Une année sans lumière

Round 22: Winter 2016

Eliot's last update/Cordy's last update/next update

Eliot Lane is 30, Cordy is 23
(Debbie and Linnea are both 56, Luc is 23 and Asha is 19)

Narrated by Cordy Lane

Eliot and I got married just over a year ago and I love it! I love seeing Eliot every day and I love having our own place that's just ours.


I even love it when Eliot wakes me up by singing as he makes breakfast in the morning.

Eliot is military and he has some very early mornings, so he is usually up long before me. Eliot flunked out of university with one semester to go and the military has been a great career for him so far. He spent most of his trust fund on this house but he's paid a generous wage and we've been able to build a nice little nest egg again.

And he looks pretty hot in his uniform too!

I went to university with intentions of going into law after I graduated. I probably could have found a job in that field pretty easily but once I talked it over with Eliot, I decided that I'd give professional swimming a shot first. If it doesn't work out, I can always fall back on my degree or I can start practising law once I retire from swimming.

For now, we don't have a pool at home so the only training I can do here is general cardio on the exercise bike.

Eventually, we want to have a pool installed in our backyard, so I can train at home but in the meantime, I do all my swimming at the aquatic centre. It's within walking distance of our house, so it's convenient.

Eliot's not much of a swimmer but he's a fan of the pancakes they serve in the cafeteria so if he's not working, he comes along too.

And there's plenty of other stuff to do there too. If you're quick in the photo booth, no one catches on to what you're really doing in there. I'm always surprised when I manage to get Eliot in there though - he's quite reserved, normally!

All anyone seems to ask you once you get married is when you're going to start a family. Well, Eliot and I don't have any plans for children right now. We're both happy just being married at the moment.

Although I wonder if Eliot is hinting at something with all the critters he's been filling the house with lately. First he wanted a guinea pig because he missed the one he had in his dorm in college. Then it was the parrot. I keep thinking Eliot will be ready for a kid long before I will but I guess I should stop worrying about it for the meantime. He hasn't actually said anything yet.

We've been in this house since we got married but we finally got around to throwing a housewarming party. There's probably a statute of limitations on housewarming parties but we weren't asking for gifts or anything and most people don't mind being invited to parties.

It was a good excuse for Eliot to catch up with his friends Max and Wade. They all went to college together but Max and Wade each have a kid now, so they don't get to hang out as often.

I invited my mother Debbie. I'm so excited that we finally have a place to catch up that's larger than her tiny little apartment. She can even stay the night if she wants.

Eliot was the one who invited my mother Linnea. He thinks we should have a better relationship that we do. He doesn't really understand the situation with Mum and me. It's so different from his relationship with his parents. Eliot's parents are both normal.

Later on, Mum made a big show of telling me how proud she was of me, married and in my own house and doing well and all that. I just never know how to take her. Is she being sincere or is she saying what she thinks she's supposed to say, or what she thinks I want to hear? She didn't even want me to get married!

Luc loves our house. He keeps talking about how it's so much bigger than his and that if he lived here, he could have a whole room for his guitar. He'd better not be hinting, because he's not moving in here.

Luc brought his girlfriend Asha with him. Last time I saw her, at Evan's party, she seemed so sad but she seemed a little more upbeat at our party. I like Asha a lot and I think she's a good match for Luc. I hope he's treating her properly. She's sweet. I don't want to see Luc break her heart.

All in all, the party was a success. Everyone mingled except, thank God, my mothers with each other. They stayed in separate rooms for the whole night. I really didn't want a knock-down drag-out fight in the living room. I was so relieved when the whole thing ended peacefully and Eliot and I had the house back to ourselves again!

Notes:

• Title is from Une Année Sans Lumière by Arcade Fire.
• Doesn't Eliot totally look like he's singing in the picture of him making his cereal? So cute!
• Eliot is an odd little Family Sim. He hasn't yet rolled the want for a baby, which might be a first for me with newlywed Family Sims. They try autonomously with ACR every single time. Had either of them rolled the want for a baby, I would have taken Cordy off birth control and let her get pregnant but she's still so young, so I can't bring myself to worry about it too much. We'll see what happens next round.
• I'm trying to stagger promotions, so that their job ranks are realistic for their ages and how long they've been in the career but Eliot jumped three ranks this round! Not bad for a guy who flunked out of college! He went from Drill Instructor, to Junior Officer, to Counter-Intelligence and finally Flight Officer - I'm awesome at chance cards apparently, because he didn't have the skills. I have no idea if it's realistic to be a Flight Officer at 30 but that's what he is. Cordy's already an All Star at 23 but professional athletes have comparatively short careers, so that doesn't bother me so much.