Chapter 2: Epic Fail

Ch 2

Music that inspired this chapter: “Fingerprints” by Katy Perry

Kaylynn steadied her breathing as she began to exercise. She began working out simply to advance in her new athletic career, but now she loved it. It helped her relax and think.

And when you spend the day working in a demeaning costume for chump change, you kind of have to find something to look forward to, even if it is just some alone time in front of the stereo. Not that she wanted to be alone. No, she was forced alone out of habit, namely Andy’s.

Thinking of Andy made her sigh. She loved him but… Well, he was always so busy.

Unlike Kaylynn, who was rising through the athletic ranks with no problems, Andy had a few hiccups in his oceanography career.

“It’s not my fault – I got a bad chance card!”

Ah, but it’s your fault we can’t ignore them, isn’t it?

Luckily, he was able to plead with his boss and get his job back.

But if only he were simply working, Kaylynn thought to herself. Andy worried about money more than any sim she had yet to met – and he was only knowledge. She sensed that something was eating at him, but he wouldn’t talk. Instead, he followed a strict daily routine: go to work, come home, skill for the next promotion, then work on the car, stopping only to use the energizer. Kaylynn knew he was worried about the well-dressed handicap – it was why they waited a few days before trying for a baby – but things were getting ridiculous; the Hobby Instructors saw him more than she did!

She tried to talk to him about it one evening, but as always, he just brushed her off.

“Andy, don’t you think you’re working too hard? It wouldn’t kill you to slow down and take a break, you know.”

“Life’s too short for breaks, sweetie. Anyway, I just want to make sure our kids have the best childhood they possibly can. Growing up in a first generation household can seriously suck and I wanna make sure they get the best.”

“Yeah, but…”

He didn’t listen. He continued working on the car and when it was done, he bought another to restore.

So, in the meantime, she found other pursuits. Not having too many friends before she married, she reached out to random passersby between skilling and eating. She began to develop a close group of contacts and began her own hobbies.

But though she and Andy had a weird relationship, they still tried for a baby with some eventual success. Kaylynn could only hope Andy settled down and stopped worrying once the baby was born.

“If he’s not here when the baby’s born I’m going to hunt him down and rip out his innards!”

Erm, duly noted.

But even throughout her pregnancy, Kaylynn and Andy remained oddly distant for a three bolt couple. Though he was just outside, Kaylynn felt like Andy was a world away and tried not to get used to dinners alone.

“Stop making me the bad guy. Someone has to earn money to buy the baby’s wardrobe and build a nursery.”

Kaylynn did little things to alleviate the boredom, including going shopping at one of the local stores. Though the baby wasn’t yet due, she couldn’t resist buying some clothes for the little girl she hoped for. This turned out to be a mistake.

For she gave birth to two baby boys, Asher and Zephyr. Though twins was something she had been hoping for, she also had hoped for at least one girl.

“Why? Why would you waste money buying clothes before you knew the sex of the baby?!”

“Calm down, Andy. We can always try for a girl next. In fact, we can get started right now.”

“Hmm. You make a convincing argument.”

“Little guy, you’ve got one silly mommy. But don’t worry, okay? I’m going to take care of you. And even if your life is short, I’ll make sure you have a blast. I promise.”

Andy was a doting father and any spare time he possessed was spent in the nursery helping to take care of the twins.

But eventually they had to call in the dreaded one.

I don’t care what anyone says, - old age does NOT equal wisdom.

With Andy working round the clock, the Specters managed to rustle up a fully decorated nursery in time for the twins. And yes, the third crib means Kaylynn is expecting again. The ballet bar is for Andy – he needs body points for work and I want the family hobby to be Music and Dance. Also notice the bottom corner – I remembered the sink!

Unfortunately, I forgot something else. I remembered to buy the twins’ clothes but forgot to get them dressers. Well, a day later, here they are standing where their rooms will eventually be.

“I’m still keeping a record, you know. Failed handicap count = 3.”

