New Beginnings

Oh, boy, have we been busy around here! And things are bound to get much busier, no doubt! Ma and Pops have two new grandchildren! Yes, I’m well aware that they’re both six feet under, but that doesn’t change a damn thing!

The new Mellon made it’s appearance at just after 7pm last night, while Adi and I were watching ‘Ed, Edd, and Eddy’ on the Cartoon Network. Maybe the kid was in a hurry to watch, too!

Everybody, meet Katie Marissa Mellon! The second granddaughter for Ma and Pops! The only thing that worries me is that Adi’s already talking about having another!! She’s determined that our next one will be named Sagaxus. What have I let myself in for?

Still, as well as a neice, and a daughter, I now have a nephew, too. Alkanet and Blake’s second child was actually born two hours after my little Katie was! How cool is that?

This is Bescarum, by the way. An odd little name, but no odder than Sagaxus now that I think about it! From what I can tell, he’s a carrot-top, just like MC, and as for our little Katie, she’s got her Ma’s brown hair, but I don’t mind. Even better, a baby daughter is good for my image, which is very important in Politics. (Yeah, sure, Abe! What a softie!)
Can’t you just imagine me, Abram Michael Mellon, as Mayor? That would be so cool, and you get to travel to and from work in a helicopter! Can’t you just see me doing that?

Anyway, Adi’s gone shopping, and the baby needs a diaper change!

(I know what you mean about Amby, Katie, but I think it makes her seem that much more realistic, and besides, Abe needs an evil twin! Note to self: update Family Tree.)

My sisters and I have had some more bad news. A Doctor Grant phoned me at 10pm last night to tell me that Ma had been found dead.

They think it was a heart attack that took her, but that doesn’t matter much to me. What matters is that it was probably quick, because Ma was in the middle of preparing her dinner at the time. Still, she’s with Pops now, which will make them both happy. It’s a shame that MC won’t get to know her, and neither will Katie or Sagaxus (depending on which flavor we get). Somehow, I’m not as sad about Ma as I was with Pops, but that’s because Pops went rather sudden, whereas we knew that Ma’s heart wasn’t all that strong anymore. She couldn’t last forever, I suppose. And, I do miss her a lot.

I think that’s a big part of the reason that Alkanet and Blake decided against having a big party for MC today. Not that Alkanet was there, she had to work, so it was just Blake and MC there.

Isn’t she like Blake? I think it’s that mop of red hair she’s got! Ma would have, ah, excuse me.

Ma would have loved to have seen her was what I was trying to say before I started leaking at the eyes. But you knew that, right? Maybe Ma and Pops can even see us, who knows? And I know I’ll see them both some day.

Let’s see, Ma died, MC (Fairchild, not Hammer!) had a birthday, and…now what was that other news? I know there was something else I had to tell you.

Ah, I know, I know!

My sister Alkanet’s having another baby, she found out yesterday. She and Blake are a little worried about how MC will take it, but they’re also quite excited, too! I think they’re both hoping for a little boy this time, and Alkanet and Adi seem to do nothing but talk babies these days!

Catch ya on the flipside!!

Call me stupid, but I thought my sister was kidding when she said that she wasn’t paying for a wedding. I must be really dense, huh?

Is it just me, or does Chandler look rather unhappy? Amby started hassling him about getting a job before the ring was even on her finger, poor guy. Actually, I think Chandler may be regretting that he got involved with Amby now. She went absolutely crazy at him for spending money on a suit! Well, he needed one for a job interview, didn’t he? Anyway, he has a job as a Clam Wrangler, whatever that is (just wrangling clams, I guess), and now she’s hassling him about getting a promotion. He doesn’t even start until tomorrow morning! Poor sap.

Adi and I had actually just moved back into our house after having the place renovated.

Ma was happy to let us stay with her until everything was all complete, and she was over the moon when we told her our news:

The funny thing is, I can’t think of when that could possibly have happened, but Adi thinks it must have been while we were on our honeymoon. I’m a little shocked, actually. I mean, I’ve got nothing against kids, but I would have liked to wait awhile before that happened. I suppose there’s not a great deal I can do about it, is there?

Actually, I’m looking forward to being a Dad! It’s good for my image, you understand. A State Assemblyman (yeah, I got a promotion) with a wife and children inspires a bit more confidence in the voting public, whereas a single man doesn’t. Adi wants to call the baby Katie if it’s a girl, which is what she wants. Me, I don’t mind what it is, and Adi’s told me I get to name it if it’s a boy. How does ‘Sagaxus’ sound to you?

