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Generation 2

Chapter 23: Keep it weird

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Rocco’s favorite color is actually green, and so the ridiculously blue nursery gets renovated into a decently green bedroom.

(This is actually a screenshot from the future, where Rocco has already went to a school trip and the summer festival, hence, the bento souvenir on the bedside table, but shhh)

The other side of the room features new toys from aunts and an uncle, and a bookshelf that contains all of Rocco’s bedtime stories.

Bedtime stories become a routine after Gaby started doing it on his birthday. Rocco values routines and sticking to it, just as much as his mother values the time they spend together.

Today, they’re reading The Name of This Book is Secret, a book that they only bought just because it sounds so tempting to know its actual title. (They’re almost nearing the last pages and they STILL don’t know what the secret is)

To Gaby, it felt like it was only yesterday that he was born, brought into the house as a sleepy infant. Rocco is growing up so fast, she wonders how long will it be before his graduation surprises her.

Now here he is, making his own food on his toy oven right next to her.

This, too, becomes a part of his daily routine. Rocco doesn’t even bake these for him to actually eat (he’ll just leave it in the fridge for everyone in the house), he just wants to make sure he gets to bake something at least once everyday.

Miranda indulges her grandson in letting him do these baking sprees every morning if he allows her to pinch those cute cheeks. She’s so proud that he always cleans up the mess afterwards.

He doesn’t think it’s a fair trade though.

It’s been a while since Gaby visited this park after her first live show. After going through several live shows and experiencing several mishaps every now and then, the memory of her first time doesn’t seem so embarrassing anymore.

Today, she’s on a mission to give Nicole an “indiscreet” romantic invitation from a fellow proprietor across town.

“You don’t have to audition again, you know,” Nicole laughs while taking the bouquet. “You can just ask me! Una the Great Ballad is free to perform here again anytime.”

Gaby is amused with the idea of playing cupid to the two proprietors, whose way of courting is sweet, albeit silly. Ronald Sikes of Mick’s Karaoke Bar is more amused to see that his lover has responded positively to his gifts.

It’s one thing to play cupid between lovesick teens, but these two are basically her tickets to more job opportunities, so she takes these sing-o-grams with more enthusiasm than she could possibly express.

All this romance happening around Gaby makes her wonder what could have happened if Jayson is still here. Marriage would have been probably the most reasonable thing to do, but she does not regret not taking the chance, nor does she think it would change anything.

At the back of her mind though, she wonders if Rocco is yearning for a father figure.

Rocco finishes his baking sprees earlier today and offers to help his aunt with the gardening, but Ramona insists that he plays instead.

There are a lot of bugs and questionable content in the fertilizer she uses, and she’d rather not deal with Gaby discovering mysterious bites or rashes on her son.

And knowing her nephew’s anxious nature, it’s probably the best to not expose him to the notion of it in the first place.

She’s also aware of Rocco’s increasingly neurotic nature, and gently tries to appease the child’s concerns to let him know it’s okay to play or watch TV instead of doing the dishes for every meal.

Rocco chokes in response, and proceeds to stare at his aunt as if her hair turned into something normal-looking, like black or blonde.

The compulsion to make sure that every plate and utensil is washed clean by his own hands remains strong as ever. Miranda and Gaby aren’t really bothered by it, and sees it as the child having initiative.

“He can wash as many dishes as he wants,” Gaby says when her twin pulls her aside to talk about it. “It’s okay to have a little bit of weirdness every now and then. Remember how you were also weird?”

“I haven’t exactly outgrown the weirdness,” Ramona reminds her, a bit hurt. She also remembers the time when people was treating her differently. It still stings. “Maybe he won’t too, but maybe it’ll be different for him as well.”

Luckily for Rocco and Ramona, family is a special type of friend. The weird compulsions and oftentimes unpredictable behavior are tolerated at best, and Gaby is startled to hear her twin bring out the issue. No one has ever really talked about it, and a guilty pang is felt as she imagines how alone and hurt Ramona must have been since these years.

