The Gregory Legacy, Chapter 46

Okay, okay, okay. Hopefully we're on a roll. Let's see when I can finish this. I've got this plus two more chapters completely laid out but not written. When we left off, Eleanor was having a crisis of direction (as many young people do) but she had a brand-new son, Simon, to look out for too. He's been left in the care of his grandmother and godmother while Eleanor heads to Selvadorada to follow her passion for archaeology (and maybe a passion for something -- or someone -- else?). She hopes to find herself there, so let's see what she does find . . .

(Just as a warning, there is skinny dipping, so there are some un-mosaic-ed sim butts in here, but nothing worse. Just in case you're reading in public!)

Eleanor: "Huh, the cantina's a bit quieter than I remember, but it has been a few years."

Eleanor: "Okay, suddenly I feel like I should stop dancing. Wow, got busier quickly. Anyway, where the heck is Orlando? He was supposed to meet me at the airport, but I had to get my own taxi here."

Eleanor: *typing* "Where are you? Did I get the address you sent wrong? Omg, is the date wrong???"
Orlando: "Hey, gorgeous. Look behind you."
Eleanor: "Oh, geez! You surprised me. It's so good to see you, Orlando. But why weren't you at the airport?"
Orlando: "Sorry, something came up. But I can see you're a very capable young lady."
Eleanor: "Well, I have been to this area before."
Orlando: "Yes, but have you been here with a guy like me and his own private villa? Come on, I've got some ideas for what we can start with to kick this off right . . ."

Eleanor: "Are you sure this is okay? I can't believe I'm doing this!"
Orlando: "Skinny dipping? Yeah, who's going to see us, the monkeys? Trust me, babe. This'll be fun. You did come to have fun, right?"

Eleanor: "Yeah, of course! Are you . . . are you having fun?"
Orlando: "Now I am. How'd a guy like me find someone as gorgeous as you?"
Eleanor: "Oh stop. I'm nothing special."
Orlando: "You're so special, baby. I can see that. I get the feeling you're not appreciated enough back home. Leave that all behind. Here, you're just with me. Just the two of us. And I've got plans . . ."
Eleanor: "Uh, me too! I can't wait to catch up on the ruins, and get my bench out to work on some artifacts, and, uh, yeah, just, so much to do . . ."

Orlando: "Wait, what?"

Orlando's envisioned sexytimes have to wait, for Eleanor must work on her aspiration, but once again, she's not making the narrative flow very well when she won't PUT ON SOME DAMN CLOTHES, ELEANOR.

Eleanor: "Oops! Teehee!"

Orlando: "Are you almost done? I've got things planned. A dance, a dinner, and then we're back here so we can . . . talk. And maybe more."
Eleanor: "I just don't want to move too fast. Want to make this time count, you know? I'm looking for something real."
Orlando: *groaning internally* "Yeah, of course. What did you have in mind instead?"
Eleanor: "A short walk?"
Orlando: "Fine, but then afterwards I get you all to myself, sweet thing."

Orlando: "Eleanor, are you sure this is where you want to walk? The ruins are out this way. There's not even anywhere nice to lie down or anything."
Eleanor: "Why would we need to lie down? It's raining! Anyway, there's really cool stuff this way. I've been out here with my sisters before."

Orlando: "Babe, I told you to leave all that family shit behind. I'm trying to be understanding with your worries here, but . . . oh geez, she can't even hear me right now."
Eleanor: "It sure is a good thing I packed my machete!"
Orlando: "You know, I'm just going to go with it for now, on second thought."

Eleanor: "Thanks for supporting my interests, Orlando. That's really important to me. Here, for your troubles."

Orlando: "F-ing finally!"

Eleanor: "Great! And now on to the ruins! You ready, hot stuff?"

Orlando: "Whatever. I got what I wanted."

Eleanor: "Look, Orlando, I found a dig pile! Isn't that exciting? Orlando? Oh, I guess he got tired and went home. Well, I'll just explore a bit more and catch up with my sweetie."

Eleanor: "Apparently that was the wrong answer? This was so much easier with my sisters by my side."

Eleanor: "But I'm having a great time. Archaeology is definitely so much more rewarding than social media."

Eleanor: "I just wish I had someone here to share it with."

Eleanor: "Hey, Orlando, it's me again. Did you lose your phone? I haven't seen you at all. Just wondering what's up and what we're doing next. I miss you. Call me back, okay?"

Eleanor: "Oof. I don't feel so hot all of the sudden. Maybe I'm hungry. I was hoping to have dinner with Orlando, but I guess he's busy right now . . ."