Oh, hush.

Shortly after the twins were born, Andy was visited by an old friend: Charlie. Kaylynn wasn’t too keen on adopting a stray wolf, but Andy managed to convince her that he was perfectly loyal and well behaved.

“And we can put him to work and use his career money!”

Are you ever going to think about knowledge-related things?

“Lady, I don’t write the script - I just read it.”

With several new additions to the household, it was a good thing both Kaylynn and Andy managed to earn steady promotions. Kaylynn had worked through her last pregnancy, something she wouldn’t be doing this time around now that the twins were born.

But curiously –

Is that even a word? Must be; PowerPoint's not flagging it.

They brought home the same friend from work.

Every. Frickin’. Day.

It started with Kaylynn; apparently the man was the only other person working in the athletic field. But when Andy rose a few ranks, he came home with him, too.

Seriously, how’s this even possible? Sims can’t hold two jobs.

“Um, some attention please?”

Why? No one wants to see you throw up. Though barfing out your forehead is an impressive feat.

“Hey! Don’t I deserve some screen time, too?”

Okay, okay; obligatory pregnancy shot here – the only time Kaylynn ever threw up. She’s had pretty good pregnancies. Happy now?

“Meh.”

Soon it was time for the twins’ birthday and Andy insisted on throwing a party, claiming birthday parties create great childhood memories.

Personally, I think birthday parties create tediousness, but, whatever; it’s in his contract.

“Happy birthday, little guy. Dream big.”

And soon the candles were blown out and the twins proceeded to cast an aura of cuteness on the household. Though they look a lot alike, they aren’t identical and have slightly different personalities.

Asher (left), the oldest, is a shy Virgo, 10/0/7/4/6, A super active, super neat, nice fellow. Zephyr (right) is another Virgo, though a bit more outgoing and playful: 10/3/7/6/6. Both inherited their father’s neat genes.

Zephyr loved to roam the house and could often be found in front of the stereo, rocking out. When he wasn’t trying to sleep in Charlie’s bed that is.

Not to be outdone, Asher roamed the house, too, quickly making friends with Charlie and sharing his food.

Geez, I let you little people have free will and this is what you do? Eat dog food? You guys make no sense… Btw, another condition of this legacy is that kids get as much free will as possible – a challenge for a micromanager like me. So instead of skilling quietly, these guys run around messing with Charlie’s stuff. *Sigh* At least they stayed away from the toilet.

Luckily, they were drawn to the activity table often and didn’t mind if I sent them to play there. Here they shared some quality, peaceful bonding time. The rest of the household, meanwhile…

Well, the rest of the household wasn’t so lucky. Sorry Kaylynn!

“T-t-t-this i-i-is s-so n-not f-f-f-fair-r-r-r!”

Things got quite hectic for the adults and their meters dipped, so the energizer was out. We had to call in some extra help.

Kaylynn! What are you doing all the way out here in Crystal Springs? Shouldn’t you be in Pleasantview?

Look, I’ve had enough of that place! I was getting cheated on all the time, slapped by wives, and sacked because their husbands were two-timing jerks… I need a quiet life, okay? Preferably one with 2.5 kids, a white fence, and a kitten. Think you can hook me up?

Hmm, we’ll see.

Charlie! *Sigh* Before Charlie could learn the error of his stinky ways, he loved to play in the garbage. After this, everyone would walk around for days complaining about how Charlie stank. Even after he’d just had a bath. In short, everyone was cranky.

See. Sorry the walls are down, but Asher here has something to say.

“Hey! You! Voice lady – Clean my doggie NOW!”

Kid, you’re dad’s taking care of it.

“Oh. Then get me outta here!”

…Wait a minute, did you even learn to talk yet?

So Asher was cranky, Zephyr was cranky…

“Why you give me only one line?”

Kaylynn was cranky…

Everyone was cranky. This pretty much sums up the first few days of the twins’ toddlerhood. Then Andy finally earned that skill point he wanted.

