Gen 9 Ch 5: Amicable

Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity to Icarus, Amy had graduated from fashion school in Parisim and returned to Appaloosa Plains. He was more than ready for things to go back to normal, back to how they had been before. Right now Amy was upstairs, giving Jodie a makeover with the new skills she’d picked up. Icarus sat downstairs, listening to their muffled voices and smiling contentedly. He did not yet anticipate the disappointment he was in for.

„What do you mean, 'move'?“

„I mean move to Parisim, all of us,“ Amy explained again, exasperated. „There is no way I can work in haute couture in this backwater town; I have to be where the other designers are, where the shows are happening. And it‘s not like you have a career keeping you here, so…“

„There‘s more to life than careers.“

„Icarus. Please.“

„Amy, you‘re not making sense. Julius just started high school. We can‘t just leave and uproot the children—„

„The children will love it! The schools here don‘t even compare to those in Parisim.“

„None of us even speak the language—„

„So you‘ll expand your horizons! Seeing the world is good for children, Icarus.“

„Don‘t pretend you‘re doing this for the good of the children. This is all about what you want to do.“

At this, Amy looked hurt.

Icarus felt a pang of guilt. It was easy to claim the moral high ground, but if he was honest, his motivations were just as selfish as hers. He could not imagine starting a new life so far from his family and friends. 

„What about your horses,“ Icarus hedged. He was grasping at straws now.

„I sold them,“ Amy said blankly.

„You what?!“ Suddenly, Icarus was furious. He had always been slow to anger, but thinking about the months he‘d spent slaving away, getting up early to care for Amy‘s horses—just for her to discard them like this? It was like a slap in the face.

„I‘ll miss them too,“ Amy said in response to Icarus‘ outraged face, „But they‘re going to a good home.“

„That‘s not the point. Amy, please, just think about what you’re doing here. You‘re throwing away everything we built together.“

„We can build something new.“

„I don‘t want something new. I like what we have.“

„Icarus, I…I can‘t. I can‘t spent my life stuck in this place. I can‘t stay, not after I‘ve seen what life could be like, out there in the world. I love you and our children and I want you all with me. But I‘m withering here, Icarus.“ She looked deflated. „If you won‘t come with me, I have to do this by myself.“

They had come to an impasse.

 

*

Icarus went to his cousin Ivy for advice—he wasn‘t sure why he‘d ever thought that was a good idea, but he supposed he was desperate.

„Should‘ve known you were never going to be good enough for her,“ Ivy sneered, „Little Icky was just a passing fad for our Princess Amy.“

Icarus protested feebly, „She wants me and the kids to come with her.“

„Oh? Well, in that case, run after her! Leave everyone and everything you know behind and go to Parisim,“ Ivy gave a derisive snort. „And maybe once Amy gets bored of fashion design, you can follow her to Shang Simla or Al Simhara or whatever else strikes her fancy next. I‘m sure your kids will end up super well adjusted.“ At this point Ivy‘s words were punctuated by one of her own children screaming in the next room, somewhat lessening the impact. But Ivy continued unperturbed. „If you‘re lucky, Amy won‘t grow bored of you.“

Huxley and Idris were more measured in their advice.

„My own mom dragged me from Starlight Shores to this shithole of a town when I was a teen,“ Huxley remembered. „I resented her for that for a long while. School sucked, I didn‘t fit in. Everyone hated me and I hated everyone. But eventually, I made a life here.“ She paused as a slow smile formed on her face. „Sims can adjust to anything, I suppose. And I admit, I‘ve kind of grown fond of this place.“

Idris, who had just recently graduated Sim State with a fine arts degree, had stopped by for a visit before heading off to Bridgeport, where the art scene was eagerly awaiting his contributions. „It‘s exciting to think about starting fresh somewhere new,“ he confided. „You could just be somewhere different, or you could be someone different.“  

Icarus thought long and hard about everything. What Amy was proposing wasn’t too outrageous. The children would adjust eventually, maybe even flourish. Amy could pursue her passion and Icarus could start a new life…

But he didn‘t want a new life.