“We’ll figure it out better this time,” she responds softly, as if apologizing.

Rocco’s aware that his mother grew up with a lot of siblings, but though he is an only child himself, the presence of his many cousins helped make the house feel a bit less empty. Out of his six cousins, he forms a close bond with Araceli Su and Brooks Keaton.

Brooks lets them know that his older sister cleans and scrubs the old gravestones at the cemetery to get paid, and he thinks that THEY should do that too. “Think of the stuff we could buy with that extra allowance!” he insists.

Araceli think it’s a horrible idea, and would rather stick with what her mother already gave her. Rocco just recoils at the thought of touching icky and grimy old gravestones.

Pillow fighting to get rid of that post-homework stress.

Rocco discovers that he’s not the only one with strange issues when Brooks lets him know his discomfort about seeing the TV on.

“We can play outside instead if it makes you feel better,” Rocco offers kindly, which his cousin really appreciates. He’s used to not being taken seriously that this surprises him.

Meanwhile, Araceli sneaks inside the art studio to find her artistic aunt on the verge of dropping to sleep.

(Levar Vasquez, head chef of the bistro and fellow fishersim at the beach, commissioned her to make 15 paintings after learning about her noteworthy skill, and poor Ramona hasn’t rested properly in a while)

Ramona gets her rest back soon enough, when she finishes all 15 paintings just in time for Levar’s retirement party. She was even invited to witness the grand reveal to the public, and receives Levar’s hearty thanks over and over. He is pleased to see the bistro decorated with lovely paintings of fishes just before he leaves the establishment.

It’s strange to have her skills acknowledged by the people like this, and even making new friends along the way, but it’s not an unwelcome feeling.

Gaby wants to become more active so that she can run better and faster in heels, and so she joins her mother at the gym for a quick run together.

Gaby’s 2nd time on the treadmill is a fail.

“I’m okay,” she grunts as she ignores her mother’s giggling. Luckily for her, they’re the only ones using the gym this morning.

Across the gym, her twin is having a better time playing soccer with Rocco.

Araceli, Rocco, and Brooks spend their recess running over to the park to play soccer together, barely getting back to their classes right on time before the school bell rings.

He’s definitely getting better at it — and smug about it too.

Eva’s next random visit to the family turns out to be her last.

The sisters were supposed to go out to the karaoke bar together while Gaby, Ramona, and Rocco were at Lukas’ house.

She recalls the memory of Stanley dying in this very room, and sobs even harder. Eva seems to be so immortal, so full of life, Miranda almost forgot that her sister is much older than her or Stanley. It doesn’t make the loss any less painful though.

The loss plunges the family back into grieving again.

All these recent events confused and overwhelmed Rocco, and he’s not sure how he feels about the whole thing. He isn’t close with his rock star of a grand-aunt, who spent the remainder of her life traveling by herself again, but the loss still disturbs him, and he wants to push the discomfort away as far as he can.

By the time Gaby gets home, she finds her son on her bed, as if waiting for answers.

Instead of facing questions about mortality and the afterlife, Rocco surprises her with a different query in mind.

“Gerald was telling me that celebrities are always fighting with their partners and their marriage never last,” he starts. Then a pause. “Is that why I don’t have a dad? Because you didn’t get along and he has to leave?”

Gaby frowns, mostly at herself for not explaining his father’s death any sooner, and at the teen who’s giving her son weird ideas. “No, it’s not like that, hun. Your dad isn’t here because he died from a fire accident,” she says softly. “He was a dedicated acrobat, but a little clumsy at times,” Gaby smiles sadly at the thought.

Rocco’s eyes widened in surprise with this information. Then he looks at her more seriously. “Why didn’t you talk about him before? Why doesn’t anybody talk about it?”

“I think his loss still affects me,” his mother admits. “Dying from accidents feels…different from dying naturally. It would have been better if he’s here to see you grow up,” she adds wistfully. “Do you want to see pictures of him? I can tell you more stories about Jayson.”