“Sweet mother of Plumbbob – energizer! I’m never going off this sucker again.”

And Kaylynn earned some aspiration points by having a baby.

“I’m in labor and that’s all you’re going to say??”

Yup. That and Andy’s at work, so he missed out.

*Groan* “You! Maid! Help me out I-”

“Lady, midwife is not in my job description. And I took a vow to never stray from that description again.”

Kaylynn actually had twins again, a boy and a girl this time. No idea which is which, but someone got left on the floor. Anyway the girl is Aerith and the boy is Skye. Because I think stuff like that is funny. You know, air and sky. Or earth and sky, really. Don’t you get it? You don’t get it. Okay, moving on. Since we already bought a full wardrobe of girl’s clothes, we don’t have to buy anything for Aerith right away and there’s not as much pressure to earn money for clothes. Also, both twins were natural – or as natural as can be with the Free Time super fertility reward – because no one in this house knows how to make cheesecake.

Cute toddler picture time!

“Grr, the tickle monster’s going to get you, Asher!”

*Giggle*

Asher definitely has Andy’s eye shape, though he’s got his mother’s eye color, dark blue (Don’t let this picture fool you; I’m pretty sure Andy’s eyes are grey. 99% sure. 80% sure. 50%... Crap it; Andy I need a close up!). Zephyr looks almost the same; I do think he’s got some different features, but I can’t tell right now.

Moving on… The little ones learned their skills lickety-split. Wait, why did I put two pictures of Zephyr here? Oh, well, Asher learned his skills, too. Soon it was time to grow up and their rooms weren’t even finished yet. Man, time does fly.

So Andy went downtown to make some dough. And I just realized that Kaylynn is supposed to be narrating at least half of this chapter and I stopped that about 30 slides ago…

“You really, really suck as a narrator. I thought you were going to be absent this chapter.”

I tried. But it’s hard.

Speaking of Kaylynn, she wasn’t too happy about Andy’s disappearance.

“Andy, where the hell have you been all night?!”

“I went to put in a couple shifts as a barista at the café over on-”

“And you thought it’d be a good idea to leave me in a house full of kids without telling me?”

“Calm down. Isn’t the nanny here?”

“That’s not the point; we’re supposed to be communicating, making decisions together, and supporting one another – but how can I do that if you never tell me what’s going on?”

“Relax, Kay, I just wanted to renovate the kid’s room for their birthday tonight.”

“You spent major money renovating the kid’s rooms without telling me?!”

“What, the kids aren’t supposed to have beds to sleep in? I’m their father; I want them to have nice rooms.”

“So do I, but it wouldn’t hurt them to share a room for a little while, you know. There are other things we could have used that money on, like a new dining room table, a second bathroom, or the kitchen-”

“That’s not that important! They need a space that’s all their own; if we wait, next thing you know they’ll be teenagers!”

“So? Look, Andy, we should be deciding these things together-”

“Can we please, please talk about this later, Kaylynn? I’m about to pass out.”

*Sigh* “Fine.”

Unaware of their parents’ squabble, the twins grew up the next morning so they could get a head start on school.

About five minutes later, I realized I forgot to throw them a party, violating my own rule of a party for all birthdays. *Sigh* Fail count = 4.

Zephyr is on the left; Asher’s on the right. Hopefully now you can see what I mean about them looking slightly different.

Yup, on closer inspection, Zephyr’s got more of his mother’s features – at least her eyes anyway – and Asher takes after his father more. But, though cute, the two are still hard to tell apart, so each of you guys is getting a signature color, m‘kay?

Zephyr: Cool.

Asher: Alright.

BTW, did you notice the matching outfits? They grew up like that! Isn’t it adorable?

Here are the boy’s rooms, decorated to match their colors. I don’t think I really need to say this, but… *Shrugs* Asher’s room is on the right and Zephyr’s is on the left. Anywho. Notice something missing in the pictures? That’s right – sinks. I didn’t notice until like a day later. *SIGH* Fail count = 5.

