied.
But that sure is one toned body you've got there
"I saw you sing and play guitar down at The Blue Velvet....yeah, you were mighty fine!" he said, smiling. "By the way, I'm Don Lothario"
"Do you live up to your name?" said Suzy, who thought this guy was a little too full of himself to be healthy.
"I've never been known to disappoint" he said with a smile, which soon turned to horror. "Is that the time, must go! See you around!" he said, running off. Suzy had no idea what made him change his tune so quickly...there was no one about except for a middle aged red headed woman coming down the road in one direction and a golden haired one jogging in the other. Suzy shrugged and made her way home for a much needed meal.
She'd finished making a Caesar Salad that she got from a recipe book when the door rang. Looking to see who it was, it turned out to be her best friend, Summer Holiday.
Who is, technically, only acquaintances with Travis and Liberty
"Summer, what a nice surprise, come on in" said Suzy, enthusiastically.
"Hey, how's it going? It seems like ages since we last met" said Summer.
"Oh I've been very busy with work" said Suzy, sitting down to finish her dinner. "I've been doing a lot of research into an article I really want to write...you wouldn't believe the stuff I've uncovered"
"I thought you wrote fashion articles" said Summer, intrigued.
"I do....normally....but this one's different. I can't say too much now, but in time".
There was another knock on the door and Suzy got up to answer it. It was Jeremy from next door.
"Oh hi, Suzy" he said, a little nervously. "I met a friend of yours last night...his name is Burr"
"Oh him, come inside, Jeremy and stop looking like a mannequin on my doorstep" said Suzy, ushering in Jeremy who was holding a large envelope in his hands.
"Hi Jeremy" waved Summer. Her presence made Jeremy seem more nervous.
"Anyway" he said, sitting down. "Burr gave me this to give to you...he said it contains information you might find useful for your next article?"
Suzy eagerly took it from his hands and opened it. Just peering at the top page made interesting reading. LANDGRAAB CORPORATION PLANS FOR WILLOW CREEK AND OASIS SPRINGS DEVELOPMENT. It was a photocopy of an apparently real plan to demolish most of Willow Creek to build something else...something unspecified.
Summer and Jeremy looked eagerly at Suzy to see what the document was. Suzy slid the package across the table to her. "This affects both of you"
They want to pave paradise, put up a parking lot?
Summer and Jeremy gave it a brief look. "They want to smash this place up!" exclaimed Summer.
"The Landgraabs are pretty powerful" warned Jeremy. "Hang on...what's this here...there's a mark on this map of our street...right here. It's marked 'portal'...what does that mean?"
"That's right near the fishing spot past John Action's house" said Summer. "Why is that spot marked with a red circle and why 'portal'? There's no doors or gates there...just some wild flowers, a few old logs and that huge tree"
"I don't know..." said Suzy "but it's important to the Landgraabs"
"What you got for me today?" said John Action, striding into the squad room at 13th Precinct HQ.
"Take your pick" said the bored looking detective. "There's a huge backlog of cases on that pile there"
Action looked at various case files and picked one. "Robbery over at Windenburg...I'll take it" he said.
Action took what little information there was and put it on the crime notice board, laying out the photos, reports and connecting them to each other with coloured string.
Looking at my flow diagram I conclude that Alexander Goth is the murderer
Pondering the chart, he needed more clues to work with. Grabbing the keys to a squad car Action headed off to Windenburg and to the crime scene on his own.
Windenburg....9:52am
"I'm telling you, officer, I was alerted by the sight of the front door of the house hanging open. I went to investigate and that's when I was shoved and knocked down" said the witness.
It soiled my lovely corduroy suit!
"Did you see the perp?" asked Action.
"Only a little...short hair, wearing shorts...that's all I remember"
Action nodded and left the witness after taking some notes. A colleague stopped him in the hall of the house. "Hey Action; you got here before us! Regulations say you should not enter the premises on your own!" they barked at him.
"Yeah, well, if we waited for you lot to finish your coffee and donuts then we'd never make any progress!" Action replied, nonchalantly.
Action scanned the crime scene for clues. The perps had broken in and made off with an expensive Jade bust of the Chinese Emperor, Zaitian, so this wasn't a quick smash n' grab; they knew what they were looking for. He then made his way to the games room where there were another couple of witnesses. One of them he recognised: His neighbour, Travis Scott.
"Travis, you mixed up in all this?" he said.
"Action! No, I have a weekly chess game here with my old college buddy and...well, I don't know what happened. We were playing chess, got about 15 moves in and then we both passed out" replied Travis.
"Passed out?" enquired a sceptical Action.
"Yeah, it was freaky" said Travis' friend. "I'd just made coffee for us, we settled into playing our chess game and then all of a sudden we both felt woozy and...well, I don't remember much after that"
Action picked up a coffee mug that had been lying on the floor. "This one of the mugs you drank out of?" he asked. Travis nodded. Action took a sniff of it, ran his finger around the rim and rubbed the small amount of liquid between his thumb and forefinger. "Hmmm, Benzodiazepine" he said to himself.
"Do you know what's really strange, officer?" said Travis' friend.
That you still have a weekly chess game, you DO RKS!
"It's that the chess pieces have been moved after we fell unconscious" he continued.
"Explain" asked Action.
"Well, we were 15 moves into our match. We had both taken two pawns plus a bishop apiece. When we woke up, Black...that's Travis...had put White in check. Our game wasn't that advanced"
Action stroked his chin and pondered this new clue. "Thanks...stay cool" he said and headed back to the station.
Back at the station The Chief pulled Action to one side. "Listen, Action, I know you're a maverick that likes to play by his own rules but you're alienating the rest of the team"
"Maybe if the team didn't slack off so much!" replied Action.
For example, the darts tournament they organised down at the crime scene
"Look...just play things a little more to the senior sergeants' liking. That's an order"
Action touched the peak of his cap in acknowledgement but didn't stop to ponder the Chief's words...he had a hunch to follow. He looked through the files and found a rap sheet that looked promising. Not wanting to hang around the station for official clearance, he left on his own to track down the perp.
Pupperstone Park, 4:15pm
Action entered the park; there was only one person present, a woman with short hair, wearing black hot pants and sitting alone at a chess table pondering the pieces.
"Well, well, well if it isn't The Brain herself" said Action, silently moving up to her.
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!" the woman replied.
"The Jade Emperor, I know you got it. How about I get a search warrant for your car trunk and we do some searching there?" he continued.
"I don't have it!" the woman protested. "You're guessing, officer. You don't have any evidence"
"I know you've got form for robbery, Brain" said Action. "I also know you're obsessed with chess. That's why you couldn't resist completing the game those men were playing. You drugged them and went about your work but you saw that board, saw the mistakes and poor moves both of them had made and you played the game out until "check". Realising that you were running out of time you ran out of the house, knocking that man over along the way."
"A nice theory, officer, but where's the proof?"
"A chess grandmaster's style is like a fingerprint...each is unique and identifiable."
"Wait? What?"
"I'm bringing you in and impounding your car. You have the right to remain silent..."
And I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't have been for you pesky, hunky cop
"Good work today, Action" said Officer Datta when the shift had ended and a group of them had headed off to the nightclub for some entertainment. "Next time, clue the rest of the shift on what you're up to"
What kind of maverick cop would I be if I did that?
"I work my side of the street, you work yours" replied Action.
Ladies and gentlemen...please welcome on stage, NOT Joni Mitchell!
Jeremy Saint's hand hovered over his telephone...tonight was the Spice Festival downtown and he had an extra ticket for it. He knew there was only one person he wanted to ask to come with him; Barbara, but the nerves were still there...what if she turned him down? What if he blew it...again...with a woman he fancied. He shut his eyes, gulped and picked up the phone receiver. Opening his eyes but feeling his heart beating ever faster, he dialled Barbara's number. One ring, two rings, three rings, the heart was beating faster and he was starting to sweat. For rings and then a soft, feminine voice said "hello" at the other end.
"Hi...It's Jeremy. Would you like....I mean, I have an extra ticket for...for the...I mean, would you like to, you know, erm, go with me to the Spice Fes-"
"Yes!" Barbara consented before Jeremy could finish asking her.
"OK, great. I'll pick you up in an hour?" he ventured.
"I'll meet you there; it's near where I live. Outside Waterside Warble" she said.
Jeremy put down the receiver and punched the air in triumph.
No one was more keen on a curry than Barbara Dubois
"I love Asian food!" said Barbara, heading straight for the sample curries, rice and noodle dishes. "There's so many good places to eat around here, I'm spoiled for choice"
"I tried it out for the first time last month" said Jeremy. "I'm warming to it" he said, taking a bite of something that was a bit more spicy than he was expecting...warming to it was an apt comment.
Go a bit easy on the green chilli next time
They tried the Spice challenge: Jeremy made it to curry #3, Barbara could only manage half a portion of #4. The evening was going smoothly and Jeremy was more relaxed than earlier, but, worrier that he was he couldn't escape a nagging feeling that at any moment she could go right off him and leave. He felt this more when, at one point, the conversation went quiet as if they'd already run out of things to say to each other. He suggested, hesitantly, to head over to the Warble for a drink. Barbara readily agreed.
"You weren't that bad!" said Barbara, reassuring Jeremy after he attempted to sing a Beatles song at the open mic night.
"I wasn't a patch on your version of 'You Really Got Me"" replied Jeremy.
Well, if you've got it, flaunt it!
"I never miss open mic night here" said Barbara. She stretched her arms in front of her "Hmmmm, I'm having a good time but I had an early shift today and I'm starting to flag" she said.
"Oh, I hadn't realised it was that late" said Jeremy.
"I've had a great time tonight, Jeremy" she said, patting him on the arm. "We must do this again and soon" she added.
Their eyes locked on each other and without saying anything they held their gaze. Then they started to move closer to each other. At that point a wild thought possessed Jeremy and he leant forward to kiss Barbara.
OK, was NOT expecting that!
He broke off seconds after he kissed her...did he cross the line? Had he blown it? Barbara took his hands and smiled.
"That was lovely" she said, smiling. They kissed again and then one more time.
"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other again" said Jeremy, suavely.
"I think so" she nodded, smiling.
...and suddenly I'm Mr Cool
Jeremy walked her home. Outside of the apartment block where she lived they kissed one more time. Barbara was about to invite him in but she was tired. "Jeremy...any other time I'd invite you in for a night cap but I'm so, so tired and am just going to flop in my bed"
"Oh I understand!" he replied. Frankly, he was too nervous about going to a woman's apartment after only one date; his small town morality kicking in. He saw her go into the building safely and walked to the subway station, whistling a merry tune to himself.
The phone in Suzy Kent's house rang. As she struggled to zip up the back of her dress, she ran over to answer it. "Hello, Suzy Kent here...hngh" the zip was stuck halfway.
"Hi, it's Burr" said the voice at the other end.
"Burr...hngh...that's got it! Sorry. Yes, hi Burr. How are you?" She said with relief that the zip made it all the way to the top.
"Good. Hey, I've found out some interesting things about the Landgraabs...can we meet up at the library?"
Suzy's eyes widened in excitement. "Sure! Willow Creek Archive in 1 hour?" she said.
"See you then" replied Burr.
Putting her feet into her favourite white go-go boots and checking her make up one last time, Suzy grabbed her shoulder bag and headed off to Crawdad Quater.
Suzy sauntered her way to Willow Creek Archive and saw Burr DeBenning, an acquaintance and someone else who was interested in the shady activities of the Landgraab Family, waiting outside for her.
"Burr, what is this you've found out?" she asked.
"I've been looking at the land records for Oasis Springs and there's something strange near the Landgraab mansion. A tunnel that runs right under the property. I've tried finding out more but there's no record of it other than an old map dated before WW1."
"Hmmm, potentially interesting. So no one knows what it is or what's in it? I think we should take a closer look" she said.
"My thoughts exactly" said Burr, smiling and impressed with Suzy's courage. "Let's go"
Afluista Mansion
Standing outside the modernist estate of the Landgraab family, Suzy and Burr looked at their pocket map to see where the mystery tunnel entrance was. A jogger went past them, looking at the pair suspiciously.
"Quick!" said Suzy, pulling her pocket instamatic camera from out of her bag "let's take a picture of ourselves so we look like tourists!"
What could be a good, simple word for taking a photo of yourself?
Once the jogger had gone they checked Burr's map. "According to this, it's down a footpath to the left of the house which loops around behind it. I think this-a-way!" said Suzy, running off in that direction. Burr took a leisurely stroll down the path instead.
Once they'd reached the point where the map indicated the tunnel entrance, they found a heavily boarded up hold in the rock face. Burr tried to pry the boards off but they were heavily nailed in place with rocks and mortar behind them to deter any intruders.
OK, our options. 1. Give up. 2. Come back with a crowbar and some burly men. 3. Explosives
"This is going to be more difficult than I thought" said Burr. "We can't manage it today, we'll have to come back with more equipment"
Suzy agreed, reluctantly; her curiosity piqued even more by the discovery of the tunnel entrance. Burr said he knew a decent bar in the area and they headed off to the Rattlesnake Juice Bar.
"So, do you do a lot of this undercover investigating where you work?" Burr asked Suzy.
"This is my first time" she said. "I got into fashion journalism but I've gotten away from that lately".
Of course there was that expose I did on shoddy manufacturing in the underpants sector
"I didn't think of myself as an investigator either" said Burr. "I work for the city planning department but whilst I've been there I've seen plenty of shading dealings...I've been sucked in to the case as well. Psst! You'd never guess who's just walked in this bar?"
Twiggy? Mick Jagger!
"Nancy Landgraab! No way!" exclaimed Suzy, clapping her hands over her mouth so she didn't sound so obvious to onlookers.
"Shhh!" said Burr.
Nancy tottered over to the bar; she swayed exaggeratedly, winking at a male customer before she sat down, unsteadily.
"My ushual, Barkeep, and put it on my tab *hic*" said Nancy.
"I think she's already had too much to drink" said Burr to Suzy.
"I love your dressh" said Nancy to Suzy.
"Erm, thanks." replied Suzy. "Coming from you Mrs Landgraab I take that as a compliment"
"Now who'sh that handshome young gentleman sitting next to you....he looks like a keeper" Nancy said, eyeing up Burr.
"I'm Burr and this is Suzy" he replied.
"Hmmm, if I weren't already a married woman..." Nancy didn't finish her sentence but eyed up Burr lecherously.
"Well, is that the time? I must head out, Suzy. See you soon?" said Burr, getting up to go.
"Wait, no! Already? Can't you stay?" said Suzy.
"Sorry Suz, got to be somewhere else" he replied before heading out the bar.
Nancy Landgraab was chatting up a couple of other men at the bar and ignored her. Stepping outside into the cool evening air, she spied a friend: John Action. "Hey John" she said.
"What's the score, Suzy?" replied Action. "You still following that case of yours? I saw Nancy Landgraab in the bar just now"
"Yeah, she's hammered." replied Suzy. "Look, John, can you push some information my way about her and her husband?"
"Don't go messing with police business, Suz. It's a job best left to the pros. This is a tough town with some mean streets which the Landgraabs pave with secrets, signs and threats!" Action banged his fist down on the table they were sitting at.
OK, you're beginning to worry me now
"But this could be big!" said Suzy
"Leave it, doll!" said Action. He looked into her eyes, intensely. He was not a man to be messed with. Suzy said nothing and Action left without another word.
Suzy felt conflicted; to pursue this investigation or to drop it? Action had warned her, Burr seemed too frightened by what he might find out. That left her to investigate. Meanwhile, back at the Rattlesnake Juice Bar, Nancy Landgraab kept downing Tequila Slammers and keeping the young menfolk there wrapped around her little finger.
John Action sauntered into Precinct 13 headquarters and saw that old Sergeant Kitchen wasn't at the front desk. It was a woman officer, one he didn't recognise.
"Well hello there, I guess you're the new girl" he said to her.
"And I guess you're Action...I've heard a lot about you" she replied with a smirk.
"All good, I hope"
"They were more like warnings" she said. "Anyway, you can't stand around here trying to charm your way around your co-workers, Action, this lady's come in with a complaint" she nodded to a young hippie woman sitting, waiting on a bench in the reception area. Action wandered over to her.
"What's the problem, Ma'am?" he said.
"Well...it's..."
kind of embarrassing, actually
"my ex. He breezed back into town with some bad acid. Well, I told him I wanted nothing to do with it and threw him out but he still operated around Oasis Springs, selling his junk. Anyway, he quickly split the place and we've got a whole bunch of people having a bad trip, attacking passers by and causing trouble" she said, sadly.
"Bad acid: that's a bad scene, sister. I'll head over there, crack some skulls and get that junk off the street and out of the hands of those acid-heads"
Mirage Canyon, 11:17 am
The main street looked quiet, too quiet. Action's hand hovered over his .38 service revolver....just in case! He needed some information so he wandered over to The Solar Flare lounge; a classy joint most of the time although they were known to violate state hygiene laws from time to time. Action walked up the stairs to the lounge but although the doors were all open, no one was around. "Strange" he thought to himself.
He wandered over to the large windows that afforded an excellent view of the main street. From here he could observe any strange goings on without being seen himself. As he watched and waited, he noticed a violin propped up on a stand right next to him....he couldn't help but pick it up and give it a go.
I can't be the only detective who's done this?
He saw a fair haired lady of about 40 stagger down the street, rubbing her arm in pain. Taking this as a cue, Action put down the violin and ran over to her.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, is anything the matter?" he said to the lady.
"Yes...ow...I've just been punched by this weird young woman. She claimed I stole her bananas and that I was in league with the secret government so she just lurched at me and started punching me. Fortunately, she only hit me in a couple of places like my arm...there's no serious damage."
"Where did this happen?" said Action.
"Over by that small park area" she said, pointing to a grassy area that had a few benches. "Look! There she is! The woman who hit me!"
Hand over my bananas, you secret agent for the government!
Action looked around and saw an enraged looking young woman pulling a man doing yoga off the ground and hitting him over the head. He ran over, his hand still hovering over his service .38.
"Freeze right there!" he shouted. The woman looked around terrified, the man staggered over to a nearby bench.
"Oh my God, what have I done?" she said, wild eyed.
"You're Jonesing from a bad, bad trip, lady" said Action. "Now you're going to come with me and tell me all about where you got that acid from"
But first, paperwork
Action called for some back up and the lady was bundled into a squad car to take back to police HQ. Action took a moment to grab a coffee and have a brief work out to keep his muscles toned. Sergeant Kitchen entered the recreation room and walked over to him.
It's one of those old cop/young cop bonding moments
"Good work out there, Action" said Sergeant Kitchen.
"Just doing my job, my way" replied Action.
"Anyway, we're processing that lady plus a few other freaks who've taken some of that same batch of LSD. Oh, and the Chief wants some progress on those robberies. We're still holding Aurora Ahmed; the Chess Bandit, someone needs to interrogate her"
"And that someone would be me, right?" replied Action, downing his coffee.
Down in the cells he went to fetch Ahmed and take her to an interrogation room.
"I've said all I got to say in front of your colleagues and my lawyer" she said.
"I know" Action replied. "I'm not interested in you...I want to know who your fence is"
I'm not wearing a pyjama top, if that's what you're thinking
Action took her to an interrogation room and sat her down. "We've got you for the Jade statue job, you're going down but if you want to avoid hard time you'd better co-operate and tell us who your buyer is"
"I'm not a fink!" she replied. "You've got nothing!"
"We've got witness statements, we've got your fingerprints on that chess board and you left enough clues to fill a ship" said Action.
"So what if I did touch that chessboard? Plenty of people play chess"
"We know your signature style, Aurora. Now this is pretty open and shut....WHO'S YOUR FENCE?" he said, pounding a fist on the table.
Did you remember to put a bulb in that lamp?
Ahmed started to sweat and wilt under the pressure. "OK, I did have a fence...but I never met them, I swear. But I know it's a woman: Even though she wore a mask I could tell by her voice and body shape the fence was a woman. I don't have a name or contact number; they always contacted me"
"That's a start" said Action, making notes.
At the end of his shift he headed home for some chow. As he sat with his grilled cheese sandwich watching Mr Ed on TV he heard a knock at the door. Looking through the window he could see a very attractive young woman dressed in red and white standing outside.
"Hi, can I help you?" he said, opening the door.
Do you like cheese?
"Oh, hi, I'm Katharine Bowie from the Mirage Canyon Citizens' Association" she said.
"Of course you are" he replied.
"And on behalf of our members I want to thank you for helping our little community out in tackling the junkie problem on our streets"
"Just doing my job, my way, Ma'am"
"And we're very grateful, Officer Action" she said, coyly.
Action smiled. "I'm off duty now but would you like to come in for a drink?" he said.
Katharine smiled and said "I thought you'd never ask"
Jeremy Saint paced up and down the path outside of the Arts Centre in downtown San Myshuno. He checked his watch...a minute past 8pm. Would she delayed? Will she show up? Jeremy's heart beat faster as time ticked on and he couldn't see his date.
Then, emerging around the corner at a brisk pace, she came running: Barbara Dubois, Jeremy's date. Only last weekend had they decided to go steady and this was the first time they'd seen each other since then. They both smiled the moment they saw each other and ran towards each other for an embrace.
"Of course...you don't think I'm going to miss the Hijinks Festival with you!" she replied. "I'm starving, let's get something to eat."
"I know you love spicy food, Barbara, and I know a good little eatery just over there. Do you like Cajun?"
"I LOVE Cajun!"
"Come on, let's go!" they grabbed each other's hand and ran off to the vendor.
Jeremy and Barbara both sampled the Tagine and caught up on each other's news of the week. Soon they were joined by another person, a man.
"Excuse me" he said. "I require a place to sit so I can ingest this sustenance. As all other designated seating surfaces are occupied, may I sit at this place so I can eat this meal?"
"Erm, yes, that should be fine" said Jeremy, awkwardly. The man's over formal speech was jarring but it what was on the plate that caused Jeremy and Barbara to wince.
Did you check the use by date on that?
Jeremy noticed something unusual on the man's plate. "Erm, I think I can see something moving on your plate" he said.
"I know. They are hi-protein insects and worms; very nutritious" he said, taking a mouthful.
"Well, I don't know about you, Barbara, but I'm full...shall we head on over to the bar?" Jeremy said, wanting to get away from this strange man and his even stranger meal.
"I'm good to go" she said, pushing her plate away from her.
The two of them got up and went far away from the man to where music was playing and people were dancing.
"Shall we?" said Barbara grabbing both of Jeremy's hands and spinning him onto the dance floor. Jeremy did the Economy Shuffle whilst Barbara flung her hair back and treated him to a fine display of funky go-go dancing.
"You're good!" said Jeremy, feeling like he was stuck on a washing machine spin cycle. "But, phew, can we get a drink?"
"Sure" she said. They went over to the bar, got a couple of drinks and as this was the Humor and Hijinks Festival they decided to check out tonight's stand up comic.
It was ribald
"I'm having a lovely time" she said, leaning her head on Jeremy's shoulder.
"I am too" he replied, smiling.
"Yawwwwn, I'm getting tired but I don't want the night to end" she said, looking into his eyes.
"Well....it doesn't have to" he said nervously. "I mean, we could always head back to...." he didn't know quite how to end his sentence.
"yes?" she asked, expectantly.
"I mean, if you don't mind that is....but you could always come back....with me....to....my place" he said, gulping at the end.
"Great! Let's go!" she said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the subway station.
Would you like to see my stamp collection?
They paused outside of Jeremy's house. This was a big moment; inviting a beautiful woman back to his place.
"You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch" he said.
"Don't put yourself out on my account" said Barbara.
"Well...it's no trouble really"
"We can decide the sleeping arrangements inside" she said. Jeremy showed her in and led her to the bedroom.
"Here's the bed, bathroom's down the hall on the right, here you'll find a light switch..."
Barbara patted the space on the bed next to her. "Plenty of room"
"Well, as this is a first date" he said, nervously.
"Second" she corrected him.
"Oh...right. But you know a single man, a single girl together in the same bedroom..."
"It's 1966, Jeremy..."
"But are we ready?"
"Let's just snuggle"
"Oh, OK"
They settled down but within minutes both were fast asleep.
Suzy grabbed her handbag, her house keys and rushed out the door to work....only as soon as she shut the door she heard a disturbing gurgling sound from her stomach. Breakfast was NOT good. The fridge had broken down during the night and the delicious fruit parfait yoghurt she'd prepared the night before had gone off....and now her tummy was paying the price for not binning the whole lot straight away. It was no good, she couldn't go into work feeling like this. She had an article to write but she could do that at home and at the library and take the morning off to take some Dramamine and Milk of Magnesia and hope her stomach would calm down by lunch.
In the meantime, she took herself down to the spa for a detox. Settling into the sauna she thought about her article and what it would involve. She had enough to do a piece about the mavens of Sim City...well, at least two of them. She'd interviewed both Lily Feng and Bella Goth and there was enough material for an article: Only Nancy Landgraab had avoided an interview thus far.
Let the sickness ooze out of those pores
After a session in the steam room, Suzy headed off to Willow Creek Archive to finish her article. Settling down with a stack of magazines and newspapers from the archives and seated comfortably at a desk with her portable typewriter she got to work. She noticed that one of the librarians was surreptitiously pocketing a library book into his cardigan pocket and hoping no one noticed. Suzy smiled to herself; she knew that guy...nice enough to talk to, looked like a bookish square but was secretly a petty pilferer.
Suzy's thoughts were abruptly halted by a stern looking woman of around 40 who stood right next to her, pointing a finger.
And if pointing doesn't work, you'll get a bunch of fives!
"YOU! Yes you! I know who you are!" said the stern woman.
"You do?" replied a bemused Suzy.
"Yes! You write for that scandalous magazine! The one that's leading the youth of today astray!"
"Do you mean 'Hey, Wow!'?"
"Hey, Filth more like! My niece reads your trash magazine and it nearly led her astray with your low morals: Pop music! Long hair on boys! Mini skirts! Date whoever you like! Tsch! Scandalous! Scandalous! It should be BANNED for corrupting the young of SimNation!"
"Have you ever considered...Miss?" responded Suzy
"MRS Edna Sneedly! I run the Willow Creek Concerned Citizens Society"
"Well, Mrs Sneedly, that the youth of today want something different? They want to express themselves in fashion, music and art in a way that is different from your era. And they want to make their own choices instead of being told what to do, say and think by committees?"
"Harumph! 'Make their own choices'! Who'd ever heard of such nonsense? Why can't girls your age settle for nice young men like this gentleman, drop your hemlines and learn to bake apple pies?" Mrs Sneedly pointed to the kleptomaniac librarian as an example of an 'exemplary' young man.
How little she knows!
"Sure, I'll bear it in mind" said Suzy, standing up and walking over to another part of the library. She made sure Mrs Sneedly got a good view of her short dress. Sitting down at another desk, she began work again when she was interrupted by none other than Victor Feng.
"Good afternoon, Miss Kent" he said. "I see you're doing some research on my wife"
"Yes...well, looking at the society pages to see what she was wearing at various events."
"Very good...I especially liked that green gown she wore to the Norton Building opening back in December"
"Mr Feng...I'd like to ask a question in your capacity as a city councillor" said Suzy, eager to corner Feng on a topic.
"Go ahead"
"Are you aware of an old tunnel that runs underneath the Landgraab Mansion in Oasis Springs?"
Victor Feng paused before giving an answer. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I am not...but thank you for bringing that to my attention. I wish you well with your article." He said before leaving.
Suzy finished her manuscript, put it in an envelope and mailed it to her editor. Her job for the day done, she decided to check out a recommended hot spot in town: The Narwhal Arms. It was an old inn building converted into a nightclub which had been recently refurbished to be a trendy hot spot. However, once inside, Suzy was disappointed by what she saw. Instead of a swinging venue, it was mostly populated by older lounge lizard men. She sat at the bar and ordered a drink, hoping things would improve. She did see a familiar face, however.
"Hi, it's Julian isn't it?" she said to a young man she had met once before.
"Yeah, and you are?" he said, struggling to put a name to her face.
"Suzy Kent...I'm from Hey, Wow magazine. We met a few weeks ago at the Blue Velvet club in Willow Creek"
"Did we? I meet a lot of chicks" he said before shrugging and walking off to the DJ booth.
That ain't no way to treat a lady!
Suzy sighed. Why couldn't she meet any decent men who were interested in her? The boat had sailed with Jeremy, John scared her, Travis didn't seem interested, Burr was obsessed with his activism and Julian was an airhead. She downed her drink and thought that seeing that she was at a loose end, she had a dance.
The Indifferent Bop
When she got home later that evening, things weren't much better: Her toilet had broken this time...on top of a malfunctioning fridge this was another hassle she didn't need. At least she could get an emergency repairman to visit. Or, in this case, a repairwoman.
"Show me where the problem is and yes, I'm a woman, but I can still do the job as well as a man" said the woman, sounding bored.
"Oh, well thanks for coming out at this late hour. The busted toilet is just here. Busy day?" said Suzy, making polite small talk.
"Tell me about it! We had this big water pipe burst down at Oasis Springs this afternoon. Me and the team were working non-stop to try to stop half the neighbourhood from flooding. Some of the guys are still down there."
Believe me, this conversation is the highlight of my day
"Oasis Springs you say?" said Suzy, intrigued. "Whereabouts?"
"Acquisition Butte" said the woman.
"That's where the Landgraabs live, isn't it?"
"Sure is. The burst water pipe was in an old, abandoned mine shaft that runs right under their mansion. I tell you, Mrs Landgraab was furious about the whole thing. Said she'd pay for all our overtimes if we got it fixed tonight. Sheesh, that lady sure has a temper on her"
Suzy pondered this bit of information. She did mention the tunnel to Victor Feng who seemed interested in it. Could these things be connected? The repairwoman finished fixing the toilet and left. As soon as she had, there was a ring on the doorbell. It was Summer Holiday.
Are you trying to hypnotise me?
"Hey Summer, how's it going?" said Suzy.
"Suzy....do you think guys are lame?" said Summer, sighing.
"I'm beginning to think that way" said Suzy. "Why, what's happened?"
"It's what's NOT happening. Travis: One minute he seems keen, the next he treats me as if I don't exist"
"What does Liberty have to say?" pouring a drink for Summer.
"I haven't seen Liberty for days...she's away in Florida at the rocket base"
"I think guys are not taking us seriously enough if you ask me" said Suzy. Here's my tip: Ignore them...they'll hate that and in a short while you'll see who starts paying you decent attention"
Summer nodded. "I think you and me should hit the tiles one night: Girls night out and see if we can't land ourselves some cool guys."
"I'll drink to that" said Suzy, raising her glass to Summer's.
John Action finished getting the mail from his mailbox when he heard footsteps behind him. Resisting his inclination to reach for his .38 service revolver, he turned around to see Mortimer Goth walking by.
"Mr Goth" said Action, nodding.
"Ah....Detective.....Action, isn't it? Meddling in anyone else's affairs lately?" replied a terse Mortimer Goth.
"I patrol my side of the street, Goth, you patrol yours"
Is that a metaphor?
"I'm very protective of my family, Action, and will do anything to keep them safe....ANYTHING!"
"Message received" said Action, noticing the redness in Mortimer's cheeks and the intensity of his stare. The angry Mortimer stormed off, giving Action a cursory glance back at him but there was no time to waste....it was almost time for Action's shift to begin.