Rocco nods in response. He can’t wait to let Gerald know how wrong he was about him being left behind by his own father.

Her sister’s passing made Miranda more aware of her own mortality, and she dedicates this newfound energy to write an autobiography about two of the most important people in her life. She doesn’t want to forget them, ever.

The draft is entitled Stanley’s Garden. It’s a simple story, but she takes her time in writing it.

In an effort to lighten the mood, Rocco surprises his mom and aunt by being the one dragging them to the park this time. To his delight, his efforts are appreciated.

As a reward for his thoughtful initiative, Aunt Ramona offers to buy them food. Rocco is having a hard time choosing between the funnel cake and the chili cheese fries.

Their stay in the park becomes longer because of an all-out water balloon war.

Betrayed by her own son and sister! Too bad Miranda isn’t here to avenge her.

Ramona pilfers from these apple trees while mother and son bond together on the skating rink.

All seems to be forgiven over Rocco’s ‘betrayal’, since we see the pair trying to pull off a spin together. Rocco is impressed to know that his mother actually knows how to roller skate, and completely puts his trust on her skills as she leads!

Gaby’s “sorry” is muffled by the floor this time.

(From a distance, Ramona’s laughter can be heard nonstop.)

(Author’s note: Just a lot of things happening! So many pictures! So many text! I want to flesh out my sims’ narratives more but I’m not sure if this is a good way of doing it? Please let me know!)

Generation 2

Chapter 19: This is fine

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Tonight, Jayson stays over at the Ramos household to catch up with his reading. He plans to remain vigilant for any incoming babies.

Unfortunately for him, he jinxed himself into actually dealing with an incoming baby right this very moment, and he hasn’t even gotten past the introduction.

While the panicking couple fumbles for the car keys to drive to the hospital at midnight, Ramona goes out of bed to have a midnight snack.

She can’t really go back to sleep after witnessing all that ruckus from the next room. In fact, she would have love to join them to look after Gaby, but their mother called a cab for them and they already left without her.

This is fine, she reassures herself with her sandwich.

(Can you spot a baby with all this blue?!?!)

Several hours later, Gaby and Jayson return home with a healthy baby boy named Rocco. (Jayson had skimmed through a baby name book he bought at the last minute)

She’s tired, and she really wants to sleep right now, but as Gaby gazes at the squirming infant, she is overwhelmed by a wave of affection and an urge to protect this child, and instinctively snuggles him closer before placing him on his crib.

Miranda also renews her motherly affection for her 7th grandchild, Neal Keaton-Ramos, who was born a few months after Rocco.

Gaby and Jayson have more time to go on dates outside again, but the heavy rain forces them to stay inside today instead. Not that they mind, as long as they still get to flirt around each other.

Gaby sighs fondly at this man. Sure, she has been getting subtle hints from her mother to set a future wedding date, but she just doesn’t find it necessary. Neither makes an attempt to push their relationship beyond what it already has.

With no qualms about raising their kid without marrying the father, and with the way that their easygoing relationship has been simply resumed after her pregnancy, she feels content with this overall set-up. Gaby just hopes that things don’t have to change from what they have right now.

With Gaby back on the job, the calls from rich teens asking for sing-o-grams have returned. Today’s rich teen is her very own niece, Rissa, who has aged up into a perpetually bored teenager.

While she may not look like it, she is actually fascinated with her musically-inclined relatives and listens attentively to her aunt’s excited chatter.

She has her own artistic capabilities as well, but leans more towards the visual arts. Gaby thinks that she might get along well with her Aunt Vinca more in that regard.

Though the presence of an actual rock star and a hit composer in the family might get the teen a bit more excited and give her something cooler to brag to her friends about.

Despite being retired for a long time now, Eva Ramos will NEVER not grab the opportunity to play for her unsuspecting fans, and they LOVE it.

On the other hand, the retired hit-movie composer spends most of her time at home shaking her head at the official soundtrack of a recent movie. She wonders if the local cinema is starting to get lenient with quality.

Rocco is still too young to understand his grandmother’s disapproval, and so he simply babbles in response to the TV.

(I was bored at one point so I left the household on their own for several sim hours, and would you look at that! A broken sink, a stressed Ramona, a lonely Miranda, and a starving Gaby, all in mere minutes.)

Having pancakes for dinner, Ramona thought she’d seen the last of her sister’s weird cravings.

After Gaby shrugs her off, she goes on to ask her real question. “What’s a good guitar for a beginner?” She has considered borrowing either her mother’s or sister’s guitars to continue practicing, but she thinks it’s too much of a hassle, especially since both women are particularly fond of their instrument.

Gaby nearly chokes on her pancakes, and slowly recovers, trying not to sound too excited at the prospect of working together with her twin. “A-are you planning to take a job at the cinema?!”

“Nope. That will definitely not happen.” After seeing Gaby explicitly express her disappointment, she rolls her eyes and makes up for it. “Fine, I might jam with you if I get better enough.”

Ramona bought this simple black and white guitar despite Gaby’s insistence for the cooler electric guitar. She just wants to practice, that’s all.

She wakes up one morning to see her mother using her guitar, which completely defeats the purpose of buying her own to stop borrowing other people’s guitars.

And on top of that, Miranda looks cooler with it too.

It’s a bit petty to get back at her elderly mother, who also tends to use her computer even with the family computer sitting upstairs, but she makes sure that this will be the last time.

Miranda gets the message quickly enough, but wishes her youngest could have just talked to her instead.

Speaking of talking, Miranda is determined to get to the bottom of it when she spots her other daughter being uncharacteristically gloomy today.

Her date with Jayson was going well, and it would have ended well too, if only he didn’t decide to indulge one of his fans with his latest trick in fire juggling.

One moment he was still there, laughing and showing off, the next he was consumed by the fire that had suddenly spread from his batons. He had died on the way to the hospital to have his injuries treated, and Gaby has not been the same since then.

It pains her to see her own child, someone who was always with a bright smile and an infectious laugh, deal with such a heavy loss herself.

Gently grabbing her limp arms, Miranda says, “He was a wonderful man, and I’m sorry that he has to go like this. We’re all here for you, Gaby.”

To get her mind off of it, she redecorates the nursery and makes it considerably less blindingly blue with Ramona’s help (though with her own room being blindingly yellow, it’s probably not too good of an idea).

Gaby cries to herself upon acknowledging that Jayson will never get to comment how weirdly out-of-place the throne chair looks.

Nor will he ever get to marvel at how cute their child has aged up into.

Rocco never likes it whenever he gets placed back in the crib; it means play time’s over, and he tries to show his mother that he isn’t as sleepy as she thinks. But she just smiles and kisses him on the forehead instead.

He looks so much like his father, and it still hurts to see that.

Rocco is a joy around the house, and takes simple pleasure in surprising his aunt and grandmother with his little antics.

Aunt Ramona finds him hiding behind the karaoke machine, and is starting to wonder if he takes after his mother’s interest in singing.

Nah, he just wants a hug.

When she’s not singing out her sorrows on the karaoke or singing outside to an unwitting passerby, Gaby does her best to spend time and play with her son, never keeping him out of her sight.

Losing Jayson gave her a new fear: losing Rocco. She can’t bear the thought of that ever happening, and tries hard to make sure that nothing goes wrong again.

As the months pass by, she hopes that she’ll be in a better place when it’s time to explain his father’s death to her son. Rocco’s excited squeals remind her that that time isn’t now, and forces her out of her thoughts.

This new wound, though starting to heal, had reopened an old one. When this loss reminds her of the time they have lost her father not too long ago, Gaby seeks comfort among the garden that he used to tend for.

Today, Ramona finds company among the plants, but doesn’t question it, and lets a comfortable silence hang instead.

With Gaby’s insistence that the high chair stays beside the stove, so that she could look after Rocco properly while she cooks, Ramona takes it upon herself to upgrade the appliance to ensure her nephew’s safety.

Several seconds later, everyone finds out that the fire alarm works just fine!

Ramona REALLY hopes that this incident is enough to convince her sister to revoke her faulty decision to have her child near dangerous kitchen appliances.

Letitia Rains arrives just in time to see that these people aren’t incompetent enough to just panic and let the fire spread this time.

She didn’t know that this is Miranda Ramos’ house though, and is OVER THE MOON when she does find out. This is the best work day ever!

Though she would have preferred to take a selfie with the aging composer instead, she politely listens to the older woman boast about her only grandchild who has inherited her blond hair genetics.

Before Ramona could check on her sister and niece, heck, before she could even say anything, Gaby rushes towards her with the tightest hug she could possibly give. She is half-crying, half-laughing, and half-mumbling apologies and thanks into her twin’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” she says once more after lifting her head off her shoulder. “I would never forgive myself if I lost him too.”

Ramona gives her a reassuring squeeze. “No way in hell you’re gonna lose someone else again.”

Author’s note: 3rd gen is finally born! Rocco has easily impressed and heavy sleeper. I’m really surprised about his brown hair??? Is this one of those mutant hair color incidents???

The fire incident shocked me, but in a good way. I was having second thoughts about the high chair staying next to the oven, but thankfully Ramona somehow triggers a fire AFTER making it fireproof to prove my worst fear? It was really funny. I didn’t give them any time to panic at all, because I don’t want anything to burn after I spent all that time renovating the place.

Generation 1

Chapter 15: Revision

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Remembering what happened last night, Gaby wakes up very upset.

She becomes even more upset when she finally noticed that her twin isn’t here, but she calms herself down. She knows where to look for Ramona.

Of course she’d find her here in the little studio. That’s a relief.

Glancing at the pile of unfinished messy paintings beside her, Gaby guesses that she may have gone through a fit of painting rage since 4 am. She doesn’t try to stop her now though.

Ramona suddenly drops her paintbrush and starts to cry. She pauses for a bit, sniffles, then quietly said, “I’m running out of paint.”

The school bus honks outside, and they still have their homework to submit, and Ramona has new paints to buy, so the girls begrudgingly put on warmer clothes and grab their things before rushing outside.

It’s a bad day for everyone in the house.

Lukas finds himself helpless upon seeing his mother so distraught. He hasn’t felt so helpless like this before, and wants to do anything just to distract himself from it.

“Let me cook breakfast for you, mom,” he offers.

“Don’t burn the waffles, okay?” Miranda says, not meeting his eyes. She doesn’t want him to see how red and puffy her eyes look. “Your father left his recipes in one of the jars if you need help.”

While Miranda composes herself by looking at the kitchen that Stanley is so fond of, her son comes up with a brilliant idea that might help everyone out.

But first, breakfast.

Today is Gaby’s recital for music club, and her whole family is here to watch. It turns out to be a success.

“You were great back there!” Her older brother beams at her. All his sisters seem to be so talented with what they’re doing.

Gaby still fusses over her performance, worrying that it was mediocre. She doesn’t easily take compliments to heart.

Still, Gaby wouldn’t mind receiving praise from the one family member who couldn’t attend today.

When she’s not painting nonstop throughout the night, Ramona goes to her mother’s bedroom to talk with Miranda from anything to everything, until she falls asleep.

It has not been an easy night for her since her husband’s passing, but her youngest is determined to help her in any way.

Gaby makes sure she gives her big brother a proper farewell before he finally graduates for tomorrow.

They’re gonna miss each other.

“I won’t be here to fix the karaoke machine when I leave,” he reminds her jokingly.

Everyone’s getting ready for the graduation ceremony. At breakfast, Lukas strongly expresses against working in politics for some reason, to clarify some expectations that his family may be having about his future choices.

Aside from vying for valedictorian (which he succeeded), he hasn’t expressed any other goals. Gaby thinks he might follow their big sister Chelsea to the military.