Well, it’s my turn to make dinner, so I better go!

(I think Sagaxus is a cool name! Even better, he’s my favourite character from ‘Triss’! Have you read that one, Katie? Oh, and I agree, Abe’s pretty cool, not a bumbling buffoon like his Papa!)

You know, I sometimes don’t understand my twin at all! Chandler graduated from university this morning, and the wedding date has been set, and do you know what that cheapskate sister of mine said?
“Why shell out good money for a party, when Chandler and I can do it ourselves?”
Is that mean, or what? Ma’s ticked off because she wanted to get a lot of photos of Amby in a wedding dress, but Amby’s too tightfisted to by one!

I mean, okay, I know Amby’s all about money, but jeez Louise! Chandler’s folks have offered to pay for the wedding, but Amby’s having none of it. I’m not even sure if the marriage will last that long, to tell you the truth. Chandler wants kids, while Amby reckons all they do is cost money. I feel quite sorry for the poor guy, actually. My twin is a hell-cat. Adi and I haven’t decided if we’re going to have children yet, there’s a lot of things to consider first.

Little MC is thriving, thanks for asking. I spend a lot of time with her (good fatherhood practice, you see), and so do Ma and Adi. It’s hard to say just who she takes after at the moment, but I’m sure that will become apparent when she gets older.

She’s a good little girl, you know. It’s such a shame that she never knew Pops, though, he would have loved her to bits, and probably spoilt her rotten, as well.

Alkanet emailed these pictures through yesterday when I was at work, and I’ve framed the first one and put it on my desk. It gives me quite a buzz when people comment on what a nice-looking baby she is, and I always get asked if she’s my daughter. I’d love to tell them that it is, but I never do. Tell the truth and shame the Devil, as Ma always says!

Actually, Ma’s been hassling me a bit lately. She wants another grandchild, and someone to ‘carry on the family name’, and she didn’t seem to like it much when I told her that Adi and I haven’t decided on little ones yet.

Well, due to being promoted to City Council Member, I really need to finish this and get ready for work. See you all next time!

(Good idea Katie! I think MC will be her nickname from now on!)

(Imagine Abe in a deckchair, on a beach somewhere! Please?)

Aloha!

Well, the Abe-man is back! And I think I’ll get the boring news out of the way first. Amby’s house took a little longer to complete than she originally thought it would (I told her not to make outrageous demands to the builders!), but she’s all settled in there now.

It’s pretty cramped in there, but as long as Amby’s happy, right? You really don’t want to see that girl mad! And, she got herself a job in Business!

Now for the other sister.

Alkanet and Blake have been waiting, not very patiently, I might add, for the birth of their first child you know, and so has the rest of the family since Alkanet won’t shut up about it! Anyway, enough of that blathering! Blake called me at 8pm last night, yelling down the phone:
“Quick, we need to borrow your camera!” then he hung up, and I followed his instructions to the letter, arriving at Alkanet’s just in time to witness this:

I don’t know what Blake was smiling about, my sister sure doesn’t look happy!

So, I guess you’d better meet Mandie-Claire, my new neice (what am I saying? She’s my only neice!)! As far as I can tell, she has Alkanet’s eyes, and Blake’s hair! Ma thinks she looks gorgeous, Amby was pretty indifferent to the whole thing, and as for me, well, babies all look the same to me. I’m real sorry that Pops passed on before he could meet MC, he would have been utterly over the moon about her. I think Ma was a little sad about that, too, but she’s pleased as punch that she has a granddaughter!

Time for my news now.

Adi graduated yesterday, and spent the night at her parents’ house before coming here for the wedding (which was today).

Everything was perfect; the sun was shining, my ma and sisters looked very nice, and, even better, Adi looked absolutely stunning! I wish my Pops could have seen this! Oh, sure, it was only a backyard wedding, but it still felt special!

I wish I could remember what Alkanet said in her toast to us, but this awesome Hawaiian Sun is sapping my strenght! Never mind, Adi and I will be home in a couple of days, so I’ll see you then!

(My second roof-raiser wedding party! What do you think, am I getting the hang of them? Hey, Jen! How’s young Melody Wines doing?)

Wow, there’s been a whole lot going on since Pops passed!

