Take Me to the Moon 2.7: A Little Bit of Each Other

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"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere."  Tim McGraw

From the outside, everything looked idyllic and peaceful at the Tesla home.

But inside, the situation was  not fairy-tale worthy.  (Evil witch forced to wash large piles of dishes: not by the book.)

For a while, it was birthday party madness!   Cassandra, Claire, Cacey, Hermione, Brad, and Beatrice all aged up on the same day. 

Uncle Barnaby (who apparently never wore a shirt!) asked Cassandra, who would inherit the house eventually, what her wish was on her 13th birthday.

Her goal in life was to become a freelance botanist, basically to transform the garden into a living museum of epic proportions.  Secondary goal:  to be the most evil, snobbiest gardener ever.

Her wish, though, was for her grandmother Maddi to return.  Usually cold and cruel, Cassandra practically watered her grandmother's old apple tree with her tears.

Cassandra took after her mom's evil trait, and her dad's snob trait.  Not surprisingly, she had few friends outside the household.

Really, she had few friends in the household either.

 Her mother enjoyed having a protege in all things evil

Her uncle Barnaby (shirtless wonder) just seemed like a goofball to Cassandra; she couldn't appreciate his kindness

 Even though she so obviously needed more gentleness in her life.

 Cassandra enthusiastically started out planting her garden. 

But it was really hard work, especially after school and homework, and she was often at it when Barnaby came home at 2:00 in the morning from his nefarious job as a criminal.

Cassandra ended up being almost as much a loner as Claire, reading her gardening books, doing her homework, periodically bursting into fits of maniacal laughter

As it got close to Cassandra's 18th birthday, she started to feel panicked that she wouldn't carry on her responsibilities as her mother had, to carry on the family line.  She didn't even know a boy, much less, have a boyfriend as Beatrice did at her age.

Cassandra being a snob, and with an uncanny gift for being welcome in others' houses despite her flaws (reward trait), had the audacity to go knock on doors in the wealthy part of town and introduce herself.  And that is when she met Cedric.

 

As she visited in the bustling home that day, she watched Cedric, and decided he was good husband material.  She had quickly ruled out his goofy friend, who was obviously a slob.

Cedric, on the other hand, was romantic and, better yet, obviously refined in his tastes.  She thought that he showed the drive and ability to maintain her in the comfort to which she had become accustomed, as she developed her garden.

She decided she would marry Cedric, if he turned out to be what he appeared.

Although he was a young adult, she made sure to spend a lot of time chatting with him online so when she got a little older, she could woo him.

In between chores and homework, of course.

Meanwhile, her sister Cacey was enjoying her childhood.

The main thing about Cacey was, wherever she went, she never met  a stranger.  Good thing that Willow Creek was such a small, safe community!

Cacey's best friend, was Tucker.  They were such an unlikely pair, but so inseparable.  He was what children like Cacey and Cassandra called, a nerd.

The best way to describe their friendship was "Partners in Crime."  Cacey was the instigator, and Tucker was the brains behind the operation.  One week they barricaded the classroom door with solo cups; the next, they let the gerbils loose in the classroom.

Barnaby and Hermione's daughter, Claire, was quiet and artistic.  Lots of noise, conflict, and strange people in the house were stressful to her.

Since the house was often noisy and full of strangers, Claire spent large parts of her day, when she wasn't at school, quietly drawing in her parents' room.

When she ventured out to do her homework in the company of Cassandra and Cacey, she usually regretted it, because Cassandra looked for opportunities to hurt her feelings, and Cacey would get riled up by Cassandra.  When that happened, Claire was very wary of Cacey's temper.

No one was safe from mocking in the Tesla house, not even at breakfast.

Nor when getting ready for school in the morning

Or when idly entering the kids' room to chat

Claire agreed to play chess with Cacey.  But Claire was naturally more studious and reflective, and when she beat Cacey, Cacey would get angry.

