Fall 2011 - Ebadi/London

Fall 2011 - Jessica Ebadi (31), Bryce Ebadi (6), Bridget Ebadi (6), Joy London (22)

It had been a stormy fall.  Lots of rain and thunderstorms with more predicted on the horizon. 

Jessica was making some changes in her life.  Her four bedroom house was bigger than her family of three really needed and with taxes and loan repayments coming up, she knew she needed to make some more money.  She decided to look for someone to rent the spare bedroom that they never used.

She found the perfect renter in Joy London, a recent college graduate who was looking for a place to live before she fully embarked on her own.  Joy didn't remember her, but she had met Jessica back in Eden.  Jessica had worked as a gardener for Joy's family while she was working her way through college.  She remembered Joy and her sister Felicity as teenagers.

"You know, the school may be looking for a teacher's aide.  With your educational background you should apply."

"I'll think about it," Joy nodded.  It sounded like a good opportunity, but she was afraid if she started another career she wouldn't pursue her dream of becoming a famous actress.  She promised to give herself a few months and if nothing was happening with acting, she'd look into other opportunities.  She just hoped her savings would last long enough.

Teaching wasn't a bad option to consider.  She did like kids.  She found herself spending a lot of time with Jessica's son and daughter and volunteered to babysit in exchange for a discount on her rent.
She was especially drawn to little Bryce.  He reminded her so much of her brothers and Uncle Bruce.  He looked like he had what the family referred to as the Lillard nose, inherited from her grandpa Brandon.  She wondered if it was coincidence or if his father was a relative of hers.  Jessica was closed lipped on the subject of her children's paternity, but Joy had a strong suspicion that Bryce and Bridget might be her nephew and niece.  She wondered which of her older brothers had the secret affair with Jessica before she moved to New Eden, Jimmy or Frank.  If she had to bet on it, she'd have to put her money on Jimmy.  She wondered if he knew.

Joy was shocked one evening when she saw a familiar name active on her instant messenger.  Chase Platz, it couldn't be!  She was sure someone must have been playing a joke.

The longer they chatted the more she was assured that it must really be him.  So agreed to meet him on campus.

He greeted her like it was old times, and she was blown away that he was really alive.  He wanted to pick up where they had left off, but she declined.  It was better that their relationship, or whatever it was, was in the past.  She had moved on.

She was becoming seriously involved with Alon Carlson who she had met while at university.

She was totally smitten.

Jessica wasn't sure what to think when she came home from work several days in a row to find Alon there.  He was a nice enough boy and she wasn't so old that she remembered what it was like to be young and unattached.  But she did have young children in the house to think of

and she didn't want her home to become party central.  It was her house and sometimes she wanted quiet when she and the kids came home from school.

She had a chat with Joy about making sure her visitors were at the house at appropriate times and Joy agreed to be more considerate.  She already felt bad about waking the whole family on her first night there when Davis dropped by to hang out.  She hadn't realized it had gotten so late while they were chatting online.

Joy started inviting her friends over in the daytime when Jessica and the kids were at school, since she wasn't working yet and made sure they knew the party would have to break up or move elsewhere when it was time for Jessica and the kids to come home.

It was just a small gathering to watch the tennis championship, nothing too wild, just her sister, Davis and Alon.  It was fun that they could double date.

"So any regrets about leaving university early?"
"No, none at all.  I'm so happy I graduated.  I'm just ready to get on with life."

"Me too.  I have to admit that I was a little afraid you'd forget about me once you went out into the real world."

"No, of course not!"

"Good.  I was hoping you getting on with life would still include me."

Joy wanted to swoon.  She felt so much love for him.  She just knew this was for real.

She grabbed Felicity aside and dragged her to the bathroom where they could talk in private.  "I think Alon is the one. He is just so perfect for me."

"You two are really cute together."

"I think I want to marry him."

Felicity squealed.  "Really?  Are you serious?"

Before they could talk more, Alon interrupted.  "What are you two talking about in here?"
"Nothing, just sister stuff.  None of your business," Joy replied.
Felicity smiled and said aside to Joy, "You should do it."

She found Alon in the hallway,

got down on one knee and went for it.
"What are you doing?"

"Do you really want to go through life with me?  Not just as friends or as boyfriend and girlfriend, but eventually as husband and wife?"
"Joy!  Are you asking me to marry you?"
She knew it was out of the blue, but she was feeling spontaneous.  "I know we would be good together.  We don't have to get married tomorrow, but hopefully sometime, yes."

"Yes, Joy, I do want to marry you.  Let's get engaged."