Wait a minute – what are you doing, Skye? Don’t grow up yet – Stop!

“Too late.”

Oh, be quiet, Kaylynn. You see, readers, Andy was throwing a birthday party for the twins, but they decided to grow up before anyone could get them to the cake. You know what that means.

“Failed handicap number six. This will scar me and my children for life you know.”

Hey, this is NOT my fault. Geez, I’ve never played this badly and it’s only generation one…

“I-I’m a f-f-failure. What kind of father am I? My kids have half decorated rooms. The kitchen is unfinished and the dining room table doesn’t have enough seats for all of us. We only have one bathroom for a house of six and we don’t even own a TV! Not to m-mention, I threw a lame birthday party! WAAAHHHH!”

Okay, while Andy has his emo moment, let’s meet the last two kids, shall we?

“Okay, evewybody, make room for da star!”

This here is Skye. He’s a Pisces, 3/5/9/3/6, so super active and quite nice. Plus he’s the most outgoing of all the kids. If you couldn’t already tell, he loves the camera. He also loves roaming around the house and exploring every nook and cranny.

And this is Aerith. There aren’t as many pictures of her, because, honestly, when you’re the fourth born, everything’s been done already.

“Hey!”

Sorry kid, but you’re kind of boring. Do something new already. Anyway, she’s a Aquarius, 7/0/7/10/10 – Super nice, super playful, super shy, and very neat and active. At least we avoided the first born glitch this generation.

And here are the youngest twins’ dressers. Which I forgot. Again. *Headdesk* Fail count =7.

“Hey, bro, now that Aerith and Skye are toddlers, we’ve got some serious competition!”

“Huh?”

“Look, they’re toddlers so they’re still cute and fuzzy. But we’re kids now – our cuteness factor is waning. We gotta make sure we do a bunch of cool stuff to keep everyone’s attention on us! You don’t wanna be ignored, do you?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good. Okay, so epic awesome older twin montage GO!”

“Think it worked, Zeph?”

“Meh. I dunno. But it was fun, right?”

Don’t let these two fool you; they love their younger brother and sister and spend plenty of time together.

Feeling better, Andy?

“…”

I’ll take that as a no then. Well, back to the rest of the house.

Life continued on as normal for a while. Skye and Aerith learned their toddler skills while Zephyr and Asher learned to study and got into private school. Kaylynn and Andy continued to skill and earn promotions. Andy worked on cars while Kaylynn watched the kids. Oh, and Charlie got promoted to the top of whatever career he was in, all while people made faces at him because they think he stinks. Even though we bath him almost everyday.

“Hey, mom, how come Dad never eats with us?”

“Your father’s very busy working on the car and skilling for his promotion.”

“Oh. Can we get a swing set?”

“Boys, there are a lot of things we still need for the house. Like a bigger dining table for one. So we’ll have to wait and see, okay? You might not get one for a while.”

“Dad, dad!”

“What’s up, Asher?”

“I know Mom said you’re really busy fixing up the house and stuff, but me and Zeph were wondering – can we get a swing set? Pleeeeaaaaase? We’ll be good, I promise!”

“Well, your mom is right –”

“Aw!”

“But I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

“Yes! You’re the best dad!”

“Thanks, kiddo.” I only hope I can keep my promise…

In other news, a certain red-headed small person was growing up when she wasn’t supposed to. It’s getting to be a trend in this house. We were going to have an evening party, but nooo.

“Hey, it’s six o’clock! Not my fault you can’t tell time. But, look, check it out – I’m big now!”

Yeah, yeah, you’re real cute.

Since Aerith grew up early, I figured Skye might as well, too. Later, when he came home, Andy threw a party to celebrate.

“This doesn’t count you know. Fail count = 8.”

I know, I know. On to the next plot point.

“Snow Day!”

Yeah, but someone didn’t do his homework. So who gets to stay inside while his siblings go out and play?

