A Dream – A Wish – A Legacy

Life went on as normal for the Gothenicas. Jay swept and cooked and practiced guitar in her spare hours of the maternity leave, but most of her time was spent with Stephen and Nettie. Travis was more tired than ever from work; he pushed long hours as a squad leader, and his body was getting too old to handle the physical stress. Days were long and boring, especially since Antoinette refused to play with others. Jaybelle was almost going to pass out from the demanding babies.

Thank goodness, they thought, that Nettie’s birthday was not far away. She would finally sleep in a bed and be caught up in school. Perhaps the social aspects of elementary school would fix her antisocial attitude. Jay finally found enough time to draw up party plans, though she had trouble working it around Travis’ crazy hours.

They now were more financially stable. Jay was not progressing much in the music career due to her maternity leaves. Even though they had promoted her to band manager, she hardly ever did her full job nowdays, with her assistant, Cherry Kanto, doing most of the work. Cherry was a very sweet young lady, and she just loved the kids.  She especially loved Nettie. “She’ll be a little heartbreaker when she’s older,” Cherry said with a smile one day.

Nettie’s birthday came at last. She aged up – and oh, dear Lumi, she was pretty! Jaybelle gave her a pretty dress and braided her hair.

The next morning was Monday – a school day – and Antoinette was slightly nervous of being the ‘new kid’. Travis assured her that such a pretty girl like her was sure to make friends quickly. Antoinette smiled and skipped off to the bus. Now Travis, on his day off, and Jay had some time to spend with Stephen, who was now a toddler. They spent hours teaching him to walk. When Nettie got home, she went straight to homework while Jaybelle prepared a dinner salad. Travis took a shower and readied the table for their first ever family meal.

That night, Jay was tucking Nettie in. “Mommy, why is daddy so old?” she asked. Jaybelle knew this was coming, and tried her best to explain. “Daddy is a lot older than me, sweetie,” she began, “When we married I didn’t really think about his age. We loved each other, and that’s all that counts.” Jay frowned and continued, “But we have to remember that daddy won’t last much longer. We have to be ready for him to pass on any time. He loves you so much, dear. He’s just glad he lived long enough to see you do well in school.” Nettie began to cry. “We must be strong,” Jay assured her, “Good night.”

AGE-UP INFO:
Name: Antoinette Gothenica
Age-Up To: Child
New Trait: Friendly

Now that Travis had a solid hold on his military job, they had enough money to do some renovating. “No dramatic changes,” Jay demanded. “No problem, Jaybird,” Travis smiled. he went to work and started to renovate the large, bare attic. He built a wall and installed a door, and Jay decorated. They now had an extra room. Jay has always wanted more kids, so she wanted to plan for the future. Not, now, of course, but perhaps when Antoinette was older…

Now that Nettie, as they called their daughter, was getting older, Jay wanted to look more modest and set a good example. Rummaging through the second-hand shop, she picked out some floods and a spiceberry turtleneck.  Nettie’s birthday was coming up again, and they finally had enough money to celebrate the event. Travis invited all his work friends. The party was a blast.

Antoinette finally aged up, of course. the family was quite happy with the outcome, as she only became cuter. All of Travis’ fellow soldiers were impressed – he had finally raised a family, despite how people mocked him in the past. Maybe things were turning around for Travis’ social life…

The two happy parents celebrated that night with a little ‘alone time’. A few mornings later, Jaybelle was elated with the news: she’s pregnant again!

I apologize for lack of pictures. My launcher is acting strangely again. It should be fixed soon… I hope.

Jaybelle shot up a few mornings later with her stomach turning and tumbling. It must have been the mac and cheese. Panicking, she walked  ran hysterically into the bathroom, vomiting. Ugh. This was not good. Too disgusted to eat, she called up Travis, her new boyfriend, to see if he could comfort her in her time of need. Loving as he was, he came over right away. “Who else is going to take care of you, Jaybird?” Oh, how sweet. He called her by her pet-name, Jaybird.

“Come in!” Jay shouted as the door bell rang. “My love,” he whispered to her when he sat on the couch by her, “What can I do?’ “Nothing,” she smiled. But her stomach turned again. Time to vomit. As she went into the bathroom, a thought occurred to her. Her period she have come by now. She decided to run a few… tests. Yes, what she feared was true.

She came out and looked Travis in the eye. “I have something to tell you…” she started. As she explained, he was shocked. “It can’t be,” he sighed. “But please, I need you!” Jay pleaded. Travis smiled. “Of course, dear. I’ll always be here for you.”

They talked for a long time. Jay finally decided that if he were to be a father, he needed to get himself situated and moved in before the baby came. He agreed, and before they knew it, it was time for him to go to work. “I’ll be back tonight with my things,” Travis promised as he left. Worn out, Jay grabbed a bowl of soup and went straight to bed.

The next morning’s events confirmed it. Her lower stomach was beginning to swell, and she knew that this was it. No more happy-go-lucky single’s life. She had to be a mom, a mature adult. The only thing that kept her going was she loving look in Travis’ eyes. “Morning, love,” he chirped. “Time for a shower…” Jay groaned at him, “Can you make breakfast while I clean up?” After a hot shower and some good grape pancakes, she headed the grocery store and ran other errands. Meanwhile, Travis was busy setting up the nursery.

Days passed as Travis and Jaybelle got situated. Morning after morning he swooned and floated around his love, oblivious to anything else. Of course he thought of his new son or daughter, but mostly he though of his little ‘Jaybird’. His sweet dove. The song in his heart. As they visited schools to see the offered daycare systems, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Will you marry me, Jaybelle Gothenica?” he blurted out. Jay turned red. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Of course,” she whispered. after all, how could she refuse?

Of course they thought of names and such for the new child. They planned the wedding to be soon before Jay was due. They settled upon Antoinette for a girl or Aristotle for a boy. Some other favorites were Charlotta, Maxis and Analie.

NEW CHARACTER INFO: JAYBELLE GOTHENICA
Traits: Neat, Great Kisser, Ambitious, Virtuoso, Family-Oriented
Favorites: Green, Electronica,  Key Lime Pie
Lifetime Goal: Rock Star

Jaybelle is the loverly daughter of Chancelor and Margaret Gothenica. She grew up with her grand-parents on a lovely estate in Riverview until she was age 16. Recently she got a call with shocking news: a huge fire erupted in the house, killing both grandma and grandpa and burning half of the household to ruins. Then the man on the phone told her something even more surprising. She, Jaybelle, the only heir, was receiving 40,000 simoleons plus the half-decent estate. Could it be true? Jay began packing right away.

As she arrived at her childhood home she became less elated. The roof was caving in. The paint was peeling. Half of the place was just a wooden frame. She could never live here. But, as though the ghosts of her grandparents were haunting her, Jay knew what she had to do. Reluctantly, she picked up the phone and place an appointment for a 40,000 simoleon repair – almost as much as the net-worth of the whole house. Jay knew her grandma would want to old place to live on, and she respected that.

Weeks later, after staying at her cousin’s house, Jay received another phone call. “It’s done,” the repair man informed her, and she promptly grabbed her backs and headed to Riverview. This is where the adventure begins.

Jaybelled arrived at the place in the evening. She placed her things and looked around, but it wasn’t long until her stomach began to growl. “How about a nice tour of the kitchen?” Jay reasoned with herself, and off she went.

Jaybelle prepares a tasty dinner salad.

After dinner, she was already tired. “Time to hit the bedroom,” Jay yawned. She climbed the long stairway to the upper levels. It was magnificent, just like when she was a kid. The repair men had done a wonderful job. She opened the door to the master bedroom and lied on the fancy bed. Sleep came quickly.

Jaybelle quickly fell asleep.

What will tomorrow bring? Find out in the next entry!