Round 30: August 2031 (Winter)
Narrated by Elspeth Romilly
Mum and Dad took me out to lunch at the Claudette, to celebrate the six scholarships I earned to get into Suffolk.
The scholarships are going to cut tuition costs way down for my parents, so it was definitely cause for celebration. They're very proud of me as well, of course.
I was allowed to order anything I wanted, except for real champagne. Even though I'll be allowed to drink legally in less than a year.
Dad used to be a cop and is a stickler for following the law to the letter, so it was non-alcoholic for me.
We did talk majors, which sort of put the pressure on. But I'm already thinking art, so even that wasn't so bad.
I've only got three months or so left of school. Since I already know I'm going to university, so I have to admit, my mind tends to wander sometimes during class. I spend a lot of time daydreaming.
I definitely sat up and paid attention when Ione showed up at the door. She hasn't set foot in the high school since she was a student herself, so I didn't really have a good feeling about it.
Once we were in the hallway, Ione filled me in. Dad had been taken to hospital.
Dad's always been a healthy guy but he'd had a heart attack at home. Luckily, Mum was there to call an ambulance. Ione said she hadn't seen him yet but apparently, he was in a pretty bad way.
When we got to the hospital, Finn was waiting outside Dad's room for us. The expression on his face didn't fill me with confidence.
Walking into the room, I could see why. It was so awful to see Dad like that.
Mum wasn't sobbing or anything, but she's usually vibrant and cheerful, so it was still jarring to see her like she was.
Not even the doctor seemed very optimistic. Dr. Sitko came in, explained a little about Dad's heart attack and then started talking prognosis. Which was not good.
That made me more angry than anything, honestly. What do these people go to medical school for, exactly?
After Dr Sitko left the room, I ranted about it to Finn and he reacted in typical Finn-like fashion. He's so calm and considered all the time.
I think we all knew Dad wasn't going to make it at that point and we were all just dealing with it in our own ways.
I'm having to rein in the anger I'm feeling about Dad's death while I'm around Caitlin. Finn and Victoria probably wouldn't appreciate me telling her exactly what I think about doctors right now.
Caitlin wants to talk about Dad all the time. Dad is the first person she's known who's died and I don't know if she really understands everything. I don't always want to talk about Dad but Caitlin doesn't really get that either.
Mum is spending a lot of time with us kids but also with her friend Magdalena. They've been friends since they were little.
Dad did most of the cooking around here, so Magdalena has come over and made us dinner a few times, as well as leaving us some extra food for lunch the next day.
Mum has really appreciated it; Magdalena says she's just repaying the favour and to think nothing of it.
When I was younger, I always used to worry about my parents dying but I hadn't really thought about it lately and Dad dying really took me by surrpise. I really miss having Dad around.
I used to get annoyed at him when he'd give me the third degree about anything and everything but now I'm just glad he was even interested.
And he never got mad at me, even when I was probably being a huge pain in the ass.
But it's just me and Mum now, which is strange. Not like Dad made a whole lot of noise but the house is oddly quiet.
I'm still planning on going to college next year. I was never planning on not going but I think Mum thought I might have considered putting it off. So she insisted that she wanted me to go and that I really should.
I just don't know how Mum will be when I'm gone. She's retired, so she's home all day, all by herself.
She says she'll be okay but I don't know if she's just saying that for my benefit. Maybe she'd say that even if she didn't think she would be all right.
Magdalena has promised to take care of Mum for me but I think I'll still worry. A part of me is really eager to get to university but another part of me thinks next year isn't really going to be my best.
**********
Henry Romilly, 1965-2031
Henry Romilly, former Chief of Police of Sullivan, suffered a heart attack at his home this week and died in hospital. He was 66 years old.
Henry Romilly moved to Sullivan in 1986 and quickly began a relationship with his future wife, Araminta (nee Benton).
The pair married in 1993, shortly after buying their own home.
Henry and Ione.
Their first child, daughter Ione, was born in 1996.
Araminta and Finn.
Five years later, they were joined by son Finn.
Ione and Elspeth.
Shortly after sending Ione off to college, Araminta astonishingly fell pregnant at age 51 with their youngest child Elspeth.
Henry, with son Finn and youngest grandchild Keira, earlier this month.
Henry leaves behind his wife Araminta (68), children Ione (35), Finn (30) and Elspeth (17), as well as seven grandchildren: Declan, Justin, Xavier (all 10), Caitlin (8) Bianca and Aurora (both 5) and Keira (4 months).
Henry Romilly, 1965-2031
Henry Romilly, former Chief of Police of Sullivan, suffered a heart attack at his home this week and died in hospital. He was 66 years old.Henry Romilly moved to Sullivan in 1986 and quickly began a relationship with his future wife, Araminta (nee Benton).The pair married in 1993, shortly after buying their own home.Henry and Ione.Araminta and Finn.Ione and Elspeth.Henry, with son Finn and youngest grandchild Keira, earlier this month.
Extras:
I think this might be a new record for number of beneficiaries! The highest I remember before now was Galen, who had 18. Notes:
- Title is from A Question Mark by Elliott Smith.
- I couldn't kill Henry off without letting him meet his seventh grandchild, Keira, so I teleported her and Finn over for a quick visit. Henry died very happy, because he had 3 wants for Keira and after they were fulfilled, he kept rolling wants for his other grandkids, which I couldn't help satisfying for him. I had the guilts, clearly!
- Goodbye, Henry! Finn got his serious nature (as well as his whole appearance!) from his dad, so it's sad to let him go. It always sucks extra hard when the Sim is so young as well.
- I haven't decided what I'm going to do with Araminta yet. I may move her in with one of the kids. I feel bad for her all alone in that house and I think either Ione or Finn would be likely to offer her a place in their own homes. Especially now that she's on her own.
