Cami's Sims: Taffity Family Legacy

Generation 5, Chapter 7

Not long after the twins' birthday, Isaiah got a call from City Hall - apparently the mayor had heard about the paranormal work he was doing and wanted to honor him in a special ceremony. I didn't want to take all the kids down there, just to have them start fussing half way through it so Mom and Dad stayed home with watch the kids so I could go support Isaiah.

A lot of people had gathered for the ceremony, I wonder if he'd helped all these people with their ghost problems or were some of them here just to watch. Either way it was a great turnout for the event. The Mayor's office had insisted it was a casual affair - like a town picnic - but I guess different people had different ideas of "casual" for such an occasion. Some people were dressed up and others not so much.

My first boyfriend was there too - he even smiled in my direction and came over. "Hey Ez" he said with just a hint of awkwardness.

"Hey Philip." I said, focusing my attention on the ceremony.

Philip took my cue and watched the ceremony quietly but the ice was broken - at least he was one person I wouldn't have to avoid around town anymore. I suppose years will do that.

Raising three toddlers was hard work - even with my parents around. I thought life was difficult with two infant and a toddler! I was so wrong! Even though Aragorn was getting older and a little more self-sufficient, he had started getting clingy lately and would throw fits when he didn't get the attention he wanted. Mom told me it was normal for his age but when he broke yet another toy by throwing it into the wall, I couldn't help but wonder.

I tried not to fret about it too much, hoping he would grow out of the phase. We focused on teaching the twins to walk and talk and even start potty training them.

I got nervous whenever the kids wanted to play blocks together though. Aragorn had quite a little throwing habit and he was bigger than the twins of course, one good throw from him and they would be wailing and nursing a black eye or something.

Thankfully they played together nicely, most of the time. But when he wasn't throwing, there was the pushing...more than once he'd barrel through the house at top speed and pause just long enough to push one of the twins down. When he was called on it, he said they fell or he accidentally bumped into them and since I wasn't usually right there to see it - I couldn't be sure.

The kids weren't the only ones having problems, appliances seemed to be breaking left and right it seemed. Dad said it was normal - the house was over twenty years old and many of the appliances were in need of being replaced if they hadn't been already. One disaster at a time...

As Aragorn's birthday approached, I hoped it would mean the end of his temper issues - or at least that he'd be able to communicate with us better about what was bothering him. I planned his birthday as a quiet, family affair indoors since I didn't want him whining the whole time. Since all the attention was on him for the day, he was a very well behaved little boy.

I wish I could say that he'd outgrown the phase...but he hadn't. We tried a lot of things with him, Isaiah would spend hours playing games and sports with him but if Aragorn lost, he would throw the pieces or the ball and stomp away. Then he'd sulk in his room for hours.

The twins, however, were polar opposites of him. They were quiet and played nicely together. Eowyn adored her xylophone and would spend hours playing it and singing little songs that made very little sense. Faromir was my little helper. He would follow me around the house wanting to help with anything he could. Being so small, there wasn't a lot he could do but I would try to include him in things some how or another.

At the end of the day, we all took turns putting the kids to bed and reading them stories. Dad always had fantastic voices for the stories so when it was his turn, everyone was gather around and listen. Well except for Aragorn sometimes - it would depend on his mood that day. Sometimes I saw him peaking in from the bathroom that adjoined Eowyn's room but never let him know I saw him.

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After the ceremony at City Hall, Isaiah had been getting even more calls than normal for paranormal activity. Some of them turned out to be fake - either the person over reacted or was just wanting to be part of the fad. Occasionally it was something else entirely - like the time someone who had a fire in their house called Isaiah instead of the fire department.

Isaiah did his best to put it out while the home owner went on and on about how she was SURE a ghost had set the fire. It was spreading quickly and he kept yelling at her to call the fire department but all she could do was scream her head off.

Thankfully the neighbor saw the smoke and called for the fire department. Isaiah took the rest of the night off and came home to us. As soon as he saw me, he pulled me into a kiss and held me tightly for several minutes.

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When Jean had shown up before, I hadn't wanted to see him and didn't really have the time to explain with the party and everything. I knew I'd hurt him when I'd sent him away and I felt horrible about that. He'd never been a bad person so I shouldn't have acted that way; I was just so afraid of everything falling apart if he was around...I'd found his email after I knew he was off island and sent him an email to apologize for the way I'd acted. I never heard back so I thought that was the end of it and forgot about it.

So when he called me, it came as a bit of a surprise. He said he was back on the island and wanted to meet for lunch or something - just as friends. This time I agreed, with some reluctance, to meet him at the beach park.

I set the twins down to play at the table and walked over to him when I saw him approaching. He leaned in for the more familiar French cheek peck but I pulled away and stuck out my hand.

For awhile, we just watched the twins play and talked about his work and the weather. Inside I felt I should tell him about the possibility that Aragorn was his son but what if he wanted to be involved in his life? What if he wanted a DNA test to be sure? How would I explain all that to Isaiah?

Speaking of Aragorn, I'd asked him to come to the park after school and saw him running over then. I sent him over to play with his brother and sister for awhile and turned back to Jean. "He might be yours..." came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"What?" Jean asked, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Um...I don't know actually; Isaiah thinks he is his and chances are he is...but there's a small chance..." I looked away from him. "This wasn't how I thought...sorry..."

Jean was silent for a long time, when I looked over at him, he was watching the kids. "Can I meet him?"

"Sure...hey Aragorn, come here for a minute please!" I called over to him.

He looked annoyed as he stomped over toward us. "Oh dear." I muttered, before I could stop him or explain to Jean though, Aragorn turned toward him.

"Who are you? I was playing!" he said loudly.

Jean looked surprised at the rude manner of greeting and looked toward me for some sort of intervention.

"Aragorn Taffity! You will NOT speak like that to people! That was rude!" I said sternly.

"But I was playing!" he whined, stomping his foot on the ground.

"That doesn't matter, you will not be rude to people like that! Now apologize to Mr. Ruelle this instant."

"No!" he shouted back at me. "I don't have to!"

"Oh yes you do!" I said sternly, keeping my voice level. I put my hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face Jean. "Now!"

Aragorn glared at Jean. "My mom says I have to apologize...so I'm sorry...though I'm not really...."

"Aragorn!" I said, very nearly compelled to lose my cool.

"Fine! I'm sorry! Happy now?!" he didn't sound at all sorry. "Can I go back to play now?"

After that, Jean made his excuses and left. "Well that went well." I muttered. Just as well, I didn't really need Jean in my life or complicating things. When we got home, I sent Aragorn to his room for his behavior at the park - I don't think it did any good since he would have gone there anyway but I needed him away from me for the moment - he was working every nerve. I put the twins in Eowyn's room to play while I went downstairs to work on dinner - at least they played well together.

I'm not sure how it happened or what happened but I heard yelling and screaming from upstairs! I nearly dropped the bowl and bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When I got upstairs, Eowyn and Faromir had gotten into Aragorn's room and were playing with the toys from his toy box.

He was screaming at them and ranting in such a way I wasn't sure he'd ever calm down. Both the twins looked to be on the verge of tears, with their little lips quivering and eyes watering.

I was about to lay into him when Isaiah put his hand on my shoulder. "Let me." he said.

Happy for the reprieve, I stepped aside and started picking up the toys - ready to move the twins back out of the room.