Vinca looks pleased to see her baby sisters at the city hall, especially Ramona.

The Ramos-Velasco family is here for the graduation ceremony too, since Tammi hasn’t graduated with her actual batchmates and has to get her diploma with Lukas’ batch instead.

Brentley hates wearing suits in this weather, but his mother’s look tells him to endure it for another hour.

Lukas was voted as “Most Likely to Take Over the World”, which doesn’t really surprise him. After the ceremony, his rebellious nature kicks in after spotting one of his classmates who isn’t even wearing their robe.

Now he thinks he’s too good for the robes too. Then he proceeds to throw it over the bushes (he retrieves it back again after Miranda caught him).

Vinca checks up on her elderly mother, worried about how these drastic changes would affect her psyche.

She figures that Lukas will want to move out of the house soon, and Gaby seems to be the adventurous type as well. She’s not sure how Ramona will respond to these events though, but her mom tries to reassure her that she’ll be fine.

When Lukas moves out of the house in the evening (he’s renting an apartment with one of his classmates), the family starts to revise old routines, and are planning to make new ones.

“I’m gonna revive Dad’s garden,” Ramona announces. “I think he’d love that.”

“He was looking forward to spring a lot,” Gaby agrees, with a twinge of sadness in her voice.

Miranda almost chokes on her food, but she recovers. No one has thought about what to do with the garden yet, so it’s a relief to hear that someone wants to take charge.

The twins talk about their future. They share their ideas, what they want to do with the house, all the fun stuff that they could do together this time.

Though Ramona’s excitement dies down when Gaby asks her about future career plans. She frowns at her suggestion of proceeding to IT, and tries to tune her twin out when she talks about it.

Lukas’ visit to his childhood home ends with grilling his sister about getting into IT. Ramona quickly eats her ice cream and hopes the questions will go away.

Eva surprises everyone with a visit too, after finally finishing her tour. She’s proud of her nephew for graduating!

His aunt jokes about getting a job in politics, and Lukas feels momentarily betrayed at Eva being conventional for once.

With him distracted, Eva successfully overtakes his car, effectively winning against Miranda’s team and pissing her off.

The sisters make amends by singing one of Miranda’s songs favorite songs while Lukas continues to play to avenge himself.

(Author’s note: I’m gonna continue this. I think I’m still sad about Stanley dying, and honestly I don’t want to see Miranda dying too. I just love that pair so much, but real life gets in the way and I couldn’t make the time for this. Hopefully I’ll get back to it once I officially start generation 2.)

Generation 1

Chapter 14: Good folks

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Even as the snow has gotten past his ankles, Lukas braves the cold in his underwear just to grab the mail as soon as he wakes up. He’s expecting an intricate and well-written love letter from Lacey, and he needs to get it quickly before his sisters find it first.

Back inside, Stanley mumbles a complaint as he feels the lack of weight beside him.

Miranda simply shushes him to sleep before checking her ringing phone.

Her older sister just called in at 6 am to tell the wonderful news of her getting married to her boyfriend at the age of 95!

Miranda’s so proud of her. She wishes she could have at least called later in the morning, but whatever! Once Eva gets going, their conversation is gonna last until Stanley wakes up.

Ramona tags along with her nephew Brentley to the Ramos-Velasco house to work on a project together.

Tammi isn’t really sure how to interact with this in-law, unlike with Gaby, whose enthusiasm sticks on easily. So when she sees her wife’s signal that she can take over instead, she gladly excuses herself from Ramona’s stare.

Apparently she just wants to give them an update on Miranda, who is starting to show her age.

Behind them, Tammi just hopes that her son is better at handling Ramona’s unpredictability.

Despite the initial weirdness between the two, the sisters express their shared concern over their elderly parents’ slowing pace. The long winter may have been harsh on them; and Stanley’s probably taking it the hardest, who is really fond of his garden.

Vinca smiles reassuringly at her youngest sister. “Just look after them for me okay? Especially Dad.”

After that quick sweet moment between the sisters, Ramona lets Brentley in on the latest gossip on the older kids in school, especially from Lukas’ class.

Then work on their project outside in the snow because they can.

Miranda’s promotion earns her the privilege to ride in a pink limo, and her husband’s eagerness to ride in one.

They’re here to visit Chelsea and Jebidiah, whose child recently aged up to a toddler. Both grandparents are really excited to add a new photo of their grandchildren in their collection, though it’s mostly Stanley handling the growing collection.

Chelsea’s here to greet her parents to her new house as enthusiastically as she could.

Mother and daughter settle in to watch some TV while Stanley grabs Rissa from the nursery.

The young couple got themselves a good house down on the same street where Vinca and Tammi have theirs. Miranda is delighted to see her two older children living close together.

Both grandpa and grandchild are really enjoying this visit as well.

Stanley couldn’t spoil Brentley like this: his parents are always travelling somewhere and bringing him along, and the Ramos-Velasco only really settled down once Brentley started attending high school.

While Brentley is now halfway through high school, Lukas is graduating from it soon. The family prepared a family get-together for his birthday today, and Miranda opens the door to see her older sister gaping at her.

“I can’t believe it; my little sister, wearing gray hair!”

Miranda rolls her eyes at this. “It’s good to see you too, Eva.”

Chelsea sneaks past her mom and aunt to bring in some fancy-looking dish!

Later she admits that it was her mother-in-law, Justine Keaton, who made it.

Tammi spares an amused glance at her older in-laws as they still continue to talk outside in the cold.

But eventually everyone starts piling into the living room, because it’s finally time for the main event!

Jebidiah finds himself being pulled aside by his mother as she gestures to the door. “I have to leave early son, we don’t know how long your father can handle Rissa’s energy.” Her husband Marty has been left with the important task of looking after his energetic grandchild while her parents are out.

“Are you sure mom?” He glances back at his wife who’s clapping enthusiastically. “You should tell them first –“

“Nah, it’s okay,” Justine smiles at him. “You got some good folks there. Let them look after you.”

He turns back to cheer again just as the crowd turns livelier. Beside him, his sister-in-law is silently hoping that her wife can catch up to the party soon.

There’s her wife! Letting all the snow in, just like what her own mother did to this room several chapters ago.

Birthday candles were blown, and everyone sees Lukas Ramos grow up into a beautiful chiseled man.

The cake rush was bad and everyone else had to eat somewhere else in the room, and these three were lucky enough that they have a second cake in the fridge

Miranda finds herself talking about the future of this household with her two youngest children, who have been making plans for a while now. It’s good to know that there is at least two of her kids are planning to stay and look after the house. She’s not sure if she and Stanley can maintain their property at this age.

On the other side of the room, Lukas sings a lovely duet with Vinca. They would have loved to sing with Chelsea too, but she has to leave early with her husband to let her in-laws rest from looking after Rissa.

Stanley is just about to grab the TV remote to watch a movie with Ramona when THIS happens.

The ringing from her phone remains ignored, and Ramona gasps as she slowly acknowledges that her father is suddenly transparent in front of her. Then she starts to sob loudly.

Miranda, who just finished brushing her teeth, rushes to the room to see what the commotion is all about.

When the last of Stanley’s ghostly silhouette fades from the room, Miranda finds herself shaking, and Tammi has to quickly catch her mother-in-law from stumbling.

The older woman is devastated; today was supposed to be a good day.

Behind them, Gaby walks away from the room in silence and went straight to bed.

Amidst the shock, Lukas goes around the house to look for his youngest sister, and finds her sobbing heavily in the bathroom.

(Author’s note: I take it back, this is the longest chapter that I’ve written. The poor sim just turned 90, and I really didn’t expect Stanley to die just as he was legible to do so. Eva, his wife’s sister, is several days older than him, and she’s still kicking and even married her boyfriend after this long! At least his lifetime wish was fulfilled, but it’s too bad about the grandchildren wish — he would have at least waited for 3 more.)