She was so happy he said yes.  She  smiled up at Davis who had been watching from behind the corner.  He smiled and winked at her.  She was glad her two best friends approved.  She was looking forward to a happy life with the sims she loved most.

It was obvious to anyone that Alon and Joy were made for each other.  After a hug, they both mocked shooting a basket and shouted, "score!" before erupting into laughter.

It was a little rougher than she thought adjusting to having Joy as a roommate, but once they established a few ground rules for visitors at the house, they got along fine.  She was happy for Joy's engagement, but she knew she'd miss the young woman when she eventually moved out.  She had been a lot of help around the house and with the children.  They had developed a nice routine.

But she still had her children and wouldn't mind having the house just to the three of them again.

The almost daily storms were not letting up as the autumn progressed.  A particularly bad storm was on the forecast with potential for tornadoes.  Jessica herded the children into the house and left them under Joy's care with she headed back to work for a school board meeting.

As the rain and hail poured down and the winds picked up, Joy did not like the look of the dark clouds on the horizon.  She gathered Bridget and Bryce close and they crouched together in the bathroom as the storm blew through.  She tried to comfort the little ones as well as she could, even though she was terrified herself.  She's never seen a storm like this in her entire life.  They wanted their mother to be there, and so did Joy, she was worried for her friend being out in this storm.  She hoped she was safe in the school house until the storm passed.

A strong gust of wind blew a large hole in the roof and the rain and hail started to fall into the house.  Joy and the children heard the noise and she held the children closer, praying the storm would end soon.
Outside, Jessica had just arrived him.  Instead of waiting out the storm, she had hurried home to be with her children.  As she stepped out of her car she was struck by a bolt of lightening.

Bryce heard his mom's car pull into the driveway and he hurried out of the bathroom to meet her before Joy could stop him.  By this time the storm had calmed down and the worst of it had past.  But the worse of the experience was yet to come as Jessica's lifeless body lay on the ground.

All of my ROS happened in the fall this time, 3 out of 4 to this household!  What a season!

ROS - Joy gets engaged (this was left over from last time, since I'd already played university ahead.  I'm glad I postponed it so she could get to know Alon better and that I didn't have her propose to Chase instead.  By the time I got around to this one, she had rolled the want to get engaged to Alon, so I felt better about making it happen by random events.

ROS - Disaster strikes - a tornado . . this one was also for Joy.

ROS - Death by electrocution Jessica Ebadi.  :(  My first death ROS.  I feel really bad about this one, especially since she's a single mom with young kids and I was just starting to see potential with her and James.  Before I rolled this, during the last rotation, I noticed the empty bedroom and thought about moving someone in.  I'm glad Joy is living in the house so the kids wouldn't be living alone and taken by social services.  There's going to be a lot to sort out after this round.  :(

Summer 2010 - Ebadi / Elementary School

Jessica (30), Bridget (5), Bryce (5)

Jessica's days were occupied with children.  When she wasn't at school teaching the children of New Eden, she was at home playing with her own little ones.

She was content with her life overall.  Even though it was difficult being a single mother to twin toddlers, she was doing well, but she wouldn't deny that she was looking forward to the twins being old enough to go to school.

When it was time for their first birthday, Jessica had a small celebration at home with just her, Bridget and Bryce.

Bridget seemed to get prettier and prettier the more she grew.

And Bryce continued to look more and more like his father.

He definitely inherited the Lillard nose.

This year brought even more exciting changes for Jessica.  Construction on the new elementary school was going well.  Even though the building still needed some finishing touches, most of the building was complete and ready for the first day of school.

The children were disappointed that it was too rainy to play outside when they arrived in the morning, but the excitement of meeting new friends and seeing their new school soon distracted them and they followed Jessica inside.

James had stopped by the first day to see how things were going with the finishing touches on the building and to see what the teacher thought of the new building.

Jessica had nothing but praise for James' work.  "I love it.  If there were enough room I think this would be a great place for the Jr. / Sr. High as well."

"We might be able to manage that, if we added another story to the building.  I'll look into the possibility."

The first days at the new school went remarkably smooth.  The classroom design worked well.  The students were well behaved.  With only five children in the class, and two of them being her own, the class size was easily manageable.

At the end of the day, the kids seemed happy with their new school too.

One evening after school, Jessica invited her colleagues, Hope and Rich, over for an informal teacher's meeting.  Since they were now working in separate buildings with different groups of students, they thought it would be a good idea to meet to touch base on issues, such as school menus.

Jessica also wanted to host the little party to welcome Hope to the neighborhood and to try to get to know her a little better.  She was sorry to say she found Hope a little bit boring. 