"What have you got for me today, Sarge?" said Action to desk Sergeant Kitchen.
"That suspect you brought in a few days ago, Aurora Ahmed...she's still holding out on us" said Sergeant Kitchen.
"Leave it to me, Sarge, I'll sweat the information out of her" he said, grabbing her case file from the filing cabinet. Action walked down to the lock up cells. Aurora sat up on her bunk and looked him in the eye.
"You again...you don't let up, do you?" she said.
"Not until I get what I want" replied Action.
"Which is?"
"Who's your fence, Aurora? Your contacts in the underworld. I want you sing like a canary"
"I don't sing...why not try a birdhouse?"
"I'll try the blockhouse if you don't mind"
"What if I do?"
"Then say goodbye to the free life, Aurora". Action opened up the cell and led her to the booking station. Putting her up against the wall, he searched her.
"Hey! I went through all this when you brought me in!" she complained.
"But I know your fancy lawyer's been here since and I want to make sure he didn't give you anything he shouldn't have....like this little bag of white powder here"
"You planted that, Action!" she complained vociferously.
It's a set up, I tells ya!
"Did I? OK let's talk some more about what other evil I might have got up to" he said, nonchalantly.
He sat Aurora down and turned on the harsh, bright desk lamp and turned it to her face.
"I want my lawyer!" she complained.
"All they'll do is get you down from a 10 year stretch to a 5 year one...I can do better than that if you talk" replied Action. He put some documents on the table in front of her. "We know you hit the expensive places, and leave a chess clue as your calling card"
Which was your downfall
"We've already been through this" she said with a sigh.
"Yes, but what I want to know is who's your network? You've got pretty big partners in crime, Aurora. You only get a cut of the haul."
"Prove it!" she said, definantly.
"I've got it all here, sister...your fingerprints at half a dozen properties, witnesses who'll testify that they saw you with two accomplices...who are they?"
"I...I...can't! They'll kill me if I talk!"
"They won't know" said Action, pressing harder. "Talk now and we'll get you a 3 year stretch"
Oh really?
"Alright....I do jobs for an organisation called The Triangle. My contact is Mal; I speak with him only on the phone and we arrange drop off exchanges for the merchandise and cash. I've only seen him once...tall, skinny, but he was wearing a ski mask."
Action nodded, picked up the case files and said "OK, we'll call your lawyer. Thanks, Aurora"
He returned her to the lock up and went to speak with The Chief but standing in the lobby of the precinct house was Candy Behr...the last time Action saw her she had stood him up on a dinner date.
"Hey Action" she said, sheepishly
"Candy...what brings you here?" he replied
It had better be an apology
"Just some neighbourhood toughs giving my sister and me a hard time...listen, Action, about that dinner date..." she began, apologetically.
"SAVE IT, SISTER! Action doesn't take being stood up sitting down!" he yelled, putting up his hand and then storming off.
He went straight to the bathroom to calm himself down. "Not cool, Action, not cool...don't let a chick bring you down!" he said, taking some deep breaths.
He got through the rest of his shift, it was mostly paperwork but he wanted to stay clear of Candy in case he blew his cool again. Changing back in to his 100 Simoleon suit and getting into his 500 Simoleon car he drove home, cursing the name of Candy Behr all the way. Once home he cooked himself up some mac n' cheese and was preparing to settle down to eat it when there was a ring on the doorbell.
"What kind of crazy cat wants to bother me now?" he said, checking his .38 service revolver was loaded...he'd made some enemies over the years. However, when he opened the door he saw that it was his neighbour, Liberty Lee.
"Well hello there......sweet Liberty!" he said, smiling.
"Hi Action, I hope I'm not disturbing you?" she replied, nervously.
"You could never do that, why don't you come in?" he said. "I made enough macaroni for two"
"Thanks, but I've eaten...wow, I like how you've decorated this place" she said, looking around.
"I've gone for an African vibe" he replied.
Or a 1960s approximation thereof
"I like it....the reason I'm here, Action, is that I didn't get to properly speak with you when you moved in. I've been busy lately"
"So your friends tell me"
"Yes. Well, I thought...well....you might like some company."
"I never refuse the company of a pretty lady" he said.
"You lead an interesting life: Ex-marine now a cop. You helped Travis' friend find his stolen statue. I'd like to know John Action a little better"
"And I'd like to get to know Liberty Lee more" he said, pouring her a drink and handing it to her. "Here's to getting to know each other" and they clinked glasses.
"Sorry, Dr Epstein...yes, just sign here at the bottom and the house is all yours" said the Real Estate Agent. Dr Julia Epstein, newly qualified M.D., took out a special gold fountain pen...a present from her Uncle Reuben...and signed on the bottom line of the title deed.
"That's fine" said the agent. "Well, welcome to Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, Doctor. I must say you seem a little young to be a doctor"
"I was the youngest in my year group" said Julia, with a little more than a hint of pride in her voice. "Now, what are the neighbours like here? Are they rowdy? Do they throw wild parties?"
"Well there's 3 young professionals over the road...I think he works with computers, one of the girls works at Space Y and the other one's a cook...I think. Then you've got a woman next door who works for a fashion magazine, next to her is a young gentleman...I don't know what he does for a living I'm afraid...and then the last house is owned by a policeman so I guess if there's anything untoward in this road he'd be the person to seek help from."
"Hmmm." said Julia, pondering that information. The agent made his goodbyes and she was left to inspect her new house. Technically it was owned by her parents; a gift for graduating 1st from medical school and landing a job at the prestigious Sim City Medical Centre. They wanted her to keep on living at home with them but Julia had worked out...with mathematical precision...how the commute would be worse from their out of town home into the city whereas Willow Creek afforded both a reasonable distance from work and a moderate price range for property.
Julia was going over her new home, checking out each room when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up from inspecting under her bed and thought who it could possibly be? Her parents were going to visit tomorrow so it wasn't them and she didn't know anyone else from this area so she raised an eyebrow and cautiously went to investigate.
Oh, it's them!
"HELLO NEIGHBOUR!" yelled three young people: Two women and a man.
"Am I right in deducing that you are the three people who live in that house across the road?" said Julia, puzzled at this reception committee on her doorstep.
"That's us!" said an Asian-Sim Nation woman. "I'm Liberty, these are my housemates Travis and Summer"
"I brought cake!" said the blonde girl, Summer.
"I'm Dr Julia Epstein and thank....you" said Julia, still puzzled at these visitors.
"And I'm Action, John Action" said a tall, impressive looking black man who had just arrived.
"Are you the policeman or the man living at the end of the road?" Julia asked.
"I'm a cop" said Action.
"Don't mess with him!" laughed Travis, nervously.
Julia was stuck for what to do next. She could go back inside and arrange her medical textbooks as she had planned, carefully hang and fold her clothes or invite these strangers in. Well, they had brought cake so she opted to invite her neighbours inside her house.
"We've been watching this place being built for weeks now" said Travis. "We were wondering who'd be moving in"
"It's so good another young person has joined our happy little community" said Summer. Action just grunted.
"My age is a factor here?" said a puzzled Julia.
"Well, you know..." said Summer, stuck for an answer.
"Do you intend to have wild parties here?" said Julia with some disapproval.
"Oh yes...OW!" said Travis, just before Liberty kicked him in the shin.
"Not wild, so to speak" said Liberty, apologetically.
knees together, girls!
"So you're a doctor?" said Summer, trying to change the topic.
"Yes, I'm newly qualified and start my first shift as an intern tomorrow" said Julia, now enthusiastic.
"Congratulations" said Travis. "It's nice to have a proper professional around here. Action just grunted. He was checking the place out...it was sparsely furnished in white and pale blue. He contemplated whether the good Dr Julia here would be similar to her home: Cold, sparse and unappealing. His dating life had improved of late...two different women in two weeks but Julia didn't appear to be number 3 to him.
Summer approached him as he finished a slice of cake. "Hey, Action, you seem quieter than usual" she said.
"This chick's place is colder than a meat locker. Creeps me out" he replied.
help, get me out of here!
"Your trouble, Action, is that you never let up from work. You're always the cop" said Summer.
"Now that's where you're wrong, Summer. Action knows how to unwind" he said, turning to look at Liberty and giving her a wink.
"So I hear you Doctors party hard" said Travis, trying to make a good impression on Julia.
"We don't...excuse me, but the dirty dishes are piling up and I have to give them a clean" she said, worried about the stack of plates with cake crumbs on them. She stood up, gathered up the plates and took them to the sink.
I didn't invite them!
Travis leaned in to Liberty and said, with a whisper, "I don't think she wants us around. Let's make our excuses and go". Liberty nodded and caught Summer and Action's attention with a quick j erk of her head in the direction of the door. They took the hint, welcomed Julia to the neighbourhood once again and left.
Was it something I said?
Julia once again enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet. She was contemplating finishing unpacking her suitcases when there was another knock on the door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she walked over to the door to see who was there. It was a young man but one she recognised.
"Phew, sorry I'm late! I got caught up with work and only just made it...did I miss the others?" he said.
"You did. And you must be the man who lives at the end of the road?" she asked.
"Yes I am...I'm Jeremy"
"I know...we've met before. Julia Epstein"
Jeremy looked puzzled and tried to remember where he'd met her before. Julia picked up on his expression "It was at the Humour and Hijinks Festival"
Jeremy started to look less puzzled as he pulled a vague recollection from his memory. "Was I with my girlfriend at the time?"
"No, that was the most recent festival" said Julia, recalling the sight of Jeremy and his girlfriend partaking in a steamy embrace. She absolutely hated public displays of affection. "We met at the one before that. I was telling you I was about to graduate from medical school and that you worked for Dewey, Cheathem and Howe"
Oh yes, you were the girl that wouldn't stop talking
The penny finally dropped for Jeremy. "Oh yes. I remember now. So how did it all go with the graduation?"
"Top of my class, got me an internship at Sim City Medical Centre"
"Wow..." said Jeremy, impressed not only at her achievement but that she said it as if coming top of her class was a piece of cake.
As they talked, across the road Geoffrey Landgraab stopped his evening run for a moment. He had come across his son's latest girlfriend and he wanted to have a word with her.
"Gillian, what brings you here?" he said
"Oh, well, this road is between the school library and my home, Mr Landgraab" she said, swaying and speaking coyly to him.
Inappropriate
"Gillian, are you drunk or high?" he said, disapprovingly
"Turn on, tune in and drop out, baby" she said with a giggle.
"Let me tell you this, young lady, you do not meet my standards for a girlfriend of Malcolm's. I wish you to break off your relationship with him" he said, sternly.
"Malcolm doesn't have to take orders from you, pops" she said, batting her long false eyelashes at him. Landgraab stood up to attention and leaned in towards her, his face looking menacingly.
"You do not know who you are dealing with" he said, snarling. "You are forbidden to contact my son in future. Now go and stagger back to whatever hashish den you crawled out from!"
Gillian blew him a mock kiss and staggered away. Landgraab watched her walk out of sight.
"So, hopefully, I will get that cardio-thoracic rotation at the hospital and I'll specialise in that" said Julia, in the meantime but she noticed that Jeremy was watching the incident between the middle aged man in running gear and the teenage girl in the latest mod fashions. "Jeremy, what's the matter?" said Julia, concerned.
"Erm...could be nothing" said Jeremy. "But that's the millionaire Geoffrey Landgraab and she's a high schooler...I wonder what that was all about?"
"Hello, is that Suzy? It's Jeremy here, sorry to phone you at this hour"
"No, it's not late at all...how's it going Jeremy?" Suzy replied.
"I'm good...actually I'm calling about something I witnessed that might interest you"
Suzy sat up to attention. Jeremy sounded serious, but a little unsure. "Go on..." she said, inquisitively.
"Well, I witnessed an argument between Geoffrey Landgraab and a teenage girl. It sounded very serious and I know you're trying to dig into what the Landgraabs may be up to".
"Let's not talk over the phone...my place is a bit of a mess right now. Is it OK if I pop around to your place this evening?" said an excited Suzy.
"Sure, come right over" said Jeremy.
"OK, I'll just get my boots on and I'll be there in a few minutes"
Jeremy put the receiver down and went to get a glass of water. No sooner had he filled his glass up then he heard a knock at the door. Suzy was pretty quick, he thought to himself as he went to get the door. But when he opened it, he saw that it wasn't Suzy at all.
"Hello Jeremy" said the young lady standing on his porch.
"Bianca!" said an incredulous Jeremy. He hadn't seen Bianca since that fateful night weeks ago where she turned him down.
"I was just passing and wondered if you'd like to hang out tonight?" she said, innocently.
You've got a nerve!
"Well...tonight's not good. In fact, I'm uncomfortable with us hanging out given what happened last time we saw each other" he said, indignantly.
"Oh you're not still hung up over that? I'm not the kind of girl you thought I was..." she said.
"What? One that blows hot and cold?" said Jeremy, his words terse and accusing.
"I get it...you're the old fashioned type looking for an old fashioned girl. Well, I'm not that. I want to experience so much more than just being someone's trophy girlfriend or wife material. You were moving too fast!"
"Too fast? You sent out mixed signals...'I like you Jeremy...stay away, Jeremy'. Maybe some consistency is a little old fashioned...I'm not sorry for wanting that"
"I've thought about you a lot; never stopped. I hope you're doing well" she said, her head tilted to one side as a conciliatory gesture.
"I am, thank you....I'm seeing someone else now" he said, wanting to show her he was more than just well.
"Oh..." she said in surprise. "Congratulations. I hope you're happy" she added, trying to find the right words to say.
"I am, thanks. Oh...sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to" he said, noticing that Suzy was approaching him.
"Is she...?" Bianca asked
"No...this is just business but it's important. Goodbye Bianca...and good luck" he said, still with a trace of hurt in his voice.
I'm going to spend time with a real friend
"You too" Bianca replied, her smile a little forced as she walked away.
"Anyway, hi Suzy" he said, turning to his new arrival. "It's been a bit busy these last few minutes"
"Was that...Bianca?" asked Suzy, a little embarrassed to stumble in on Jeremy's private life.
"Yeah...crazy, she just showed up at random. I told her I was seeing someone new"
"How's that going?"
"Great! Couldn't be better right now...anyway, you don't want to hear about my love life. Come inside and I'll tell you what I saw and heard" he said, ushering Suzy in.
The two of them went to Jeremy's study to talk, so they wouldn't be disturbed by any more random passers by...which seemed to be a trait of Jeremy's house right now.
"Anyway, it was last night and I was chatting with our new neighbour, Judith, on her front porch. There's this teenage girl walking down the road, near Travis, Summer and Liberty's home...I've seen her around here a couple of times, mostly in the evenings."
"The school library is just further down the canal, past the old tree and fishing spot" said Suzy. "Lots of high schoolers walk past here on their way home...anyway, please continue"
This next bit will interest you
"Then Geoffrey Landgraab, out on his daily evening run, stops and starts berating this girl, telling her to stay away from someone called Malcolm"
"That's his son. So this girl is involved with Malcolm Landgraab...might be a girlfriend or at least a potential one in Geoffrey's mind, hmmm" said Suzy, stroking her chin in interest.
"She just laughed at him...I didn't catch exactly what she said because she was soft spoken but Landgraab was quite vocal and raised his voice so I could hear him a lot better. He then warned her off his son and accused her of being high on drugs...then they parted. I'm sorry I didn't catch more but I was also trying to chat with Judith at the same time."
"That's OK, Jeremy" said Suzy, her mind racing to consider the possibilities of this information. "It sounds like he considers her to be 'the wrong kind of girl' for his son. It could be linked to my investigations or it might just be a personal matter"
Either way, I have to sit down to take in all this news
"By the way" said Suzy, a thought just occurring to her. "Did you catch a name and can you describe her to me?"
"Oh yes, she was called Gillian and she's a thin, strawberry blonde...long straight hair with a fringe. She dresses in mod gear"
"I think I've seen her around here too" replied Suzy. "Time, I think, for more detective work!"
Suzy Kent struggled with the transition from A flat major to B flat major 7th on her guitar. "Dang it, I'm never going to be Joan Baez at this rate!" A few more attempts and she finally got there, albeit with too long a pause between the two chords. At that moment, there was a knock on her door. "Now's a good time as any to take a break" she said, putting her guitar down.
It was Summer Holiday at the door. Of late Summer had become Suzy's best friend: The two shared much in common...a positive outlook on life, both interested in pop music and fashion and they both had non-starter love lives. "Hi, Suzy" said Summer. "I'm not rostered on at the cafeteria until 2 this afternoon and I was wondering if you'd like to hang out for a bit?"
"Absolutely, Summer" replied Suzy. "In fact I was wondering if you'd like to help me on a little project of mine" she added.
"Oh do tell"
"I need to find a teenager...a specific one" said Suzy.
"And why would you want to find them?" said a puzzled Summer.
"Oh it's a lead on that story I'm working on. I need to find a girl called Gillian to interview...the trouble is the school she goes to won't give out any contact details so we have to 'chance' encounter her. Do you know if the teens still hang out at the Bowl-o-Rama in Newcrest?"
"Yep...some things don't change from when we were their age..." replied Summer.
"Which was only a couple of years ago" said Suzy. "So what do you say? We go there, hang out at the lounge for a bit and see if her or any of her friends show up....oh and we might meet a couple of nice guys there as well"
I'm sold!
The girls grabbed their bags and caught the bus over to Newcrest and the Bowl-o-Rama...a popular spot that had been around for nearly a decade. There was a bowling alley, a food court, a cinema and a lounge bar all in the one building. It was a very popular hang out with teenagers and the two ladies swapped stories on the bus about their fun times hanging out there and the boys they went out with at the time. Both Suzy and Summer were 20 years old so High School wasn't so long ago for them...but with the fast change of society these days 1964 already seemed like a decade behind 1966.
"So we're here to play detective, have drinks and check out single guys?" asked Summer, when they finally arrived at the leisure complex.
The girls sat in the upstairs bar, near the huge windows that looked down on the street below.
"So what does this Gillian look like?" asked Summer.
"She's skinny, about 17 years old with long, straight strawberry blonde hair with a straight fringe. A bit of a party animal from what I hear" replied Suzy.
"Sounds like me when I was 17....that wasn't that long ago, have we become old maids already?" said Summer with a sigh.
"I hope not! It's just...well....where are all the decent guys these days?"
"Beats me!" said Summer, taking a swig of her white wine. "I sometimes think of moving to somewhere more lively. Sim City can be such a drag sometimes"
"I've been thinking of the scene in San Francisco, or New York" said Suzy
"...or London" replied Summer.
"London would be soooooooo fab! Carnaby Street! The Marquee Club!" Suzy's eyes lit up at the thought of it.
"Tea with the Queen!" said Summer and the both of them laughed.
"Seriously, if it wasn't for this story I'm working on I'd already be looking to move away from Sim City" said Suzy.
No way!
"I'm already thinking of those cute British guys!" said Summer.
The two friends continued to talk about work, relationships...or lack thereof...and Suzy's investigative journalism. It certainly was a far cry from fashion journalism, which is what Suzy was originally hired to do.
"Dang, that girl hasn't shown up yet and I need to get to work!" said Summer, finishing off her wine. "Are you OK to stay here or are you going to give up too?"
"I'm staying for the moment...I know it's only a hunch that she'll show up here but if I've guessed correctly she's the type of girl who'll want to be where the action is and with all these other teenagers hanging around..." and she nodded in the direction of all the teens gathering to go see the new, wildly popular French movie "Un Sim Et Une Simme" "...I'm sure she's going to show up soon"
Summer made her goodbyes and headed off whilst Suzy continued to look out for Gillian. Soon enough, a girl matching her description could be spotted from the upstairs lounge walking towards Bowl-o-Rama.
You can spot an avid fan of French movies a mile off
Suzy ran downstairs and out of the building in case Gillian walked past it. "Hello there...are you Gillian by any chance?" she called out to the girl. The teenager stopped and turned to look at Suzy.
"I am, who wants to know?" she said.
"Hi, I'm Suzy Kent...I'm a writer for 'Hey, Wow!' magazine"
The girl's eyes widened and her face lit up with excitement. "Hey, Wow!' I love that magazine...I get it every week!" she said, enthusiastically.
"Glad to hear it...anyway I'm doing a story and wondered if I could ask you a few questions?"
"Sure! What about? Fashion? I know ALL about fashion! Pop music? I know EVERYTHING about that as well!"
"It's more personal than that....erm" Suzy felt embarrassed to be asking this girl questions about her personal dating life but she was committed to this story now. "...you know, we cover celebrity news as well; who's dating who, who's been seen in the trendiest sports...you know the thing"
"I do" said Gillian, now standing confidently and less bubbly and gushing. "In fact, I know a well known person about town AND have been on a few dates with him....if you're interested" she said, teasingly.
"Do tell!" said Suzy.
"Well....I mean, I don't want to go telling about this guy unless there was something rewarding in it" Gillian looked shrewdly at Suzy.
"I see...well, what can I help you with?"
"I want to be a model...top of the range stuff, the famous fashion houses....well, you must have contacts there...maybe you could hook me up with some of them. I'm the right height, the right shape and I've got 'the look'. What about it?"
Suzy thought about this; the girl was certainly no shrinking violet....she could see why she would incur the wrath of Geoffrey Landgraab.
A sharp operator
Suzy's day is quite event filled so this is the end of part 1 of her story today....tune in later for what happened next.
Suzy thought about what Gillian had asked for...a simple matter of introducing this girl to some of her modelling contacts. There was a risk; if she proved to be a liability and as demanding as Suzy had suspected it might reflect badly on her. On the other hand, if what she had to say was revelatory then perhaps she would be forgiven if the story was good.
"OK, I know people who might help your modelling career" said Suzy, hoping she wouldn't regret it. "I have a business card from a top photographer...it's yours IF you tell me about this guy." She held the card aloft, just out of Gillian's reach.
"Alright....I've been dating Malcolm Landgraab...the heir to the Landgraab fortune" the girl said.
"I know the Landgraabs. Go on" said Suzy.
"Well...he's no angel but then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree if you get my drift" Gillian continued.
"This I already know" said Suzy, turning the business card over in her hand.
"OK...here's the dope..." said Gillian leaning in and speaking softly. "Malcolm's been supplying the party scene with some substances that the cops wouldn't take too kindly too: 'Shrooms, acid and especially space cookies. It's his way of 'expanding' the family business with a sideline of his own."
"And the family business is, what, exactly?" asked Suzy.
"The old man's a ruthless business tycoon...as you know. But he's REALLY cutthroat. Putting people out of business, cutting off their water and power supplies. It's less like a corporation and more like a protection racket. But not to be outdone is Mommy Dearest...she's into ALL kinds of criminal activities! She pretty much runs the Sim City underworld!"
Suzy said nothing. She was shocked by this revelation...the Landgraabs were way worse than she had initially suspected. Clearing her throat, she asked Gillian "So are you going to keep dating Malcolm?"
"I guess...depends on him and whether he'll stand up to Daddy" she shrugged.
"Well, if you hear anything new...here's my contact number. And here's that business card I promised as well...thank you Gillian"
The girl looked at the cards she was given and smiled broadly. Suzy walked away Good luck... she thought you're going to need it.
Suzy headed into town for some light relief and noticed that there were bright pink and psychedelic colours decking out the public squares. One look at the signs posted everywhere told her it was "Romance Festival" night. "Oh no!" she thought, remembering how dull it was last time. However, all was not a total loss...a familiar face was present.
"Bakko Jang...always where the party is!" she said, smiling at him.
"You know me, sis" he replied. "Gonna dance?" he asked.
"Maybe later...I'm hungry right now" she replied. Suzy headed over to a vendor for one of this week's special "romantic" dishes but they usually turned out to be regular meals but with more chili sauce on them.
Do you have a licence to wear that coat?
Looking around the festival, it was the same old bunch of middle aged men on the hunt and female fashion disasters as the divorcees attempted to look hip but failing. Still, the food was nice and after she'd finished she headed back to talk with Bakko.
"I'm doing a live spot later...it's open mic night at the bar and I've got me some new material" said Bakko, enthusiastically.
"I look forward to seeing it" said Suzy.
"Hey, it's either one of my fans...or one of yours...coming towards us" said Bakko, nodding in the direction behind Suzy. She turned around to see Nancy Landgraab approaching them.
"Bakko..." Nancy said "I'm very much looking forward to seeing your act later on. I'm so glad the money and time we invested in your career is starting to pay off"
Now there's a backstory that should be told
"Thank you, Mrs Landgraab...enjoy the show" replied Bakko.
"And Miss Kent, how lovely to see you again. I rely on your publication to inform me of the latest trends" she said, showing off her latest outfit. A bit racy for a woman of 40 but Nancy had the courage...and the looks...to just about pull it off.
"Pleated skirts are the height of fashion right now" replied Suzy. "Are you with your family tonight, by any chance?"
"Geoffrey's here. Malcolm was invited by he's with friends this evening" Nancy replied, haughtily.
"Yes, I hear he's quite the socialite" said Suzy. "He's been seeing this aspiring model I believe?" Suzy was trying to get a reaction from Nancy and she didn't have to wait long either.
If looks could kill
This day is longer than I thought....it'll need a part 3 which will be along later.
There was a frosty silence between Nancy and Suzy, who realised she'd touched a nerve there. Suddenly, Nancy looked away and over to an area where people were painting. This seemed to snap her out of her mood. "Ah..." said Nancy. "I see someone I'd like you to meet. Neil! Would you be a darling and come over here for a moment?" she said to a young, fair haired man who'd been painting a still life scene. He put down his paintbrush and came over to where Nancy and Suzy were standing.
"Suzy Kent...I'd like you to meet a friend of mine: Neil Humphries. Neil is an aspiring young artist the Landgraab Foundation are sponsoring. Miss Kent here is from 'Hey, Wow!' magazine."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Kent" said Neil, pleasantly
"Call me Suzy" she replied. Suzy thought Neil was a friendly, good looking guy from his smile and honest expression.
And regulation turtleneck sweater
"I must attend to other business...until next time" said Nancy, who promptly left.
Neil looked stuck for something to say so Suzy tried to break the ice. "I like your painting over there" she said.
"Oh, that? I haven't finished it yet" he said, looking embarrassed.
"Nevertheless it's looking good...you're good at capturing reflections on canvas. So do you have anything exhibited in any galleries?" she asked, trying to get him to open up.
"Not yet...I still consider myself an amateur at this stage. Hopefully one day I'll have my own exhibition. At the moment I'm just glad to be able to participate in this arts festival..."
"Erm, this is the Romance Festival" said Suzy, correcting him.
"Romance Festival? Oh my god!" the man looked panicked and looked around him frantically.
That's like...the worst!
"Is something the matter?" said Suzy, now looking concerned.
"I...I don't do well at these kind of things. I thought this was an art festival"
Suzy suppressed the urge to laugh. Neil looked so panicked at the idea of being at a romance festival.
"Relax...this place is usually filled with middle aged people looking to cheat on their spouses anyway. I've been to this event twice now and haven't met a single....nice....young...single....man" and as she spoke those words, her eyes met Neil's briefly before both of them looked away.
"I...I...hope you can come to a showing of my work in the future...Suzy" said Neil, putting his hands in his pockets and looking awkwardly at his feet. "In the meantime...I'd better get back to my painting"
Suzy nodded. She didn't know quite what to make of this guy but that brief moment of eye contact was enough to spark an interest in this man who was so awkward he made Jeremy Saint look like a lounge lizard. Suzy went to get some food and found that she was sitting opposite Geoffrey Landgraab. He didn't notice her though; his attention was drawn to a an elegant blonde haired lady wearing a lavender coloured Chinese dress. Geoffrey gave her a wink and a wave...she smiled seductively back at her. This is not the model family thought Suzy.
"Come on, Action, your shift is about to start....why are you always up here working out when there's fresh donuts in the squad room?" Officer Prisha Datta said to John Action as he gave the punch bag another mighty blow.
"Working out keeps me sharp. Eating well keeps me in shape" replied Action, once again landing a heavy blow on the bag.
"Anyway, you've got about 10 minutes before you have to be out there on the streets. You won't have time to get changed...or hit the showers, phew!" she said, making a wafting sign with her hand as she caught a whiff of Action's sweat.
That sweat is what you call Essence of Man!
"Listen, Prish...I'm so fast I can punch this bag, get showered and into my uniform faster than you could eat that donut over there" he replied and giving the punch bag one last massive hit, he grabbed his towel and headed for the showers.
His shift began with taking a suspect's fingerprints, however this cat was giving Action some sass.
"Hey! Watch the hands!" he said "These are the hands of an artist!"
"A con artist more like" said Action, non plussed.
"I'm sure it's against your regulations to be this flip with an innocent victim of your so-called justice" said the suspect, complaining more.
"Innocent victim?" said Action, slamming the guy's hand down on to the ink pad to get his prints. "Tell that to the judge, who you'll be seeing real soon"
Don't you give me sass!
Action finished taking the prints and handed the folder with them to Datta. "I'm going to hit the streets now, Datta. Don't eat all the donuts while I'm gone"
Action had personally requested his patrol route took in his home suburb as he'd noticed some strange comings and goings there of late. Jeremy and Suzy had informed him about Geoffrey Landgraab and Gillian Hills, Malcolm Landgraab's on-off girlfriend. Plus there were the altercations between the Landgraabs and Mortimer Goth that needed to be kept an eye on. With the all the comings and goings in the area Action had a gut feeling that his shift wouldn't be quiet today.
It did, however, begin peacefully. As he walked up and down the street he noticed Travis Scott leave his house and walk over to him.
"What's up, Travis?" said Action
"Good to see you around, Action. I haven't seen you around recently. Are you still seeing Liberty?"
"It's a casual thing, Travis. I ain't looking to go steady or anything like that" Action replied.
I get more action in one week than you have since this story began
Travis looked a little put out by this comment, mainly because he hadn't done much about his own love life. "Anyway, Action" he said, changing the subject "I noticed this couple down the road there, near the garden, they seem to be having an argument."
"So noted" said Action. "I'd better check out that scene. Catch you later, Travis"
Action made his way cautiously towards the arguing couple. All of a sudden, they stopped shouting and everything went quiet. Action stopped by a large tree so he could watch events from a more discrete distance. The couple started talking again but this time in a quieter tone. Neither of them looked happy but at least they weren't causing a disturbance. Action decided to back off for now and await for any future disturbances. But what he didn't spot was that someone else was stalking him.
Action walked back to the corner of the street but it was then the mysterious stalker suddenly rushed him and gave him a karate chop on the back of the neck. Action didn't have time to reach for his .38 service revolver as he dropped to his knees. "Take that, pig!" said the attacker. Action flicked out his left arm and chopped the back of the attacker's knee which caused the man to buckle and lose his balance. Seizing his chance, Action leapt to his feet and gave a roundhouse blow to the guy's jaw, but he was tough and fast and rolled with the punch to lessen the blow. As he recovered he gave Action a 1-2 and almost put him to the ground again.
This scene filmed in back-to-front-o-vision!
But all the training Action had put in recently came to the fore. Action stood up and uppercut the guy in the jaw, using the momentum of his rise to give his punch more power. The guy recoiled and fell back into the lamp post. Action was quick to whip out his regulation handcuffs and in seconds he'd locked his attacker to the post.
