Round 2: July 2012

The Eckleys: Alan Eckley (78), Claudia Eckley (16), David Eckley (9)

While riding Caesar along the river, Alan found a dusty oil lamp, and he brought it back to the house to clean it up.  He remembered the stories he’d heard as a boy about the genie in a lamp–but those were just fairy tales.

Imagine his surprise when a genie actually did pop out!  Alan had to think for a while to figure out what he wanted for his three wishes.

He decided to only spend one wish–and he did it in such a way that he was able to get almost everything he wanted.  When the kids came home to a large plantation house and a barn after having left from a small brick ranch that morning, they were astounded.  Alan told them he’d won at the races and that you could get anything done quickly with enough money.

Perhaps it was his recent success in getting a supernatural being to give him what he wanted, but whatever the reason, Alan was feeling a lot of confidence when he happened upon a woman in the library.

The confidence directly impacted his libido, and he felt like he’d never been more attracted to someone else.  He could tell that the woman was attracted to him, as well–and he capitalized on the fact that she was taken off balance by his forward suggestions.  It didn’t take long for him to convince her to come home with him.

They went straight to Alan’s new bedroom and didn’t waste any time.  They didn’t do much talking, and Alan fell asleep once it was over.  The woman crept out of the house before he woke up–Alan never even found out her name.

After that whirlwind of activity, things started getting back to normal.  The work still needed to be done, and Alan was too cheap to hire it out.  He felt silly and a little ashamed by his encounter with the woman.  He marveled at the fact that he probably couldn’t have done anything like that when he was a young man, because the women were quite different and there were so many societal rules that would have made it more difficult.

He was relieved to be getting back to normal, and though he hated to admit it–relieved that he’d never even found out the woman’s name.

David didn’t question the sudden turn of the family’s fortunes–he was just happy that he had a bigger room with cooler toys.  He was also distracted by his scouting activities and his efforts to do better in school.  His average had come up to a “B” and he had even earned a badge!

Claudia was a little suspicious about the situation with the house and the money that seemed to flow into the family out of nowhere, but she was too busy enjoying her new, luxurious room to care that much.

Alan’s attention to the details of her room had made Claudia feel like her grandfather actually did care about her, and their relationship had improved as a result.  Her grades were not stellar, but he’d stopped grounding her and putting her in time out every other second.

She was still a little miffed that he wouldn’t hire a maid, though.  Alan was insistent that the children still have regular chores.  He cautioned them that their luck could always change, and he didn’t want them to be spoiled and unable to adapt to changing circumstances.

When Claudia wasn’t on laundry duty, she managed to find a little time to see Rafael.  Alan wasn’t happy that Claudia was dating a 19-year old young man who was about to be a college student, but he let her continue see him because he was convinced that their relationship would probably end soon after Rafael left for college.

Claudia was just happy that Alan hadn’t banned her from seeing Rafael, and she didn’t care that he made dire predictions about the imminent end of their relationship.  She knew he was a cranky old man, and nothing would really change that.

Certain things could occasionally put him in a better mood–the birth of Brownie and Caesar’s foal, Gus, certainly had that effect.  Alan felt like things couldn’t get much better.

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Gameplay Report:

• So Alan was the Sim for whom I rolled the Risky woohoo with someone you just met ROS.
• I gave Alan the magic lamp Lifetime Happiness Reward, because I always forget to spend those things and I decided to mix it up a little.  I’d never had a Sim who received the lamp in TS2, so I was pretty curious.  He still has two wishes to go, and I’m not sure what I’ll have him do with them.
• The kids grades are doing better–I don’t know if it is because I didn’t take as long to get back to their house or what, but I’m happy they weren’t both failing.
• Brownie and Caesar’s foal is really cute.  I realized belatedly that I do not have a mod installed to increase the gestation period for animals, but I decided I’m not going to worry about it.  I have one for the human Simmies, and that’s enough.
• Speaking of Brownie, I caught her eating a newspaper, and something about that struck me as hilarious, so here’s the picture: