Chapter 46: Four Birthdays and a Funeral

Aislin has a birthday.

For a short time, all four Enmity children share an age stage.

After the cake is eaten and the children put to bed, Riley and Thessaly have their own celebration.

Saturday in the park, Aislin and Kennedy play space pirates.

In the afternoon, Cullen Aragon brings his teenage son and younger daughter to the Enmity house for a play date. Only Riordan is home, and he and Hannah go off and play together while teen Derik tries to stay awake listening to his politician father make conversation with Thessaly. Thessaly can think of many things she'd rather be doing than entertaining Cullen Aragon.

"So are you two in love now?" Kennedy teases her brother when she comes home from the park to discover he's made a new friend.

Aislin stays at the park playing with Trent Roman until the sun goes down.

Sunday is Quinnell's birthday party. Demond worries about his appearance, there's one invited guest he's most concerned about impressing.

Hannah Aragon comes to the party without her father or brother.

Marta Enmity, Dulce's daughter, arrives and makes her way straight to Demond.

"Are you sure this is the appropriate time and place?" Demond asks. His experience with humans has taught him that they can very touchy about etiquette. As can vampires, but vampire and human etiquette vary so wildly, he's never sure what the rules are when mixing in human society.

"I'm sure," Marta answers, "I don't want to hide this from my family forever."

Demond was going to point out that hiding forever and coming out brazenly during a family party are very different things, but Marta takes the situation into her own hands, grabbing Demond and kissing him,  leaving him in no position to say anything at all.

A lot of thoughts race through Riley's mond as he watches his father and his wife's cousin kiss. First is the shock of Demond being romantically involved again so soon after Tennille's death. Then there's the mental calculations, Demond's grandmother was an ancestor of the Enmity family as well.  The relation to Marta must be distant by now, but still. And then the age difference, Demond is an old vampire, the second oldest living vampire in Riverblossom Hills, and Marta is just barely out of high school.

Riley would like to have a talk with his father about his new relationship, but Demond has to rush off to his game. He can't even stay for Quinn's cake.

Quinn blows out her candles.

And becomes a teen. Behind her stands Abraham Vamp, the oldest living vampire in Riverblossom Hills. Like Demond Riley, he's been married, had children, and moved on to marry again. Currently he's dating Demond's human daughter Jordan, who is even younger than Marta. Vampires have very different views on these issues than humans.

Before the party ends, Thessaly takes her cousin aside. "Are you and Demond serious?" she asks, "He's not the type to play around, you know. If you're just after thrills, maybe you should tell him now, before it's gets too deep. I don't want to see him get hurt." Thessaly has a huge soft spot for her father-in-law, and wants to protect him from heartbreak.

Marta laughs, "Well, that's refreshing. My parents have been warning me about vampire mind control ever since I told them about me and Demond. It's nice to see someone concerned for him for once. He needs to be loved so badly. And I am absolutely serious about this relationship, Thessaly, I adore him."

On Monday when all the kids are in school, Thessaly and Riley are alone for the first time in a long time, with no babies or toddlers in the house to watch over. Thessaly makes the most of the opportunity, surprising her husband in the shower.

On Tuesday, Thessaly learns of her mother's death. She brings Chanda's urn home to rest in the family mausoleum.

Sheridan comes by, his grief turning to anger which he vents on his daughter.

"Dad, I know how much Mom meant to you, but attacking me isn't going  to help."

"I'm sorry," Sheridan sobs, "I'm so miserable without her. "

"Why don't you move back in with us?" Thessaly suggests, "We haven't changed your old room at all. You should be with your family now."

Sheridan agrees, and moves back into the childhood home he only left because it's what Chanda wanted.

Right away, he visits Chanda's urn. The empty spot beside it is for him, but who knows how long it will be before he joins her.

With the family in mourning, Riordan's birthday is  a mostly family only affair. His only guests is Hannah Aragon, who shares a birthday with him.

Riordan becomes a teen.

And then Hannah has a turn to blow out her candles.

Riordan wastes no time asking Hannah to be his date to the prom, as the dance is in two days.

Sheridan's return to his old bed is bittersweet; he has so many memories here, making love to Chanda, arguing with Chanda. He could have had more time with her, if he hadn't been so obstinate, if she hadn't been so stubborn, if the two of them had just been able to give more.

Riley visit his father, bringing him a wedding gift. Demond and Marta married the day before.

"I was worried youu wouldn't approve of my hasty marriage," Demond says as he accepts the gift.

"I admit I'm surprised," Riley says, "You were so deep in grief for Tennille, and now you're married again. To a very young woman. My wife's cousin. Your great-great-great niece."

"It's more of a very distant cousin relationship," Demond explains, "Thessaly's great-great-great-grandmother Jasmin was my aunt. But, you understand, my grandmother Maya had very little to do with the Foster Enmity after she had his child, and we never mixed with the Enmity family. Until I recruited Sheridan, that is."