"You need to cool off, pal!" said Action. "Now why would you go do something stupid like try to beat up a cop?"
"A....warning...." gasped the attacker, who was still stunned from the beating Action had given him. "You've....made....enemies....Action!" he continued before collapsing through exhaustion.
Action got on the radio to call in a car to take this thug away. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to name my enemies in the cooler" he said. "You stay there like a good little doggie while I go deal with the rest of the trash"
The voices between the arguing couple grew louder and was attracting the notice of the locals. Action sauntered over to them.
If looks could kill you'd get 20 to life
"I hate you!" yelled the girl.
"Hey, silly cow...you and me, it's not serious." replied the man, matter of factly.
"You slept with HER! How could you?"
"I can't be pinned down, girl, you know that."
"But my best friend as well!"
"I get around, baby, you know that. Now calm down, get your knickers back on or I'm going to have to give you a slap to keep you in line"
"You ain't slapping her or anyone else today" came Action's booming voice. The man faltered in his tracks.
"Hello officer, this is between me and the girl" said the man, not bothered by Action's presence.
"You are causing a disturbance and have just threatened to strike this lady. I'm warning you, pal, you get out of here right now or you'll be joining that guy over there" said Action, nodding to where his assailant was cuffed.
"Alright, chum, keep your hair on." replied the man, leaving the scene.
respect women!
"You alright, Miss?" said Action to the woman.
"Grrrr! That man! I detest him!" She replied.
"Hey, I know you...." said Action "We met when I first moved into town. Down at the...uhm....the Blue Something or other"
"The Blue Velvet" she replied. "I remember. I didn't know you were a cop...you're pretty handy to have around. I'm Jade"
"Of course" replied Action, smiling.
That old Action charm!
"Anyway, Jade, you can do better than him in your life. Look, my ride is here and I've got to get that perp back to the blockhouse. Stay cool, baby" he said, tipping his hat at her.
Action and his back up uncuffed the assailant from the lamp post, shoved him in the back of the black and white and hauled him back to 13th Precinct HQ. However, there was no rest for Action. Datta was on the front desk and she was talking to two civilians. One, a dorky looking young man and the second an elegant blonde lady.
"Ah, Action, no rest for the wicked today...we have a couple of complaints to deal with" she said, indicating the two civilians.
"No problem, me and the lady here...." he began.
"Uh-huh...Mr Fowler here has been waiting the longest and he has a problem which I think you're uniquely suited to help with. I will deal with Miss Vale."
So what's your problem Mr Second Banana...erm, I mean Mr Fowler?
Fowler began to explain his problem to Action "Well, officer, I don't know how quite to explain this problem we have in our little community...but someone's been going around and messing in our swimming pools. And by messing I mean...well...leaving something in them that, frankly, deserves to be in a bathroom."
"I get what you mean" said Action, sighing, whilst watching Datta deal with the elegant woman.
At the end of his shift, Action headed home. The pool depositor case would have to wait until tomorrow. He changed out of his uniform, had some chow and was relaxing when he saw a familiar figure outside of his window. A pleasant and familiar figure. Action got up and went outside to say hello. The person was someone he'd met recently; Katharine Bowie, young socialite. She was dressed in the height of fashion, wearing a few yellow whisps of nothing much.
Schwing!
"Katharine" said Action, smiling. "A pleasure to see you"
"Likewise, Action" she replied.
"All dressed up to the nines, and beyond" said Action, complimenting her appearance.
"A charity fundraising dinner" she said.
"And no plus one? I would have thought all the eligible men of Sim City would be beating a path to your door to accompany you"
"Not tonight, alas" she said. "Do you own a tux?"
"I own two"
"I'll remember that for next time" she said, smiling.
"I'll remember to have them dry cleaned" he replied.
Judith Epstein was a young woman who liked schedules and procedure. She'd been like this all her life, much to the annoyance of her family and those who knew her growing up. She was up at 6am, did a routine of light exercises and had showered, as she had done all through her college years. Finally she put on her make up, plaited her hair and put in some contact lenses...normally she didn't wear them but today was a special day and she didn't want to lose her glasses in a patient during surgery. Yes, today was her first day of work at the hospital and if she was going to assist the best surgeons Sim City had she needed to look smart and professional.
This is my serious face
Most doctors wore their normal clothes to work and changed into their scrubs or lab coats at the start of their shift at the hospital but Judith wanted to be super keen so she wore her new, fresh out of the box scrubs on the bus. She couldn't wait to start work; four years of medical school...finishing first in her class...all came down to this: An internship at Sim City's premier hospital.
When she arrived at the hospital she just sauntered in, confident. She knew she belonged here, in the medical world, bursting at the opportunity to show her superiors just what she was capable of. Walking through reception, she made her way to the information desk where she saw a woman in medical scrubs manning the phones and looking through patient records.
"Dr Judith Epstein, reporting for duty" said Judith.
"Dr...Epstein?" said the woman on the desk. "Do you work here?"
"As of today, yes. Did you not see my file?"
"I haven't but I'm sure the Duty Doctor has. Let's just look through my records here....Epcott, Ephraim, ah here we go...Epstein. I see you're a first year intern."
"That's me!" replied Judith, positively.
You don't exactly lack confidence
"I'm Francesca Griffith, admin assistant. Glad to have you on board, Doctor. I'll page Dr Murakami and she'll show you the ropes."
Francesca picked up a phone receiver and put out a message over the hospital loudspeaker system. "Paging Dr Murakami...paging Dr Murakami...please report to reception please.
After a few minutes wait a Japanese-American woman with short hair and wearing a lab coat arrived in the reception area and walked over to Judith. "Ah, Dr Epstein...good of you to join us. I see you've met Mrs Griffith...now, I haven't got time to give you a guided tour of the whole hospital but it's well signposted, there's maps in every corridor and I'm sure you'll pick things up quickly."
And if you could not wave, that'll be dandy
"Now, for your first task I want you to take some food for the patient in room 2" said Dr Murakami.
"Erm, you want me to take some food to a patient?" asked an incredulous Judith. "Surely I should be studying some case notes, maybe working in the lab..."
"Oh no, I want you to take food to the patient" said Dr Murakami, matter of factly. "I have a policy where new interns learn the ropes and layout of the hospital by doing simple tasks. I don't like those fresh out of medical school...particularly ones who show keen medical knowledge but little in the way of life skills...to learn from the bottom up. Now, this meal, room 2 and pronto...Dr Epstein." she said, pointing to a trolley with a covered metal dish on it.
Judith, without saying a word, trudged over to the trolley and began to push it. Reaching the double doors to the wards, she turned to Francesca looking puzzled.
"Through those double doors and just ahead to the left...you can't miss it" said Francesca.
Judith followed the directions and found room 2. Inside was a teenage girl who appeared to be covered in spots "Early stage psoriasis or perhaps an allergic form of eczema" thought Judith to herself.
"Nurse?" said the girl, quizzicly.
"Doctor, actually. Dr Epstein. I've brought you some food."
"Oh I'm so hungry...I had an examination early this morning and missed breakfast time...I guess this is a late breakfast, maybe brunch"
Was brunch a thing back in 1966?
"Are my results back yet?" asked the girl.
Judith walked to the end of the bed and checked her notes...name, Yuki Behr, age 17. The usual medical history...nothing out of the ordinary.
"No, not yet it appears" said Judith. "But my guess is that it's an allergic reaction to something that contacted your skin. Do you by any chance frequent outdoor places much?"
"Well...no, not usually, but recently I've found a shortcut through Newcrest to my home that takes me through a lot of old heath land that has a lot of long grasses and wild bushes."
"Ah, that's probably it. If it is then there's plenty of ointments we can prescribe."
"Thank you, Dr Epstein...you're the first person here to tell me what might be wrong"
You're a groovy kind of medico, sister!
At that point there was a knock on the door. Judith said "enter" and Francesca did just that.
"Dr Epstein....Dr Murakami has got your next task for you." she said.
"Already? What is it? Does she want me to sit in on surgery? Does she want me to take some tissue samples from this patient?" asked an eager Judith.
"No, she wants you to change the IV drip of the patient in room 4."
I hate to be the bearer of mundane news
Judith let out a "harumph", put Yuki's chart back in its holder and left the room. Popping along to room 4, she was met by a VERY talkative old lady.
"Well you took your time...do you know how long I've been waiting for an operation? Do you? Well it's not good enough, do you hear? Not good enough...good grief, look at the state of you? Are you a nurse? In my day nurses looked like nurses...white uniforms and hats...now look at you!"
"I'm a doctor, madam" replied Judith, when the old lady paused to intake a breath of air.
"A doctor! What are you, 12? Tsch! And a mere slip of a girl as well!"
"I'll just change your drip" said Judith, who had faced plenty of prejudice during her medical training from older male doctors who thought that she was too young and slight to cut it as a doctor.
I'm crushing your head!
"I tell you what Mrs...." and she checked the patient's notes "...Kearney. I'll follow up with the surgeons on your time of operation" and with that she quickly made her way out of the room.
Lunchtime came and Judith grabbed a light snack from the cafeteria. She ate alone; not knowing any of the other staff apart from Francesca, who was still working on the front desk. To be frank, she didn't mind the solitude here and appreciated the break from all the mundane tasks she'd been assigned. It certainly wasn't what she expected on her first day as a qualified doctor.
Heading back to the reception, Judith asked Francesca what her next "arduous" medical task would be.
Crohns? Vibration Whitefinger? The Bubonic Plague?
"Well...there is something the higher ups wanted you to do" said Francesca. "Something that will familiarise you with every part of the hospital, be more hands on and is part of the very wellbeing of the place."
"Ooh, sounds interesting...what is it?" asked an expectant Judith.
Don't tell my parents
At the end of her shift Judith trudged out of the hospital...she was disappointed that all her cases could have been handled by nurses, janitors or candy stripers but a job's a job and she would give it more of a go to prove to the "higher ups" that she deserved better. Francesca stopped her on the way out.
"Don't sweat it; all new interns go through this process" she said, sympathetically.
"Sigh...I guess. I'm still frustrated though; I want to prove what I can do!" said Judith.
"That'll come...in time. Meanwhile do you fancy hanging out for a bit after work? My husband's taking our daughter to ballet class this evening so I've got a workout session booked at Skye Fitness...and I'm allowed to bring a guest."
"Sounds good...I don't exercise much but I'm keen to give it a try. Sure." replied Judith.
"OK, see you there at 7pm"
Judith went home, had dinner and grabbed her exercise clothes. Catching the bus into San Myshuno she arrived....as she liked to do...promptly. Francesca had also just arrived and ran over to her.
"Phew! They couldn't find some x-ray at the hospital so yours truly had to locate it for them! Doctors! Anyway, I rushed straight from there to here; I didn't even have time to change out of my scrubs!"
"Hey, this is a pretty swanky place here" said Judith, impressed by the modern state of the art gynmasium.
How much do you earn?
OK...this is another long episode...I will resume the rest of Judith's day a little later on.
Judith and Francesca entered the gym. "Yes, this place can be expensive but my husband's a member" said Francesca.
"Maybe one day I'll earn enough to get membership here as well" commented Judith, taking in the expensive furnishings and equipment.
They went into the ladies' changing room where Judith changed into her exercise leotard. She'd never been the sporty type and wondered how she would get on here but how difficult could keep fit be, she wondered. Francesca showed her to the treadmills and showed her how to operate one.
"So, do you think you'll stick with the hospital?" asked Francesca.
"I'm determined to. It's what I've always wanted to do all my life" replied Judith. "So what's the key to winning over Murakami?"
"Hard work and a can-do attitude" said Francesca. "But I think you did all the right things today, even if they didn't seem like much"
I can't help but notice you've set this treadmill to 2 hours
Judith kept running on the treadmill but noticed that two of her neighbours, John Action and Jeremy Saint, had entered the gym.
"Hey, Judith, what are you doing here?" said Jeremy.
"I might ask you the same question...this place is pretty expensive" she replied.
"I know. But my boss gave me a one off pass as a promotion present. John here got a pass from one of his contacts"
Action turned and smiled. "It was more of a personal contact...if you get my drift. I've been seeing this lady who has friends on the council. It pays to be connected"
That thing has a lot of buttons
Judith got off the treadmill, feeling exhausted. Jeremy turned to her and said "I almost forgot! Today was your first day at the hospital. How did it go?"
Judith paused for a moment. Francesca had gone to the other end of the gym to lift weights and was out of earshot and Judith didn't want to tell Jeremy about her day of delivering food, mopping floors and getting harangued by old ladies.
"Oh it was VERY challenging" she said. "I hit the ground running, so to speak. Never off my feet for a moment with all these tricky cases."
Action stroked his chin. "Really? You made a big impression on your bosses? Normally you have to mop the floors when you're at the bottom rung."
There'd been something gnawing away at Barbara Dubois and it wasn't the alleged rat that her work colleagues and the sandwich bar claimed existed in the dry food storage. The last few days she couldn't get Jeremy Saint out of her mind. The more she thought about him, the more warmly and fondly she felt. Despite the outwardly square and awkward demeanour she knew he was really a romantic and caring person. Plus he was the first guy she'd dated who wasn't interested in one thing and one thing only. Barbara wasn't a prude by any means but she liked being courted, wooed and romanced and that's what Jeremy brought to their courtship. He was also the first American she'd dated since her move from Montreal to Sim City and that made him seem more exotic, crazy though that seemed.
But this lunchtime she'd finished her shift and and was desperate to see him. Maybe he was in, maybe he'd had lunch at home? Sure, she could wait until after 5pm but she HAD to visit him just in the slight chance he was there....to see him and tell him how she felt. However, knocking at the door she knew there was no one at home. Sighing in disappointment she began to trudge off when an idea struck her...she'd leave a note for him, telling him she wanted to see him soon. Not too desperate, but clearly displaying her eagerness to meet up. She wrote a note, folded it and pushed it through his letterbox.
It's a good job I didn't sign it 'PLEEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE!"
At a little after 5pm Jeremy had arrived home feeling crushed, disappointed and embarrassed. He was certain he was going to get a promotion today after all the nods, winks and "attaboys" he'd been getting from some of the senior staff at Dewey, Cheathem & Howe. He'd heard his name being spoken in corridors along with the word "promotion" so when he was called into J.J. Gotcha's office he began by saying to his boss "Thank you, you do me a great honour and I'm pleased to accept the appointment...can we talk about my salary?"
"What salary? What are you talking about?" said Gotcha.
"Well, the promotion" replied Jeremy
"But what's your salary got to do with Henderson's promotion?"
"Henderson?" said an incredulous Jeremy.
"Yes...Henderson is being promoted to department manager. You didn't think it'd be YOU, did you? Ha. Ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha!"
"Well, sir, it's just that there were rumours...." said an embarrassed Jeremy.
"Hey! Bronson...come in here for a moment!" said Gotcha, calling to a passing colleague who stopped to listen. "Saint here thought he'd be getting the promotion! Ha-ha-ha-ha- ha!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" said Bronson, bursting out laughing.
"What's so funny?" said a woman clutching a folder who was also walking past. When Bronson explained that Jeremy thought he was being promoted to department manager she started laughing as well. The laughter was so contagious it started to spread around the office. Soon Jeremy couldn't take it anymore.
"Gahhhhhh!" he said, running out.
When he got home he just wanted to die. If that didn't happen then he'd probably pack his bags and move back to Crested Butte.
In less enlightened times he would have been put in stocks for such impertinence
He opened the door, sighed and noticed a little note on the floor. Opening it up, he saw it was from Barbara.
I have to see you, is this evening any good? Please call me....hugs and kisses, Barbara
What could she want to see him about? Knowing his luck is was another dumping, just like Bianca. But she did sign it hugs and kisses so maybe it wasn't all bad? He raced to the phone and called her.
"Barbara...are you alright?" he said.
"Jeremy! Oh I'm so glad you called. Did you get my message?" she replied.
"Yes...I'm free tonight as a matter of fact. Is everything OK with you?"
"Oh absolutely...I'm so looking forward to catching up with you. See you shortly" she said, enthusiastically. Jeremy smiled....she didn't sound like she wanted to dump him. He went over to the radio and switched it on and noticed his "employee of the month" award. How long ago did that seem? Now he was "laughing stock" instead.
He changed into a casual suit and started to prepare some dinner for him and Barbara. Just as he was putting the finishing touches to a clam chowder, the doorbell rang. Springing to life he saw that it was Barbara.
"Jeremy, thanks for inviting me over" she said, entering the house.
"My pleasure. So you really wanted to see me?" he replied.
"Is that so strange? I'm.....very fond of you" she said, sheepishly. She wanted to say something else but fear had gripped her out of worry of being rejected.
"Well you're in luck because tonight I've cooked another of my grandmother's recipes...clam chowder, I hope you like it"
"I love chowder...it's a favourite dish back home" she said, smiling.
It's Chow-DAH!
They ate and soon Jeremy forgot all about the work humiliation he'd suffered. Barbara was the ray of light in his life and he wanted to tell her....to tell her how fond he was. No, that sounded weak....he felt much, much more for her but he couldn't quite say it. What if she rejected him just like Bianca did?
Barbara joked and told silly stories about her work but she was barely supressing what she really wanted to say to him. Everything was perfect right now, what if she said something that panicked him?
After dinner they went to Jeremy's study where they talked about their favourite books, places they'd like to go and things they both enjoyed. But there was an elephant in this small room and it wanted to escape! Barbara looked at her feet and scuffed one of them on the floor whilst clasping her hands....
"So....I really wanted to see you tonight. I couldn't stop thinking about you at work today" she said, hesitantly.
"I sometimes feel that way about you" Jeremy replied, looking around the room, too frightened to look her in the eye.
"I....think....well...I KNOW that I...." she began.
"I...I...I..." said Jeremy, trying to fill the silence. "...I want to say, what I mean to say is....
"I LOVE YOU!"
"I LOVE YOU!"
They both said it simultaneously.
Jinx!
There was a short laugh and then silence. Both looked each other in the eye and couldn't break contact. Then they drew towards each other, as if by magnetism, neither wanting to stop what was happening naturally.
They parted after kissing for what seemed like an age. Jeremy stroked Barbara's hair and finally they spoke.
"What were we ever nervous about?" he said, softly.
"I know" she said, looking deep into his eyes. "What next?" she said.
"Stay" he said. She nodded.
"I was hoping you'd say that" she responded. "As it so happens I packed some nightclothes in my bag just in case"
"Good call. Shall we retire to the bedroom?" he said, a new found confidence in his voice. Anything was possible now, he thought.
"I'll just go to the bathroom first" she said. Jeremy went to his room and changed into his pyjamas, neatly folding his clothes on top of his dresser. His heart was starting to pound...he was going to spend the night with her and...well, this could be the night where they would...he couldn't bring himself to think of the word.
His heart began to pound faster when Barbara entered the bedroom. She'd changed into her nightclothes but they were not what he expected. She was wearing a white satin basque with matching garters and sheer white stockings. She'd gone the extra mile.
When Barbara packed a bag earlier on today, in the hope that she and Jeremy would spend the night together, she wondered about how risque her lingerie would be...maybe it would make Jeremy think less of her? As she put the garments on, however, she felt seductive and alluring. Sauntering into the bedroom she stood resplendent. Jeremy's jaw almost hit the floor.
"You're....beautiful" he said, admiring her from across the room.
And here I am in plaid flannel pyjamas
They slid into the bed and began to snuggle and kiss. Each wanted the other so much but....it was late, and slowly, as they were canoodling, tiredness overcame them. Before anything else could happen they were fast asleep.
After the last few days doing field research for "Hey, Wow!" magazine, Suzy Kent was due in the office today. She'd woken up early, showered, got dressed in her green leaf patterned mini dress and light green shoes, applied her make up and was ready to go by 7am. The trouble was if she left now no one would be in the office. For good measure, she decided to do some last minute street interviews with passers by.
One day I'm going to have to check out this tree
Once she'd got her interview done, a strange sensation came over her...maybe it was the sunshine, maybe it was the loveliness of this tree that she remembered had a prominently marked question mark on the map of Foundry Cove that Burr DeBenning had shown her. Now Suzy felt this sudden urge to sing.
She knew it must have looked silly to anyone looking...it certainly drew a bemused smile from a little girl who happened to walk past at that moment, but sing she had to do.
Feel free to join in
As she drew to the close of her song, she checked her watch...it was time for work. Letting out a nervous laugh for anyone still bemused by her impromtu session, she quickly ran to the bus stop.
At work, her editor pulled her to one side. "Suzy...you've been out in the field chasing a story and I like that kind of initiative" he said. "However, we need articles. Now, with all that research you've done, do you have a story?"
"Well, almost one" Suzy replied. "I'd like more time to gather evidence"
"Give me a first draft of what you've got by the end of the day. That way I'll see if it's got any merit to it" he said.
She went to her desk in the open plan office, shut the noise and hubbub of fashion, pop music and movie gossip and got typing. She wrote about the rivalry between the Landgraabs and the Fengs, how the Goths fit into high society in the city but she didn't have anything near enough a consistent thread. How would she write about the Landgraab's alleged criminal activities? If she got any detail wrong she and the magazine would be sued. She kept it vague for now.
When she handed it in to her editor, he read it through very quickly. "I like your writing style..." he began. "But you talk about a trilogy of power and yet that's incomplete. You allude to criminal goings on with Malcolm Landgraab but your source is one anonymous person. I can't print this."
Suzy looked down. She knew she'd be lucky if it did get published.
"We're a trendy fashion and lifestyle magazine for the youth of today" said her editor, standing up and pacing around his office. "Will they go for any of this? Dusty old politics? Middle aged rivalries? The fuddy-duddy Goths? No, they won't go for a blow by blow account of Victor Feng vs Geoffrey Landgraab"
"I know...it's just I found some information on them and just ran with the story" said an apologetic Suzy.
"But...there's definitely something here" said the editor. "You've got an angle: Malcolm Landgraab. He's young...our target audience. He's one of Sim City's most eligible young men and has a reputation for being a bit of a bad boy. How bad? You find out."
"So...you want me to continue?" asked Suzy
"Yes, but focus on the Landgraab boy. Follow up with your contact...oh, and Suzy?"
"Yes sir?"
"Dang fine work you've done. In fact, I'm so impressed by the quality of your writing and photography that I'm giving you a promotion!"
"Thank you sir!" said an elated Suzy. She was going up in the world and, well, she could do with the extra money.
At the end of the work day she went home and cooked a celebratory dinner for one. There was a knock at the door; as usual, it was Summer Holiday. Summer had become Suzy's closest friend and the two shared a trust as well as a friendship: They told each other everything that was on their minds and this evening was no exception.
Gossip girls
"I got a promotion at work today!" exclaimed Suzy.
The two went inside and Suzy started to tell Summer about how her boss liked her writing and that she should pursue the Malcolm Landgraab angle on it.
"So I guess our little stake out the other day paid off then?" said Summer.
"Definitely. So you'd be up for more snooping around?" said Suzy.
"Well, Malcolm Landgraab is too young for me and not my kind of guy but...hey. The other day was fun"
"Hey, you wouldn't believe what happened with me today" said Summer.
"Go on" replied an interested Suzy.
"Well, I was down at the Rattlesnake Juice Bar with some friends and this guy comes up to me and says I'm stunning and asks if I was a model"
"You don't say!" replied a shocked Suzy. "Who was he?"
"Some guy I'd never heard of but he said he ran a magazine and was always on the look out for beautiful young women who had modelling experience"
"And you think he was on the level?" said Suzy. "I mean, you could easily be a model but there's a lot of creeps out there..."
"I know and I treated him a bit cool...I'm suspicious of that kind of flattery"
But for a brief moment I considered his offer
"Did he say the name of his magazine?" asked Suzy.
"Lochnivar? Lottery? Erm...Lothario! That's it. Lothario magazine"
"Never heard of it" replied Suzy. "Hey, if you're interested in modelling I could hook you up with some genuine fashion photographers. There's a demand for good clothes models at the moment"
"Thanks but that's something I'm not really interested in" replied Summer. "I'm a bit two left footed and gangly"
"So...we haven't talked about our sucky love lives yet" said Suzy. "I'm getting nowhere...fast. Where are all the decent, single guys?"
"Hey, I know that Jeremy and that Barbara girl he's been seeing are getting serious now. Twice she's stayed over"
"Woooo! Good for him, he's such a nice guy!" said Suzy. Suddenly, another urge hit her....she had to dance this time. Switching on the radio she got up and had a boogie. Summer wondered what was going on.
"Don't ask me..." said Suzy. "It's been one of those days!"
One of the perks of being in the police force was that it allowed an ordinary beat cop to enjoy the luxury facilities of the Skye Fitness Club, courtesy of a year’s free membership to all at the 13th Precinct for their assistance in resolving the hostage situation last New Years’. Action had a daily exercise regimen and in his view why just pound around the local streets when you could enjoy the luxury penthouse views whilst on the treadmill?
After showering and getting dressed he noticed Nancy Landgraab had just arrived. Their eyes made contact for only a second but it was enough to prompt her to break off her warm up exercises and head over to him.
“Officer Action” she said as a greeting.
“Mrs Landgraab. I hope you are well” he replied.
“I am and thank you for keeping Mortimer Goth off my back”
“I just keep the peace, I don’t insert myself into other people’s problems”
“I understand and your impartiality will not affect the Landgraab Foundation donation to the Police Veteran’s Fund.”
“Why should it?” Action remarked.
“Oh…no reason. You protect and serve…just remember who that is” she said, cool as you like, before returning to the treadmill. Action watched her go, suspiciously, and headed off to work.
No raffle prizes for you!
13TH PRECINCT HQ, 10:58am
“Chief wants to see you” said Officer Datta.
“Makes a change…he usually wants me nowhere near his office” replied Action, sauntering off to the Captain’s office.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” he said, after entering.
“Action…sit down! I know you like to be out in the field but…you’re too slow getting results!” said the Captain.
“I gather evidence, sir, with all due respect” said Action.
“Well, sometimes you have to knock a few heads about to teach the villains on the street just who’s boss.”
“I don’t like to haul some juve into the slammer and then find out he didn’t do the crime” said Action.
“I want results today, Action….actually I want results YESTERDAY! Get to it!”
Said just like every other police chief that ever existed
“Yes. Sir” said Action, getting up to leave. No sooner was he out of the Chief’s office than Sergeant Kitchen approached him.
“Hold your horses, Action, there’s been a big burglary over at the Solar Flare lounge in Oasis Springs” he said.
“I’m on my way” said Action, putting on his cap.
THE SOLAR FLARE LOUNGE, 10:28AM
A full squad was on the premises already gathering evidence. Action noticed some unusual marks on the ground and brought them to the senior detective’s attention.
We've got the place surrounded
“Footprints…two sets. One large, man sized. One smaller but also male. Although the length would suggest a female it’s too broad and has to be a man’s. They ran across the flower bed here and into a getaway vehicle…you can see the tyre marks there; that indicates a quick getaway. I reckon it was a large vehicle as well; pick up truck or van.”
“It looks like a load of artwork’s gone missing.” Said Datta.
“Makes sense; the Solar Flare promotes a lot of new artistic talent on its premises so they have originals but they’re not well guarded.”
“And we’ve got some witnesses as well…I’ll dust for prints, you start the interviews.”
“Typical, I bet I’ll get the confused old ladies and retired majors….oh, hello nurse!” said Action, noticing who the witnesses were. Three very attractive young women.
I know there's the Total Look but, brown?
The first was called Judy Dyble and she described the van she saw parked out the front. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it leave or who drove it but I definitely noticed it was parked oddly. I got a partial licence plate…651 is all I remember, sorry”
“Well, don’t be, that was very helpful Miss Dyble” said Action, warmly.
He was yay high
Moving on to his second witness, a perky blonde called Skye Warner, he got more information.
“I saw two guys run out of the building carrying paintings…they wore ski masks but one I noticed wore a short sleeve shirt and shorts…he was young looking. They waved a gun at me and I had to duck behind this stone bench”
“That was the right thing to do…and very brave of you to remember those details; it all helps” said Action, again trying to put Miss Warner at ease.
And last, by no means least
The third witness was inside the lounge: A striking young woman called Chloe Gibbs who was dressed in the height of mod fashion.
“I…I…was rehearsing for my live set when these two men in ski masks burst in and took the paintings there and just over here. They tried to grab my guitar but when I protested they waved a gun in my face…I’ve never been so scared in my life since….since….well, I heard my husband was killed at Ia Drang last year.”
Action put down his notepad. He’d fought at Ia Drang as well; it was a desperate fight for survival.
“I’m an ex-Marine, ma’am, I understand” he said, sympathetically. “Anything else you noticed?” he continued.
“Well, one of them…the one with the gun…got real close to me and I could see his eyebrows were red. He must have red hair”
“That’s very useful, Miss Gibbs”
“Call me Chloe”
“Sure thing. Now listen, Chloe, I’ve got some photos of some suspects here in this holder. I want you to look at them to see if you recognise any of them.”
Whoops! That one's from the Christmas party!
Chloe looked at the photos in turn and shook her head. “No, they don’t look like the man I saw…it’s the eyes that I remember. They don’t have the same kind.” She said.
Action thanked her and headed back to the police station…he felt for Chloe, being a widow so young was rough and how many brothers in arms had he seen lose their lives in combat, never to see their loved ones again?
Back at the station Action looked at the evidence gathered and started to put together a crime map. What he had so far was two men, a van description, one of the men had red hair, a short sleeve shirt and was wearing shorts but no names yet. A new pair of villains working the town? Perhaps.
Time for another flow diagram
Action was having a drink of water in the evidence room when he heard the blades of the ceiling fan start to sound like the blades of a Huey helicopter. The room got hotter, like the jungle and he could hear cries, screaming and gunfire all over again. Chloe’s story reminded him of how he’d narrowly avoided getting killed himself and it triggered a Vietnam flashback.
Medic! MEDIC!!!
The shift had ended and Action needed to switch off from work. He was hungry and remembered the Spice Festival was happening tonight. That sorted out his food problem…now he needed the company of a beautiful lady….he’d been casually seeing Katherine Bowie, the socialite, and things had been going well between them. Phoning her as he was ending his shift, she agreed to meet him in the Spice Quarter.
“Hard day at work?” she said, instinctively reading his face.
“You could say that…fancy some decent chow?” he replied.
“Always up for that and pleasant company” she smiled.
How many attractive women can John Action talk to in one day?
The festival was busy but they found a place to sit, eat and talk.
“I’ve always been grateful for the presence of the police…I couldn’t do what you do, couldn’t put up with the horrible and wicked things people do” she said.
“4 years in the Marines trained me well to deal with it” he replied.
“That’s what I admire about you, Action, your bravery" she said before breaking into a smile "amongst other things"
Action smiled as well and leant in towards her.
"So what's a rich girl like you doing with a brother like me?" he said.
"I don't care for categories...I see someone I like, I want to be with them" she said, calmly.
"Aren't you bothered by what other people might think?"
"Are you?" she said.