“You’re mean.”

Oh, please, just do it and then you can go. Btw, Zeph is jumping on his bed here –something he is always doing when my back is turned.

“Who needs TV when you can jump on a bed?”

Weirdo.

And this is the beginning of what I like to call the no good, very bad, I-had-to-exit-without-saving day. But we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. You see, during the night there was a lot of snow, so much in fact, that both the private school Zeph and Ash attended and the public school Skye and Aerith attended were closed for a snow day. So I though this would be a good time for:

EPIC LEGACY KIDS SNOWBALL FIGHT MONTAGE!

And you, know, other wintery good fun. Bowl-cut boy is Skye by the way. I was trying something different. Anywho, the kids were having a good time and I was busy taking pictures and the next thing I know….

There was this.

And this.

And even this. That’s Aerith under there, by the way.

Kaylynn called them in for hot chocolate, but it was too late.

The van showed up. And no, I’m not talking about the maid.

“You! How dare you let your kids have fun in the snow! They should be locked up inside skilling!”

“Please, Ms. Social Worker, you have to understand! They were coming inside right when you showed up. They were going to take baths and drink some hot-”

“Oh, please, like I’d believe that! You were ignoring your kids! Face it; you are a horrible mother, a disgrace to family sims everywhere!”

“No really, look, one of my kids is getting cocoa right be-”

“Can it, lady! I know degenerate parents when I see them. I’m taking your kids away.”

“But-”

“Absolutely no buts! You can’t start neglecting your children until they’re at least teenagers. Everyone knows that! Now, for their own good, I’m taking your kids away to a cold, cruel detention center where they’ll never get adopted.”

“Lady, I got words for you, and they ain’t nice.”

You tell her Kaylynn. Well, folks, this is how my legacy failed on generation one. But, since I’ve already invested way too much in this story, I promptly exited without saving. It’s a good thing I’m not playing for points. A really, really, really good thing. Fail count = 9.

Oh, and Andy almost froze, too, but after the whole thing with the kids, it’s kinda anticlimactic, no?

Hey, I’m important, too!

Oh, please. You had kids already. At this point your sole purpose for living is to add to the plot.

And speaking of plot… What’s up, Andy?

I’m a failure. My kids got taken away –

You can’t possibly remember that. Technically, it never happened.

But it did. And that’s not all. I mean Kaylynn and I are living from paycheck to paycheck. The house is a half completed mess and I can’t even afford to buy my sons a swing set. I’m a disgrace.

Andy, you’re being too hard on yourself.

No, no, I’m not. Asher and Zephyr are almost teens and Skye and Aerith aren’t far behind. They need to have a great childhood. And that takes money.

Actually-

Lots and lots of money. …You know, I think I have an idea…

Are you ever going to do anything related to your aspiration?

Look, I told you; I just read the script, okay?

Ok. Anyway, if you haven’t already guessed, Andy here is going to run a business, and he’s working as barista to rustle up some capital to buy a lot. And to buy his kids some decent outwear. Oh, and as a side note, the waitress got her wallet stolen.

As usual, Andy worked himself to the bone before staggering home and collapsing in bed. A rare event indeed as Andy almost never sleeps but uses energizer instead. But someone’s in the green.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you went out. We’re gonna talk about this.”

Crap. “Uh, yes dear.”

“It’s not fair! How come I don’t get a snow day?”

This time around, only the public school gave a snow day. Sorry, Zeph, but that’s the way it is in real life, too.

“Who’s dumb idea was it to send me to private school anyway?”

Thank your dad for that one. He rolled the want for it.

“Alright! Pink hair’s awesome!”

Aerith! What are you doing?

“I’m tired of being ignored. I’m cute and the only girl – I should have had loads of camera time, but you give it all to my older brothers. Dying my hair will give me an important sub plot and a gimmick.”

Well, I can’t fault your logic. But you gotta explain it to your mom.