No matter which way Icarus looked at it, he liked the life he had here. His relationship with his mother had been bumpy, but she had been making an effort and Icarus couldn‘t imagine leaving her and his father behind. Not to mention his aunt, his cousins, and maybe most of all, his best friend Ralph. Icarus had never actively thought about it, but Ralph had been a constant in his life since childhood. A life without spontaneous meetups with Ralph was simply unimaginable.

 

As much as Icarus and Amy tried to shield their children, they couldn‘t keep their problems secret forever. Once the divorce was finalized, their children dealt with things in their own ways.

Jodie immersed herself in her imaginary worlds of excitement and adventure, while Julius became increasingly irritable, even for a teenager.

*

Julius had just wanted to buy a quick snack at the grocery store before heading home, but of course even that small pleasure was denied him. He had been doing his best to avoid David Lambert in the school hallways, but there he was now, in the flesh: Julius‘ childhood tormentor and bully, wearing an apron and mopping the floor in front of the cash register.

Julius quickly ducked into an aisle and furtively watched David, who was evidently just finishing up a shift of his part-time job. After he was done mopping—having done an expectedly sloppy job—he took off his apron, tossed it behind the counter and called to someone in the back. The man in the back, presumably his boss, replied and David turned to leave.

Julius retreated further into the aisle, still keeping an eye on David, when he saw it: David glanced back over his shoulder, then quickly grabbed something off a shelf and slipped it into his pocket.

As he watched David saunter toward the exit, Julius made a split-second decision.

 

„Hey!“

David, halfway through the door, turned around. The look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced by annoyance when he saw Julius. „What,“ He snapped.

„Aren’t you going to pay for that?“ Julius cringed at how his voice cracked just at the wrong moment. He sounded childish rather than intimidating and whatever courageous impulse he had felt moments before quickly deserted him.

„Mind your own business, Drooly-Ass,“ David mumbled and turned to leave again.

Drooly-Ass. The ill-conceived pun on Julius‘ name that David had thought up when they were children. Uttering it now was David‘s mistake. Julius felt the old anger rise, and with it his courage returned. With a few forceful strides, he followed David outside the store and grabbed his shoulder from behind.

David whipped around. Before Julius knew what was happening, a fist hit his face.

Julius reeled, but didn‘t fall. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears and his cheek vaguely tingled, but fueled by adrenaline, he felt no pain yet. He sprang at David, who easily sidestepped the clumsy attack. More to keep himself from falling than as a tactical move, Julius grabbed onto the bottom of David‘s shirt. 

„Get off of me,“ David grunted and tried to push him down, but Julius was tenacious. Soon the two boys went down, grappling on the sidewalk.

Julius flailed ineffectually, while David‘s moves were much more precise. David quickly overpowered Julius. He had Julius pinned down with one hand, while delivering punch after punch with the other. Julius struggled with all he had, but he was no match for David, who held him down with apparent ease. It was hopeless. Julius felt the strength leave his body, as tears of frustration welled up.

A crowd had gathered, but neither of the two boys even heard the cacophony of panicked voices until a siren cut through them. Suddenly David was pulled off of Julius, who still lay panting on the rough concrete. His whole body was throbbing with pain. 

As several pairs of arms helped him up, Julius caught a glimpse of David, handcuffed, being maneuvered into the back of a police car by an officer.

When the officer returned, standing tall in his immaculate uniform, Julius feared that now it was his turn to get handcuffed.

„Don‘t worry kid, it‘s pretty obvious you were the victim here,“ the police officer assured Julius. In an awkward gesture that was probably meant to be fatherly, the officer patted Julius‘ scrawny shoulder. Julius winced in pain. The officer gave a pitying smile. „Guess it wouldn‘t hurt you to toughen up a little there, buddy,“ He gave a nod and then headed back to his cruiser, off to take David to the station.

*

 

„And then the owner of the grocery store said he‘d already given David a warning for stealing once and that he was going to fire him!“ Back home, after his father had tended his wounds and made sure he had a belly full of ice cream, Julius recounted the story to his sister.

„Why did he steal from the grocery store,“ Jodie asked, „Was he hungry?“

„You‘re missing the point!“

„My friend Rachel said that you cried.“

„Then Rachel is a stupid liar!“

Jodie shrugged. „She heard it from Lesley who heard it from her cousin, who heard it from—„

„Enough!“
 
Julius did not want to think about half the town gossiping about him, though his mind was going to pick at this humiliation for a very long time.

 

A week later Julius set foot in a gym for the first time in his life.

 

  Working out was painful, torturous even. He could still feel the various aches with every motion, but the worst bruise of all was on his ego. Julius gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. He had made a vow to himself: he would never feel weak and helpless again.

***

Icarus and Amy‘s divorce had been as amicable as could be, given the circumstances. They had agreed on scheduled visits and kept in regular contact. They’d hugged, they‘d smiled, they‘d wished each other luck. Still, Icarus could not help but wonder how things would have turned out, had he never humored Amy‘s ambitions in the first place.

He poured out his regrets to Ralph over drinks at their usual haunt, the 32-Bit Arcade. The bartender had taken one look at the two middle-aged men and said, „I know what you two need. One round of Sorrow Annihilators coming up.“

 

Unfortunately the drinks did not live up to their name. Icarus gave a long sigh and continued his tale of woe. „And now Julius is getting into fights. It hasn‘t even been a week since Amy left and it‘s like I‘m already failing at being the primary caregiver.“

„Kids get in fights. It happens.“ Ralph, an experienced father of four, comforted his best friend. His oldest daughter Candace had just entered the young adult stage. „Candy was a veritable menace as a teen and now she‘s following in Lena‘s footsteps, studying to become a teacher.“

„Did the police ever get involved when Candy was being ‚a veritable menace‘,“ Icarus asked, knowing full well that the answer was no.

Ralph gave a sympathetic smile. „There‘s no guarantee that there wouldn‘t have been the exact same problems had you gone to Parisim.” He stared into his glass, swirling the colorful liquid around, then took a deep swig. “If you‘re anything like Lena and I were, at least you‘re not miserable anymore.“

Ever since they were little, Ralph and Icarus had always done everything together. They had been on the same group projects at school, had joined the same guilds in their MMOs… all the way down to getting divorced from their wives at the same time, as it turned out.

„Trying to stop Amy from going to fashion school would‘ve only made things worse for both of you,“ Ralph continued. „At least you‘re free to live your life as you want now.“

„Is that what you‘re doing? Living life as you want?“ Icarus immediately regretted the snippy comment, but Ralph took no offense.

„Lena is, at least,“ Ralph scoffed. „Let‘s just say I should‘ve known better than to marry a sim with the flirty trait.“ Ralph sighed and downed the rest of his drink. „And on that note, I‘m off to go apartment hunting. I do somewhat regret my chivalry in letting Lena keep the house. The housing market in AP is bonkers right now.“ Ralph slid a 20-simoleon-bill on the counter and moved to leave. „Anyway, see you later.“

In a flash of inspiration, Icarus grabbed Ralph‘s arm. „Dude, just move in with me!“

Ralph looked taken aback for a moment. Then, slowly, his seemingly perpetual frown turned into a grin. There was no need for any more words. The two of them had always been on the same wavelength.

Icarus had thought that the house had been empty for far too long. And somehow, this felt right. Icarus and his best friend were going to be roommates, as they should have been after high school.

 



_______________

This is the first chapter that includes some screenshots taken on my new PC (the game runs so nicely now!!), but most are still from 2019 and before. There have been some formatting issues with my quotation marks; hope it wasn't too awkward to read!

So Icarus and Amy weren't on a couple roll, unfortunately. I suppose I made it pretty obvious! I felt so bad about breaking them up since they were mostly happy together. Avoiding that might have been one of the reasons I took such a long break from the sims.

Gen 9 Ch 4: The Value of Hard Work

 Icarus loved seeing Amy modeling her new outfits at home. The family trip had been an absolute success. But when she came to him with a printout about a fashion school in Parisim, he wondered if he‘d made a mistake.