Action shook his head. "Never needed or cared for affirmation from others" he said. "Let them think what they want...I don't let them stop me"
It'd been a frustrating day at work for Judith Epstein...first, the bus she was on during her morning commute had broken down, then she desperately tried to catch a subway train but couldn't find a space in the rush hour crush, then an old lady collapsed through a lack of air on one train and Judith had to help her medically. In the end she arrived an hour late for work and got chewed out by Dr Murakami. Her day didn't get any easier either; she was assigned all the worst jobs, from changing bedpans, mopping floors and taking people's temperatures....the unpleasant way. To add insult to injury, the canteen failed to provide a kosher lunch option. Her friend and colleague, Francesca Griffith, arranged for a suitable sandwich meal to be delivered to Judith so she wouldn't drop through hunger.
"Ugh, Murakami hates me; that's the only explanation!" said a frustrated Judith to Francesca.
"You need a break...why don't you and me check out that new art installation over at Crawdad Quarter this evening?" said Francesca.
"Won't your family need you?" replied Judith.
"Husband's off with his friends for 'gaming' night and our daughter's with my parents this evening....I was going to catch up on some revision for my promotion exam but I can make up the time later....you need serious cheering up!"
No, no Judith, you put your hand on your hip like this to look svelte
The exhibition at Municipal Muses was "Artifacts of Late Medieval France" and it was hardly a sell out with the two of them the only ones in the place.
"I expected more....more...." said Francesca.
"Gild? I was thinking that as well...I don't think they've labelled the piece properly either: It says on the card that this armour belonged to a duke but looking at the decorations I'd say it was more that of a fairly prosperous knight...not too wealthy as you can see the armour doesn't cover the full body and has chain mail segments" replied a very confident Judith.
"I didn't know you're an expert in medieval armour?" said Francesca.
"More of a passing fancy...I know more about early Renaissance German art than French medieval"
Oooh, get her!
"I think you shouldn't let Murakami get to you, Judith" said Francesca after a while.
"Grrrr, that woman drives me up the wall!" growled Judith. "She has it in for me! I know it!"
You watch your tongue!
"She's strict with all of us...our hospital has the best track record of any in Sim City. You need to be patient, you need to be in control and also you need to demand more respect from others there. For starters, you lay down the law about what food they should serve...they got it wrong because they don't care enough. Make them care." said Francesca.
"Sigh, I'm sure you're right...I'm just so tense right now and that erroneous artifact sign is bugging me as well!"
Francesca smiled and wrinkled her nose. "I know what we should do next!" she said, grabbing Judith by the hand. The next thing she knew she was being dragged two doors down to the Blue Velvet nightclub.
"Dancing?" asked Judith.
"Sure...and maybe you could meet a cute guy as well?" said a beaming Francesca.
"Ugh....I don't want to meet any guys; cute or otherwise" replied a disgusted Judith.
"Oh..." Francesca looked embarrassed for one moment. "I didn't know....well, that's OK by me...I'm not judging"
"And no, I'm not interested in cute girls! I'm not that way inclined either...I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of knowledge and excellence and relationships are a barrier to my goals"
"How about some fun in general then?" smiled Francesca.
"Well....erm....I am not averse to fun if in the pursuit of higher goals" said Judith.
Music cue 1:
They went into the nightclub but Judith nearly bolted and ran when she saw way too much physical contact between men and women as they danced.
Ugh, touch dancing!
"Francesca" Judith began "You have been a good friend to me since I started at the hospital, let me buy you a drink and some food"
"Thanks, I'll have what you're having"
Judith went to the bar and tried, politely, to gain the bartender's attention...without much luck.
Oh I say! Barkeep!
It was very crowded at the bar until a well dressed middle aged man seated right in front of her turned and said "You can't expect to be noticed by being mousey, little lady. What do you want, I'll order it for you"
"Two sweet n' spicys and two of those delicious looking giant pretzels they have as well, thanks"
The man snapped his fingers and got the bartender's attention. He placed the order and turned to Judith. "My treat. By the way, I hope you don't mind me saying but if you took off those glasses and let your hair loose around your shoulders you'd be very beautiful"
"I do mind you saying, and I'll pay for my own round thank you" replied a cold Judith.
"I'm a bit of an expert in what men find desirable. I'm Alan Cuffe, owner and editor of Lothario magazine"
"I've heard of your salubrious publication...it is not to my taste" said Judith.
"It's not meant to be. But it influences fashion, style and looks. You could learn from it."
"I am not influenced by such trivialities and thank you for your help in getting my order...good evening, Mr Cuffe"
Back at the table Judith gave Francesca her drink and pretzel. "Do you see, Francesca, how sleazy men are?" she said.
"Oh I get it all the time from male patients. I tell them my husband's a professional wrestler"
"Is he?"
"Oh no, but they see the wedding ring and what I say is enough to frighten them"
He actually does Thai kick boxing
The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Judith had a little too much to drink by the end of it and it loosened her inhibitions. Seeing a young man attempting to sing "Yeah Yeah"...badly...she couldn't stand it anymore. "Someone needs to accompany him on the piano and that person is me!"
Judith got up and began to play. Francesca smiled....Judith was a young woman of many talents but she was sure hung up over so much!
"Life is great and life is fine!" exclaimed Jeremy Saint as he went for a stroll around Foundry Cove. He couldn't contain his excitement and greeted everyone he met with a broad smile.
"Hello, madam, what a fine morning it is! Good morning, Pizza Guy! I was saying what a great day this is!" he said to two random passers by.
"Erm...I guess, man." said the Pizza delivery man. "Are you tripping out?"
"Only on the joy of life! I have a wonderful new girlfriend and just now I was able to book a table for two at Chez Llama to celebrate out getting together!"
"Whoa! Chez Llama's pretty expensive, man" said the Pizza guy.
"I know...but it's worth it because she is" said Jeremy.
Thanks for the exposition, man
Jeremy was on cloud 9 and later on he got ready for his date. Earlier on, he and Suzy Kent went to the trendy Simnaby Street to choose a new suit for him to wear. Using her sharp, up to the minute fashion sense she chose for him a light grey suit which had a radical collar style and a white shirt with a yellow tie pattern on it instead of a tie.
Later on, Jeremy paced up and down outside Chez Llama waiting for Barbara to arrive. He'd got there early, which was a habit of his, but instead of calming his nerves about being late, it instead played on them because he had a fear she wouldn't show. His watch ticked onwards towards the date time...10 minutes to go, then 5, then 3 and then at 2 minutes to the arranged meeting time there she was...Barbara Dubois, Jeremy's date. His heart skipped a beat as he took in her loveliness...she was dressed in a white Chanel skirt suit and matching heels. She had certainly made an effort for the occasion.
"Wow! Chez Llama! I can't believe you got us a table here!" she exclaimed. "I hope I look alright" she added.
"You look wonderful" said Jeremy. "And I wanted everything to be fantastic so hang the expense for one night"
In that case, an eight course dinner and champagne is in order
The maitre d showed them to their table and they looked longingly at the menus, which listed meals of the like they had never heard of. Jeremy ordered a bottle of red wine and Barbara helped him translate some of the French food terms.
"I would have struggled to order without your help" said Jeremy. "Do you speak French fluently then?"
"I'm from Montreal so I'm bilingual" she replied. "My dad's French-Canadian and my mom's from Nova Scotia so I grew up speaking both languages"
For example this just says 'steak n' fries' in French
Their pleasant conversation was interrupted by the people who were sitting at the next table.
"Honey, I really think you've had enough to drink!" said a man to his wife.
"Nonsense...and you're not my boss! Well hello there, young man" she said, turning to Jeremy, winking and giving him a flirtatious smile. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Jeremy, who is that woman?" asked Barbara
"I have no idea!" said Jeremy, bothered by this interruption.
"No need to play coy with me, handsome" continued the woman. "Once you've finished with the little girls, maybe you'll want to be with a woman"
"Honey, I insist you control yourself!" said the man to his wife. Their teenage daughter, sitting next to them, slumped on the table.
"And I insist you shut your big yap, Mister!" said the wife.
"OK, if that's the case...hello there little lady" said the man to Barbara. "You know you could do so much better"
"Jeremy, who are these people?" said Barbara, looking visibly upset.
"I HAVE NO IDEA!" said Jeremy, a little too loud. He composed himself.
"I've had enough!" said the teenage girl, leaping to her feet. "You too are an embarrassing pair of old drunks!" she said. "That nice, handsome man who looks good enough to eat in that sharp suit, yum, doesn't need an old dried up soak like you or someone who's clearly just past her prime..." she said, nodding at Barbara. Barbara leapt to her feet.
"That's it! I've had enough!" she said.
This wasn't on the menu
The manager came over to their tables and asked the family to leave. "I am so sorry for the disturbance" they said to Jeremy and Barbara.
"I swear I'd never seen them before" said an apologetic Jeremy.
"Harumph! I hope not!" said a still seething Barbara.
Jeremy looked over at their table and saw 3 empty bottles of wine on the other table. "They were absolutely smashed!" he said. "Hopefully our dinner will take away that unpleasantness...I would never do anything to jeopardise what we've got going, Barbara. You mean a lot to me"
Barbara sighed and looked into Jeremy's warm, gentle eyes. "You mean a lot to me too...I don't want anything to ruin our time together." She reached out and touched his hand. After dinner they ordered a taxi and he turned to Barbara and said "would you....like to come back to my place?"
"I'd like that very much" she said, holding his hand. The taxi arrived and they travelled back to Foundry Cove.
As they were about to walk up to the front door, Jeremy turned to her and said "when I said let's come back here what I meant was would you like to stay the night again?"
"I would and....I don't have to be up early tomorrow and I'm not feeling tired now" she said, raising an eyebrow seductively.
You mean this chapter might have to be upgraded to a PG?
They entered the house and Barbara sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to her for Jeremy to sit next to her.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening" she said.
"Despite....?" he replied.
"Despite...it'll take more than that...to....stop.....me......from......doing.......this...." she said, leaning towards him as they drew closer and closer.
"Hmmmm" said Jeremy. "I see your French skills don't just end with reading a menu"
"We can be a very passionate people" she replied. They made out some more on the couch before Jeremy stood up and took her by the hand to join him.
"I think it's time" he said
"I think so too" she replied
"What's 'woohoo' in French?"
"It's woohoo"
Le woohoo
They walked hand in hand to the bedroom and there they made the magic happen.
No more messing around today....Suzy Kent was fed up with the lack of a love life. Every guy she met was either taken, obsessed with their work or flaky. There HAD to be some eligible bachelors in Sim City but where? It was time she stopped getting sidetracked by her own work and investigations because she was meant to be this hip, swinging mod chick and yet she had the look but not the lifestyle. Today was the day where that would change!
The first part of the plan was to be in the right physical and mental state so it was a trip down to the spa where she had booked in a yoga and exercise session. She had purchased spa membership months ago but had seldom taken advantage of it but today she was a girl with a purpose. Arriving at the spa, she pinned her hair up and changed into her favourite pink sparkly leotard and ballet tights; a legacy of when she was almost serious about becoming a ballerina before deciding on a career in journalism.
Oi! No peeking!
"And breathe in....stretch both legs out....breathe out....now on to your stomachs...." the instructor's calm voice guided the yoga class through their bends, stretches and poses. "Now we'll assume a position known as the crouching vole..." Suzy put her old ballet skills to good use as she could get into position a lot easier than her fellow classmates.
Something about the guy next to me says 'first timer'
After the session, she had a little time in the sauna to cleanse the pores and focus her mind on what she had to do...meet a cute guy. When she was ready, she changed back into her street clothes, reapplied her make up, dabbed some perfume on and was ready to go! She'd heard of a swinging new club called the Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel and decided that was the place to check out.
Her excitement at checking the place out met with disappointment when she went inside....apart from the bartender it was all women and middle aged women at that. This wasn't a swinging nightclub, it was a neighbourhood knitting circle!
Everyone do their unimpressed faces
Suzy stuck it out there in the hope things would improve and she had some nice chats with the ladies there but it took the time to have a couple of drinks before things started to liven up. More people...and men this time...started to show up and hit the dance floor. Although it wasn't classical ballet, Suzy could do a mean go-go dance.
As evidenced here
The vibe was definitely improving but things came crashing down when some policemen showed up, telling everyone that the club had to temporarily shut down because of a report of a safety violation. Suzy couldn't think what that could be but when she saw that next to the police was the malevolent presence of Edna Sneedly, the town prude. She wanted all nightclubs in Sim City shut down and Suzy guessed that this "violation" was nothing but a trumped up excuse by Edna and her husband to get their way. As all the patrons trudged out of the club, she overheard a couple of them saying "well, at least the Romance Festival is still on tonight". Yes! The Romance Festival! The last refuge of the romantically desperate!
The festival was slow going at first...it always was...and Suzy got into a pleasant conversation with a local artist when she noticed a familiar person waving to her to grab her attention.
The beret's a turn off
"Suzy! Suzy! It's me, Neil Humphries! Do you remember me?" said the young man calling to her.
"Hello Neil, of course I remember you" replied Suzy, walking over to him. Neil was a cute and talented young artist but very, very uptight. She liked him but wished he'd loosen up a little.
"So you've got a selection of paintings for sale" she said. "All your work?"
"All original Neil Humphries" he said, proudly. "Which one do you like the best?"
"Hmmmm....I like this one" it was a scene of an old stone cottage in winter.
"Would you like it? It's yours, free" said Neil.
"Oh no, I couldn't take it for free...let me pay for it" she said.
"How about a discount in exchange for a nice review in your magazine?"
"You drive a hard bargain, Neil" she said, smiling at him.
"Done" he said, taking the painting down and wrapping it for her in brown paper.
"So...you're back at the festival I see?" said Suzy, starting to warm to this guy.
"Oh...well...I don't care for that whole, you know...erm...romance stuff" he said, awkwardly.
"And yet you keep coming back" said Suzy, starting to playfully tease him. "I think you might protest too much"
Start to turn on the charm
"Well...it's a nice location here" he said, looking around.
"How about we go and see what's happening?" she said, trying to get him to buckle.
"Over there with all the flowers, hearts and dancing?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's...."
"Because it's what?" said Suzy, batting her eyelashes. "What are you afraid of?"
Batting false eyelashes is a Sixties thing
"Well...if you put it THAT way..." said Neil, caving in. Suzy grabbed his hand and they ran over to the festival.
"Sakura tea" said Suzy. "They say it unleashes your mind....helps with creativity, inspiration and...passions. Let's have some!"
"Creativity...inspiration....and *gulp!* passion...sure!" said a very nervous Neil.
They both drank a cup of Sakura tea and soon felt its effects. Neil definitely loosened up and Suzy felt a warmth and desire for her new, uptight friend.
Well hello there!
"What I need to boost my art is a muse!" he said, boldly.
"Uh-huh" said Suzy, batting her eyelashes at him again.
"A beautiful lady like you....Oh my gosh! What am I saying here!" said Neil, barely able to contain the flirty vibe.
"Go with it, Neil" she replied.
"Actually I need to go to the toilet!" he said "be right back!" he added before bolting to the public bathrooms.
Suzy sighed...Neil was cute but needed working on. Was it worth it? Well, time would tell.
"Hi Suzy" said another voice. It was Barbara Dubois, Jeremy Saint's girlfriend.
"Barbara! Are you here with Jeremy?" she said, happy to see the woman who had brought joy to her next door neighbour's life.
"Yes, he's just getting us some tea but there's a bit of a queue right now"
"So I hear you guys have made it official...as a couple?"
"Yep...we're officially going steady and...well...before he returns I've got to say he's FANTASTIC!" said an excited Barbara.
"What? Fantastic in...."
"YES! Oh my goodness it was the best!"
Suzy stamped her feet and clenched her fists in excitement. She wanted to ask more but Jeremy was on his way back with the teas
You go, girl!
Suzy said hello to Jeremy but knew what effect that tea would be having on her friends and she didn't want to become a third wheel. Fortunately Neil returned from his trip, still looking confident.
"I'm glad you talked me into coming tonight" he said to her.
"Well, it's good to take the plunge occasionally" she replied.
She looked over at Jeremy and Barbara once more...they were already snuggling up together on a bench and whispering sweet nothings and she wondered if Neil was the man who she could do that with as well. It was slow going, and he was still a little tense around her but time would tell. She also wondered if Sakura Tea was available in the shops.
John Action stepped out of the Movers & Shakers Gym, ready for the day. It was a rare day off for him; he'd been putting in extra shifts down at the 13th Precinct but now he needed some quality down time. As someone who lived up to his name, he found it difficult just switching off and doing nothing. Sitting around reading or going fishing didn't appeal to him but he'd spent a lot of time already running, boxing and lifting weights that he needed some more stimulation...preferably in the form of a beautiful woman.
His little black book had plenty of names in it and he'd been on dates with Liberty Lee and Jade Rosa but nothing was serious with them. The woman who intrigued him most was the socialite, Katherine Bowie. There seemed to be a deeper connection with her than with his other dates and he was keen to see Katherine again. Using the gym's telephone he gave her a call.
"Hey Katherine...it's me, Action. I have one of my rare days off today and I was wondering if you had one too? You have? How about you and me go somewhere real nice and spend some time together? Well I had in mind going over to the Lykke Centre down in Windenburg....sounds good? Excellent, shall we say meet in an hour?"
Putting down the phone, John smiled at the prospect of spending a day with Katherine.
This is either a romantic rendezvous or a showdown
Down at the Lykke Centre, Katherine was already waiting for him.
"You're a punctual girl, I like that" he said.
"Life's too short to waste time" she replied.
"The very words I live by" said Action, kissing her on the cheek.
They went inside the cafe and grabbed Italian espressos and cannolis to eat.
"Do you think Sim City can cope without you on the case for one day?" said Katherine, teasingly.
"They're going to have to...I have more important things to do today"
"Do I count as more important?" she said, again teasing him with her banter.
"Definitely" he said. The conversation was soon turning flirtatious.
That look
They drank their excellent espressos and were enjoying the playful banter when a woman entered the cafe and, without saying a single word, shot them a disapproving look. Katherine picked up on this.
Are you going to finish that Cannoli?
"What's her problem?" she said.
"Could be many things...maybe she recognises me as a cop?" said Action, dismissively.
"Or it could be I'm white and you're black"
Action shrugged his shoulders. "Does that bother you?"
"It bothers me that people think like that" she replied. "Doesn't it you?"
Action pushed his coffee cup away from him and took a deep breath. "Sure. But do I let it dictate to me? No. I do what I want to do...I'm with who I want to be with and I don't give a hill of beans for what other people think. And I don't think you care much for other people's judgmental opinions either"
"That I don't....it's a nice day, let's walk along the bay." said Katherine.
They left the cafe to head on to the embankment of Windenburg Bay. Katherine was right; it was a beautiful day and they walked along, taking in the sights of the sailing boats moored at the marina and the views that went on for miles.
"Well, it looks like just the two of us here" said Katherine.
"We're all alone" said Action, smiling.
"No one looking on" she said.
"No one to catch us" he replied. He took a couple of steps towards her and held her hands.
"Catch us doing what?" said Katherine, in expectation.
"Oh something like this...." said Action as they lent in towards each other until their mouths met to kiss.
After breaking apart to come up for air, Katherine smiled at Action "That was worth waiting for" she said, sighing.
"There's more where that came from" said Action.
"I don't know about you but I'm done sight seeing" said Katherine.
"Depends on what sights you want to see?" responded Action, flirtatiously.
"How about?....."
"Your place or mine? Why not mine? I make pretty good coffee" said Action.
"But didn't we just have some?"
"I meant morning coffee" he said, raising his eyebrow. Katherine smiled and understood exactly what he meant. They left Windenburg and headed back to Foundry Cove to enjoy each other's company some more.
A day off for Julia Epstein...she hated them but she also respected the Sabbath so she begrudgingly went along with it. But what to do? Julia took her glass of water to drink and stood on her front porch watching the world go by as she pondered how to spend her free time.
"Good morning, lovely day" said a woman walking by Julia's house.
"Yes, it is" replied Julia.
"This house is new...I haven't been for a walk around the Cove for a while so I hadn't noticed this place before" said the lady, looking with keen interest at Julia's house.
"Yes, it's a new build...I've been here a couple of weeks." replied Julia.
"Oh nice....by the way, my name's Katrina"
"Julia"
"Nice to meet you, Julia, and I hope you like it here...I mustn't linger; I have a hairdresser appointment soon because later on my boyfriend is taking me somewhere special! I'm so excited...I love it when men spring surprises, don't you?"
"Not particularly. I hope you have a pleasant time..." said an unimpressed Julia....ugh, boyfriends, girlfriends, dating, lovey dovey stuff...Julia treated them with disdain.
Julia went back into her home and wondered what to do next. She turned on the TV.
"Oh Brad...how could you leave me for HER?"
*CLICK*
"Oh darling....I can't live another day without you!"
*CLICK*
"In these ever changing times we look into the hot topic of today: The pill, mini skirts and the sexual revolution"
*CLICK* and off. Ugh, everywhere there's sex and romance...Julia couldn't stand it.
She had to find somewhere to spend this day that was the least sexy, least flirtatious place in Willow Creek.
Willow Creek Archive
Julia entered the library and approached the librarian.
"Well hello there" said a rather over enthusiastic young man who was the librarian.
"Hello. Would you tell me where your medical and science section is?" she asked.
"Sure...it's right over here" he said, guiding her to the correct bookshelf. "And if you need any further assistance, then just call for Kengo"
"Kengo?"
"Yes, that's my name"
Kengo's a perfectly fine name
"I don't think I will require assistance"
"If you change your mind...I'll be right over there" he said, with a wink.
Julia sighed and proceeded to scan the shelves for any books on medicine, taking them and putting them in a pile on a nearby desk. She was satisfied she had quite a bit to be getting on with after a few minutes perusal.
There were some items of interest in the books she chose, but a lot was what she already knew but on the other hand the library was a refuge from all the romantic talk that seemed to be doing the rounds right now....or at least she thought it was a refuge.
"Hello again" said Kengo "I hope you've found what you're looking for"
"What I've found has been satisfactory" she replied.
"Can I just say that's it's a pleasure to have a young, intelligent, attractive lady around here" said Kengo, trying to flirt.
"Why?" came Julia's deadbatted reply.
"Well....you see....it brightens the place up for one thing" said an awkward Kengo.
"Maybe you should open the curtains more" replied Julia.
"Erm...I'm just going to put these books away now" said an embarrassed Kengo now and he got up to leave.
Crash and burn
Julia sighed again...she couldn't focus on these medical books so she put them away and went for a walk down the road to Municipal Muses, the museum. She walked around some of the general exhibition but nothing was grabbing her attention.
However, she noticed a piano outside and felt a little tinkling of the ivories could lift her mood. Sitting down at the piano she started on a few warm up pieces before launching into Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
The music soothed her and she enjoyed the feeling of being able to make music...shutting her eyes to the world, she became lost in the piece.
"So anyway the husband walks in and Barry's there with his pants around his ankles" came a man's voice.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" came some laughter.
"Well, it's not the first time Barry's gotten himself into trouble with a woman he just met in a bar" came the voice again. Julia opened her eyes and saw a group of people having a ribald chat right near her. "And can you keep the noise down, lady, I'm trying to tell a story here!"
"That 'noise' as you call it, is Beethoven"
"Well tell Beethoven to knock it off!" said the man, laughing at his own joke, and his friends all joined in as well.
Philistines!
Every time Julia tried something today, it backfired. The rowdy group got noisier and noisier whenever she tried to play so she gave up and began to walk off. The group of rowdies went and sat down in the museum garden and as she was about to leave, Julia saw a little boy sitting on the ground, looking at a book and with a tear in his eye. She felt awkward but something inside her stirred and she couldn't leave this sad little boy on his own without finding out more.
"Excuse me, boy, what is the matter?" she said, rather formally.
"I'm sorry, lady, I didn't mean to disturb you...I'll go" said the boy.
"No need...that's not what I meant. I mean, what troubles you? I am a doctor by the way so if it's something medical I could help?"
"Oh, actually...I'm not sick or hurt...actually it's my homework. There's so much of it, it's due in tomorrow and I don't understand any of it! My teacher says if I get this wrong again I'll be put on detention all week."
"Surely the extra time you spend in detention will help you understand your work better?" said Julia who, when she was at school, would welcome any opportunity for extra study time.
"But I don't learn anything in detention...it's full of rough kids who flick rubber bands at me, or kick the back of my chair..."
Julia was moved, by her standards, to the boy's plight. She hated seeing education go to waste. "Hmmm, well, can I help you understand your homework a bit better?"
"I dunno lady, there's an awful lot of it!" said the boy.
"I see your first problem...you look at your homework as one huge pile. What you need to do is break it down into easier to manage sections. Math first, then English, then science and so forth. Tackle each part individually and don't worry about the rest for now."
"I see" said the boy, who could see the wisdom in Julia's words.
She found a place for them to sit and she helped him with each bit of his homework, prompting him to think, breaking down the problems bit by bit so he could understand better and making small suggestions here and there. After an hour, his homework was finished and he seemed as if his cares had been lifted from him.
"Thank you so much!" he said, his face beaming. "Are you really a doctor?"
"I am" said Julia.
"Gee, you're the prettiest doctor I've ever met!"
smooth kid, smooth
Normally Julia would recoil in horror at someone complimenting her on her looks but this kid was innocent and was trying to say thank you in his own way. She smiled.
"Well, you're a very smart kid...now remember, break down your problems bit by bit in future"
"Thanks, I will, I got to meet my mom now...bye!"
She felt a bit better for helping the boy and she went home more encouraged. Just before she went into her house, she saw Jeremy Saint wave to her so she walked over to see what he wanted.
"Hi, Julia, I've got a question to ask you and would like your input" he said.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, as you know I've got a girlfriend now..."
Julia's heart sank...not more relationship issues!
"...and anyway" Jeremy continued. "I want to treat her this weekend to something special. You know, something a bit romantic"
"Jeremy, you should know by now that I DON'T do romantic. Maybe Summer would be a better person to ask."
"Oh no, that's not what I meant....I want to take her to a concert...a classical concert and as you're a fan of classical music I was wondering if there was something on in town that you'd recommend so I can book tickets"
Julia felt relieved. She smiled and said "of course...well, I'd recommend the Dropov Ballet Company's production of Prokoviev's Romeo & Juliet"
"Provocative Ballet Company?" said a slightly puzzled Jeremy.
"No, Prokoviev...I'll write the details down for you" she said.
Jeremy said thanks and after they had a coffee and a chat Julia went home. As soon as the door shut, her phone rang.
"Hello Julia? It's Francesca here. I'm going to head down to Desert Bloom Park with Rod and Stefanie, I wonder if you're free and want to come down with us?"
"Actually, yes, I could do with a more wholesome scene. I'll meet you there" said Julia.
She met with the Griffith family soon afterwards and it was nice to meet Francesca's husband, Rod, and their daughter, Stefanie. The latter rushed to play on the monkey bars and the play equipment and Rod was happy keeping an eye on her and giving her a push on the swing or a lift to reach up to the higher play areas, leaving Julia and Francesca to talk.
Francesca, you're almost camouflaged in the surroundings
"Let's get some food on the grill because they're going to be very hungry!" said Francesca. Julia and she got some chicken and sweetcorn cobs from out of a cooler box and began to grill them for the family dinner.
"So how's it going?" asked Francesca.
"Awful...just everyone playing fast and loose romantically everywhere I go! I can't get a minute's peace! Is it just me or is this the most sex obsessed generation in history?"
Francesca laughed. "I suppose there might have been a time in Ancient Rome..." she said.
Once they'd finished cooking, they put the plate down and a very hungry Griffith family tucked in and invited Julia to join them. As soon as she'd finished eating, young Stefanie wanted to hare around the park, dragging her dad along. This left the two women to talk some more. They decided to head for the little library area to continue their conversation.
However they were soon joined by a teenage boy followed a few minutes by a teenage girl...one Julia had met before at work; Yuki Behr. The boy seemed uptight and upset.
"Oh don't mind us, we're just chatting" said Francesca, trying to put the boy at ease.
"What's wrong?" said Julia, picking up on the boy's distress.
"It's nothing much...well, it's everything really...I...well....I worry that I'm not popular, with girls" he said, awkwardly.
You do realise you're surrounded by them right now?
Instead of getting uptight, Julia was instead moved by the boy's sincerity.
"Well, it's natural for a boy of your age to feel everything is more emotionally charged. It's just your body trying to adjust to the changes going on. Would you like me to expand on this topic? Don't worry, I'm a doctor and she's a nurse" said Julia, matter of factly.
"Geez....well....I mean, from a woman's perspective...and a Doctor's....erm...do I stand a chance with the girls at school?"
"I've learned something in these matters" said Julia. "Work on being the best you can and the rest falls into place. If you're good, and show you're capable, the girls will come to you"
"Wow, thank you Doctor!" said the boy, cheering up. Yuki, on the other hand, was standing by the fire place, sobbing. Julia and Francesca looked at each other and Julia decided to go on point on this one.
"What's the matter, Yuki? Did that rash return? Will I need to book another appointment at the hospital?" she said.
"No...it's not that, Doctor Epstein....It's just that I'm such a failure! My sister, she's doing so well with her music career, she's got all these guys who are into her, she's Miss Popular and she's been approached by Alan Cuffe of Lothario magazine to become a member of the Kitten Club! That's like the hottest, most exclusive club in town!"
"I'm well aware of the Kitten Club, Yuki" said Julia with disdain. She definitely did not like Alan Cuffe, Lothario magazine and young women running around in skimpy kitten costumes. "But why waste your time comparing yourself to your sister? Look at you, I've heard you play the guitar, you are generally what is considered to be attractive to the opposite sex..."
"And did you see the way that boy looked at you! He was trying to say hello" said Francesca.
"Precisely. What I said to him, I'll say to you: Be the best you can. You are not your sister and, frankly, you shouldn't bother with trying to become one of Alan Cuffe's kittens! Ugh!"
The girl cheered up and said thank you to Julia and Francesca. Alone, the two women finished off their dinners.
"You know, Julia" said Francesca "you're a natural healer"
Comments
One....hngh!....two....argh! two and a half, OK I'm good
Suzy came away from her complimentary free session at Movers & Shakers feeling aching, stiff and in need of a stiff drink. It made a distraction from a pretty boring work day, where the editor was more interested in what flavours of ice cream were in for '66 than in Suzy's ongoing work into the skullduggery of Sim City.
As she limped home she was stopped near her house by a well built, tanned man who was out for a fitness run.
"Hey, I know you!" he said, pointing to her.
"Erm....you have me at a disadvantage" Suzy replied.
But that sure is one toned body you've got there
"I saw you sing and play guitar down at The Blue Velvet....yeah, you were mighty fine!" he said, smiling. "By the way, I'm Don Lothario"
"Do you live up to your name?" said Suzy, who thought this guy was a little too full of himself to be healthy.
"I've never been known to disappoint" he said with a smile, which soon turned to horror. "Is that the time, must go! See you around!" he said, running off. Suzy had no idea what made him change his tune so quickly...there was no one about except for a middle aged red headed woman coming down the road in one direction and a golden haired one jogging in the other. Suzy shrugged and made her way home for a much needed meal.
Music cue 1:
She'd finished making a Caesar Salad that she got from a recipe book when the door rang. Looking to see who it was, it turned out to be her best friend, Summer Holiday.
Who is, technically, only acquaintances with Travis and Liberty
"Summer, what a nice surprise, come on in" said Suzy, enthusiastically.
"Hey, how's it going? It seems like ages since we last met" said Summer.