“Aerith Specter, what on earth did you do to your hair!”

“Um, I dyed it.”

“I can see that. But why?! Why would you do such a thing and without asking no less!”

“But it looks cool, right?”

“No! You ruined your gorgeous red hair! Explain yourself, missy.”

“Well, you see… I figured it was my hair so no one else would care.”

Kaylynn crossed her arms and raised a brow. “Oh, yeah? Well you figured wrong. You’re in big trouble young lady.”

“But mom –”

“No buts!”

“You are not old enough to be dying your hair – and pink, no less! Just what is the headmaster going to say when he comes to dinner tonight?! I can’t believe you would do something so rash.”

“Mommy, I was just trying to-”

“I aught to ground you! I just can’t believe this. You’re lucky we don’t have a TV. March yourself back to your room, young lady, and dye your hair back while I think of a punishment for you.”

“But Mom!” Aerith stomped her foot. “You don’t understand! I needed to dye my hair! Nobody notices me around here. My hair is the only thing-”

“I don’t want to hear another word. Dye your hair back now!” Kaylynn instructed as she left the kitchen.

It’s not fair, Aerith thought to herself. I bet Daddy would listen to me. Suddenly, she had an idea.

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” Aerith practically shouted as she burst into her parents’ room.

“Whazza? Huh?” Andy woke up in a start.

“Daddy, you gotta listen!”

“Aerith? What’s wrong?”

“Dad, you gotta listen, okay? You see-”

“Aerith, honey, wait a moment. I’m pretty sleepy, so forgive me if this doesn’t make sense, but… Is your hair pink?”

Aerith looked down sheepishly. “Yeah. It’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can I keep it this way, Daddy, please?!”

Andy furrowed his brow. His Dad sense was tingling. “Aerith… What did your mom say?” He questioned.

“Dad…”

“The truth please, Aerith.”

“But how’d you know?”

Andy shrugged. “It’s just one of those things that comes from being a Dad. Now out with it.”

Aerith took a huge breath. “Well… Mom said I had to dye it back. But she doesn’t understand – I gotta keep it, I gotta! You don’t know what’s it’s like being the only girl around here! I mean I-”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down. What are you talking about, Aerith?”

“My hair is the only thing that makes me stand out,” Aerith said quietly. “It’s hard being the youngest, Dad. I never get to pick the games and I always gotta go last when we play. And everyone always thinks I’m like my brothers.”

“But having pink hair makes you different and unique, right?”

“Right!” Aerith exclaimed. Finally, someone got it. “It makes me look cool. I just want people to notice me – especially at school, but no one ever does cuz I got so many stinkin’ brothers.”

Andy couldn’t help smirking. “Aerith don’t talk about your brothers that way.” He sighed. “But I guess I see where you’re coming from.”

“So can I keep it?” Aerith looked up hopefully.

I’m going to regret this, Andy thought to himself. “Alright. Why not?”

“YES!” Aerith shouted jumping up. “But wait,” she paused. “What about mom?”

Andy sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to your mother.”

“Thanks, Daddy, you’re the bestest.”

“Aw, don’t mention it, sweetheart. But just know that you don’t need special hair to make you unique. And no more surprises from now on, okay?”

“Okey-dokey. Thanks again, Daddy.”

I’ll talk to Kaylynn later, Andy mused. Right now I need some sleep.

“Hey, Voice, can you change my font to pink, too?”

Oh, brother.

Aerith skipped out of her parents’ bedroom but was soon stopped in her tracks.

“Aerith, I thought I told you to change your hair back.” Kaylynn was exhausted. She didn’t get a full night’s sleep and she’d just spent the better part of the morning in the kitchen making breakfast for the kids and preparing dinner for the night’s headmaster visit. She wasn’t in the mood for any more antics. “Well?”

“Yeah, but dad said it was okay.”

“Aerith, your dad probably didn’t know that I told you to dye it back. Go change. Now.”

“No, no I told him all about what you said and he said I could keep it!”