„I’ll only be gone for a short while,“ Amy assured him, „And after two semesters and I‘ll have a diploma and a plethora of real-life applicable skills.“ She was quoting the pamphlet now, but her excitement was genuine.

Icarus was apprehensive to say the least. Not lastly because with Amy away, he‘d not only have to look after the children, but Amy‘s horses too. But since the day they‘d met, he‘d never been able to say no to Amy when she smiled at him like this.

There was no time for any more discussions, as the semester was about to start the following week. Amy kissed her children and husband goodbye and caught the next flight to Parisim.

*

Icarus shared his worries with his aunt Huxley and her „roommate“ Theo.

Hux had never been shy about expressing her opinions. „I mean, I get that Amy needs a break and all that,“ she said, „But just running off and leaving you to wrangle the kids and her horses? That‘s kind of fucked up.“

„She really wants to do this and I‘m trying to be supportive,“ Icarus explained, „I don‘t really mind taking care of things while she’s gone. I can take time off from work. But—and I know this sounds weird—I keep thinking that chasing wild ideas like this can only end badly.“

There was no need to vocalize what made him think that way. All three of them instantly remembered how Icarus’ mother had spent most of her son‘s childhood barricaded in her lab, sciencing.

Theo finally broke the silence. „Look, ultimately she‘s her own person. You did the right thing by supporting her dreams.“

 

„And if she ends up running off with some douche, she wasn‘t all that anyway,” Huxley added helpfully.

***

Julius never particularly liked the clothes his mom picked out for him, but with her away for school, he had started feeling strangely protective of them. Even the uncomfortable blue sweater vest from the family trip to Parisim.

So after David Lambert had made fun of Julius‘ „nerdy“ vest, Julius had refused to let Frank copy his homework. Having no homework to turn in had earned David a stern scolding from Mrs. Riffin.

Which now, in turn, earned Julius a hard shove in the back from David. 

Julius stumbled, but propelled his arms to avoid falling forward onto the hard concrete. For a brief moment he thought he‘d regained his balance, but he’d overcorrected and landed squarely on his butt.

 

„Ha! That‘s what you get for being a snitch!“ David gloated, while his friend Chadwick Miller dutifully pointed and laughed at Julius.

„I didn‘t snitch,“ Julius whined, „You just got caught.“

„Whatever, Drooly-Ass.“ David‘s retort was unimaginative, but nonetheless effective. Julius was sufficiently hurt by his new nickname.

Chad Miller, still laughing, chorused, „Drooly-Ass, Drooly-Ass,“ as the two boys ran off.

Julius scrunched up his face trying to hold in tears. He wished he had snitched on David. He would have deserved it. What a jerk!

„What a jerk!“

He flinched to hear his thought spoken out loud. A red-haired girl sat on a bench a few steps away, a front row seat to the humiliating scene that had just played out. Julius went to sit beside her.

„Are you ok?“ she asked. Her concern seemed genuine.

Julius got up and dusted off the bottom of his pants. „Yeah, I’m ok. It doesn‘t hurt at all.“ It did hurt a little, but he wasn‘t about to admit that.

„David is a huge jerk,“ she reiterated.

„He‘s your brother, right? You’re Mary, one grade below us?”

„Yeah,“ Mary sighed. „But I’m nothing like him! Sorry David knocked you down.“

„He only got me because I wasn‘t prepared.“ Julius puffed out his chest. „If he’d challenged me fair and square, I would‘ve drop-kicked him like BAM-whoosh-POW!“ He punctuated each sound by kicking and punching the air like in the sim-fu movies he‘d watched with his dad. Mary giggled.

***

Icarus had never put much stock in the value of hard work, but he was somewhat proud of himself for how smoothly things were going. He‘d established a good routine. He got up at dawn to feed and clean the horses, then took a quick shower before cooking breakfast for the children and getting them ready for school. Then he‘d drive to work at the bistro and get home just in time to cook another meal for the children. After helping them with their homework and putting them to bed, he had just enough time to care for the horses again before falling into bed, completely exhausted.