Jessica was in for a huge surprise when she saw Bruce walking on the sidewalk in front of her house.  She hadn't seen him since she left Eden, before she found out she was pregnant, when she saw him kissing an old flame when she thought he loved her.

Her hurt and anger at being cheated on had long since faded and she was no longer furious with him, so she went over to say hello and they talked.  He was in town visiting his nieces at the university.  He had heard rumors about her having twins and he wanted to know if they were true and if they were, if he was the father.

He was not happy to learn that the rumors were true, that Jessica's children were his and she had never told him.  When she invited him inside to meet Bryce and Bridget he was reluctant, but agreed.

When he met Bridget, he didn't tell her that he was her father.  He introduced himself as a new friend and told her that he was the chief of staff at the hospital where he worked.

He and Bridget seemed to hit it off immediately and she even surprised him with a hug before he left.  However, the next day when Jessica invited him over to spend more time with the children, he declined, but told her to expect a check in the mail and more in the future whenever she needed it.

It was not the reply she had wanted to hear.  She just hoped the children wouldn't be disappointed.

Spring 2001 - Ebadi

Spring 2001 - Simdays 107-109
Jessica Ebadi (28), Bryce Ebadi (3), Bridget Ebadi (3)

The D'Sims aren't the only family with twins.  For Jessica Ebadi being a mother of new twins has the extra challenge of also being a single mother.  Knowing that she wouldn't be able to do it all on her own, Jessica hired a nanny soon after the twins were born.

Nanny Autumn came highly recommended by the Harrises, but Jessica wasn't totally impressed with her at their first meeting.

The nanny's personality left something to be desired, but she was very good with the children, responsible, attentive, and careful in the kitchen.  Jessica hired her to work during her normal working hours, even though she planned to use her vacation days and take time off while the babies were small.  The very first day Autumn came to the house, Jessica skipped the carpool and took the opportunity to take a much needed nap and catch up on a few phone calls while Autumn watched the babies.

In addition to the nanny's help, Jessica had the help of a few unofficial babysitters.  Her students would occasionally drop by to see their teacher's new babies.  The girls especially enjoyed loving on the little ones.

Jessica appreciated having an extra pair of arms to hold one of the babies while she fed the other.

The girls were glad to help and Jessica was glad to have the help, so she could take time to love on each of her children and enjoy the time when they were small before it passed.

Of course, teens will be teens and not always so helpful and responsible.

"Charlotte Platz!  Stop swinging on that refrigerator door before you break it off the hinges!"

The infant days did pass quickly and more easily than Jessica had expected.  She was so grateful to have babies that slept well and for the most part stayed on the same schedule, except when nanny Autumn interfered.  The nanny seemed to think the twins should be on different sleeping and eating schedules, so that each one could get more individual attention.  That was one major point she and Jessica differed on.

The time passed quickly and before Jessica knew it, her babies were toddlers.  Adorable toddlers.  Bridget had inherited her mother's lovely, soft features and Bryce was favoring his father more and more every day, except for the light skin and brown hair he inherited from his mother.

For Jessica, being the mother of toddlers seemed even more demanding than being the mother of infants.  There didn't seem to be enough hours in the day to meet their wants and needs.

But she did her best and was devoted to being the best mother that she possibly could.

There were times when she wondered if she was making the right decisions for her and her children.  Her relationship with their father had been brief.  He had been a prominent citizen in Eden, a much older gentleman, and a confirmed bachelor.  Their relationship wasn't official, but when she found out it wasn't exclusive, she was heartbroken.  She decided to leave town and make the move to New Eden with some of the younger residents, those that were closer to her own age and make a fresh start.  It was only after she made the move that she discovered she was pregnant.  She didn't tell the father, her former lover. 

Sometimes she wondered if that was the right thing or the wrong thing to do.  She knew if he knew about the twins, he would do the responsible thing and help with them, at least financially, maybe in other ways as well.  But she didn't want him to want to be with her because of them.  Even though she was furious with him for the way he treated her, a part of her still loved him.  She didn't know how she would handle her feelings if she saw him again and decided it might be best to just focus on her children for now and forming true friendships.

She truly appreciated the new friendships she was forming in New Eden, with sims like college student, Genesis Sartor, who offered to stop by and lend a hand with the babies.

Sometimes, even when you do your best, something slips through the cracks.  For Jessica, it was the bills that she simply forgot to pay because she was preoccupied with caring for the babies.

She had the money in the bank, but didn't get the check in the mail and got an unwelcome visit from the repo man.  Next time, she vowed, she'd pay better attention to the due date.