Eleanor: "Well, I feel a little better but my stomach is still topsy-turvy. Hope I'm not coming down with something. Now where in the hell is Orlando? It's been a whole day."

Side note: Are those . . . teeth . . . at the bottom of her plate? Eugh.

Eleanor continued to explore mystical underground jungles that somehow don't need sunlight, but she had a sinking feeling about Orlando.

She tried to dive into her aspiration work, and for a while, it was really successful. It was absorbing work and she did really enjoy it. Soon she was down to the last tier and the stuff she could do at home, and she was making a lot of connections and realizations, such as that the artifacts were actually quite rare and valuable, and . . .

Eleanor: "That manipulative jackass ghosted me!" *punches through priceless ancient artifact in her rage*

To take her mind off things, Eleanor headed to the market to stock up for future adventures. She had had just about enough of this trip, but she didn't want to let it spoil Selvadorada for her. Now her mind turned to the next time, and she hoped that would be when her son was old enough to come with her. She realized that she really missed Simon and it was time to go home.

Waiting for the taxi to the airport, Eleanor tried to get back into the mindset of her home life, having realized that she had run away from her responsibilities and needed to get her head on straight.

Eleanor: "*tap* *tap* Aww, these pictures Kenzie sent of Simon are so cute. I can't wait to hold him in my arms again. *tap* Hmm, got a lot of steps in today. Oh, weird, my health tracker says I'm two days late. I didn't even notice. Must be the stress."
*ding*
Eleanor: "Ah, taxi's here. Finally. Time to put Orlando and his shit behind me and get back to the people I love."

Eleanor: "Well, I'm home."

Eleanor: "My sweet baby, I missed you! Look how much you've grown while I've been gone. I'm sorry I left you here but they certainly have been feeding you well, haven't they? Were Gramma Celeste and Auntie Kenzie good to you? Oh, Simon. I love you. I'll never leave you like that again. I know what it feels like to get left behind by people you thought cared about you. I'll always come back to you, my baby."

Eleanor: "Hey, Kenzie."
Kenzie: "Oh, hey Eleanor! We weren't expecting you yet. Why'd you cut your trip short?"
Eleanor: "Phew, it's a long story. You got time? I could use a friend's ear."
Kenzie: "Sure, I'm just getting ready for Winterfest. Here, let me set this down."

Kenzie: "So, you have a good time? Find lots of cool stuff? Get cozy with that hot guy that owned the place you were staying in?"
Eleanor: "Yeah, about that . . ."

 

Eleanor: "Here's the lowdown on my three days of debauchery and also archaeology . . ."

*1 hour later*

Kenzie: "Well, yeah, obviously that Orlando guy's garbage if he just left like that. He doesn't know what he's missing out on, but he obviously doesn't deserve it. But, y'know, don't let it weigh on you. It was a fling in paradise with a hot piece of ass, right? Just reframe it like that and it's just a story for parties, no harm, no foul. I mean, it's not like you didn't use protection, right?"

Eleanor: "Uhhhhhh . . . "
Kenzie: "Christ on a cracker, Eleanor! I know you were sitting next to me in those awful Sex Ed classes in high school. Were you asleep the whole time?"
Eleanor: "Uhhhhh . . ."
Kenzie: "Oh, great. I bluescreened the heiress."

Eleanor: "I couldn't be pregnant, right? I mean, yeah, it was just a fling, and I wouldn't be that unlucky twice, would I? No, that's crazy. I mean, look at this. I don't look pregnant. Yeah, I'm fine."

Eleanor: "I mean, I can still breastfeed my son after allegedly being away for months of his life. Obviously my hormones are completely in tune with my fertility the way they're supposed to be."
Laurel: "If you say so dear, but there are tests in the closet just in case."

*confetti falls from trap door in the ceiling*

Eleanor: "Who even designed this bathroom? What kind of weird video game surreal shit is this?"

Eleanor: "Oh wait, that means I am pregnant again! And Simon's not even one yet. And God, I don't even know Orlando's last name but thankfully I know his three traits for when this baby needs a personality rolled. Okay, enough fourth wall breaking. What now???"

Laurel: "Any surprises, hon?"
Eleanor: "I don't want to talk about it."

Eleanor: "So, Mom, I know this is crazy, but I kinda need to declare some extra luggage I brought back with me."
Celeste: "What does that mean?"
Eleanor: "I'm pregnant again, and this father I'm not even going to ask about it, because he's a dirtbag."