Adi and Chandler are getting closer to graduation day, Amby’s house is almost finished, and I moved into my new digs today!

It’s rather small, but it has everything I could possibly want in a house, and one bedroom is enough for the moment, given that Adi and I don’t know if we’ll be having rugrats or not yet, and that’s not something we need to discuss at the moment. If we do decide to have carpet-crawlers, well, we can always expand the house, right? In fact, the only thing that’s wrong with the place is the neightbours!

I still don’t know who the heck those two were, although I do know the woman started the fight by calling the man an incredibly nasty name (I dare not say it. Just because I’m a man now doesn’t mean my Ma won’t wash my mouth out with soap!). The whole neighbourhood came running to watch the fight, and I got to meet quite a few people, but I would have preferred to meet them some other way, rather than in the middle of a scrap on my front lawn!

I gotta admit, that felt nice saying that: My front lawn!

Who would have thought that this boy would ever own his own home? I always planned on moving back in with Ma and Pops, but when I got engaged, I realised that it wasn’t such a good idea. Ma would be looking over my shoulder all the time, you see, and I would have began to get seriously annoyed with her for that, maybe I’d even begin to feel slightly smothered, and everyone else would think I was a Mama’s Boy. We can’t have that, now, can we?

Speaking of Ma, she’s still missing Pops like crazy, especially since Alkanet told us her news:

So, guess who’s going to be an Uncle soon? Blake told me that Alkanet has insisted on the baby being named Ryan if it’s a boy, and Mandie-Claire if it’s a girl. I think that’s a nice name myself, and Blake doesn’t really mind what the baby’s name is.

Well, that’s it from me, I need to catch some zzzzzzs!

(Well, my houses are still boxy-looking, aren’t they? And you’re right, Katie, it is kind of sad when that first sim passes on!)

Hi, guys. It’s me, Abe Mellon here, with all that’s been happening around here lately.

Unfortunately, the first bit of news I have to share with you is bad.

My Pops passed away the night before last. He had been reading while Ma was dozing on the sofa, which is what they did most nights, and Pops was, apparently, going to make some popcorn before the late movie came on. He didn’t even get into the kitchen. Ma’s real cut up about it, and had Pops buried in the back yard so she can see him whenever she wants, rather than make the long walk up the hill to the cemetary. Amby and I were at our Finals when Ma called to tell us (what moron schedules an exam for 9pm anyway?), so Adi took the message, and told us as soon as we walked through the door, and I called Ma while Amby packed our gear.

It’s good that Ma wasn’t all by herself that night, since Amby and I had just graduated and were heading home anyway, but it felt incredibly strange without Pops there.

Ah, there I go again! Excuse me. (Imagine a foghorn sound as Abe blows his nose.)

Sorry about that, but I mean, jeez! Great graduation present, huh? Amby’s locked herself in her old room, and she won’t come out. I can hear her in there, all by herself, sobbing. I wish she’d let me help her, I feel bad when either of my sisters are upset, you know. Ma’s out the back, by Pops’ grave, doing her own grieving. I guess they’re just dealing with it in their own way, just like me.

Rest in Peace, Pops. We miss you.

(Buh-bye Ryan! He did the noble thing, and didn’t hang around at all! Also, he passed on in Platinum mood, but only just! Another simhour, and he would have gone gold.)

What a magical day!

I will admit, again, that I was completely wrong about Blake, my son-in-law. In fact, I’m incredibly proud to be able to call him that. His and Alkanet’s wedding was beautiful. Alkanet looked beautiful, and so did my wife!

Doesn’t she look beautiful? I must admit, the photographer, a work-friend of Alkanet’s, did a very good job, and Marissa and I have another wonderful memory to add to our photo album. Marissa was so happy that she completely soaked her handkerchief with her tears, and I had to lend her mine! Although that turned out to be a silly idea, since I ended up needing it myself after I started leaking at the eyes too!

Marissa also made one of the best toasts I’ve ever heard, and I’m sure that, by the time she’d finished, I wasn’t the only one who was trying not to bawl like a big baby!

So they’ve headed off, the newlyweds, to Paris for their honeymoon, which should be very nice! I’ve never been to France myself, but Marissa (who went once when she was a child) said it’s very, very pretty. I’ll take her word for it!