“Oh, he did, did he?” Kaylynn couldn’t believe her ears. She’d had just about enough of Andy doing things behind her back.

“Yeah. So it’s okay, right? I can keep it?”

“Fine. Go play. I’m going to have a word with your father.”

“I got Daddy in trouble, didn’t I?”

Nah, your dad was in trouble already.

“Huh?”

Um, I mean, your Dad’s fine. Go outside and greet that townie kid.

“Why?”

Didn’t you want your own sub plot? Get moving kiddo.

In other parts of the house…

“ANDY!” Kaylynn yelled as she barged into their room.

Apparently, I’m not going to get any sleep today. “Yea? What is it, Kaylynn?”

“You told Aerith it was okay to have pink hair?!”

Uh, oh. “Uh, yeah, I meant to talk to you about that.”

“Oh, that’s good to know. Nice to hear you value my opinion. Oh, wait, you don’t! Because if you had, you would have came to me first before you told our daughter if was okay to run around with pink hair!”

“Kaylynn, calm down. I was going to talk to you when I woke up. Besides, pink hair isn’t the end of the world. It’s probably just a phase.”

“This isn’t about the pink hair!”

“…It’s not?”

“No!”

“This is about you making decisions behind my back, about you taking off to work downtown without telling me, about you being super obsessed with earning money – I mean geez, you topped your career yesterday but it’s not enough, you’re always working on a car or skilling for your stupid family pastime handicap –”

“Whoa. Kaylynn slow down; one thing at a time okay? But could we talk about this later? I’m really, really ti-”

“ARRGGH! And that’s another thing! You never have time to talk; you’re always tired or working or skilling or something! Well, fine. Go to sleep. Ignore me. Whatever; it’s obvious that this marriage doesn’t mean much of anything to you.”

“Kaylynn-”

“Forget it. Come talk to me when your ready to be honest.”

Crap.

I’m going for a jog; I can’t stand being around him right now. Urgh! Sometimes he drives me so crazy!

Meanwhile, the kids remained completely obvious.

“Hey, you think we’ll get to have a snowball fight when Ash and Zeph get home?”

“A snowball fight. Skye, aren’t you going to say anything about my new pink hairdo?”

“…Wasn’t your hair always pink?”

*Sigh*

Well, the headmaster arrived at the Specter household that evening and, just as Kaylynn said, he wasn’t too impressed with Aerith’s hair or with the house for that matter. Though to be fair, the bathroom and the kids’ rooms were the only finished rooms in the place.

See? Or, well, you probably can’t since I just realized this picture is FAR and out of date. Andy finally bought a new table for the dining room (in the middle) and Aerith and Zephyr have their own rooms on the other side of the hallway, above Asher’s (Aerith’s room is where the dressers are and Skye’s is past that). Anywho, the house was a mess so everything was riding on the dinner.

Unfortunately, there was a hitch in that plan. Sigh. You see Kaylynn had made crepe suzette before going to bed. All Andy had to do was take it out of the fridge and serve it. But he and his one cooking point couldn’t manage that. Hmm, you know, Andy, you really should finish the kitchen; there’s only like two counters in here. Plus, we could really use some lights-

“Uh, I’m a little busy. Help. Please?”

Yeah, yeah.

“Hello? Fire department? My dad set himself on fire! …. What? No, it wasn’t lobster thermidor, actually, it was crepe suzette. … Huh? Yeah, I know, what a spaz. And get this - he’s a knowledge sim - and he only has one cooking point! … I know, right?! Can you believe his LTW is to max all skills? … No, it is, really! Fat chance of that-”

Asher. Your dad is on fire.

“Okay, okay. Bye fire person; I gotta go. The voice in my head’s telling me I have to wash up for dinner. …No, I don’t need the shrink's number.”

Rest assured, Andy was saved. He wasn’t in any real danger. The headmaster visit, however, was tanking, fast. And guess who had a double fear of rejection?