"Oh I've been very busy with work" said Suzy, sitting down to finish her dinner. "I've been doing a lot of research into an article I really want to write...you wouldn't believe the stuff I've uncovered"
"I thought you wrote fashion articles" said Summer, intrigued.
"I do....normally....but this one's different. I can't say too much now, but in time".
There was another knock on the door and Suzy got up to answer it. It was Jeremy from next door.
"Oh hi, Suzy" he said, a little nervously. "I met a friend of yours last night...his name is Burr"
"Oh him, come inside, Jeremy and stop looking like a mannequin on my doorstep" said Suzy, ushering in Jeremy who was holding a large envelope in his hands.
"Hi Jeremy" waved Summer. Her presence made Jeremy seem more nervous.
"Anyway" he said, sitting down. "Burr gave me this to give to you...he said it contains information you might find useful for your next article?"
Suzy eagerly took it from his hands and opened it. Just peering at the top page made interesting reading. LANDGRAAB CORPORATION PLANS FOR WILLOW CREEK AND OASIS SPRINGS DEVELOPMENT. It was a photocopy of an apparently real plan to demolish most of Willow Creek to build something else...something unspecified.
Summer and Jeremy looked eagerly at Suzy to see what the document was. Suzy slid the package across the table to her. "This affects both of you"
They want to pave paradise, put up a parking lot?
Summer and Jeremy gave it a brief look. "They want to smash this place up!" exclaimed Summer.
"The Landgraabs are pretty powerful" warned Jeremy. "Hang on...what's this here...there's a mark on this map of our street...right here. It's marked 'portal'...what does that mean?"
"That's right near the fishing spot past John Action's house" said Summer. "Why is that spot marked with a red circle and why 'portal'? There's no doors or gates there...just some wild flowers, a few old logs and that huge tree"
"I don't know..." said Suzy "but it's important to the Landgraabs"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Music cue 1:
One day my name's going on that "employee of the month" board
"What you got for me today?" said John Action, striding into the squad room at 13th Precinct HQ.
"Take your pick" said the bored looking detective. "There's a huge backlog of cases on that pile there"
Action looked at various case files and picked one. "Robbery over at Windenburg...I'll take it" he said.
Action took what little information there was and put it on the crime notice board, laying out the photos, reports and connecting them to each other with coloured string.
Looking at my flow diagram I conclude that Alexander Goth is the murderer
Pondering the chart, he needed more clues to work with. Grabbing the keys to a squad car Action headed off to Windenburg and to the crime scene on his own.
Windenburg....9:52am
"I'm telling you, officer, I was alerted by the sight of the front door of the house hanging open. I went to investigate and that's when I was shoved and knocked down" said the witness.
It soiled my lovely corduroy suit!
"Did you see the perp?" asked Action.
"Only a little...short hair, wearing shorts...that's all I remember"
Action nodded and left the witness after taking some notes. A colleague stopped him in the hall of the house. "Hey Action; you got here before us! Regulations say you should not enter the premises on your own!" they barked at him.
"Yeah, well, if we waited for you lot to finish your coffee and donuts then we'd never make any progress!" Action replied, nonchalantly.
Action scanned the crime scene for clues. The perps had broken in and made off with an expensive Jade bust of the Chinese Emperor, Zaitian, so this wasn't a quick smash n' grab; they knew what they were looking for. He then made his way to the games room where there were another couple of witnesses. One of them he recognised: His neighbour, Travis Scott.
"Travis, you mixed up in all this?" he said.
"Action! No, I have a weekly chess game here with my old college buddy and...well, I don't know what happened. We were playing chess, got about 15 moves in and then we both passed out" replied Travis.
"Passed out?" enquired a sceptical Action.
"Yeah, it was freaky" said Travis' friend. "I'd just made coffee for us, we settled into playing our chess game and then all of a sudden we both felt woozy and...well, I don't remember much after that"
Action picked up a coffee mug that had been lying on the floor. "This one of the mugs you drank out of?" he asked. Travis nodded. Action took a sniff of it, ran his finger around the rim and rubbed the small amount of liquid between his thumb and forefinger. "Hmmm, Benzodiazepine" he said to himself.
"Do you know what's really strange, officer?" said Travis' friend.
That you still have a weekly chess game, you DO RKS!
"It's that the chess pieces have been moved after we fell unconscious" he continued.
"Explain" asked Action.
"Well, we were 15 moves into our match. We had both taken two pawns plus a bishop apiece. When we woke up, Black...that's Travis...had put White in check. Our game wasn't that advanced"
Action stroked his chin and pondered this new clue. "Thanks...stay cool" he said and headed back to the station.
Back at the station The Chief pulled Action to one side. "Listen, Action, I know you're a maverick that likes to play by his own rules but you're alienating the rest of the team"
"Maybe if the team didn't slack off so much!" replied Action.
For example, the darts tournament they organised down at the crime scene
"Look...just play things a little more to the senior sergeants' liking. That's an order"
Action touched the peak of his cap in acknowledgement but didn't stop to ponder the Chief's words...he had a hunch to follow. He looked through the files and found a rap sheet that looked promising. Not wanting to hang around the station for official clearance, he left on his own to track down the perp.
Pupperstone Park, 4:15pm
Action entered the park; there was only one person present, a woman with short hair, wearing black hot pants and sitting alone at a chess table pondering the pieces.
"Well, well, well if it isn't The Brain herself" said Action, silently moving up to her.
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!" the woman replied.
"The Jade Emperor, I know you got it. How about I get a search warrant for your car trunk and we do some searching there?" he continued.
"I don't have it!" the woman protested. "You're guessing, officer. You don't have any evidence"
"I know you've got form for robbery, Brain" said Action. "I also know you're obsessed with chess. That's why you couldn't resist completing the game those men were playing. You drugged them and went about your work but you saw that board, saw the mistakes and poor moves both of them had made and you played the game out until "check". Realising that you were running out of time you ran out of the house, knocking that man over along the way."
"A nice theory, officer, but where's the proof?"
"A chess grandmaster's style is like a fingerprint...each is unique and identifiable."
"Wait? What?"
"I'm bringing you in and impounding your car. You have the right to remain silent..."
And I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't have been for you pesky, hunky cop
The Blue Velvet, 9:20pm
Music cue 2:
"Good work today, Action" said Officer Datta when the shift had ended and a group of them had headed off to the nightclub for some entertainment. "Next time, clue the rest of the shift on what you're up to"
What kind of maverick cop would I be if I did that?
"I work my side of the street, you work yours" replied Action.
Who you looking at?
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Ladies and gentlemen...please welcome on stage, NOT Joni Mitchell!
Jeremy Saint's hand hovered over his telephone...tonight was the Spice Festival downtown and he had an extra ticket for it. He knew there was only one person he wanted to ask to come with him; Barbara, but the nerves were still there...what if she turned him down? What if he blew it...again...with a woman he fancied. He shut his eyes, gulped and picked up the phone receiver. Opening his eyes but feeling his heart beating ever faster, he dialled Barbara's number. One ring, two rings, three rings, the heart was beating faster and he was starting to sweat. For rings and then a soft, feminine voice said "hello" at the other end.
"Hi...It's Jeremy. Would you like....I mean, I have an extra ticket for...for the...I mean, would you like to, you know, erm, go with me to the Spice Fes-"
"Yes!" Barbara consented before Jeremy could finish asking her.
"OK, great. I'll pick you up in an hour?" he ventured.
"I'll meet you there; it's near where I live. Outside Waterside Warble" she said.
Jeremy put down the receiver and punched the air in triumph.
Music cue 1:
No one was more keen on a curry than Barbara Dubois
"I love Asian food!" said Barbara, heading straight for the sample curries, rice and noodle dishes. "There's so many good places to eat around here, I'm spoiled for choice"
"I tried it out for the first time last month" said Jeremy. "I'm warming to it" he said, taking a bite of something that was a bit more spicy than he was expecting...warming to it was an apt comment.
Go a bit easy on the green chilli next time
They tried the Spice challenge: Jeremy made it to curry #3, Barbara could only manage half a portion of #4. The evening was going smoothly and Jeremy was more relaxed than earlier, but, worrier that he was he couldn't escape a nagging feeling that at any moment she could go right off him and leave. He felt this more when, at one point, the conversation went quiet as if they'd already run out of things to say to each other. He suggested, hesitantly, to head over to the Warble for a drink. Barbara readily agreed.
Music cue 2:
"You weren't that bad!" said Barbara, reassuring Jeremy after he attempted to sing a Beatles song at the open mic night.
"I wasn't a patch on your version of 'You Really Got Me"" replied Jeremy.
Well, if you've got it, flaunt it!
"I never miss open mic night here" said Barbara. She stretched her arms in front of her "Hmmmm, I'm having a good time but I had an early shift today and I'm starting to flag" she said.
"Oh, I hadn't realised it was that late" said Jeremy.
"I've had a great time tonight, Jeremy" she said, patting him on the arm. "We must do this again and soon" she added.
Their eyes locked on each other and without saying anything they held their gaze. Then they started to move closer to each other. At that point a wild thought possessed Jeremy and he leant forward to kiss Barbara.
OK, was NOT expecting that!
He broke off seconds after he kissed her...did he cross the line? Had he blown it? Barbara took his hands and smiled.
"That was lovely" she said, smiling. They kissed again and then one more time.
"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other again" said Jeremy, suavely.
"I think so" she nodded, smiling.
...and suddenly I'm Mr Cool
Jeremy walked her home. Outside of the apartment block where she lived they kissed one more time. Barbara was about to invite him in but she was tired. "Jeremy...any other time I'd invite you in for a night cap but I'm so, so tired and am just going to flop in my bed"
"Oh I understand!" he replied. Frankly, he was too nervous about going to a woman's apartment after only one date; his small town morality kicking in. He saw her go into the building safely and walked to the subway station, whistling a merry tune to himself.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Please don't thrust in my general direction
The phone in Suzy Kent's house rang. As she struggled to zip up the back of her dress, she ran over to answer it. "Hello, Suzy Kent here...hngh" the zip was stuck halfway.
"Hi, it's Burr" said the voice at the other end.
"Burr...hngh...that's got it! Sorry. Yes, hi Burr. How are you?" She said with relief that the zip made it all the way to the top.
"Good. Hey, I've found out some interesting things about the Landgraabs...can we meet up at the library?"
Suzy's eyes widened in excitement. "Sure! Willow Creek Archive in 1 hour?" she said.
"See you then" replied Burr.
Putting her feet into her favourite white go-go boots and checking her make up one last time, Suzy grabbed her shoulder bag and headed off to Crawdad Quater.
Music cue 1:
Careful, we may be being watched
Suzy sauntered her way to Willow Creek Archive and saw Burr DeBenning, an acquaintance and someone else who was interested in the shady activities of the Landgraab Family, waiting outside for her.
"Burr, what is this you've found out?" she asked.
"I've been looking at the land records for Oasis Springs and there's something strange near the Landgraab mansion. A tunnel that runs right under the property. I've tried finding out more but there's no record of it other than an old map dated before WW1."
"Hmmm, potentially interesting. So no one knows what it is or what's in it? I think we should take a closer look" she said.
"My thoughts exactly" said Burr, smiling and impressed with Suzy's courage. "Let's go"
Afluista Mansion
Standing outside the modernist estate of the Landgraab family, Suzy and Burr looked at their pocket map to see where the mystery tunnel entrance was. A jogger went past them, looking at the pair suspiciously.
"Quick!" said Suzy, pulling her pocket instamatic camera from out of her bag "let's take a picture of ourselves so we look like tourists!"
What could be a good, simple word for taking a photo of yourself?
Once the jogger had gone they checked Burr's map. "According to this, it's down a footpath to the left of the house which loops around behind it. I think this-a-way!" said Suzy, running off in that direction. Burr took a leisurely stroll down the path instead.
Once they'd reached the point where the map indicated the tunnel entrance, they found a heavily boarded up hold in the rock face. Burr tried to pry the boards off but they were heavily nailed in place with rocks and mortar behind them to deter any intruders.
OK, our options. 1. Give up. 2. Come back with a crowbar and some burly men. 3. Explosives
"This is going to be more difficult than I thought" said Burr. "We can't manage it today, we'll have to come back with more equipment"
Suzy agreed, reluctantly; her curiosity piqued even more by the discovery of the tunnel entrance. Burr said he knew a decent bar in the area and they headed off to the Rattlesnake Juice Bar.
Music cue 2:
"So, do you do a lot of this undercover investigating where you work?" Burr asked Suzy.
"This is my first time" she said. "I got into fashion journalism but I've gotten away from that lately".
Of course there was that expose I did on shoddy manufacturing in the underpants sector
"I didn't think of myself as an investigator either" said Burr. "I work for the city planning department but whilst I've been there I've seen plenty of shading dealings...I've been sucked in to the case as well. Psst! You'd never guess who's just walked in this bar?"
Twiggy? Mick Jagger!
"Nancy Landgraab! No way!" exclaimed Suzy, clapping her hands over her mouth so she didn't sound so obvious to onlookers.
"Shhh!" said Burr.
Nancy tottered over to the bar; she swayed exaggeratedly, winking at a male customer before she sat down, unsteadily.
"My ushual, Barkeep, and put it on my tab *hic*" said Nancy.
"I think she's already had too much to drink" said Burr to Suzy.
"I love your dressh" said Nancy to Suzy.
"Erm, thanks." replied Suzy. "Coming from you Mrs Landgraab I take that as a compliment"
"Now who'sh that handshome young gentleman sitting next to you....he looks like a keeper" Nancy said, eyeing up Burr.
"I'm Burr and this is Suzy" he replied.
"Hmmm, if I weren't already a married woman..." Nancy didn't finish her sentence but eyed up Burr lecherously.
"Well, is that the time? I must head out, Suzy. See you soon?" said Burr, getting up to go.
"Wait, no! Already? Can't you stay?" said Suzy.
"Sorry Suz, got to be somewhere else" he replied before heading out the bar.
Nancy Landgraab was chatting up a couple of other men at the bar and ignored her. Stepping outside into the cool evening air, she spied a friend: John Action. "Hey John" she said.
"What's the score, Suzy?" replied Action. "You still following that case of yours? I saw Nancy Landgraab in the bar just now"
"Yeah, she's hammered." replied Suzy. "Look, John, can you push some information my way about her and her husband?"
"Don't go messing with police business, Suz. It's a job best left to the pros. This is a tough town with some mean streets which the Landgraabs pave with secrets, signs and threats!" Action banged his fist down on the table they were sitting at.
OK, you're beginning to worry me now
"But this could be big!" said Suzy
"Leave it, doll!" said Action. He looked into her eyes, intensely. He was not a man to be messed with. Suzy said nothing and Action left without another word.
Suzy felt conflicted; to pursue this investigation or to drop it? Action had warned her, Burr seemed too frightened by what he might find out. That left her to investigate. Meanwhile, back at the Rattlesnake Juice Bar, Nancy Landgraab kept downing Tequila Slammers and keeping the young menfolk there wrapped around her little finger.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
You're new!
Music cue 1:
John Action sauntered into Precinct 13 headquarters and saw that old Sergeant Kitchen wasn't at the front desk. It was a woman officer, one he didn't recognise.
"Well hello there, I guess you're the new girl" he said to her.
"And I guess you're Action...I've heard a lot about you" she replied with a smirk.
"All good, I hope"
"They were more like warnings" she said. "Anyway, you can't stand around here trying to charm your way around your co-workers, Action, this lady's come in with a complaint" she nodded to a young hippie woman sitting, waiting on a bench in the reception area. Action wandered over to her.
"What's the problem, Ma'am?" he said.
"Well...it's..."
kind of embarrassing, actually
"my ex. He breezed back into town with some bad acid. Well, I told him I wanted nothing to do with it and threw him out but he still operated around Oasis Springs, selling his junk. Anyway, he quickly split the place and we've got a whole bunch of people having a bad trip, attacking passers by and causing trouble" she said, sadly.
"Bad acid: that's a bad scene, sister. I'll head over there, crack some skulls and get that junk off the street and out of the hands of those acid-heads"
Mirage Canyon, 11:17 am
The main street looked quiet, too quiet. Action's hand hovered over his .38 service revolver....just in case! He needed some information so he wandered over to The Solar Flare lounge; a classy joint most of the time although they were known to violate state hygiene laws from time to time. Action walked up the stairs to the lounge but although the doors were all open, no one was around. "Strange" he thought to himself.
He wandered over to the large windows that afforded an excellent view of the main street. From here he could observe any strange goings on without being seen himself. As he watched and waited, he noticed a violin propped up on a stand right next to him....he couldn't help but pick it up and give it a go.
I can't be the only detective who's done this?
He saw a fair haired lady of about 40 stagger down the street, rubbing her arm in pain. Taking this as a cue, Action put down the violin and ran over to her.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, is anything the matter?" he said to the lady.
"Yes...ow...I've just been punched by this weird young woman. She claimed I stole her bananas and that I was in league with the secret government so she just lurched at me and started punching me. Fortunately, she only hit me in a couple of places like my arm...there's no serious damage."
"Where did this happen?" said Action.
"Over by that small park area" she said, pointing to a grassy area that had a few benches. "Look! There she is! The woman who hit me!"
Hand over my bananas, you secret agent for the government!
Action looked around and saw an enraged looking young woman pulling a man doing yoga off the ground and hitting him over the head. He ran over, his hand still hovering over his service .38.
"Freeze right there!" he shouted. The woman looked around terrified, the man staggered over to a nearby bench.
"Oh my God, what have I done?" she said, wild eyed.
"You're Jonesing from a bad, bad trip, lady" said Action. "Now you're going to come with me and tell me all about where you got that acid from"
But first, paperwork
Action called for some back up and the lady was bundled into a squad car to take back to police HQ. Action took a moment to grab a coffee and have a brief work out to keep his muscles toned. Sergeant Kitchen entered the recreation room and walked over to him.
It's one of those old cop/young cop bonding moments
"Good work out there, Action" said Sergeant Kitchen.
"Just doing my job, my way" replied Action.
"Anyway, we're processing that lady plus a few other freaks who've taken some of that same batch of LSD. Oh, and the Chief wants some progress on those robberies. We're still holding Aurora Ahmed; the Chess Bandit, someone needs to interrogate her"
"And that someone would be me, right?" replied Action, downing his coffee.
Down in the cells he went to fetch Ahmed and take her to an interrogation room.
"I've said all I got to say in front of your colleagues and my lawyer" she said.
"I know" Action replied. "I'm not interested in you...I want to know who your fence is"
I'm not wearing a pyjama top, if that's what you're thinking
Action took her to an interrogation room and sat her down. "We've got you for the Jade statue job, you're going down but if you want to avoid hard time you'd better co-operate and tell us who your buyer is"
"I'm not a fink!" she replied. "You've got nothing!"
"We've got witness statements, we've got your fingerprints on that chess board and you left enough clues to fill a ship" said Action.
"So what if I did touch that chessboard? Plenty of people play chess"
"We know your signature style, Aurora. Now this is pretty open and shut....WHO'S YOUR FENCE?" he said, pounding a fist on the table.
Did you remember to put a bulb in that lamp?
Ahmed started to sweat and wilt under the pressure. "OK, I did have a fence...but I never met them, I swear. But I know it's a woman: Even though she wore a mask I could tell by her voice and body shape the fence was a woman. I don't have a name or contact number; they always contacted me"
"That's a start" said Action, making notes.
At the end of his shift he headed home for some chow. As he sat with his grilled cheese sandwich watching Mr Ed on TV he heard a knock at the door. Looking through the window he could see a very attractive young woman dressed in red and white standing outside.
"Hi, can I help you?" he said, opening the door.
Do you like cheese?
"Oh, hi, I'm Katharine Bowie from the Mirage Canyon Citizens' Association" she said.
"Of course you are" he replied.
"And on behalf of our members I want to thank you for helping our little community out in tackling the junkie problem on our streets"
"Just doing my job, my way, Ma'am"
"And we're very grateful, Officer Action" she said, coyly.
Action smiled. "I'm off duty now but would you like to come in for a drink?" he said.
Katharine smiled and said "I thought you'd never ask"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Those of an unflirty disposition, look away now
Jeremy Saint paced up and down the path outside of the Arts Centre in downtown San Myshuno. He checked his watch...a minute past 8pm. Would she delayed? Will she show up? Jeremy's heart beat faster as time ticked on and he couldn't see his date.
Then, emerging around the corner at a brisk pace, she came running: Barbara Dubois, Jeremy's date. Only last weekend had they decided to go steady and this was the first time they'd seen each other since then. They both smiled the moment they saw each other and ran towards each other for an embrace.
Music cue 1:
Awwwww love
"You came!" said Jeremy
"Of course...you don't think I'm going to miss the Hijinks Festival with you!" she replied. "I'm starving, let's get something to eat."
"I know you love spicy food, Barbara, and I know a good little eatery just over there. Do you like Cajun?"
"I LOVE Cajun!"
"Come on, let's go!" they grabbed each other's hand and ran off to the vendor.
Jeremy and Barbara both sampled the Tagine and caught up on each other's news of the week. Soon they were joined by another person, a man.
"Excuse me" he said. "I require a place to sit so I can ingest this sustenance. As all other designated seating surfaces are occupied, may I sit at this place so I can eat this meal?"
"Erm, yes, that should be fine" said Jeremy, awkwardly. The man's over formal speech was jarring but it what was on the plate that caused Jeremy and Barbara to wince.
Did you check the use by date on that?
Jeremy noticed something unusual on the man's plate. "Erm, I think I can see something moving on your plate" he said.
"I know. They are hi-protein insects and worms; very nutritious" he said, taking a mouthful.
"Well, I don't know about you, Barbara, but I'm full...shall we head on over to the bar?" Jeremy said, wanting to get away from this strange man and his even stranger meal.
"I'm good to go" she said, pushing her plate away from her.
The two of them got up and went far away from the man to where music was playing and people were dancing.
Music cue 2:
"Shall we?" said Barbara grabbing both of Jeremy's hands and spinning him onto the dance floor. Jeremy did the Economy Shuffle whilst Barbara flung her hair back and treated him to a fine display of funky go-go dancing.
"You're good!" said Jeremy, feeling like he was stuck on a washing machine spin cycle. "But, phew, can we get a drink?"
"Sure" she said. They went over to the bar, got a couple of drinks and as this was the Humor and Hijinks Festival they decided to check out tonight's stand up comic.
It was ribald
"I'm having a lovely time" she said, leaning her head on Jeremy's shoulder.
"I am too" he replied, smiling.
"Yawwwwn, I'm getting tired but I don't want the night to end" she said, looking into his eyes.
"Well....it doesn't have to" he said nervously. "I mean, we could always head back to...." he didn't know quite how to end his sentence.
"yes?" she asked, expectantly.
"I mean, if you don't mind that is....but you could always come back....with me....to....my place" he said, gulping at the end.
"Great! Let's go!" she said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the subway station.
Would you like to see my stamp collection?
They paused outside of Jeremy's house. This was a big moment; inviting a beautiful woman back to his place.
"You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch" he said.
"Don't put yourself out on my account" said Barbara.
"Well...it's no trouble really"
"We can decide the sleeping arrangements inside" she said. Jeremy showed her in and led her to the bedroom.
"Here's the bed, bathroom's down the hall on the right, here you'll find a light switch..."
Barbara patted the space on the bed next to her. "Plenty of room"
"Well, as this is a first date" he said, nervously.
"Second" she corrected him.
"Oh...right. But you know a single man, a single girl together in the same bedroom..."
"It's 1966, Jeremy..."
"But are we ready?"
"Let's just snuggle"
"Oh, OK"
They settled down but within minutes both were fast asleep.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Feeling kinda icky
Suzy grabbed her handbag, her house keys and rushed out the door to work....only as soon as she shut the door she heard a disturbing gurgling sound from her stomach. Breakfast was NOT good. The fridge had broken down during the night and the delicious fruit parfait yoghurt she'd prepared the night before had gone off....and now her tummy was paying the price for not binning the whole lot straight away. It was no good, she couldn't go into work feeling like this. She had an article to write but she could do that at home and at the library and take the morning off to take some Dramamine and Milk of Magnesia and hope her stomach would calm down by lunch.
In the meantime, she took herself down to the spa for a detox. Settling into the sauna she thought about her article and what it would involve. She had enough to do a piece about the mavens of Sim City...well, at least two of them. She'd interviewed both Lily Feng and Bella Goth and there was enough material for an article: Only Nancy Landgraab had avoided an interview thus far.
Let the sickness ooze out of those pores
After a session in the steam room, Suzy headed off to Willow Creek Archive to finish her article. Settling down with a stack of magazines and newspapers from the archives and seated comfortably at a desk with her portable typewriter she got to work. She noticed that one of the librarians was surreptitiously pocketing a library book into his cardigan pocket and hoping no one noticed. Suzy smiled to herself; she knew that guy...nice enough to talk to, looked like a bookish square but was secretly a petty pilferer.
Suzy's thoughts were abruptly halted by a stern looking woman of around 40 who stood right next to her, pointing a finger.
And if pointing doesn't work, you'll get a bunch of fives!
"YOU! Yes you! I know who you are!" said the stern woman.
"You do?" replied a bemused Suzy.
"Yes! You write for that scandalous magazine! The one that's leading the youth of today astray!"
"Do you mean 'Hey, Wow!'?"
"Hey, Filth more like! My niece reads your trash magazine and it nearly led her astray with your low morals: Pop music! Long hair on boys! Mini skirts! Date whoever you like! Tsch! Scandalous! Scandalous! It should be BANNED for corrupting the young of SimNation!"
"Have you ever considered...Miss?" responded Suzy
"MRS Edna Sneedly! I run the Willow Creek Concerned Citizens Society"
"Well, Mrs Sneedly, that the youth of today want something different? They want to express themselves in fashion, music and art in a way that is different from your era. And they want to make their own choices instead of being told what to do, say and think by committees?"
"Harumph! 'Make their own choices'! Who'd ever heard of such nonsense? Why can't girls your age settle for nice young men like this gentleman, drop your hemlines and learn to bake apple pies?" Mrs Sneedly pointed to the kleptomaniac librarian as an example of an 'exemplary' young man.
How little she knows!
"Sure, I'll bear it in mind" said Suzy, standing up and walking over to another part of the library. She made sure Mrs Sneedly got a good view of her short dress. Sitting down at another desk, she began work again when she was interrupted by none other than Victor Feng.
"Good afternoon, Miss Kent" he said. "I see you're doing some research on my wife"
"Yes...well, looking at the society pages to see what she was wearing at various events."
"Very good...I especially liked that green gown she wore to the Norton Building opening back in December"
"Mr Feng...I'd like to ask a question in your capacity as a city councillor" said Suzy, eager to corner Feng on a topic.
"Go ahead"
"Are you aware of an old tunnel that runs underneath the Landgraab Mansion in Oasis Springs?"
Victor Feng paused before giving an answer. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I am not...but thank you for bringing that to my attention. I wish you well with your article." He said before leaving.
Not suspicious at all
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Music cue 1:
Suzy finished her manuscript, put it in an envelope and mailed it to her editor. Her job for the day done, she decided to check out a recommended hot spot in town: The Narwhal Arms. It was an old inn building converted into a nightclub which had been recently refurbished to be a trendy hot spot. However, once inside, Suzy was disappointed by what she saw. Instead of a swinging venue, it was mostly populated by older lounge lizard men. She sat at the bar and ordered a drink, hoping things would improve. She did see a familiar face, however.
"Hi, it's Julian isn't it?" she said to a young man she had met once before.
"Yeah, and you are?" he said, struggling to put a name to her face.
"Suzy Kent...I'm from Hey, Wow magazine. We met a few weeks ago at the Blue Velvet club in Willow Creek"
"Did we? I meet a lot of chicks" he said before shrugging and walking off to the DJ booth.
That ain't no way to treat a lady!
Suzy sighed. Why couldn't she meet any decent men who were interested in her? The boat had sailed with Jeremy, John scared her, Travis didn't seem interested, Burr was obsessed with his activism and Julian was an airhead. She downed her drink and thought that seeing that she was at a loose end, she had a dance.
The Indifferent Bop
When she got home later that evening, things weren't much better: Her toilet had broken this time...on top of a malfunctioning fridge this was another hassle she didn't need. At least she could get an emergency repairman to visit. Or, in this case, a repairwoman.
"Show me where the problem is and yes, I'm a woman, but I can still do the job as well as a man" said the woman, sounding bored.
"Oh, well thanks for coming out at this late hour. The busted toilet is just here. Busy day?" said Suzy, making polite small talk.
"Tell me about it! We had this big water pipe burst down at Oasis Springs this afternoon. Me and the team were working non-stop to try to stop half the neighbourhood from flooding. Some of the guys are still down there."
Believe me, this conversation is the highlight of my day
"Oasis Springs you say?" said Suzy, intrigued. "Whereabouts?"
"Acquisition Butte" said the woman.
"That's where the Landgraabs live, isn't it?"
"Sure is. The burst water pipe was in an old, abandoned mine shaft that runs right under their mansion. I tell you, Mrs Landgraab was furious about the whole thing. Said she'd pay for all our overtimes if we got it fixed tonight. Sheesh, that lady sure has a temper on her"
Suzy pondered this bit of information. She did mention the tunnel to Victor Feng who seemed interested in it. Could these things be connected? The repairwoman finished fixing the toilet and left. As soon as she had, there was a ring on the doorbell. It was Summer Holiday.
Are you trying to hypnotise me?
"Hey Summer, how's it going?" said Suzy.
"Suzy....do you think guys are lame?" said Summer, sighing.
"I'm beginning to think that way" said Suzy. "Why, what's happened?"
"It's what's NOT happening. Travis: One minute he seems keen, the next he treats me as if I don't exist"
"What does Liberty have to say?" pouring a drink for Summer.
"I haven't seen Liberty for days...she's away in Florida at the rocket base"
"I think guys are not taking us seriously enough if you ask me" said Suzy. Here's my tip: Ignore them...they'll hate that and in a short while you'll see who starts paying you decent attention"
Summer nodded. "I think you and me should hit the tiles one night: Girls night out and see if we can't land ourselves some cool guys."
"I'll drink to that" said Suzy, raising her glass to Summer's.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
THIS is how Action gets his mail!
John Action finished getting the mail from his mailbox when he heard footsteps behind him. Resisting his inclination to reach for his .38 service revolver, he turned around to see Mortimer Goth walking by.
"Mr Goth" said Action, nodding.
"Ah....Detective.....Action, isn't it? Meddling in anyone else's affairs lately?" replied a terse Mortimer Goth.
"I patrol my side of the street, Goth, you patrol yours"
Is that a metaphor?
"I'm very protective of my family, Action, and will do anything to keep them safe....ANYTHING!"
"Message received" said Action, noticing the redness in Mortimer's cheeks and the intensity of his stare. The angry Mortimer stormed off, giving Action a cursory glance back at him but there was no time to waste....it was almost time for Action's shift to begin.
Music cue 1:
13th PRECINCT HEADQUARTERS, 0859hrs
"What have you got for me today, Sarge?" said Action to desk Sergeant Kitchen.
"That suspect you brought in a few days ago, Aurora Ahmed...she's still holding out on us" said Sergeant Kitchen.
"Leave it to me, Sarge, I'll sweat the information out of her" he said, grabbing her case file from the filing cabinet. Action walked down to the lock up cells. Aurora sat up on her bunk and looked him in the eye.