"Well, still, she's so young," Riley says.

"And I'm so very old," Demond sighs, laughing, "And yet, Marta, young as she is now, will be old before my hair turns gray. We will have a long time together before that happens, at least." Demond looks at his son's face, sees the new wrinkles, signs of age creeping up on him. "Marta is pregnant," the vampire continues. Only one of his children was born a vampire, the rest have been human, and he will have to see them all die before him like his daughter with his first wife Sundari did. "I didn't want to have more children, but she wanted it so badly, I could not refuse her," he admits sadly, "And yet, I am happy, to be having another family, even if it will bring me pain later."

"Congratulations, Dad," Riley says. He may have misgivings about the relationship, but he's happy for his father.

Sheridan still grieves for Chanda, but he doesn't mope around his old bedroom. He has grandchildren to keep up with.

Late at night, Rex reads one of Thessaly's science fiction novels.

Sheridan rises before dawn to find his father's ghost haunting the living room. He hasn't seen Rex in a long time, and now that he's reached his own seniority, he has so much he wants to say.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Sheridan says, struggling with the apology, "I'm sorry I was such a disappointment to you."

"We live our lives, and then we die," Rex says cryptically, "If you have regrets, make peace with them before you go, because once you get here, it no longer matters." Death doesn't seem to have changed his father at all, Rex always did say things Sheridan could never quite grasp.

Prom night arrives. Riordan and Hannah go as a couple, while Quinnell goes alone. She has a lot of acquaintaces as school, but no one she liked enough to ask to the prom. Riordan and Hannah had a great time, but Quinn's prom experience was disappointing. She fell while dancing, was rejected for a dance, got into a fight and endured the embarrassment of wearing the same dress as another girl.

Prom night also happens to be Kennedy's birthday. She isn't getting a party or a cake because two of her siblings won't be there for it. "If I had my stupid birthday yesterday, I could be at the prom right now. I'd dance with everyone and they'd crown me queen."

"And you'd missing playing games with your grandfather, Thessaly," Sheridan remarks.

"I'm Kennedy, Grandpa," Kennedy corrects him, rolling her eyes, "Thessaly's my mom."

The game is interrupted for Kennedy's birthday.

Kennedy becomes a teen. It's easy to see why Sheridan often confuses her with her mother.

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Challenge Notes:

It's highly unusual, but I don't think it's against the rules to bring back a former heir after they've moved out. I just felt it was right for Sheridan to come back after Chanda died. He's already 4 days over the maximum elder stage, so I don't expect he'll be around for long. He did bring so 5k with him. But considering that he took over 100k when he moved out, that's hardly a bonus. He has one of his cars in inventory; he must have lost or sold his Beratti and the motorcycle. Once again, I had him quit his job (he made it back up to master thief again). I hate how being and elder automatically shrinks muscles down. I know some old dudes who workout and stay very buff, more muscular than a lot of younger guys. Sheridan never stopped working out, even after he moved out he was always at the gym, so it's really sad to see him all shrunken.

Aislin is the heir, and she's already begun the Opportunist goal. She's had a couple of school opportunities to do, to bring in some relics to school (travel related opportunities are optional, but I have some relics here from in Tamsin & Rex's trips), and next she has to go to a free game (coming this weekend) Her child trait is Party Animal, and I think one of her birth traits is Excitable. I forget the other.

Riordan and Quinn both have Loves the Outdoors. Riordan has Good (he gives to charity a lot) and I think Friendly. He got Computer Whiz as a teen.

Quinn has Hopeless Romantic as  a teen trait. I think she has Excitable as well. I've been rolling random traits and that comes up a lot. She got party animal as a child.

Kennedy got Athletic as a teen trait. I can't remember at all what the other traits are.

I'm running late on Thessaly's Fashion Diva, she should have changed outfits the day her mother died. But with all the stuff going on, all the birthdays that required outfit changes, and the new eyebrow glitch with MC (the latest version gives Sims funky eyebrow colors when you change their outfits, and it can only be fixed using the Debug Enabler until Twallan fixes MC again) I just didn't get to it. But I'll do it next time I play, and make up for it by giving her extra new outfits or something.

Thessaly and Riley are adults now. I don't usually do cakes for for birthdays above the teen to YA birthday. Neither of them got mid life crises. Which I find odd, neither of them has yet achieved LTW (Thessaly has maxed sculpting and writing and just needs two points in Cooking for Renaissance Sim. Riley is at 9 in both painting and guitar, so he's almost there, too.) And neither has maxed their career. Riley is stuck at the bottom of band career, as he didn't get paid for his one gig, and I never send him out busking. Thessaly is somewhere in the middle of the author career. She's written a few books, but doesn't spend a lot of time at it. Other Sims that have been more fulfilled in their careers and LTWs have had mid-life crises, but not these two slackers. :D