“Wanting my kids to get a good education isn’t a crime, you know!”

Mmhmm.

“You know, it’d be really nice if I could get a full night’s sleep every once in a while.”

I know, but we need you. Someone has to make dinner and Andy’s every attempt to schmooze ends in failure.

“Alright, alright, I’m going.”

Hmm, what’s this? A new look?

“Yeah, I figured I needed a more mature look. What do you think?”

Looks good to me. Anyway, time for supermom to come to the rescue.

“Mrs. Specter, may I say, this meal is excellent.”

Ah, good ol’ spaghetti. Nobody tell him it was leftovers, okay?

“Thank you, sir. You remember Asher and Zephyr, don’t you?”

“Of course, they are some of the school’s finest students. And what fine manners they have; I can tell you must be an excellent parent.”

Nobody tell him about the social worker visit, okay?

With Kaylynn’s charm and awesome cooking skills, the kids were a shoe in.

“Mrs. Specter, it’d be an honor to have your two youngest attend my school. And let me say, it was a pleasure to see you again. And your husband…. Well, to be frank, I don’t know what you see in him.”

“To be honest, sir, sometimes I wonder the same thing. But, eh, we have three bolts. That tends to blind you to any faults. See you next generation, sir.”

“Hopefully.”

Andy woke up slowly, picking bits of noodle off his face. He’d like to think that this wasn’t a common occurrence, but lately he always seemed to be exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

“Andy,” Kaylynn’s voice rose through his fog. “We need to talk.”

“Hmm?” Taking one look at her face, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of it.

Kaylynn sighed. “Andy, what’s going on? Why all the long hours? What’s with this money obsession? I don’t know what’s going on here. I mean… The kids, they’re fine. You make sure to spend time with them, so they don’t really know what’s going on, but… *I* never see you. I want some answers, Andy. Now.”

“Kaylynn… I don’t know what to tell you. I just want the kids to have the best, you know? I want them to have a really good childhood, have all the best stuff-”

“Oh, for Plumbbob’s sake, not that line again! Andy, there’s more to it than that – something you’re not telling me and I-”

“You’re right, Kaylynn.”

“I- I am?”

“Yes.”

“But look, I can’t tell you just yet, okay? Please, you have to trust me.”

“Of course I trust you. I just don’t like being kept in the dark-”

“I promise I’ll be more honest and tell you what’s going on from now on.”

“No more taking off for hours without telling me?”

“…”

“Andy?”

“Well, I have been thinking of starting a business.”

“Andy! You don’t need-”

“It’s a legacy thing, Kay. I wanna start a family business. And making money to finish the house wouldn’t hurt. We could finally finish the kitchen. Add a bathroom or two.”

Kaylynn sighed. “Fine. Just, please, please promise me you won’t over do it. Take it easy, okay? There’s no rush, you know. And for the love of Plumbbob, tell me where you’re going!”

“Okay, okay. I can do that.”

“Look, Andy, I don’t want to fight, but… I just don’t want any secrets between us, okay?”

“Er, that’s a problem.”

“Huh?”

“All this has to do with the heirship. The way the heir is chosen. There’s a competition, you see-”

“And it involves you running around like a mad man trying to build a fortune?”

“No… But I guess you could say things will be harsh for the kids. In the competition, I mean. And possibly after it. So I want things now to be good. Really, really good.”

“I guess I can understand that. Look, let’s make a deal, okay? We’ll talk to one another about anything and everything, okay? And I’ll let you handle the legacy rules stuff if you let me handle the family togetherness stuff, okay?”

“Deal. I promise.”

“Everything’s going to be fine.” I hope.

*****

So, will Andy be able to keep his promise? Will he ever tell Kaylynn exactly how heirs are chosen? Will Skye, Asher, and Zephyr develop a personality? Will I fail another handicap? Find out next time in A Specter Legacy. And don’t forget to give me feedback! Look for Kelyns at boolprop.com.