"You again...you don't let up, do you?" she said.
"Not until I get what I want" replied Action.
"Which is?"
"Who's your fence, Aurora? Your contacts in the underworld. I want you sing like a canary"
"I don't sing...why not try a birdhouse?"
"I'll try the blockhouse if you don't mind"
"What if I do?"
"Then say goodbye to the free life, Aurora". Action opened up the cell and led her to the booking station. Putting her up against the wall, he searched her.
"Hey! I went through all this when you brought me in!" she complained.
"But I know your fancy lawyer's been here since and I want to make sure he didn't give you anything he shouldn't have....like this little bag of white powder here"
"You planted that, Action!" she complained vociferously.
It's a set up, I tells ya!
"Did I? OK let's talk some more about what other evil I might have got up to" he said, nonchalantly.
He sat Aurora down and turned on the harsh, bright desk lamp and turned it to her face.
"I want my lawyer!" she complained.
"All they'll do is get you down from a 10 year stretch to a 5 year one...I can do better than that if you talk" replied Action. He put some documents on the table in front of her. "We know you hit the expensive places, and leave a chess clue as your calling card"
Which was your downfall
"We've already been through this" she said with a sigh.
"Yes, but what I want to know is who's your network? You've got pretty big partners in crime, Aurora. You only get a cut of the haul."
"Prove it!" she said, definantly.
"I've got it all here, sister...your fingerprints at half a dozen properties, witnesses who'll testify that they saw you with two accomplices...who are they?"
"I...I...can't! They'll kill me if I talk!"
"They won't know" said Action, pressing harder. "Talk now and we'll get you a 3 year stretch"
Oh really?
"Alright....I do jobs for an organisation called The Triangle. My contact is Mal; I speak with him only on the phone and we arrange drop off exchanges for the merchandise and cash. I've only seen him once...tall, skinny, but he was wearing a ski mask."
Action nodded, picked up the case files and said "OK, we'll call your lawyer. Thanks, Aurora"
He returned her to the lock up and went to speak with The Chief but standing in the lobby of the precinct house was Candy Behr...the last time Action saw her she had stood him up on a dinner date.
"Hey Action" she said, sheepishly
"Candy...what brings you here?" he replied
It had better be an apology
"Just some neighbourhood toughs giving my sister and me a hard time...listen, Action, about that dinner date..." she began, apologetically.
"SAVE IT, SISTER! Action doesn't take being stood up sitting down!" he yelled, putting up his hand and then storming off.
He went straight to the bathroom to calm himself down. "Not cool, Action, not cool...don't let a chick bring you down!" he said, taking some deep breaths.
And there's my nervous tick coming back
Music cue 2:
He got through the rest of his shift, it was mostly paperwork but he wanted to stay clear of Candy in case he blew his cool again. Changing back in to his 100 Simoleon suit and getting into his 500 Simoleon car he drove home, cursing the name of Candy Behr all the way. Once home he cooked himself up some mac n' cheese and was preparing to settle down to eat it when there was a ring on the doorbell.
"What kind of crazy cat wants to bother me now?" he said, checking his .38 service revolver was loaded...he'd made some enemies over the years. However, when he opened the door he saw that it was his neighbour, Liberty Lee.
"Well hello there......sweet Liberty!" he said, smiling.
"Hi Action, I hope I'm not disturbing you?" she replied, nervously.
"You could never do that, why don't you come in?" he said. "I made enough macaroni for two"
"Thanks, but I've eaten...wow, I like how you've decorated this place" she said, looking around.
"I've gone for an African vibe" he replied.
Or a 1960s approximation thereof
"I like it....the reason I'm here, Action, is that I didn't get to properly speak with you when you moved in. I've been busy lately"
"So your friends tell me"
"Yes. Well, I thought...well....you might like some company."
"I never refuse the company of a pretty lady" he said.
"You lead an interesting life: Ex-marine now a cop. You helped Travis' friend find his stolen statue. I'd like to know John Action a little better"
"And I'd like to get to know Liberty Lee more" he said, pouring her a drink and handing it to her. "Here's to getting to know each other" and they clinked glasses.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
My new home! Power! POWER!
Music cue 1:
"If you'd like to sign here, Miss Epstein..."
"DOCTOR Epstein, actually"
"Sorry, Dr Epstein...yes, just sign here at the bottom and the house is all yours" said the Real Estate Agent. Dr Julia Epstein, newly qualified M.D., took out a special gold fountain pen...a present from her Uncle Reuben...and signed on the bottom line of the title deed.
"That's fine" said the agent. "Well, welcome to Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, Doctor. I must say you seem a little young to be a doctor"
"I was the youngest in my year group" said Julia, with a little more than a hint of pride in her voice. "Now, what are the neighbours like here? Are they rowdy? Do they throw wild parties?"
"Well there's 3 young professionals over the road...I think he works with computers, one of the girls works at Space Y and the other one's a cook...I think. Then you've got a woman next door who works for a fashion magazine, next to her is a young gentleman...I don't know what he does for a living I'm afraid...and then the last house is owned by a policeman so I guess if there's anything untoward in this road he'd be the person to seek help from."
"Hmmm." said Julia, pondering that information. The agent made his goodbyes and she was left to inspect her new house. Technically it was owned by her parents; a gift for graduating 1st from medical school and landing a job at the prestigious Sim City Medical Centre. They wanted her to keep on living at home with them but Julia had worked out...with mathematical precision...how the commute would be worse from their out of town home into the city whereas Willow Creek afforded both a reasonable distance from work and a moderate price range for property.
Julia was going over her new home, checking out each room when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up from inspecting under her bed and thought who it could possibly be? Her parents were going to visit tomorrow so it wasn't them and she didn't know anyone else from this area so she raised an eyebrow and cautiously went to investigate.
Oh, it's them!
"HELLO NEIGHBOUR!" yelled three young people: Two women and a man.
"Am I right in deducing that you are the three people who live in that house across the road?" said Julia, puzzled at this reception committee on her doorstep.
"That's us!" said an Asian-Sim Nation woman. "I'm Liberty, these are my housemates Travis and Summer"
"I brought cake!" said the blonde girl, Summer.
"I'm Dr Julia Epstein and thank....you" said Julia, still puzzled at these visitors.
"And I'm Action, John Action" said a tall, impressive looking black man who had just arrived.
"Are you the policeman or the man living at the end of the road?" Julia asked.
"I'm a cop" said Action.
"Don't mess with him!" laughed Travis, nervously.
Julia was stuck for what to do next. She could go back inside and arrange her medical textbooks as she had planned, carefully hang and fold her clothes or invite these strangers in. Well, they had brought cake so she opted to invite her neighbours inside her house.
It's a bit....sparse in here
music cue 2:
"I've just moved in so excuse the state of the place" said Julia, putting the cake down on a coffee table.
"It looks spotless!" said Summer.
"It's not...there's probably germs everywhere" replied Julia.
"We've been watching this place being built for weeks now" said Travis. "We were wondering who'd be moving in"
"It's so good another young person has joined our happy little community" said Summer. Action just grunted.
"My age is a factor here?" said a puzzled Julia.
"Well, you know..." said Summer, stuck for an answer.
"Do you intend to have wild parties here?" said Julia with some disapproval.
"Oh yes...OW!" said Travis, just before Liberty kicked him in the shin.
"Not wild, so to speak" said Liberty, apologetically.
knees together, girls!
"So you're a doctor?" said Summer, trying to change the topic.
"Yes, I'm newly qualified and start my first shift as an intern tomorrow" said Julia, now enthusiastic.
"Congratulations" said Travis. "It's nice to have a proper professional around here. Action just grunted. He was checking the place out...it was sparsely furnished in white and pale blue. He contemplated whether the good Dr Julia here would be similar to her home: Cold, sparse and unappealing. His dating life had improved of late...two different women in two weeks but Julia didn't appear to be number 3 to him.
Summer approached him as he finished a slice of cake. "Hey, Action, you seem quieter than usual" she said.
"This chick's place is colder than a meat locker. Creeps me out" he replied.
help, get me out of here!
"Your trouble, Action, is that you never let up from work. You're always the cop" said Summer.
"Now that's where you're wrong, Summer. Action knows how to unwind" he said, turning to look at Liberty and giving her a wink.
"So I hear you Doctors party hard" said Travis, trying to make a good impression on Julia.
"We don't...excuse me, but the dirty dishes are piling up and I have to give them a clean" she said, worried about the stack of plates with cake crumbs on them. She stood up, gathered up the plates and took them to the sink.
I didn't invite them!
Travis leaned in to Liberty and said, with a whisper, "I don't think she wants us around. Let's make our excuses and go". Liberty nodded and caught Summer and Action's attention with a quick j erk of her head in the direction of the door. They took the hint, welcomed Julia to the neighbourhood once again and left.
Was it something I said?
Julia once again enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet. She was contemplating finishing unpacking her suitcases when there was another knock on the door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she walked over to the door to see who was there. It was a young man but one she recognised.
"Phew, sorry I'm late! I got caught up with work and only just made it...did I miss the others?" he said.
"You did. And you must be the man who lives at the end of the road?" she asked.
"Yes I am...I'm Jeremy"
"I know...we've met before. Julia Epstein"
Jeremy looked puzzled and tried to remember where he'd met her before. Julia picked up on his expression "It was at the Humour and Hijinks Festival"
Jeremy started to look less puzzled as he pulled a vague recollection from his memory. "Was I with my girlfriend at the time?"
"No, that was the most recent festival" said Julia, recalling the sight of Jeremy and his girlfriend partaking in a steamy embrace. She absolutely hated public displays of affection. "We met at the one before that. I was telling you I was about to graduate from medical school and that you worked for Dewey, Cheathem and Howe"
Oh yes, you were the girl that wouldn't stop talking
The penny finally dropped for Jeremy. "Oh yes. I remember now. So how did it all go with the graduation?"
"Top of my class, got me an internship at Sim City Medical Centre"
"Wow..." said Jeremy, impressed not only at her achievement but that she said it as if coming top of her class was a piece of cake.
As they talked, across the road Geoffrey Landgraab stopped his evening run for a moment. He had come across his son's latest girlfriend and he wanted to have a word with her.
"Gillian, what brings you here?" he said
"Oh, well, this road is between the school library and my home, Mr Landgraab" she said, swaying and speaking coyly to him.
Inappropriate
"Gillian, are you drunk or high?" he said, disapprovingly
"Turn on, tune in and drop out, baby" she said with a giggle.
"Let me tell you this, young lady, you do not meet my standards for a girlfriend of Malcolm's. I wish you to break off your relationship with him" he said, sternly.
"Malcolm doesn't have to take orders from you, pops" she said, batting her long false eyelashes at him. Landgraab stood up to attention and leaned in towards her, his face looking menacingly.
"You do not know who you are dealing with" he said, snarling. "You are forbidden to contact my son in future. Now go and stagger back to whatever hashish den you crawled out from!"
Gillian blew him a mock kiss and staggered away. Landgraab watched her walk out of sight.
"So, hopefully, I will get that cardio-thoracic rotation at the hospital and I'll specialise in that" said Julia, in the meantime but she noticed that Jeremy was watching the incident between the middle aged man in running gear and the teenage girl in the latest mod fashions. "Jeremy, what's the matter?" said Julia, concerned.
"Erm...could be nothing" said Jeremy. "But that's the millionaire Geoffrey Landgraab and she's a high schooler...I wonder what that was all about?"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
"Hello, is that Suzy? It's Jeremy here, sorry to phone you at this hour"
"No, it's not late at all...how's it going Jeremy?" Suzy replied.
"I'm good...actually I'm calling about something I witnessed that might interest you"
Suzy sat up to attention. Jeremy sounded serious, but a little unsure. "Go on..." she said, inquisitively.
"Well, I witnessed an argument between Geoffrey Landgraab and a teenage girl. It sounded very serious and I know you're trying to dig into what the Landgraabs may be up to".
"Let's not talk over the phone...my place is a bit of a mess right now. Is it OK if I pop around to your place this evening?" said an excited Suzy.
"Sure, come right over" said Jeremy.
"OK, I'll just get my boots on and I'll be there in a few minutes"
Jeremy put the receiver down and went to get a glass of water. No sooner had he filled his glass up then he heard a knock at the door. Suzy was pretty quick, he thought to himself as he went to get the door. But when he opened it, he saw that it wasn't Suzy at all.
"Hello Jeremy" said the young lady standing on his porch.
"Bianca!" said an incredulous Jeremy. He hadn't seen Bianca since that fateful night weeks ago where she turned him down.
"I was just passing and wondered if you'd like to hang out tonight?" she said, innocently.
You've got a nerve!
"Well...tonight's not good. In fact, I'm uncomfortable with us hanging out given what happened last time we saw each other" he said, indignantly.
"Oh you're not still hung up over that? I'm not the kind of girl you thought I was..." she said.
"What? One that blows hot and cold?" said Jeremy, his words terse and accusing.
"I get it...you're the old fashioned type looking for an old fashioned girl. Well, I'm not that. I want to experience so much more than just being someone's trophy girlfriend or wife material. You were moving too fast!"
"Too fast? You sent out mixed signals...'I like you Jeremy...stay away, Jeremy'. Maybe some consistency is a little old fashioned...I'm not sorry for wanting that"
"I've thought about you a lot; never stopped. I hope you're doing well" she said, her head tilted to one side as a conciliatory gesture.
"I am, thank you....I'm seeing someone else now" he said, wanting to show her he was more than just well.
"Oh..." she said in surprise. "Congratulations. I hope you're happy" she added, trying to find the right words to say.
"I am, thanks. Oh...sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to" he said, noticing that Suzy was approaching him.
"Is she...?" Bianca asked
"No...this is just business but it's important. Goodbye Bianca...and good luck" he said, still with a trace of hurt in his voice.
I'm going to spend time with a real friend
"You too" Bianca replied, her smile a little forced as she walked away.
"Anyway, hi Suzy" he said, turning to his new arrival. "It's been a bit busy these last few minutes"
"Was that...Bianca?" asked Suzy, a little embarrassed to stumble in on Jeremy's private life.
"Yeah...crazy, she just showed up at random. I told her I was seeing someone new"
"How's that going?"
"Great! Couldn't be better right now...anyway, you don't want to hear about my love life. Come inside and I'll tell you what I saw and heard" he said, ushering Suzy in.
The two of them went to Jeremy's study to talk, so they wouldn't be disturbed by any more random passers by...which seemed to be a trait of Jeremy's house right now.
"Anyway, it was last night and I was chatting with our new neighbour, Judith, on her front porch. There's this teenage girl walking down the road, near Travis, Summer and Liberty's home...I've seen her around here a couple of times, mostly in the evenings."
"The school library is just further down the canal, past the old tree and fishing spot" said Suzy. "Lots of high schoolers walk past here on their way home...anyway, please continue"
This next bit will interest you
"Then Geoffrey Landgraab, out on his daily evening run, stops and starts berating this girl, telling her to stay away from someone called Malcolm"
"That's his son. So this girl is involved with Malcolm Landgraab...might be a girlfriend or at least a potential one in Geoffrey's mind, hmmm" said Suzy, stroking her chin in interest.
"She just laughed at him...I didn't catch exactly what she said because she was soft spoken but Landgraab was quite vocal and raised his voice so I could hear him a lot better. He then warned her off his son and accused her of being high on drugs...then they parted. I'm sorry I didn't catch more but I was also trying to chat with Judith at the same time."
"That's OK, Jeremy" said Suzy, her mind racing to consider the possibilities of this information. "It sounds like he considers her to be 'the wrong kind of girl' for his son. It could be linked to my investigations or it might just be a personal matter"
Either way, I have to sit down to take in all this news
"By the way" said Suzy, a thought just occurring to her. "Did you catch a name and can you describe her to me?"
"Oh yes, she was called Gillian and she's a thin, strawberry blonde...long straight hair with a fringe. She dresses in mod gear"
"I think I've seen her around here too" replied Suzy. "Time, I think, for more detective work!"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Cue the music!
Music cue 1:
Suzy Kent struggled with the transition from A flat major to B flat major 7th on her guitar. "Dang it, I'm never going to be Joan Baez at this rate!" A few more attempts and she finally got there, albeit with too long a pause between the two chords. At that moment, there was a knock on her door. "Now's a good time as any to take a break" she said, putting her guitar down.
It was Summer Holiday at the door. Of late Summer had become Suzy's best friend: The two shared much in common...a positive outlook on life, both interested in pop music and fashion and they both had non-starter love lives. "Hi, Suzy" said Summer. "I'm not rostered on at the cafeteria until 2 this afternoon and I was wondering if you'd like to hang out for a bit?"
"Absolutely, Summer" replied Suzy. "In fact I was wondering if you'd like to help me on a little project of mine" she added.
"Oh do tell"
"I need to find a teenager...a specific one" said Suzy.
"And why would you want to find them?" said a puzzled Summer.
"Oh it's a lead on that story I'm working on. I need to find a girl called Gillian to interview...the trouble is the school she goes to won't give out any contact details so we have to 'chance' encounter her. Do you know if the teens still hang out at the Bowl-o-Rama in Newcrest?"
"Yep...some things don't change from when we were their age..." replied Summer.
"Which was only a couple of years ago" said Suzy. "So what do you say? We go there, hang out at the lounge for a bit and see if her or any of her friends show up....oh and we might meet a couple of nice guys there as well"
I'm sold!
The girls grabbed their bags and caught the bus over to Newcrest and the Bowl-o-Rama...a popular spot that had been around for nearly a decade. There was a bowling alley, a food court, a cinema and a lounge bar all in the one building. It was a very popular hang out with teenagers and the two ladies swapped stories on the bus about their fun times hanging out there and the boys they went out with at the time. Both Suzy and Summer were 20 years old so High School wasn't so long ago for them...but with the fast change of society these days 1964 already seemed like a decade behind 1966.
"So we're here to play detective, have drinks and check out single guys?" asked Summer, when they finally arrived at the leisure complex.
"...in that order" replied Suzy.
It's gonna be FAB!
Music cue 2:
The girls sat in the upstairs bar, near the huge windows that looked down on the street below.
"So what does this Gillian look like?" asked Summer.
"She's skinny, about 17 years old with long, straight strawberry blonde hair with a straight fringe. A bit of a party animal from what I hear" replied Suzy.
"Sounds like me when I was 17....that wasn't that long ago, have we become old maids already?" said Summer with a sigh.
"I hope not! It's just...well....where are all the decent guys these days?"
"Beats me!" said Summer, taking a swig of her white wine. "I sometimes think of moving to somewhere more lively. Sim City can be such a drag sometimes"
"I've been thinking of the scene in San Francisco, or New York" said Suzy
"...or London" replied Summer.
"London would be soooooooo fab! Carnaby Street! The Marquee Club!" Suzy's eyes lit up at the thought of it.
"Tea with the Queen!" said Summer and the both of them laughed.
"Seriously, if it wasn't for this story I'm working on I'd already be looking to move away from Sim City" said Suzy.
No way!
"I'm already thinking of those cute British guys!" said Summer.
The two friends continued to talk about work, relationships...or lack thereof...and Suzy's investigative journalism. It certainly was a far cry from fashion journalism, which is what Suzy was originally hired to do.
"Dang, that girl hasn't shown up yet and I need to get to work!" said Summer, finishing off her wine. "Are you OK to stay here or are you going to give up too?"
"I'm staying for the moment...I know it's only a hunch that she'll show up here but if I've guessed correctly she's the type of girl who'll want to be where the action is and with all these other teenagers hanging around..." and she nodded in the direction of all the teens gathering to go see the new, wildly popular French movie "Un Sim Et Une Simme" "...I'm sure she's going to show up soon"
Music cue 3:
Summer made her goodbyes and headed off whilst Suzy continued to look out for Gillian. Soon enough, a girl matching her description could be spotted from the upstairs lounge walking towards Bowl-o-Rama.
You can spot an avid fan of French movies a mile off
Suzy ran downstairs and out of the building in case Gillian walked past it. "Hello there...are you Gillian by any chance?" she called out to the girl. The teenager stopped and turned to look at Suzy.
"I am, who wants to know?" she said.
"Hi, I'm Suzy Kent...I'm a writer for 'Hey, Wow!' magazine"
The girl's eyes widened and her face lit up with excitement. "Hey, Wow!' I love that magazine...I get it every week!" she said, enthusiastically.
"Glad to hear it...anyway I'm doing a story and wondered if I could ask you a few questions?"
"Sure! What about? Fashion? I know ALL about fashion! Pop music? I know EVERYTHING about that as well!"
"It's more personal than that....erm" Suzy felt embarrassed to be asking this girl questions about her personal dating life but she was committed to this story now. "...you know, we cover celebrity news as well; who's dating who, who's been seen in the trendiest sports...you know the thing"
"I do" said Gillian, now standing confidently and less bubbly and gushing. "In fact, I know a well known person about town AND have been on a few dates with him....if you're interested" she said, teasingly.
"Do tell!" said Suzy.
"Well....I mean, I don't want to go telling about this guy unless there was something rewarding in it" Gillian looked shrewdly at Suzy.
"I see...well, what can I help you with?"
"I want to be a model...top of the range stuff, the famous fashion houses....well, you must have contacts there...maybe you could hook me up with some of them. I'm the right height, the right shape and I've got 'the look'. What about it?"
Suzy thought about this; the girl was certainly no shrinking violet....she could see why she would incur the wrath of Geoffrey Landgraab.
A sharp operator
Suzy's day is quite event filled so this is the end of part 1 of her story today....tune in later for what happened next.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Suzy thought about what Gillian had asked for...a simple matter of introducing this girl to some of her modelling contacts. There was a risk; if she proved to be a liability and as demanding as Suzy had suspected it might reflect badly on her. On the other hand, if what she had to say was revelatory then perhaps she would be forgiven if the story was good.
"OK, I know people who might help your modelling career" said Suzy, hoping she wouldn't regret it. "I have a business card from a top photographer...it's yours IF you tell me about this guy." She held the card aloft, just out of Gillian's reach.
"Alright....I've been dating Malcolm Landgraab...the heir to the Landgraab fortune" the girl said.
"I know the Landgraabs. Go on" said Suzy.
"Well...he's no angel but then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree if you get my drift" Gillian continued.
"This I already know" said Suzy, turning the business card over in her hand.
"OK...here's the dope..." said Gillian leaning in and speaking softly. "Malcolm's been supplying the party scene with some substances that the cops wouldn't take too kindly too: 'Shrooms, acid and especially space cookies. It's his way of 'expanding' the family business with a sideline of his own."
"And the family business is, what, exactly?" asked Suzy.
"The old man's a ruthless business tycoon...as you know. But he's REALLY cutthroat. Putting people out of business, cutting off their water and power supplies. It's less like a corporation and more like a protection racket. But not to be outdone is Mommy Dearest...she's into ALL kinds of criminal activities! She pretty much runs the Sim City underworld!"
Suzy said nothing. She was shocked by this revelation...the Landgraabs were way worse than she had initially suspected. Clearing her throat, she asked Gillian "So are you going to keep dating Malcolm?"
"I guess...depends on him and whether he'll stand up to Daddy" she shrugged.
"Well, if you hear anything new...here's my contact number. And here's that business card I promised as well...thank you Gillian"
The girl looked at the cards she was given and smiled broadly. Suzy walked away Good luck... she thought you're going to need it.
Music cue 4:
Suzy headed into town for some light relief and noticed that there were bright pink and psychedelic colours decking out the public squares. One look at the signs posted everywhere told her it was "Romance Festival" night. "Oh no!" she thought, remembering how dull it was last time. However, all was not a total loss...a familiar face was present.
"Bakko Jang...always where the party is!" she said, smiling at him.
"You know me, sis" he replied. "Gonna dance?" he asked.
"Maybe later...I'm hungry right now" she replied. Suzy headed over to a vendor for one of this week's special "romantic" dishes but they usually turned out to be regular meals but with more chili sauce on them.
Do you have a licence to wear that coat?
Looking around the festival, it was the same old bunch of middle aged men on the hunt and female fashion disasters as the divorcees attempted to look hip but failing. Still, the food was nice and after she'd finished she headed back to talk with Bakko.
"I'm doing a live spot later...it's open mic night at the bar and I've got me some new material" said Bakko, enthusiastically.
"I look forward to seeing it" said Suzy.
"Hey, it's either one of my fans...or one of yours...coming towards us" said Bakko, nodding in the direction behind Suzy. She turned around to see Nancy Landgraab approaching them.
"Bakko..." Nancy said "I'm very much looking forward to seeing your act later on. I'm so glad the money and time we invested in your career is starting to pay off"
Now there's a backstory that should be told
"Thank you, Mrs Landgraab...enjoy the show" replied Bakko.
"And Miss Kent, how lovely to see you again. I rely on your publication to inform me of the latest trends" she said, showing off her latest outfit. A bit racy for a woman of 40 but Nancy had the courage...and the looks...to just about pull it off.
"Pleated skirts are the height of fashion right now" replied Suzy. "Are you with your family tonight, by any chance?"
"Geoffrey's here. Malcolm was invited by he's with friends this evening" Nancy replied, haughtily.
"Yes, I hear he's quite the socialite" said Suzy. "He's been seeing this aspiring model I believe?" Suzy was trying to get a reaction from Nancy and she didn't have to wait long either.
If looks could kill
This day is longer than I thought....it'll need a part 3 which will be along later.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Music cue 1:
There was a frosty silence between Nancy and Suzy, who realised she'd touched a nerve there. Suddenly, Nancy looked away and over to an area where people were painting. This seemed to snap her out of her mood. "Ah..." said Nancy. "I see someone I'd like you to meet. Neil! Would you be a darling and come over here for a moment?" she said to a young, fair haired man who'd been painting a still life scene. He put down his paintbrush and came over to where Nancy and Suzy were standing.
"Suzy Kent...I'd like you to meet a friend of mine: Neil Humphries. Neil is an aspiring young artist the Landgraab Foundation are sponsoring. Miss Kent here is from 'Hey, Wow!' magazine."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Kent" said Neil, pleasantly
"Call me Suzy" she replied. Suzy thought Neil was a friendly, good looking guy from his smile and honest expression.
And regulation turtleneck sweater
"I must attend to other business...until next time" said Nancy, who promptly left.
Neil looked stuck for something to say so Suzy tried to break the ice. "I like your painting over there" she said.
"Oh, that? I haven't finished it yet" he said, looking embarrassed.
"Nevertheless it's looking good...you're good at capturing reflections on canvas. So do you have anything exhibited in any galleries?" she asked, trying to get him to open up.
"Not yet...I still consider myself an amateur at this stage. Hopefully one day I'll have my own exhibition. At the moment I'm just glad to be able to participate in this arts festival..."
"Erm, this is the Romance Festival" said Suzy, correcting him.
"Romance Festival? Oh my god!" the man looked panicked and looked around him frantically.
That's like...the worst!
"Is something the matter?" said Suzy, now looking concerned.
"I...I don't do well at these kind of things. I thought this was an art festival"
Suzy suppressed the urge to laugh. Neil looked so panicked at the idea of being at a romance festival.
"Relax...this place is usually filled with middle aged people looking to cheat on their spouses anyway. I've been to this event twice now and haven't met a single....nice....young...single....man" and as she spoke those words, her eyes met Neil's briefly before both of them looked away.
"I...I...hope you can come to a showing of my work in the future...Suzy" said Neil, putting his hands in his pockets and looking awkwardly at his feet. "In the meantime...I'd better get back to my painting"
Suzy nodded. She didn't know quite what to make of this guy but that brief moment of eye contact was enough to spark an interest in this man who was so awkward he made Jeremy Saint look like a lounge lizard. Suzy went to get some food and found that she was sitting opposite Geoffrey Landgraab. He didn't notice her though; his attention was drawn to a an elegant blonde haired lady wearing a lavender coloured Chinese dress. Geoffrey gave her a wink and a wave...she smiled seductively back at her. This is not the model family thought Suzy.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Finally that blue fog has lifted
"Come on, Action, your shift is about to start....why are you always up here working out when there's fresh donuts in the squad room?" Officer Prisha Datta said to John Action as he gave the punch bag another mighty blow.
"Working out keeps me sharp. Eating well keeps me in shape" replied Action, once again landing a heavy blow on the bag.
"Anyway, you've got about 10 minutes before you have to be out there on the streets. You won't have time to get changed...or hit the showers, phew!" she said, making a wafting sign with her hand as she caught a whiff of Action's sweat.
That sweat is what you call Essence of Man!
"Listen, Prish...I'm so fast I can punch this bag, get showered and into my uniform faster than you could eat that donut over there" he replied and giving the punch bag one last massive hit, he grabbed his towel and headed for the showers.
His shift began with taking a suspect's fingerprints, however this cat was giving Action some sass.
"Hey! Watch the hands!" he said "These are the hands of an artist!"
"A con artist more like" said Action, non plussed.
"I'm sure it's against your regulations to be this flip with an innocent victim of your so-called justice" said the suspect, complaining more.
"Innocent victim?" said Action, slamming the guy's hand down on to the ink pad to get his prints. "Tell that to the judge, who you'll be seeing real soon"
Don't you give me sass!
Action finished taking the prints and handed the folder with them to Datta. "I'm going to hit the streets now, Datta. Don't eat all the donuts while I'm gone"
Foundry Cove, 10:45am
Music cue 1:
Action had personally requested his patrol route took in his home suburb as he'd noticed some strange comings and goings there of late. Jeremy and Suzy had informed him about Geoffrey Landgraab and Gillian Hills, Malcolm Landgraab's on-off girlfriend. Plus there were the altercations between the Landgraabs and Mortimer Goth that needed to be kept an eye on. With the all the comings and goings in the area Action had a gut feeling that his shift wouldn't be quiet today.
It did, however, begin peacefully. As he walked up and down the street he noticed Travis Scott leave his house and walk over to him.
"What's up, Travis?" said Action
"Good to see you around, Action. I haven't seen you around recently. Are you still seeing Liberty?"
"It's a casual thing, Travis. I ain't looking to go steady or anything like that" Action replied.
I get more action in one week than you have since this story began
Travis looked a little put out by this comment, mainly because he hadn't done much about his own love life. "Anyway, Action" he said, changing the subject "I noticed this couple down the road there, near the garden, they seem to be having an argument."
"So noted" said Action. "I'd better check out that scene. Catch you later, Travis"
Action made his way cautiously towards the arguing couple. All of a sudden, they stopped shouting and everything went quiet. Action stopped by a large tree so he could watch events from a more discrete distance. The couple started talking again but this time in a quieter tone. Neither of them looked happy but at least they weren't causing a disturbance. Action decided to back off for now and await for any future disturbances. But what he didn't spot was that someone else was stalking him.
He looks rather vexed, bothered and irate
Music cue 2
Action walked back to the corner of the street but it was then the mysterious stalker suddenly rushed him and gave him a karate chop on the back of the neck. Action didn't have time to reach for his .38 service revolver as he dropped to his knees. "Take that, pig!" said the attacker. Action flicked out his left arm and chopped the back of the attacker's knee which caused the man to buckle and lose his balance. Seizing his chance, Action leapt to his feet and gave a roundhouse blow to the guy's jaw, but he was tough and fast and rolled with the punch to lessen the blow. As he recovered he gave Action a 1-2 and almost put him to the ground again.