Despite Cacey's temper, Claire and Cacey became good friends, as children do.

Claire most seeked out other company when she wanted to share her latest make believe story.

However, when Beatrice reported some of the more fantastical versions of these tales to Hermione, thinking she might be concerned, she found Hermione quite encouraging of Cacey's imagination.

Beatrice was doing well in her career and aspiration as a mixologist.  If she had more friends, she'd already be at the top of the mixology branch of the culinary career.

Hermione was slowly working on her Renaissance sim aspiration.  

And after a lot of work, had gotten a promotion in the job she had with a local painter.

One evening she came home from work and found a beautifully prepared drink on the bar.

Which, in spite of being tired, had a very pleasant effect.

Brad and Beatrice continued to be very happy together.  He was such a good listener.  Even though Maddi had been gone so long now, Beatrice still mourned at her grave every day, and often talked about missing her mom, to Brad.  His good-heartedness really showed, because he never pointed out how miserably Beatrice had treated Maddi when she was alive.

Living in such tight quarters had its hazards.

And people learned to act like they weren't seeing anything.

But as the time came for Cassandra to become an adult, Beatrice and Barnaby decided that maybe it was time for them to divide the household.   They wanted to build their own lives, but still nearby. The lot just up the bluff from Tesla House was open, and Barnaby set about using his various criminal contacts to have a nice house built cheaply.    

This house would have everything Hermione, Claire, and he had ever dreamed of.  Barnaby was determined his family would have a happy life.

"Sail" by somekindx, on the Gallery

He talked with the architects about having a beautiful garden for Hermione to paint in, and for Claire to garden,






and a fully equipped home gym,

Living Room

Kitchen

Claire's Room

Barnaby & Hermione's room

Master Bath Vanity

Bath area

And that is my tour of the home, "Sail," made by somekindx, on the Gallery. 



The first night in their new home, Barnaby grilled his special veggie burgers and the family ate on the patio.  So quiet and peaceful, and happy.

Meanwhile, Brad and Beatrice did some remodeling to truly make Tesla house their own.  Although the exterior of the house was too charming for their tastes, they didn't have the funds to renovate yet.

Beatrice's remodeled kitchen was still the same

Cassandra added her own touch to the house, with houseplants and green accents.

Now the hallway led to a library, on the right, where Barnaby and Hermione's room had been.  The old living room curtains were used in the library.

and with the girls' room at the end of the hall remodelled and expanded.

And their bathroom enlarged a little.

The living room had some new furnishings, new drapes, more to Beatrice's taste, and a larger TV.

And Beatrice and Brad's bedroom had a few new touches

Their bathroom was completely remodelled and outfitted with a new corner tub!

Notes:


Wow, Cacey looks just like Beatrice did at her age (she has Brad's slightly darker skintone and different eyebrows, slightly larger eyes, maybe, but otherwise looks the same:

Cacey

Beatrice

• After so long of playing rotational style, without giving money to adult children when they grow up, I had forgotten in a legacy it is ok to set up the spare with a new home! 
• I moved Barnaby, Hermione, and Claire in without entering the lot.  However, I later decided it was too hard to have one of the playable house go there in time for this update, to get pictures for the tour.  (Because all the girls have birthdays in one day!)  So I turned aging off, entered the lot, took the pictures, exited without saving, and then went back to playing the legacy house.  
• I love Barnaby and Hermione's new home, "Sail".  It was made by  somekindx, and I downloaded it from the Gallery.  Thanks, somekindx.  I don't know that there is a way to link to his or her profile on the gallery.
• It is really cool that the open world around the Tesla house extends all the way around Barnaby's house, so it is super-easy to visit.
• For Cassandra to dedicate herself to gardening, she's going to need a good breadwinner!  Enter, Cedric.  I have pretty high hopes for him, although we don't know his traits yet (except Romantic).

See the New Family Tree Page at Family Echo