Celeste: "I'm happy for you, sweetie! It's nontraditional, sure, but you're building your family."
Eleanor: "Wow, thanks, Mom! I thought for sure you'd be mad or disappointed. Yeah, I'm pretty psyched to get back to my mom role and get things rolling with my generation."
Celeste: "Nope, I am 100% psyched at the decisions you are making."

Celeste: "I hate every decision she's making, Nova."

Eleanor: "Who's my little Simstagram star? I missed you too, Nova. Don't tell Mom but I think I need to work on my decision making. I'm letting chance and the charisma of men make all my decisions for me."

Eleanor: "It's time for me to stand up for my myself and my two little beans here. In fact, it's time for you to stand up, too, Simon."

And just like that, Simon is a toddler because we spent most of his babyhood in Selvadorada. Geez, does he look like Kaiden!

What pretty eyes! When I get CC eyes in a chapter or two, Simon's eyes start looking so bright they almost glow. He's a cutie patootie, and we haven't seen this color of brunette in any Gregorys since Natalie, the founder, and her son, Dorian. Simon is independent, which kind of  makes sense with the number of caregivers he's had and the separation from his mother so early on.

It was finally time to redo the master bedroom for Eleanor. Pink, blue, and white are already pretty bright colors to work into outfits, but they make interior decorating quite challenging.

However, I think it turned out okay. She got some dog pictures and plenty of traditional Selvadoradan furniture plus a display cabinet for some of her artifacts and souvenirs to reflect her interests.

Faye's fish collection from the elder bedroom was moved into the storeroom. I didn't have the heart to delete them.

The elder bedroom was made over in Celeste and Rafael's style, and although Andres refused to get out of it for the picture, he's moving somewhere else.

Andres got a new bedroom carved out of the party room that we never used on the other side of the basement. It's greatly reduced from the pink confection he used to share with Faye because I don't expect him to be around forever even if he was a bodybuilder. Kenzie, who has been bed-surfing in empty kids' beds this whole time, if you can believe that, finally got an austere and serious blue bedroom in the same area. The former party room's last little vestiges are an unnecessarily well-lit hallway and a closed-off storage room for some of our weirder acquisitions, including Faye's Vengeance Ray, other science doodads, and fireworks. Have fun sleeping next to the Potentially-Flammable Nightmare Room, Kenzie and Andres! 

And just like that it's already almost time for Winterfest. I never get tired of seeing decorations on this house.

The day before Winterfest, the adults of the household enjoy a breakfast together cooked by our resident chef. But, wait, weren't there five of you?

Oh.

Raf has been out here vacuuming alien weeds on our tentacle tree, amidst the ghost and reaper gnomes left over from Harvestfest, since last night. That's probably a bug, but I'm going to blame it on him.

I also blame this on him. He takes such good care of our pets!

Don't worry, though, and definitely don't call animal services on us. Eleanor got Nova to sleep in her bed after that. For some reason she won't go on it by herself so she ends up passing out in puddles and the like.

Once Raf was disconnected from the bugged tentacle tree, it was time for his elder birthday. Eleanor ran out to throw up just before this picture was taken, so only his wife and father-in-law were there to celebrate Raf's birthday. Celeste has a few more days due to her pregnancies.

Afterwards, Celeste does her Responsibility Rounds, as she is the most capable adult in the house currently. Simon gets some attention while he eats a baked potato in the playroom. He's a really friendly little guy and he's quickly building great relationships with pretty much everyone.

Then Nova gets loved up on too.

Taylor came to visit and read her nephew to sleep. Where's Eleanor in all this? Usually throwing up at this point. She had a tough first trimester.

Andres: "Why is our way for driving on which we cannot drive constantly occupied by gangs of cats? And why must they defecate here repeatedly, where we are in danger of stepping in their excrement? What is this madness?"
Celeste: "Dad, I'm really not qualified to answer that, but I wonder too."

Eleanor finally gets a moment for her little boy, but he's asleep so she just plants a kiss on his head. In her second trimester now, she's starting to feel better, so she's looking forward to spending a lot of time with Simon.

Eleanor: "Nothing went as planned, but I don't regret any of it. I have a wonderful son and am expecting another child. I'm close to completing a second aspiration. I have a great friend and supportive family. Am I doing things the right way? Not even close. Will it work out? Probably."

Nice. Maybe things will be okay after all. Is Eleanor past her crisis? What will Orlando's baby look like? How will Eleanor raise her children as a single mom, and what does she plan to do with her life now that she's fallen out of love with social media? Check back for answers to these questions and more! Thank you for reading, and please come check in with me at Boolprop! Bye!