It was a strenuous schedule, but he consoled himself with the fact that it was temporary. Soon enough Amy would be back home.

Phone calls were a rare treat due to the time difference and Amy‘s busy schedule at fashion school, but she frequently wrote letters. Icarus would read them to the children over breakfast and then they‘d draft replies together. This time Jodie had asked to include a picture she‘d painted: four figures, two boys and two princesses, framed with a colorful decorative border. The figures were separated by squiggly lines running between then, trapping each of them in their own corner of the canvas. Icarus chose not to read too much into that.



______

I think it was Icarus who painted that picture, actually.

Gen 9 Ch 3: Bouillabaisse

Amy could spend entire days on the couch without moving, which Icarus understood only too well. She’d just had a baby and needed rest after all. Instead of gaming, however, her entertainment of choice was the shopping channel, which bored him to tears.

But as days went by and Amy still continued watching TV while the horses were largely left to their own devices, Icarus started to wonder. Was Amy unhappy with her career choices? He was just about to suggest, once again, that they could comfortably live off the family fortune when Amy spoke up.

„Let‘s have another baby,“ Amy said, as if in response to Icarus‘ thoughts.

Icarus was only too happy to comply.

And so the Cardwell family gained another member. On a stormy summer night they welcomed Jodie into the world.

Pregnancy, birth and caring for small children were no cakewalk. Icarus hadn‘t been able to help with the first two, so he strived to give it his all with the latter. He loved spending time with Julius and Jodie, but to make things easier on Amy, Icarus also took over the majority of the horse care while she rested.  

Mucking out stables was not something he‘d ever signed up for, but he had always been a team player.

Eventually, Amy did get back in the proverbial saddle—and the actual one, too.

Contrary to what those derbies on TV had led her to believe, when Amy competed, there were very few princesses and queens in the audience. Even more disappointing, there were no elaborate hats and summer dresses; instead it was all cowboy hats and denim, like the rest of Appaloosa Plains.

Childish dreams aside, equestrianism was a lot of work. Amy‘s once silky-smooth hands had grown calloused from wielding a pitchfork and, embarrassingly, her behind was constantly sore. She shifted to let hot water reach one particularly uncomfortable spot.

There never seemed to be an end to the work. Even now, sitting in the tub after an exhausting workday, Amy could think of dozens of tasks that still needed doing. The worst part of it was that Amy had very little to show for all the work she’d put in. Icarus had praised her endlessly for her one measly bronze trophy, but she knew that in the end only winners were remembered. Her dreary thought was punctuated by a neigh from outside the window. She still needed to stable both horses for the night.

Amy let out a sigh and sank deeper into the warm water, submerging completely for a few moments of blissful silence.

*

Always needing to outdo her cousin, Lena had just had her fourth child. Now that her maternity leave had ended, Lena was back at work at Crestview Elementary and not at all happy about it. The two cousins spent a rare afternoon off shopping at Appaloosa Plains‘ best—and only—fashion boutique.

„Here I am with all my qualifications and they‘re treating me like a glorified babysitter,“ Lena complained. „One would think that as a mother of four I‘d be used to it, but it‘s such a pain. Anyway, how about you? How‘s the whole horse training…thing…treating you? Is it everything you were hoping for?“

Amy paused to think for a moment. How to describe how she felt? The never-ending chores, the  constant pressure to perform, the layers upon layers of bruises…

„There‘s a lot more poop than I anticipated,“ she said finally.

„So, pretty much like being a teacher then.“ Lena sighed. „Except you get to wear tight pants and knee-high boots. Crestview’s staff dress code is the worst. They’re making me dress like some librarian, and not the sexy kind.“ 

 

Amy tilted her head and looked Lena up and down. She had noted that Lena‘s outfit was quite matronly, but it wasn‘t hopeless. „We can work with this.“

The boutique’s dedicated stylist glowered at the customers taking over her workstation, but Amy barely even noticed. She hadn‘t had this much fun since she was a teenager giving her friends makeovers. She spent the rest of the afternoon putting together several outfits for her cousin.