It was a bit of a shame that Adriana and Chandler couldn’t join the twins, but they couldn’t exactly skip out on an exam, could they? Mind you, that’s exactly why Abe and Amby couldn’t stay very long. They’re Seniors now, you know!

So, I’ll say it again, I was wrong, incredibly wrong, about Blake Fairchild. He’ll take care of our Precious Alkanet, and I can’t ask for more than that. I’ll watch over them when I’m gone.

(Glad I took your advice regarding Wedding Parties, Katie, and I’m incredibly surprised that the game didn’t crash right in the middle of the party like it usually does! Even better, the party was a roof-raiser! And, you’re right about Marissa’s expression, it is pretty comical! My dad had the exact same look when I showed him my Jason Voorhees tattoo!)

Ha ha!

I was able to get Marissa back for all the wisecracks she made about me trying to burn down her kitchen!

That happened late last night, when Marissa woke up and realised she’d forgotten to have dinner, and she trooped off downstairs to rectify the problem! She even got dressed first, because she doesn’t like wandering around in her nightclothes! She wouldn’t speak to me this morning because I kept laughing at her! Talk about not being able to take a joke! And don’t you go telling her that I said that, either! What a spoilsport. But, then again, she’s my spoilsport, and I love her for it. It’s part of what makes her Marissa, if you know what I mean.

We had some good news this afternoon, in fact, we had three different lots, but first things first:

First, was Abe and Adriana getting engaged! We were all so excited about that, so excited in fact, that I danced around the room, and Marissa jumped up and down like a maniac then ran outside and hugged a total stranger!

I guess that got Chandler thinking, and he did the same with Amby! We’d just put the phone down after hearing Abe’s good news when the phone rang again, and Amby screamed her own news down the phone! I tell you, the champagne will flow like water tonight! It’s funny though, because I never thought I could get this excited about anything! It’s a bit of a shame that Marissa and I couldn’t have had another child, just so we could experience this again!

Mind you, our Precious is really excited at the moment too, not just because of the twins’ news, but because Blake’s graduated now, so the wedding is coming up! I have to admit, I am looking forward to that!

My only worry now is whether or not I’ll live to see my first grandchild. I know I haven’t got much time left on this earth.

(Pshh! I’m not even sure Ryan will live to see the wedding, his life-bar-thingy is just about full up. Also, I couldn’t figure out why the pictures looked funny, but then I checked the picture quality. Doh. Should have done that right from the start!)

Well, Marissa and I have been left with another void in our lives. Alkanet’s house has been completed, and she moved out this afternoon. Don’t get me wrong here, as far as houses go, Alkanet’s is a very nice house, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’re all alone here again, and sometimes our house just seems to be too big. Too lonely.

Anyway, this is where our Precious has decided to live out her life with Blake, although Blake hasn’t graduated yet. Alkanet is really looking forward to the day he does, and she’s already talking about what she’d like to name her babies! She hasn’t told us yet, but I’m sure she will. All in good time, as my wife always tells me, even though she’s looking forward to grandbabies as much as I am. I just hope I live to see them.

Now, let’s see, what else has been happening around here?

Oh, yes, Mr Chandler Gregory, or ‘Mr Llama Guy’ as my wife calls him, has joined the twins, Blake, and Miss Straight, mostly due to the fact that he and Amby are head-over-heels for each other.

Abe sent us this photo, and when we saw it, Marissa and I wondered just what Amby had let herself in for. I was, and I know this sounds rather cruel, imagining a great lot of grandkids, all with great, piggy noses and crooked eyes, but I realised I was being stupid when I saw the other photo that my son had sent.

He’s a rather nice-looking boy, this Chandler, which I am very relieved about! I know looks aren’t everything, but I was worried about what Amby might have done had he turned out to be not the tall, dark, etc that she was expecting!

Actually, I think I may have jumped the gun a little back there. The only one of my children that I know will, erm, um, procreate will be Alkanet. Little ones (’Carpet crawlers’ to Amby, and ‘Rugrats’ to Abe) might not fit into Abe’s, or Amby’s, plans!

(I guess it is a little sad about the main house, Katie, but I hate that house! When Amby first met Chandler on the street, I didn’t think too much about it. When I noticed the thunderbolts, I was pleased that Amby had picked her own future hubby. When he moved in, I was worried about how gross he’d look under that Llama suit. Thank God he’s normal! I was, as you probably guess from the last name, worried he’d have a giant nose!)