This scene filmed in back-to-front-o-vision!
But all the training Action had put in recently came to the fore. Action stood up and uppercut the guy in the jaw, using the momentum of his rise to give his punch more power. The guy recoiled and fell back into the lamp post. Action was quick to whip out his regulation handcuffs and in seconds he'd locked his attacker to the post.
"You need to cool off, pal!" said Action. "Now why would you go do something stupid like try to beat up a cop?"
"A....warning...." gasped the attacker, who was still stunned from the beating Action had given him. "You've....made....enemies....Action!" he continued before collapsing through exhaustion.
Action got on the radio to call in a car to take this thug away. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to name my enemies in the cooler" he said. "You stay there like a good little doggie while I go deal with the rest of the trash"
The voices between the arguing couple grew louder and was attracting the notice of the locals. Action sauntered over to them.
If looks could kill you'd get 20 to life
"I hate you!" yelled the girl.
"Hey, silly cow...you and me, it's not serious." replied the man, matter of factly.
"You slept with HER! How could you?"
"I can't be pinned down, girl, you know that."
"But my best friend as well!"
"I get around, baby, you know that. Now calm down, get your knickers back on or I'm going to have to give you a slap to keep you in line"
"You ain't slapping her or anyone else today" came Action's booming voice. The man faltered in his tracks.
"Hello officer, this is between me and the girl" said the man, not bothered by Action's presence.
"You are causing a disturbance and have just threatened to strike this lady. I'm warning you, pal, you get out of here right now or you'll be joining that guy over there" said Action, nodding to where his assailant was cuffed.
"Alright, chum, keep your hair on." replied the man, leaving the scene.
respect women!
"You alright, Miss?" said Action to the woman.
"Grrrr! That man! I detest him!" She replied.
"Hey, I know you...." said Action "We met when I first moved into town. Down at the...uhm....the Blue Something or other"
"The Blue Velvet" she replied. "I remember. I didn't know you were a cop...you're pretty handy to have around. I'm Jade"
"Of course" replied Action, smiling.
That old Action charm!
"Anyway, Jade, you can do better than him in your life. Look, my ride is here and I've got to get that perp back to the blockhouse. Stay cool, baby" he said, tipping his hat at her.
Action and his back up uncuffed the assailant from the lamp post, shoved him in the back of the black and white and hauled him back to 13th Precinct HQ. However, there was no rest for Action. Datta was on the front desk and she was talking to two civilians. One, a dorky looking young man and the second an elegant blonde lady.
"Ah, Action, no rest for the wicked today...we have a couple of complaints to deal with" she said, indicating the two civilians.
"No problem, me and the lady here...." he began.
"Uh-huh...Mr Fowler here has been waiting the longest and he has a problem which I think you're uniquely suited to help with. I will deal with Miss Vale."
So what's your problem Mr Second Banana...erm, I mean Mr Fowler?
Fowler began to explain his problem to Action "Well, officer, I don't know how quite to explain this problem we have in our little community...but someone's been going around and messing in our swimming pools. And by messing I mean...well...leaving something in them that, frankly, deserves to be in a bathroom."
"I get what you mean" said Action, sighing, whilst watching Datta deal with the elegant woman.
Music cue 3
At the end of his shift, Action headed home. The pool depositor case would have to wait until tomorrow. He changed out of his uniform, had some chow and was relaxing when he saw a familiar figure outside of his window. A pleasant and familiar figure. Action got up and went outside to say hello. The person was someone he'd met recently; Katharine Bowie, young socialite. She was dressed in the height of fashion, wearing a few yellow whisps of nothing much.
Schwing!
"Katharine" said Action, smiling. "A pleasure to see you"
"Likewise, Action" she replied.
"All dressed up to the nines, and beyond" said Action, complimenting her appearance.
"A charity fundraising dinner" she said.
"And no plus one? I would have thought all the eligible men of Sim City would be beating a path to your door to accompany you"
"Not tonight, alas" she said. "Do you own a tux?"
"I own two"
"I'll remember that for next time" she said, smiling.
"I'll remember to have them dry cleaned" he replied.
OK, that's enough suggestive banter for now
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Judith Epstein was a young woman who liked schedules and procedure. She'd been like this all her life, much to the annoyance of her family and those who knew her growing up. She was up at 6am, did a routine of light exercises and had showered, as she had done all through her college years. Finally she put on her make up, plaited her hair and put in some contact lenses...normally she didn't wear them but today was a special day and she didn't want to lose her glasses in a patient during surgery. Yes, today was her first day of work at the hospital and if she was going to assist the best surgeons Sim City had she needed to look smart and professional.
This is my serious face
Most doctors wore their normal clothes to work and changed into their scrubs or lab coats at the start of their shift at the hospital but Judith wanted to be super keen so she wore her new, fresh out of the box scrubs on the bus. She couldn't wait to start work; four years of medical school...finishing first in her class...all came down to this: An internship at Sim City's premier hospital.
Music cue 1
Get a load of me!
When she arrived at the hospital she just sauntered in, confident. She knew she belonged here, in the medical world, bursting at the opportunity to show her superiors just what she was capable of. Walking through reception, she made her way to the information desk where she saw a woman in medical scrubs manning the phones and looking through patient records.
"Dr Judith Epstein, reporting for duty" said Judith.
"Dr...Epstein?" said the woman on the desk. "Do you work here?"
"As of today, yes. Did you not see my file?"
"I haven't but I'm sure the Duty Doctor has. Let's just look through my records here....Epcott, Ephraim, ah here we go...Epstein. I see you're a first year intern."
"That's me!" replied Judith, positively.
You don't exactly lack confidence
"I'm Francesca Griffith, admin assistant. Glad to have you on board, Doctor. I'll page Dr Murakami and she'll show you the ropes."
Francesca picked up a phone receiver and put out a message over the hospital loudspeaker system. "Paging Dr Murakami...paging Dr Murakami...please report to reception please.
After a few minutes wait a Japanese-American woman with short hair and wearing a lab coat arrived in the reception area and walked over to Judith. "Ah, Dr Epstein...good of you to join us. I see you've met Mrs Griffith...now, I haven't got time to give you a guided tour of the whole hospital but it's well signposted, there's maps in every corridor and I'm sure you'll pick things up quickly."
And if you could not wave, that'll be dandy
"Now, for your first task I want you to take some food for the patient in room 2" said Dr Murakami.
"Erm, you want me to take some food to a patient?" asked an incredulous Judith. "Surely I should be studying some case notes, maybe working in the lab..."
"Oh no, I want you to take food to the patient" said Dr Murakami, matter of factly. "I have a policy where new interns learn the ropes and layout of the hospital by doing simple tasks. I don't like those fresh out of medical school...particularly ones who show keen medical knowledge but little in the way of life skills...to learn from the bottom up. Now, this meal, room 2 and pronto...Dr Epstein." she said, pointing to a trolley with a covered metal dish on it.
Judith, without saying a word, trudged over to the trolley and began to push it. Reaching the double doors to the wards, she turned to Francesca looking puzzled.
"Through those double doors and just ahead to the left...you can't miss it" said Francesca.
Judith followed the directions and found room 2. Inside was a teenage girl who appeared to be covered in spots "Early stage psoriasis or perhaps an allergic form of eczema" thought Judith to herself.
"Nurse?" said the girl, quizzicly.
"Doctor, actually. Dr Epstein. I've brought you some food."
"Oh I'm so hungry...I had an examination early this morning and missed breakfast time...I guess this is a late breakfast, maybe brunch"
Was brunch a thing back in 1966?
"Are my results back yet?" asked the girl.
Judith walked to the end of the bed and checked her notes...name, Yuki Behr, age 17. The usual medical history...nothing out of the ordinary.
"No, not yet it appears" said Judith. "But my guess is that it's an allergic reaction to something that contacted your skin. Do you by any chance frequent outdoor places much?"
"Well...no, not usually, but recently I've found a shortcut through Newcrest to my home that takes me through a lot of old heath land that has a lot of long grasses and wild bushes."
"Ah, that's probably it. If it is then there's plenty of ointments we can prescribe."
"Thank you, Dr Epstein...you're the first person here to tell me what might be wrong"
You're a groovy kind of medico, sister!
At that point there was a knock on the door. Judith said "enter" and Francesca did just that.
"Dr Epstein....Dr Murakami has got your next task for you." she said.
"Already? What is it? Does she want me to sit in on surgery? Does she want me to take some tissue samples from this patient?" asked an eager Judith.
"No, she wants you to change the IV drip of the patient in room 4."
I hate to be the bearer of mundane news
Judith let out a "harumph", put Yuki's chart back in its holder and left the room. Popping along to room 4, she was met by a VERY talkative old lady.
"Well you took your time...do you know how long I've been waiting for an operation? Do you? Well it's not good enough, do you hear? Not good enough...good grief, look at the state of you? Are you a nurse? In my day nurses looked like nurses...white uniforms and hats...now look at you!"
"I'm a doctor, madam" replied Judith, when the old lady paused to intake a breath of air.
"A doctor! What are you, 12? Tsch! And a mere slip of a girl as well!"
"I'll just change your drip" said Judith, who had faced plenty of prejudice during her medical training from older male doctors who thought that she was too young and slight to cut it as a doctor.
I'm crushing your head!
"I tell you what Mrs...." and she checked the patient's notes "...Kearney. I'll follow up with the surgeons on your time of operation" and with that she quickly made her way out of the room.
Lunchtime came and Judith grabbed a light snack from the cafeteria. She ate alone; not knowing any of the other staff apart from Francesca, who was still working on the front desk. To be frank, she didn't mind the solitude here and appreciated the break from all the mundane tasks she'd been assigned. It certainly wasn't what she expected on her first day as a qualified doctor.
Heading back to the reception, Judith asked Francesca what her next "arduous" medical task would be.
Crohns? Vibration Whitefinger? The Bubonic Plague?
"Well...there is something the higher ups wanted you to do" said Francesca. "Something that will familiarise you with every part of the hospital, be more hands on and is part of the very wellbeing of the place."
"Ooh, sounds interesting...what is it?" asked an expectant Judith.
Don't tell my parents
At the end of her shift Judith trudged out of the hospital...she was disappointed that all her cases could have been handled by nurses, janitors or candy stripers but a job's a job and she would give it more of a go to prove to the "higher ups" that she deserved better. Francesca stopped her on the way out.
"Don't sweat it; all new interns go through this process" she said, sympathetically.
"Sigh...I guess. I'm still frustrated though; I want to prove what I can do!" said Judith.
"That'll come...in time. Meanwhile do you fancy hanging out for a bit after work? My husband's taking our daughter to ballet class this evening so I've got a workout session booked at Skye Fitness...and I'm allowed to bring a guest."
"Sounds good...I don't exercise much but I'm keen to give it a try. Sure." replied Judith.
"OK, see you there at 7pm"
Judith went home, had dinner and grabbed her exercise clothes. Catching the bus into San Myshuno she arrived....as she liked to do...promptly. Francesca had also just arrived and ran over to her.
"Phew! They couldn't find some x-ray at the hospital so yours truly had to locate it for them! Doctors! Anyway, I rushed straight from there to here; I didn't even have time to change out of my scrubs!"
"Hey, this is a pretty swanky place here" said Judith, impressed by the modern state of the art gynmasium.
How much do you earn?
OK...this is another long episode...I will resume the rest of Judith's day a little later on.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Judith and Francesca entered the gym. "Yes, this place can be expensive but my husband's a member" said Francesca.
"Maybe one day I'll earn enough to get membership here as well" commented Judith, taking in the expensive furnishings and equipment.
They went into the ladies' changing room where Judith changed into her exercise leotard. She'd never been the sporty type and wondered how she would get on here but how difficult could keep fit be, she wondered. Francesca showed her to the treadmills and showed her how to operate one.
"So, do you think you'll stick with the hospital?" asked Francesca.
"I'm determined to. It's what I've always wanted to do all my life" replied Judith. "So what's the key to winning over Murakami?"
"Hard work and a can-do attitude" said Francesca. "But I think you did all the right things today, even if they didn't seem like much"
I can't help but notice you've set this treadmill to 2 hours
Judith kept running on the treadmill but noticed that two of her neighbours, John Action and Jeremy Saint, had entered the gym.
"Hey, Judith, what are you doing here?" said Jeremy.
"I might ask you the same question...this place is pretty expensive" she replied.
"I know. But my boss gave me a one off pass as a promotion present. John here got a pass from one of his contacts"
Action turned and smiled. "It was more of a personal contact...if you get my drift. I've been seeing this lady who has friends on the council. It pays to be connected"
That thing has a lot of buttons
Judith got off the treadmill, feeling exhausted. Jeremy turned to her and said "I almost forgot! Today was your first day at the hospital. How did it go?"
Judith paused for a moment. Francesca had gone to the other end of the gym to lift weights and was out of earshot and Judith didn't want to tell Jeremy about her day of delivering food, mopping floors and getting harangued by old ladies.
"Oh it was VERY challenging" she said. "I hit the ground running, so to speak. Never off my feet for a moment with all these tricky cases."
Action stroked his chin. "Really? You made a big impression on your bosses? Normally you have to mop the floors when you're at the bottom rung."
Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnnyway
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Anyone home?
There'd been something gnawing away at Barbara Dubois and it wasn't the alleged rat that her work colleagues and the sandwich bar claimed existed in the dry food storage. The last few days she couldn't get Jeremy Saint out of her mind. The more she thought about him, the more warmly and fondly she felt. Despite the outwardly square and awkward demeanour she knew he was really a romantic and caring person. Plus he was the first guy she'd dated who wasn't interested in one thing and one thing only. Barbara wasn't a prude by any means but she liked being courted, wooed and romanced and that's what Jeremy brought to their courtship. He was also the first American she'd dated since her move from Montreal to Sim City and that made him seem more exotic, crazy though that seemed.
But this lunchtime she'd finished her shift and and was desperate to see him. Maybe he was in, maybe he'd had lunch at home? Sure, she could wait until after 5pm but she HAD to visit him just in the slight chance he was there....to see him and tell him how she felt. However, knocking at the door she knew there was no one at home. Sighing in disappointment she began to trudge off when an idea struck her...she'd leave a note for him, telling him she wanted to see him soon. Not too desperate, but clearly displaying her eagerness to meet up. She wrote a note, folded it and pushed it through his letterbox.
It's a good job I didn't sign it 'PLEEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE!"
At a little after 5pm Jeremy had arrived home feeling crushed, disappointed and embarrassed. He was certain he was going to get a promotion today after all the nods, winks and "attaboys" he'd been getting from some of the senior staff at Dewey, Cheathem & Howe. He'd heard his name being spoken in corridors along with the word "promotion" so when he was called into J.J. Gotcha's office he began by saying to his boss "Thank you, you do me a great honour and I'm pleased to accept the appointment...can we talk about my salary?"
"What salary? What are you talking about?" said Gotcha.
"Well, the promotion" replied Jeremy
"But what's your salary got to do with Henderson's promotion?"
"Henderson?" said an incredulous Jeremy.
"Yes...Henderson is being promoted to department manager. You didn't think it'd be YOU, did you? Ha. Ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha!"
"Well, sir, it's just that there were rumours...." said an embarrassed Jeremy.
"Hey! Bronson...come in here for a moment!" said Gotcha, calling to a passing colleague who stopped to listen. "Saint here thought he'd be getting the promotion! Ha-ha-ha-ha- ha!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" said Bronson, bursting out laughing.
"What's so funny?" said a woman clutching a folder who was also walking past. When Bronson explained that Jeremy thought he was being promoted to department manager she started laughing as well. The laughter was so contagious it started to spread around the office. Soon Jeremy couldn't take it anymore.
"Gahhhhhh!" he said, running out.
When he got home he just wanted to die. If that didn't happen then he'd probably pack his bags and move back to Crested Butte.
In less enlightened times he would have been put in stocks for such impertinence
He opened the door, sighed and noticed a little note on the floor. Opening it up, he saw it was from Barbara.
I have to see you, is this evening any good? Please call me....hugs and kisses, Barbara
What could she want to see him about? Knowing his luck is was another dumping, just like Bianca. But she did sign it hugs and kisses so maybe it wasn't all bad? He raced to the phone and called her.
"Barbara...are you alright?" he said.
"Jeremy! Oh I'm so glad you called. Did you get my message?" she replied.
"Yes...I'm free tonight as a matter of fact. Is everything OK with you?"
"Oh absolutely...I'm so looking forward to catching up with you. See you shortly" she said, enthusiastically. Jeremy smiled....she didn't sound like she wanted to dump him. He went over to the radio and switched it on and noticed his "employee of the month" award. How long ago did that seem? Now he was "laughing stock" instead.
Music cue 1
He changed into a casual suit and started to prepare some dinner for him and Barbara. Just as he was putting the finishing touches to a clam chowder, the doorbell rang. Springing to life he saw that it was Barbara.
"Jeremy, thanks for inviting me over" she said, entering the house.
"My pleasure. So you really wanted to see me?" he replied.
"Is that so strange? I'm.....very fond of you" she said, sheepishly. She wanted to say something else but fear had gripped her out of worry of being rejected.
"Well you're in luck because tonight I've cooked another of my grandmother's recipes...clam chowder, I hope you like it"
"I love chowder...it's a favourite dish back home" she said, smiling.
It's Chow-DAH!
They ate and soon Jeremy forgot all about the work humiliation he'd suffered. Barbara was the ray of light in his life and he wanted to tell her....to tell her how fond he was. No, that sounded weak....he felt much, much more for her but he couldn't quite say it. What if she rejected him just like Bianca did?
Barbara joked and told silly stories about her work but she was barely supressing what she really wanted to say to him. Everything was perfect right now, what if she said something that panicked him?
After dinner they went to Jeremy's study where they talked about their favourite books, places they'd like to go and things they both enjoyed. But there was an elephant in this small room and it wanted to escape! Barbara looked at her feet and scuffed one of them on the floor whilst clasping her hands....
"So....I really wanted to see you tonight. I couldn't stop thinking about you at work today" she said, hesitantly.
"I sometimes feel that way about you" Jeremy replied, looking around the room, too frightened to look her in the eye.
"I....think....well...I KNOW that I...." she began.
"I...I...I..." said Jeremy, trying to fill the silence. "...I want to say, what I mean to say is....
"I LOVE YOU!"
"I LOVE YOU!"
They both said it simultaneously.
Jinx!
There was a short laugh and then silence. Both looked each other in the eye and couldn't break contact. Then they drew towards each other, as if by magnetism, neither wanting to stop what was happening naturally.
They parted after kissing for what seemed like an age. Jeremy stroked Barbara's hair and finally they spoke.
"What were we ever nervous about?" he said, softly.
"I know" she said, looking deep into his eyes. "What next?" she said.
"Stay" he said. She nodded.
"I was hoping you'd say that" she responded. "As it so happens I packed some nightclothes in my bag just in case"
"Good call. Shall we retire to the bedroom?" he said, a new found confidence in his voice. Anything was possible now, he thought.
"I'll just go to the bathroom first" she said. Jeremy went to his room and changed into his pyjamas, neatly folding his clothes on top of his dresser. His heart was starting to pound...he was going to spend the night with her and...well, this could be the night where they would...he couldn't bring himself to think of the word.
His heart began to pound faster when Barbara entered the bedroom. She'd changed into her nightclothes but they were not what he expected. She was wearing a white satin basque with matching garters and sheer white stockings. She'd gone the extra mile.
When Barbara packed a bag earlier on today, in the hope that she and Jeremy would spend the night together, she wondered about how risque her lingerie would be...maybe it would make Jeremy think less of her? As she put the garments on, however, she felt seductive and alluring. Sauntering into the bedroom she stood resplendent. Jeremy's jaw almost hit the floor.
"You're....beautiful" he said, admiring her from across the room.
And here I am in plaid flannel pyjamas
They slid into the bed and began to snuggle and kiss. Each wanted the other so much but....it was late, and slowly, as they were canoodling, tiredness overcame them. Before anything else could happen they were fast asleep.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Swing your pants!
After the last few days doing field research for "Hey, Wow!" magazine, Suzy Kent was due in the office today. She'd woken up early, showered, got dressed in her green leaf patterned mini dress and light green shoes, applied her make up and was ready to go by 7am. The trouble was if she left now no one would be in the office. For good measure, she decided to do some last minute street interviews with passers by.
One day I'm going to have to check out this tree
Once she'd got her interview done, a strange sensation came over her...maybe it was the sunshine, maybe it was the loveliness of this tree that she remembered had a prominently marked question mark on the map of Foundry Cove that Burr DeBenning had shown her. Now Suzy felt this sudden urge to sing.
Music cue 1:
She knew it must have looked silly to anyone looking...it certainly drew a bemused smile from a little girl who happened to walk past at that moment, but sing she had to do.
Feel free to join in
As she drew to the close of her song, she checked her watch...it was time for work. Letting out a nervous laugh for anyone still bemused by her impromtu session, she quickly ran to the bus stop.
At work, her editor pulled her to one side. "Suzy...you've been out in the field chasing a story and I like that kind of initiative" he said. "However, we need articles. Now, with all that research you've done, do you have a story?"
"Well, almost one" Suzy replied. "I'd like more time to gather evidence"
"Give me a first draft of what you've got by the end of the day. That way I'll see if it's got any merit to it" he said.
She went to her desk in the open plan office, shut the noise and hubbub of fashion, pop music and movie gossip and got typing. She wrote about the rivalry between the Landgraabs and the Fengs, how the Goths fit into high society in the city but she didn't have anything near enough a consistent thread. How would she write about the Landgraab's alleged criminal activities? If she got any detail wrong she and the magazine would be sued. She kept it vague for now.
When she handed it in to her editor, he read it through very quickly. "I like your writing style..." he began. "But you talk about a trilogy of power and yet that's incomplete. You allude to criminal goings on with Malcolm Landgraab but your source is one anonymous person. I can't print this."
Suzy looked down. She knew she'd be lucky if it did get published.
"We're a trendy fashion and lifestyle magazine for the youth of today" said her editor, standing up and pacing around his office. "Will they go for any of this? Dusty old politics? Middle aged rivalries? The fuddy-duddy Goths? No, they won't go for a blow by blow account of Victor Feng vs Geoffrey Landgraab"
"I know...it's just I found some information on them and just ran with the story" said an apologetic Suzy.
"But...there's definitely something here" said the editor. "You've got an angle: Malcolm Landgraab. He's young...our target audience. He's one of Sim City's most eligible young men and has a reputation for being a bit of a bad boy. How bad? You find out."
"So...you want me to continue?" asked Suzy
"Yes, but focus on the Landgraab boy. Follow up with your contact...oh, and Suzy?"
"Yes sir?"
"Dang fine work you've done. In fact, I'm so impressed by the quality of your writing and photography that I'm giving you a promotion!"
"Thank you sir!" said an elated Suzy. She was going up in the world and, well, she could do with the extra money.
At the end of the work day she went home and cooked a celebratory dinner for one. There was a knock at the door; as usual, it was Summer Holiday. Summer had become Suzy's closest friend and the two shared a trust as well as a friendship: They told each other everything that was on their minds and this evening was no exception.
Gossip girls
"I got a promotion at work today!" exclaimed Suzy.
"Congratulations!" replied Summer. "Let's celebrate"
Music cue 2:
The two went inside and Suzy started to tell Summer about how her boss liked her writing and that she should pursue the Malcolm Landgraab angle on it.
"So I guess our little stake out the other day paid off then?" said Summer.
"Definitely. So you'd be up for more snooping around?" said Suzy.
"Well, Malcolm Landgraab is too young for me and not my kind of guy but...hey. The other day was fun"
"Hey, you wouldn't believe what happened with me today" said Summer.
"Go on" replied an interested Suzy.
"Well, I was down at the Rattlesnake Juice Bar with some friends and this guy comes up to me and says I'm stunning and asks if I was a model"
"You don't say!" replied a shocked Suzy. "Who was he?"
"Some guy I'd never heard of but he said he ran a magazine and was always on the look out for beautiful young women who had modelling experience"
"And you think he was on the level?" said Suzy. "I mean, you could easily be a model but there's a lot of creeps out there..."
"I know and I treated him a bit cool...I'm suspicious of that kind of flattery"
But for a brief moment I considered his offer
"Did he say the name of his magazine?" asked Suzy.
"Lochnivar? Lottery? Erm...Lothario! That's it. Lothario magazine"
"Never heard of it" replied Suzy. "Hey, if you're interested in modelling I could hook you up with some genuine fashion photographers. There's a demand for good clothes models at the moment"
"Thanks but that's something I'm not really interested in" replied Summer. "I'm a bit two left footed and gangly"
"So...we haven't talked about our sucky love lives yet" said Suzy. "I'm getting nowhere...fast. Where are all the decent, single guys?"
"Hey, I know that Jeremy and that Barbara girl he's been seeing are getting serious now. Twice she's stayed over"
"Woooo! Good for him, he's such a nice guy!" said Suzy. Suddenly, another urge hit her....she had to dance this time. Switching on the radio she got up and had a boogie. Summer wondered what was going on.
"Don't ask me..." said Suzy. "It's been one of those days!"
Do the mashed potato
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Sweet, sweet sound
One of the perks of being in the police force was that it allowed an ordinary beat cop to enjoy the luxury facilities of the Skye Fitness Club, courtesy of a year’s free membership to all at the 13th Precinct for their assistance in resolving the hostage situation last New Years’. Action had a daily exercise regimen and in his view why just pound around the local streets when you could enjoy the luxury penthouse views whilst on the treadmill?
After showering and getting dressed he noticed Nancy Landgraab had just arrived. Their eyes made contact for only a second but it was enough to prompt her to break off her warm up exercises and head over to him.
“Officer Action” she said as a greeting.
“Mrs Landgraab. I hope you are well” he replied.
“I am and thank you for keeping Mortimer Goth off my back”
“I just keep the peace, I don’t insert myself into other people’s problems”
“I understand and your impartiality will not affect the Landgraab Foundation donation to the Police Veteran’s Fund.”
“Why should it?” Action remarked.
“Oh…no reason. You protect and serve…just remember who that is” she said, cool as you like, before returning to the treadmill. Action watched her go, suspiciously, and headed off to work.
No raffle prizes for you!
13TH PRECINCT HQ, 10:58am
“Chief wants to see you” said Officer Datta.
“Makes a change…he usually wants me nowhere near his office” replied Action, sauntering off to the Captain’s office.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” he said, after entering.
“Action…sit down! I know you like to be out in the field but…you’re too slow getting results!” said the Captain.
“I gather evidence, sir, with all due respect” said Action.
“Well, sometimes you have to knock a few heads about to teach the villains on the street just who’s boss.”
“I don’t like to haul some juve into the slammer and then find out he didn’t do the crime” said Action.
“I want results today, Action….actually I want results YESTERDAY! Get to it!”
Said just like every other police chief that ever existed
“Yes. Sir” said Action, getting up to leave. No sooner was he out of the Chief’s office than Sergeant Kitchen approached him.
“Hold your horses, Action, there’s been a big burglary over at the Solar Flare lounge in Oasis Springs” he said.
“I’m on my way” said Action, putting on his cap.
THE SOLAR FLARE LOUNGE, 10:28AM
A full squad was on the premises already gathering evidence. Action noticed some unusual marks on the ground and brought them to the senior detective’s attention.
We've got the place surrounded
“Footprints…two sets. One large, man sized. One smaller but also male. Although the length would suggest a female it’s too broad and has to be a man’s. They ran across the flower bed here and into a getaway vehicle…you can see the tyre marks there; that indicates a quick getaway. I reckon it was a large vehicle as well; pick up truck or van.”
“It looks like a load of artwork’s gone missing.” Said Datta.
“Makes sense; the Solar Flare promotes a lot of new artistic talent on its premises so they have originals but they’re not well guarded.”
“And we’ve got some witnesses as well…I’ll dust for prints, you start the interviews.”
“Typical, I bet I’ll get the confused old ladies and retired majors….oh, hello nurse!” said Action, noticing who the witnesses were. Three very attractive young women.
I know there's the Total Look but, brown?
The first was called Judy Dyble and she described the van she saw parked out the front. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it leave or who drove it but I definitely noticed it was parked oddly. I got a partial licence plate…651 is all I remember, sorry”
“Well, don’t be, that was very helpful Miss Dyble” said Action, warmly.
He was yay high
Moving on to his second witness, a perky blonde called Skye Warner, he got more information.
“I saw two guys run out of the building carrying paintings…they wore ski masks but one I noticed wore a short sleeve shirt and shorts…he was young looking. They waved a gun at me and I had to duck behind this stone bench”
“That was the right thing to do…and very brave of you to remember those details; it all helps” said Action, again trying to put Miss Warner at ease.
And last, by no means least
The third witness was inside the lounge: A striking young woman called Chloe Gibbs who was dressed in the height of mod fashion.
“I…I…was rehearsing for my live set when these two men in ski masks burst in and took the paintings there and just over here. They tried to grab my guitar but when I protested they waved a gun in my face…I’ve never been so scared in my life since….since….well, I heard my husband was killed at Ia Drang last year.”
Action put down his notepad. He’d fought at Ia Drang as well; it was a desperate fight for survival.
“I’m an ex-Marine, ma’am, I understand” he said, sympathetically. “Anything else you noticed?” he continued.
“Well, one of them…the one with the gun…got real close to me and I could see his eyebrows were red. He must have red hair”
“That’s very useful, Miss Gibbs”
“Call me Chloe”
“Sure thing. Now listen, Chloe, I’ve got some photos of some suspects here in this holder. I want you to look at them to see if you recognise any of them.”
Whoops! That one's from the Christmas party!
Chloe looked at the photos in turn and shook her head. “No, they don’t look like the man I saw…it’s the eyes that I remember. They don’t have the same kind.” She said.
Action thanked her and headed back to the police station…he felt for Chloe, being a widow so young was rough and how many brothers in arms had he seen lose their lives in combat, never to see their loved ones again?
Back at the station Action looked at the evidence gathered and started to put together a crime map. What he had so far was two men, a van description, one of the men had red hair, a short sleeve shirt and was wearing shorts but no names yet. A new pair of villains working the town? Perhaps.
Time for another flow diagram
Action was having a drink of water in the evidence room when he heard the blades of the ceiling fan start to sound like the blades of a Huey helicopter. The room got hotter, like the jungle and he could hear cries, screaming and gunfire all over again. Chloe’s story reminded him of how he’d narrowly avoided getting killed himself and it triggered a Vietnam flashback.
Medic! MEDIC!!!
The shift had ended and Action needed to switch off from work. He was hungry and remembered the Spice Festival was happening tonight. That sorted out his food problem…now he needed the company of a beautiful lady….he’d been casually seeing Katherine Bowie, the socialite, and things had been going well between them. Phoning her as he was ending his shift, she agreed to meet him in the Spice Quarter.
“Hard day at work?” she said, instinctively reading his face.
“You could say that…fancy some decent chow?” he replied.
“Always up for that and pleasant company” she smiled.
How many attractive women can John Action talk to in one day?
The festival was busy but they found a place to sit, eat and talk.
“I’ve always been grateful for the presence of the police…I couldn’t do what you do, couldn’t put up with the horrible and wicked things people do” she said.
“4 years in the Marines trained me well to deal with it” he replied.