Over the course of the afternoon, she‘d put together an entirely new wardrobe for Lena, who was more than impressed. Even the stylist stopped frowning for a moment to give an appreciative nod.

„You know,“ Lena said, still admiring herself in the mirror, „You‘re pretty good at this. It‘s a shame you‘re not doing anything with it.“

Amy blinked at the rare compliment from her cousin.

*

Lena‘s words were still on Amy‘s mind when their two families met up at the beach a few days later. Was there really a place for fashion in the life they had built? Amy always made sure that her little family was impeccably dressed—picking out cute clothes was one of her favorite perks of having little children. Even Icarus never complained when she told him what to wear, though he showed about as much regard for the clothing as the two toddlers. She looked over at him, where he sat on the ground with the children, elbow-deep in the sand. 

Icarus loved weekends, when everyone could let loose and relax after the work week. Not that his job at the bistro was particularly stressful. The hours were more than flexible—Icarus still wasn‘t sure his boss even knew who he was. But flying under the radar suited him just fine.

It meant more time for what was important to him. He caught Amy‘s gaze and waved at her, smiling wide. He was so lucky, he reflected. Spending the day with his adorable kids, his beautiful wife and their best friends. What could be better?

But Amy didn‘t return his smile. In fact, she seemed to be looking through him, her thoughts a thousand miles away.

***

Icarus was determined to cheer Amy up.

„Thank you,“ Amy said as Icarus placed a bowl in front of her. She gave the contents a cautious sniff. „Did you bring leftovers from the bistro again?“

„Nope.“ Icarus grinned. „I made this especially for you. Want to know what it is?“

The reddish broth had a distinct fishy smell. Amy wrinkled her nose „Uhm… Some kind of fish…soup?“

„Bouillabaisse.“

„Oh. That’s nice.“

„Guess why!“

„Uhm…“ Amy furrowed her brows. Icarus had some talent as a cook. At first she had thought it would help him rise through the ranks at the bistro, but his culinary ambitions seemed confined to their kitchen at home. She gave Icarus a questioning look.

„It‘s French,“ he prompted.

„Okay?

Icarus had planned this a little differently, but if online gaming had taught him anything, it was to be adaptable. Time to move on to phase two. He reached for the bouquet he had prepared.

Amy immediately noticed the slips of paper sticking out amidst the red roses. As her eyes glanced across the printed text, she could barely contain her excitement. „Icarus! Those are tickets to—„

Icarus beamed. „I know you always wanted to go.“

*

Parisim was everything Amy had imagined and more. She darted from one shop window to another while her family trailed patiently behind her.

They frequented chic boutiques, they sampled delicious pastries — and through it all, the picturesque wrought-iron landmark towered over them. At night the sparkling of its lights was practically mesmerizing, lending the city a distinct magical quality.

The family vacation ended much too quickly for Amy‘s liking. After just one week of shopping with some sightseeing thrown in, they were back at the hotel and packing their bags—plus an extra suitcase to accommodate all of Amy‘s new clothes.

She couldn‘t wait to show off her new wardrobe back home, but somehow wearing them in Appaloosa Plains lacked that certain je-ne-sais-quoi.

___________

Parisim. I agonized for so long about a name, then settled for the silliest one. Sorry. (It feels so weird to me writing about France/China/Eqypt in a universe where America is SimNation. République Simaise or République Françaisim are the best I could come up with for France, and those names objectively suck. Yes, I am overthinking this.)

Challenge-wise, I rolled Idle Careers for this generation. It’s easy enough to do with Icarus‘ boring rabbithole job—his current, and likely permanent, position is vegetable slicer. I did make the mistake of getting him the professional slacker LTR, so he edges closer to a promotion as long as he shows up to work. To make up for it he stays home a lot.

It’s more difficult with the equestrian career, mainly because I just really want to play and experience it! I’m compromising by not stopping Amy when she autonomously decides to watch the shopping channel for hours on end.