“That’s what I admire about you, Action, your bravery" she said before breaking into a smile "amongst other things"
Action smiled as well and leant in towards her.
"So what's a rich girl like you doing with a brother like me?" he said.
"I don't care for categories...I see someone I like, I want to be with them" she said, calmly.
"Aren't you bothered by what other people might think?"
"Are you?" she said.
Action shook his head. "Never needed or cared for affirmation from others" he said. "Let them think what they want...I don't let them stop me"
"We're very much alike, John" she said, smiling.
Like curries
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
It'd been a frustrating day at work for Judith Epstein...first, the bus she was on during her morning commute had broken down, then she desperately tried to catch a subway train but couldn't find a space in the rush hour crush, then an old lady collapsed through a lack of air on one train and Judith had to help her medically. In the end she arrived an hour late for work and got chewed out by Dr Murakami. Her day didn't get any easier either; she was assigned all the worst jobs, from changing bedpans, mopping floors and taking people's temperatures....the unpleasant way. To add insult to injury, the canteen failed to provide a kosher lunch option. Her friend and colleague, Francesca Griffith, arranged for a suitable sandwich meal to be delivered to Judith so she wouldn't drop through hunger.
"Ugh, Murakami hates me; that's the only explanation!" said a frustrated Judith to Francesca.
"You need a break...why don't you and me check out that new art installation over at Crawdad Quarter this evening?" said Francesca.
"Won't your family need you?" replied Judith.
"Husband's off with his friends for 'gaming' night and our daughter's with my parents this evening....I was going to catch up on some revision for my promotion exam but I can make up the time later....you need serious cheering up!"
No, no Judith, you put your hand on your hip like this to look svelte
The exhibition at Municipal Muses was "Artifacts of Late Medieval France" and it was hardly a sell out with the two of them the only ones in the place.
"I expected more....more...." said Francesca.
"Gild? I was thinking that as well...I don't think they've labelled the piece properly either: It says on the card that this armour belonged to a duke but looking at the decorations I'd say it was more that of a fairly prosperous knight...not too wealthy as you can see the armour doesn't cover the full body and has chain mail segments" replied a very confident Judith.
"I didn't know you're an expert in medieval armour?" said Francesca.
"More of a passing fancy...I know more about early Renaissance German art than French medieval"
Oooh, get her!
"I think you shouldn't let Murakami get to you, Judith" said Francesca after a while.
"Grrrr, that woman drives me up the wall!" growled Judith. "She has it in for me! I know it!"
You watch your tongue!
"She's strict with all of us...our hospital has the best track record of any in Sim City. You need to be patient, you need to be in control and also you need to demand more respect from others there. For starters, you lay down the law about what food they should serve...they got it wrong because they don't care enough. Make them care." said Francesca.
"Sigh, I'm sure you're right...I'm just so tense right now and that erroneous artifact sign is bugging me as well!"
Francesca smiled and wrinkled her nose. "I know what we should do next!" she said, grabbing Judith by the hand. The next thing she knew she was being dragged two doors down to the Blue Velvet nightclub.
"Dancing?" asked Judith.
"Sure...and maybe you could meet a cute guy as well?" said a beaming Francesca.
"Ugh....I don't want to meet any guys; cute or otherwise" replied a disgusted Judith.
"Oh..." Francesca looked embarrassed for one moment. "I didn't know....well, that's OK by me...I'm not judging"
"And no, I'm not interested in cute girls! I'm not that way inclined either...I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of knowledge and excellence and relationships are a barrier to my goals"
"How about some fun in general then?" smiled Francesca.
"Well....erm....I am not averse to fun if in the pursuit of higher goals" said Judith.
Music cue 1:
They went into the nightclub but Judith nearly bolted and ran when she saw way too much physical contact between men and women as they danced.
Ugh, touch dancing!
"Francesca" Judith began "You have been a good friend to me since I started at the hospital, let me buy you a drink and some food"
"Thanks, I'll have what you're having"
Judith went to the bar and tried, politely, to gain the bartender's attention...without much luck.
Oh I say! Barkeep!
It was very crowded at the bar until a well dressed middle aged man seated right in front of her turned and said "You can't expect to be noticed by being mousey, little lady. What do you want, I'll order it for you"
"Two sweet n' spicys and two of those delicious looking giant pretzels they have as well, thanks"
The man snapped his fingers and got the bartender's attention. He placed the order and turned to Judith. "My treat. By the way, I hope you don't mind me saying but if you took off those glasses and let your hair loose around your shoulders you'd be very beautiful"
"I do mind you saying, and I'll pay for my own round thank you" replied a cold Judith.
"I'm a bit of an expert in what men find desirable. I'm Alan Cuffe, owner and editor of Lothario magazine"
"I've heard of your salubrious publication...it is not to my taste" said Judith.
"It's not meant to be. But it influences fashion, style and looks. You could learn from it."
"I am not influenced by such trivialities and thank you for your help in getting my order...good evening, Mr Cuffe"
Back at the table Judith gave Francesca her drink and pretzel. "Do you see, Francesca, how sleazy men are?" she said.
"Oh I get it all the time from male patients. I tell them my husband's a professional wrestler"
"Is he?"
"Oh no, but they see the wedding ring and what I say is enough to frighten them"
He actually does Thai kick boxing
The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Judith had a little too much to drink by the end of it and it loosened her inhibitions. Seeing a young man attempting to sing "Yeah Yeah"...badly...she couldn't stand it anymore. "Someone needs to accompany him on the piano and that person is me!"
Judith got up and began to play. Francesca smiled....Judith was a young woman of many talents but she was sure hung up over so much!
Music cue 2:
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
Music cue 1:
"Life is great and life is fine!" exclaimed Jeremy Saint as he went for a stroll around Foundry Cove. He couldn't contain his excitement and greeted everyone he met with a broad smile.
"Hello, madam, what a fine morning it is! Good morning, Pizza Guy! I was saying what a great day this is!" he said to two random passers by.
"Erm...I guess, man." said the Pizza delivery man. "Are you tripping out?"
"Only on the joy of life! I have a wonderful new girlfriend and just now I was able to book a table for two at Chez Llama to celebrate out getting together!"
"Whoa! Chez Llama's pretty expensive, man" said the Pizza guy.
"I know...but it's worth it because she is" said Jeremy.
Thanks for the exposition, man
Jeremy was on cloud 9 and later on he got ready for his date. Earlier on, he and Suzy Kent went to the trendy Simnaby Street to choose a new suit for him to wear. Using her sharp, up to the minute fashion sense she chose for him a light grey suit which had a radical collar style and a white shirt with a yellow tie pattern on it instead of a tie.
Music cue 2:
Later on, Jeremy paced up and down outside Chez Llama waiting for Barbara to arrive. He'd got there early, which was a habit of his, but instead of calming his nerves about being late, it instead played on them because he had a fear she wouldn't show. His watch ticked onwards towards the date time...10 minutes to go, then 5, then 3 and then at 2 minutes to the arranged meeting time there she was...Barbara Dubois, Jeremy's date. His heart skipped a beat as he took in her loveliness...she was dressed in a white Chanel skirt suit and matching heels. She had certainly made an effort for the occasion.
"Wow! Chez Llama! I can't believe you got us a table here!" she exclaimed. "I hope I look alright" she added.
"You look wonderful" said Jeremy. "And I wanted everything to be fantastic so hang the expense for one night"
In that case, an eight course dinner and champagne is in order
The maitre d showed them to their table and they looked longingly at the menus, which listed meals of the like they had never heard of. Jeremy ordered a bottle of red wine and Barbara helped him translate some of the French food terms.
"I would have struggled to order without your help" said Jeremy. "Do you speak French fluently then?"
"I'm from Montreal so I'm bilingual" she replied. "My dad's French-Canadian and my mom's from Nova Scotia so I grew up speaking both languages"
For example this just says 'steak n' fries' in French
Their pleasant conversation was interrupted by the people who were sitting at the next table.
"Honey, I really think you've had enough to drink!" said a man to his wife.
"Nonsense...and you're not my boss! Well hello there, young man" she said, turning to Jeremy, winking and giving him a flirtatious smile. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Jeremy, who is that woman?" asked Barbara
"I have no idea!" said Jeremy, bothered by this interruption.
"No need to play coy with me, handsome" continued the woman. "Once you've finished with the little girls, maybe you'll want to be with a woman"
"Honey, I insist you control yourself!" said the man to his wife. Their teenage daughter, sitting next to them, slumped on the table.
"And I insist you shut your big yap, Mister!" said the wife.
"OK, if that's the case...hello there little lady" said the man to Barbara. "You know you could do so much better"
"Jeremy, who are these people?" said Barbara, looking visibly upset.
"I HAVE NO IDEA!" said Jeremy, a little too loud. He composed himself.
"I've had enough!" said the teenage girl, leaping to her feet. "You too are an embarrassing pair of old drunks!" she said. "That nice, handsome man who looks good enough to eat in that sharp suit, yum, doesn't need an old dried up soak like you or someone who's clearly just past her prime..." she said, nodding at Barbara. Barbara leapt to her feet.
"That's it! I've had enough!" she said.
This wasn't on the menu
The manager came over to their tables and asked the family to leave. "I am so sorry for the disturbance" they said to Jeremy and Barbara.
"I swear I'd never seen them before" said an apologetic Jeremy.
"Harumph! I hope not!" said a still seething Barbara.
Jeremy looked over at their table and saw 3 empty bottles of wine on the other table. "They were absolutely smashed!" he said. "Hopefully our dinner will take away that unpleasantness...I would never do anything to jeopardise what we've got going, Barbara. You mean a lot to me"
Barbara sighed and looked into Jeremy's warm, gentle eyes. "You mean a lot to me too...I don't want anything to ruin our time together." She reached out and touched his hand. After dinner they ordered a taxi and he turned to Barbara and said "would you....like to come back to my place?"
"I'd like that very much" she said, holding his hand. The taxi arrived and they travelled back to Foundry Cove.
Music cue 3
As they were about to walk up to the front door, Jeremy turned to her and said "when I said let's come back here what I meant was would you like to stay the night again?"
"I would and....I don't have to be up early tomorrow and I'm not feeling tired now" she said, raising an eyebrow seductively.
You mean this chapter might have to be upgraded to a PG?
They entered the house and Barbara sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to her for Jeremy to sit next to her.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening" she said.
"Despite....?" he replied.
"Despite...it'll take more than that...to....stop.....me......from......doing.......this...." she said, leaning towards him as they drew closer and closer.
"Hmmmm" said Jeremy. "I see your French skills don't just end with reading a menu"
"We can be a very passionate people" she replied. They made out some more on the couch before Jeremy stood up and took her by the hand to join him.
"I think it's time" he said
"I think so too" she replied
"What's 'woohoo' in French?"
"It's woohoo"
Le woohoo
They walked hand in hand to the bedroom and there they made the magic happen.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
No more messing around today....Suzy Kent was fed up with the lack of a love life. Every guy she met was either taken, obsessed with their work or flaky. There HAD to be some eligible bachelors in Sim City but where? It was time she stopped getting sidetracked by her own work and investigations because she was meant to be this hip, swinging mod chick and yet she had the look but not the lifestyle. Today was the day where that would change!
Music cue 1
The first part of the plan was to be in the right physical and mental state so it was a trip down to the spa where she had booked in a yoga and exercise session. She had purchased spa membership months ago but had seldom taken advantage of it but today she was a girl with a purpose. Arriving at the spa, she pinned her hair up and changed into her favourite pink sparkly leotard and ballet tights; a legacy of when she was almost serious about becoming a ballerina before deciding on a career in journalism.
Oi! No peeking!
"And breathe in....stretch both legs out....breathe out....now on to your stomachs...." the instructor's calm voice guided the yoga class through their bends, stretches and poses. "Now we'll assume a position known as the crouching vole..." Suzy put her old ballet skills to good use as she could get into position a lot easier than her fellow classmates.
Something about the guy next to me says 'first timer'
After the session, she had a little time in the sauna to cleanse the pores and focus her mind on what she had to do...meet a cute guy. When she was ready, she changed back into her street clothes, reapplied her make up, dabbed some perfume on and was ready to go! She'd heard of a swinging new club called the Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel and decided that was the place to check out.
Music cue 2
Her excitement at checking the place out met with disappointment when she went inside....apart from the bartender it was all women and middle aged women at that. This wasn't a swinging nightclub, it was a neighbourhood knitting circle!
Everyone do their unimpressed faces
Suzy stuck it out there in the hope things would improve and she had some nice chats with the ladies there but it took the time to have a couple of drinks before things started to liven up. More people...and men this time...started to show up and hit the dance floor. Although it wasn't classical ballet, Suzy could do a mean go-go dance.
As evidenced here
The vibe was definitely improving but things came crashing down when some policemen showed up, telling everyone that the club had to temporarily shut down because of a report of a safety violation. Suzy couldn't think what that could be but when she saw that next to the police was the malevolent presence of Edna Sneedly, the town prude. She wanted all nightclubs in Sim City shut down and Suzy guessed that this "violation" was nothing but a trumped up excuse by Edna and her husband to get their way. As all the patrons trudged out of the club, she overheard a couple of them saying "well, at least the Romance Festival is still on tonight". Yes! The Romance Festival! The last refuge of the romantically desperate!
The festival was slow going at first...it always was...and Suzy got into a pleasant conversation with a local artist when she noticed a familiar person waving to her to grab her attention.
The beret's a turn off
"Suzy! Suzy! It's me, Neil Humphries! Do you remember me?" said the young man calling to her.
"Hello Neil, of course I remember you" replied Suzy, walking over to him. Neil was a cute and talented young artist but very, very uptight. She liked him but wished he'd loosen up a little.
"So you've got a selection of paintings for sale" she said. "All your work?"
"All original Neil Humphries" he said, proudly. "Which one do you like the best?"
"Hmmmm....I like this one" it was a scene of an old stone cottage in winter.
"Would you like it? It's yours, free" said Neil.
"Oh no, I couldn't take it for free...let me pay for it" she said.
"How about a discount in exchange for a nice review in your magazine?"
"You drive a hard bargain, Neil" she said, smiling at him.
"Done" he said, taking the painting down and wrapping it for her in brown paper.
"So...you're back at the festival I see?" said Suzy, starting to warm to this guy.
"Oh...well...I don't care for that whole, you know...erm...romance stuff" he said, awkwardly.
"And yet you keep coming back" said Suzy, starting to playfully tease him. "I think you might protest too much"
Start to turn on the charm
"Well...it's a nice location here" he said, looking around.
"How about we go and see what's happening?" she said, trying to get him to buckle.
"Over there with all the flowers, hearts and dancing?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's...."
"Because it's what?" said Suzy, batting her eyelashes. "What are you afraid of?"
Batting false eyelashes is a Sixties thing
"Well...if you put it THAT way..." said Neil, caving in. Suzy grabbed his hand and they ran over to the festival.
"Sakura tea" said Suzy. "They say it unleashes your mind....helps with creativity, inspiration and...passions. Let's have some!"
"Creativity...inspiration....and *gulp!* passion...sure!" said a very nervous Neil.
They both drank a cup of Sakura tea and soon felt its effects. Neil definitely loosened up and Suzy felt a warmth and desire for her new, uptight friend.
Well hello there!
"What I need to boost my art is a muse!" he said, boldly.
"Uh-huh" said Suzy, batting her eyelashes at him again.
"A beautiful lady like you....Oh my gosh! What am I saying here!" said Neil, barely able to contain the flirty vibe.
"Go with it, Neil" she replied.
"Actually I need to go to the toilet!" he said "be right back!" he added before bolting to the public bathrooms.
Suzy sighed...Neil was cute but needed working on. Was it worth it? Well, time would tell.
"Hi Suzy" said another voice. It was Barbara Dubois, Jeremy Saint's girlfriend.
"Barbara! Are you here with Jeremy?" she said, happy to see the woman who had brought joy to her next door neighbour's life.
"Yes, he's just getting us some tea but there's a bit of a queue right now"
"So I hear you guys have made it official...as a couple?"
"Yep...we're officially going steady and...well...before he returns I've got to say he's FANTASTIC!" said an excited Barbara.
"What? Fantastic in...."
"YES! Oh my goodness it was the best!"
Suzy stamped her feet and clenched her fists in excitement. She wanted to ask more but Jeremy was on his way back with the teas
You go, girl!
Suzy said hello to Jeremy but knew what effect that tea would be having on her friends and she didn't want to become a third wheel. Fortunately Neil returned from his trip, still looking confident.
"I'm glad you talked me into coming tonight" he said to her.
"Well, it's good to take the plunge occasionally" she replied.
She looked over at Jeremy and Barbara once more...they were already snuggling up together on a bench and whispering sweet nothings and she wondered if Neil was the man who she could do that with as well. It was slow going, and he was still a little tense around her but time would tell. She also wondered if Sakura Tea was available in the shops.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
We need some funky wah-wah guitar music here
John Action stepped out of the Movers & Shakers Gym, ready for the day. It was a rare day off for him; he'd been putting in extra shifts down at the 13th Precinct but now he needed some quality down time. As someone who lived up to his name, he found it difficult just switching off and doing nothing. Sitting around reading or going fishing didn't appeal to him but he'd spent a lot of time already running, boxing and lifting weights that he needed some more stimulation...preferably in the form of a beautiful woman.
His little black book had plenty of names in it and he'd been on dates with Liberty Lee and Jade Rosa but nothing was serious with them. The woman who intrigued him most was the socialite, Katherine Bowie. There seemed to be a deeper connection with her than with his other dates and he was keen to see Katherine again. Using the gym's telephone he gave her a call.
"Hey Katherine...it's me, Action. I have one of my rare days off today and I was wondering if you had one too? You have? How about you and me go somewhere real nice and spend some time together? Well I had in mind going over to the Lykke Centre down in Windenburg....sounds good? Excellent, shall we say meet in an hour?"
Putting down the phone, John smiled at the prospect of spending a day with Katherine.
This is either a romantic rendezvous or a showdown
Music cue 1:
Down at the Lykke Centre, Katherine was already waiting for him.
"You're a punctual girl, I like that" he said.
"Life's too short to waste time" she replied.
"The very words I live by" said Action, kissing her on the cheek.
They went inside the cafe and grabbed Italian espressos and cannolis to eat.
"Do you think Sim City can cope without you on the case for one day?" said Katherine, teasingly.
"They're going to have to...I have more important things to do today"
"Do I count as more important?" she said, again teasing him with her banter.
"Definitely" he said. The conversation was soon turning flirtatious.
That look
They drank their excellent espressos and were enjoying the playful banter when a woman entered the cafe and, without saying a single word, shot them a disapproving look. Katherine picked up on this.
Are you going to finish that Cannoli?
"What's her problem?" she said.
"Could be many things...maybe she recognises me as a cop?" said Action, dismissively.
"Or it could be I'm white and you're black"
Action shrugged his shoulders. "Does that bother you?"
"It bothers me that people think like that" she replied. "Doesn't it you?"
Action pushed his coffee cup away from him and took a deep breath. "Sure. But do I let it dictate to me? No. I do what I want to do...I'm with who I want to be with and I don't give a hill of beans for what other people think. And I don't think you care much for other people's judgmental opinions either"
"That I don't....it's a nice day, let's walk along the bay." said Katherine.
They left the cafe to head on to the embankment of Windenburg Bay. Katherine was right; it was a beautiful day and they walked along, taking in the sights of the sailing boats moored at the marina and the views that went on for miles.
"Well, it looks like just the two of us here" said Katherine.
"We're all alone" said Action, smiling.
"No one looking on" she said.
"No one to catch us" he replied. He took a couple of steps towards her and held her hands.
"Catch us doing what?" said Katherine, in expectation.
"Oh something like this...." said Action as they lent in towards each other until their mouths met to kiss.
After breaking apart to come up for air, Katherine smiled at Action "That was worth waiting for" she said, sighing.
"There's more where that came from" said Action.
"I don't know about you but I'm done sight seeing" said Katherine.
"Depends on what sights you want to see?" responded Action, flirtatiously.
"How about?....."
"Your place or mine? Why not mine? I make pretty good coffee" said Action.
"But didn't we just have some?"
"I meant morning coffee" he said, raising his eyebrow. Katherine smiled and understood exactly what he meant. They left Windenburg and headed back to Foundry Cove to enjoy each other's company some more.
Music cue 2:
"I've been here enough times to know the way here by heart" said Katherine when they arrived in the Cove.
"That'll be handy in future" said Action. "Shall we?"
They went inside where Action poured a couple of glasses of wine and they sat together on his couch to begin their intimacies again.
Oh that old trick!
Naturally and instinctively one thing led to another...
The next morning they sat and had breakfast...and Action was good to his word by making a fine cup of coffee for Katherine.
"Last night was wonderful" she said.
"It certainly was...and not just the night, but the day as well. So how do you feel about you and me being together?" he replied.
"I want it more than ever before" she said, resting her head in her hands and leaning on his kitchen table.
Action smiled. "More coffee?"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
A day off for Julia Epstein...she hated them but she also respected the Sabbath so she begrudgingly went along with it. But what to do? Julia took her glass of water to drink and stood on her front porch watching the world go by as she pondered how to spend her free time.
"Good morning, lovely day" said a woman walking by Julia's house.
"Yes, it is" replied Julia.
"This house is new...I haven't been for a walk around the Cove for a while so I hadn't noticed this place before" said the lady, looking with keen interest at Julia's house.
"Yes, it's a new build...I've been here a couple of weeks." replied Julia.
"Oh nice....by the way, my name's Katrina"
"Julia"
"Nice to meet you, Julia, and I hope you like it here...I mustn't linger; I have a hairdresser appointment soon because later on my boyfriend is taking me somewhere special! I'm so excited...I love it when men spring surprises, don't you?"
"Not particularly. I hope you have a pleasant time..." said an unimpressed Julia....ugh, boyfriends, girlfriends, dating, lovey dovey stuff...Julia treated them with disdain.
Julia went back into her home and wondered what to do next. She turned on the TV.
"Oh Brad...how could you leave me for HER?"
*CLICK*
"Oh darling....I can't live another day without you!"
*CLICK*
"In these ever changing times we look into the hot topic of today: The pill, mini skirts and the sexual revolution"
*CLICK* and off. Ugh, everywhere there's sex and romance...Julia couldn't stand it.
She had to find somewhere to spend this day that was the least sexy, least flirtatious place in Willow Creek.
Willow Creek Archive
Julia entered the library and approached the librarian.
"Well hello there" said a rather over enthusiastic young man who was the librarian.
"Hello. Would you tell me where your medical and science section is?" she asked.
"Sure...it's right over here" he said, guiding her to the correct bookshelf. "And if you need any further assistance, then just call for Kengo"
"Kengo?"
"Yes, that's my name"
Kengo's a perfectly fine name
"I don't think I will require assistance"
"If you change your mind...I'll be right over there" he said, with a wink.
Julia sighed and proceeded to scan the shelves for any books on medicine, taking them and putting them in a pile on a nearby desk. She was satisfied she had quite a bit to be getting on with after a few minutes perusal.
There were some items of interest in the books she chose, but a lot was what she already knew but on the other hand the library was a refuge from all the romantic talk that seemed to be doing the rounds right now....or at least she thought it was a refuge.
"Hello again" said Kengo "I hope you've found what you're looking for"
"What I've found has been satisfactory" she replied.
"Can I just say that's it's a pleasure to have a young, intelligent, attractive lady around here" said Kengo, trying to flirt.
"Why?" came Julia's deadbatted reply.
"Well....you see....it brightens the place up for one thing" said an awkward Kengo.
"Maybe you should open the curtains more" replied Julia.
"Erm...I'm just going to put these books away now" said an embarrassed Kengo now and he got up to leave.
Crash and burn
Julia sighed again...she couldn't focus on these medical books so she put them away and went for a walk down the road to Municipal Muses, the museum. She walked around some of the general exhibition but nothing was grabbing her attention.
However, she noticed a piano outside and felt a little tinkling of the ivories could lift her mood. Sitting down at the piano she started on a few warm up pieces before launching into Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
The music soothed her and she enjoyed the feeling of being able to make music...shutting her eyes to the world, she became lost in the piece.
"So anyway the husband walks in and Barry's there with his pants around his ankles" came a man's voice.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" came some laughter.
"Well, it's not the first time Barry's gotten himself into trouble with a woman he just met in a bar" came the voice again. Julia opened her eyes and saw a group of people having a ribald chat right near her. "And can you keep the noise down, lady, I'm trying to tell a story here!"
"That 'noise' as you call it, is Beethoven"
"Well tell Beethoven to knock it off!" said the man, laughing at his own joke, and his friends all joined in as well.
Philistines!
Every time Julia tried something today, it backfired. The rowdy group got noisier and noisier whenever she tried to play so she gave up and began to walk off. The group of rowdies went and sat down in the museum garden and as she was about to leave, Julia saw a little boy sitting on the ground, looking at a book and with a tear in his eye. She felt awkward but something inside her stirred and she couldn't leave this sad little boy on his own without finding out more.
"Excuse me, boy, what is the matter?" she said, rather formally.
"I'm sorry, lady, I didn't mean to disturb you...I'll go" said the boy.
"No need...that's not what I meant. I mean, what troubles you? I am a doctor by the way so if it's something medical I could help?"
"Oh, actually...I'm not sick or hurt...actually it's my homework. There's so much of it, it's due in tomorrow and I don't understand any of it! My teacher says if I get this wrong again I'll be put on detention all week."
"Surely the extra time you spend in detention will help you understand your work better?" said Julia who, when she was at school, would welcome any opportunity for extra study time.
"But I don't learn anything in detention...it's full of rough kids who flick rubber bands at me, or kick the back of my chair..."
Julia was moved, by her standards, to the boy's plight. She hated seeing education go to waste. "Hmmm, well, can I help you understand your homework a bit better?"
"I dunno lady, there's an awful lot of it!" said the boy.
"I see your first problem...you look at your homework as one huge pile. What you need to do is break it down into easier to manage sections. Math first, then English, then science and so forth. Tackle each part individually and don't worry about the rest for now."
"I see" said the boy, who could see the wisdom in Julia's words.
She found a place for them to sit and she helped him with each bit of his homework, prompting him to think, breaking down the problems bit by bit so he could understand better and making small suggestions here and there. After an hour, his homework was finished and he seemed as if his cares had been lifted from him.
"Thank you so much!" he said, his face beaming. "Are you really a doctor?"
"I am" said Julia.
"Gee, you're the prettiest doctor I've ever met!"
smooth kid, smooth
Normally Julia would recoil in horror at someone complimenting her on her looks but this kid was innocent and was trying to say thank you in his own way. She smiled.
"Well, you're a very smart kid...now remember, break down your problems bit by bit in future"
"Thanks, I will, I got to meet my mom now...bye!"
She felt a bit better for helping the boy and she went home more encouraged. Just before she went into her house, she saw Jeremy Saint wave to her so she walked over to see what he wanted.
"Hi, Julia, I've got a question to ask you and would like your input" he said.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, as you know I've got a girlfriend now..."
Julia's heart sank...not more relationship issues!
"...and anyway" Jeremy continued. "I want to treat her this weekend to something special. You know, something a bit romantic"
"Jeremy, you should know by now that I DON'T do romantic. Maybe Summer would be a better person to ask."
"Oh no, that's not what I meant....I want to take her to a concert...a classical concert and as you're a fan of classical music I was wondering if there was something on in town that you'd recommend so I can book tickets"
Julia felt relieved. She smiled and said "of course...well, I'd recommend the Dropov Ballet Company's production of Prokoviev's Romeo & Juliet"
"Provocative Ballet Company?" said a slightly puzzled Jeremy.
"No, Prokoviev...I'll write the details down for you" she said.
Jeremy said thanks and after they had a coffee and a chat Julia went home. As soon as the door shut, her phone rang.
"Hello Julia? It's Francesca here. I'm going to head down to Desert Bloom Park with Rod and Stefanie, I wonder if you're free and want to come down with us?"
"Actually, yes, I could do with a more wholesome scene. I'll meet you there" said Julia.
She met with the Griffith family soon afterwards and it was nice to meet Francesca's husband, Rod, and their daughter, Stefanie. The latter rushed to play on the monkey bars and the play equipment and Rod was happy keeping an eye on her and giving her a push on the swing or a lift to reach up to the higher play areas, leaving Julia and Francesca to talk.
Francesca, you're almost camouflaged in the surroundings
"Let's get some food on the grill because they're going to be very hungry!" said Francesca. Julia and she got some chicken and sweetcorn cobs from out of a cooler box and began to grill them for the family dinner.
"So how's it going?" asked Francesca.
"Awful...just everyone playing fast and loose romantically everywhere I go! I can't get a minute's peace! Is it just me or is this the most sex obsessed generation in history?"
Francesca laughed. "I suppose there might have been a time in Ancient Rome..." she said.
Once they'd finished cooking, they put the plate down and a very hungry Griffith family tucked in and invited Julia to join them. As soon as she'd finished eating, young Stefanie wanted to hare around the park, dragging her dad along. This left the two women to talk some more. They decided to head for the little library area to continue their conversation.
However they were soon joined by a teenage boy followed a few minutes by a teenage girl...one Julia had met before at work; Yuki Behr. The boy seemed uptight and upset.
"Oh don't mind us, we're just chatting" said Francesca, trying to put the boy at ease.
"What's wrong?" said Julia, picking up on the boy's distress.
"It's nothing much...well, it's everything really...I...well....I worry that I'm not popular, with girls" he said, awkwardly.
You do realise you're surrounded by them right now?
Instead of getting uptight, Julia was instead moved by the boy's sincerity.
"Well, it's natural for a boy of your age to feel everything is more emotionally charged. It's just your body trying to adjust to the changes going on. Would you like me to expand on this topic? Don't worry, I'm a doctor and she's a nurse" said Julia, matter of factly.
"Geez....well....I mean, from a woman's perspective...and a Doctor's....erm...do I stand a chance with the girls at school?"
"I've learned something in these matters" said Julia. "Work on being the best you can and the rest falls into place. If you're good, and show you're capable, the girls will come to you"
"Wow, thank you Doctor!" said the boy, cheering up. Yuki, on the other hand, was standing by the fire place, sobbing. Julia and Francesca looked at each other and Julia decided to go on point on this one.
"What's the matter, Yuki? Did that rash return? Will I need to book another appointment at the hospital?" she said.
"No...it's not that, Doctor Epstein....It's just that I'm such a failure! My sister, she's doing so well with her music career, she's got all these guys who are into her, she's Miss Popular and she's been approached by Alan Cuffe of Lothario magazine to become a member of the Kitten Club! That's like the hottest, most exclusive club in town!"
"I'm well aware of the Kitten Club, Yuki" said Julia with disdain. She definitely did not like Alan Cuffe, Lothario magazine and young women running around in skimpy kitten costumes. "But why waste your time comparing yourself to your sister? Look at you, I've heard you play the guitar, you are generally what is considered to be attractive to the opposite sex..."
"And did you see the way that boy looked at you! He was trying to say hello" said Francesca.
"Precisely. What I said to him, I'll say to you: Be the best you can. You are not your sister and, frankly, you shouldn't bother with trying to become one of Alan Cuffe's kittens! Ugh!"
The girl cheered up and said thank you to Julia and Francesca. Alone, the two women finished off their dinners.
"You know, Julia" said Francesca "you're a natural healer"
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html