- As mentioned above, Elspeth did indeed earn 6 scholarships for university, so it should be a piece of cake for Araminta to pay for her tuition. I'll send her off to college this coming January. I can hardly believe it!
This update went from happy thoughts to sad too quickly. I had a WCIF but I feel guilty asking or thinking about it to be honest. Was Henry's death a ROS? 66 seems pretty young for death by old age. When/at what age do you age your sims up to elder?
ReplyDeleteSO sad! :( Henry is gone. How did you decide that he was going to die? Did you roll for him to go so soon?
ReplyDelete6 scholarships! Go, Elspeth!
Apple Valley, don't feel guilty. If you have a WCIF, feel free to post it. I won't be offended. ;)
ReplyDeleteHenry's death was not an ROS - it was just his time. I age my Sims up to elder at 60 and note down how many days they have left at that time. Henry only had 6, unfortunately.
Thanks for reading!
Riverdale, I was very sad about Henry, considering he's not a Sim I raised from cradle to grave. I often don't get as attached to the CAS Sims.
Anyway, as I said to AV, I didn't roll any ROS for Henry. I have, however, edited Inge's aging mod so that Sims have a wider range of life span. This means a lot live longer than Maxis default but it also means some live shorter lives as well. But it balances out - I have some Sims who are going to live into their 90s, so not everyone will leave us so soon.
Elspeth did very well. I think she might have beat Finn, actually! I should go check.
Thanks for reading!
I guess since you have the aging mod with a wide range of lifespans, it makes sense now. Thw WCIF was Elspeth's outfit, I have the one for adults, but didn't know there was a teen version. That's how much your simmies touch me, I feel guilty asking for something in their time of need.
ReplyDeleteAraminta's going to have a tough time, particularly without Elspeth around. Hopefully, Magdalena will be able to supply a little company.
ReplyDeleteVery sad that Henry's gone though!
Oh poor Araminta! And RIP Henry! She'll definitely really feel the weight of it all once Elspeth is at uni, I think she should move in with one of the kids. At least she wouldn't be alone.......
ReplyDeleteAww he was so young :(. RIP Henry! Poor Araminta. I'm sorry for the whole family but especially her since she's going to be all alone soon. I hope she can move in with one of the kids. I bet that was scary for Elspeth to get a visit from Ione at school. And sad that Elspeth is angry at the doctors for her dad's death, but completely understandable. Everyone grieves differently and I like that you wrote it this way. That definitely fits her personality. Also glad she was mature enough to not display her hatred towards doctors right now to Caitlin (who just looked so sweet).
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Elspeth, though. I hope she can concentrate her first year. It'll be tough.
What a horribly sad update! I actually got tears on this one. I would hate to lose my father and all the thoughts on the end were such real feelings. Ah, poor Elspeth to lose her father at such a young age. I'll miss Henry, he was always a good looking guy and Finn does remind me of him. I always liked that about the two. He was definitely short-changed on his senior years.
ReplyDeleteFeel bad for Araminta and Magdalena. Too much death for these girls.
Apple Valley, I'll check Elspeth's outfit for you later but I can tell you that it's actually a separate top and bottom. I downloaded a whole bunch of tops converted from full body outfits, for adults and teens, and that was one of them.
ReplyDeleteAww, that's very sweet of you to say. :)
Shake, it will be very hard for Araminta once Elspeth's gone. That's when the loneliness will really set in, but she won't be able to keep Magdalena away. She will be a support to her for sure.
Thanks for reading. :)
Mizzgin03, that's what I'd like to do with Araminta, if only because it'll cut down on the amount of households I play. I think Finn is the more likely candidate at this point but we'll see.
Thanks for reading!
Danielle, Henry was really young. :( I don't think I've had such a young elder die since Debbie. But whether Araminta moves in with Finn or Ione or not, she'll be well taken care of.
Elspeth kept doing her angry face, so I figured I'd just go with it, rather than trying to force her into a different expression. People are often angry when people die or are dying, so I let her express herself. ;)
Thanks for reading. :)
Maisie, this one was quite sad but the next one is considerably more light-hearted, so that might balance things out a bit.
Elspeth is a pain in the ass sometimes but she does love her family and she's a fairly responsible kid. She's grieving for her dad and worrying about her mum at the same time.
Finn and Henry are very alike in temperament as well as looks, except Finn is a more extreme version! I like to think of my deceased Sims living on that way, like with Tessa and Annabel.
Fingers crossed it will be a long time before Araminta or Magdalena have to deal with any more death. It's touched them much sooner than it should have.
Thanks for reading. :)
Wow, bummer, but well done, The shots at the hospital were particularly emotion packed. Especially heartbreaking was Ariminta sitting alone. Reminded me of my grandmother after my grandfather passed after 63 years of marriage. Anchorless.
ReplyDeleteThe circle of life~
Aww, that would be so hard to start college so soon after your father died. My mother and father divorced just before I started college and I decided not to move on campus and to commute so I could stay with my mother.
ReplyDeleteLuckily Araminta has a lot of children, grandchildren, and friends to form a support system.
RIP Henry! He had a rich and full life, and I'm sure he will be missed, but he died too young!
ReplyDeleteI hope Araminta can move in with one of her kids, because it can't be easy to stay in that house with Henry dead and Elspeth at college!
Congrats to Elspeth on earning those 6 scholarships! She worked hard to get them.
This was just too sad. I can relate with what Elspeth is going through right now. My dad died when I was 20 and I was angry to the whole world about it.
ReplyDeletePoor Araminta, she'll be devastated when Elspeth goes to college. Luckily she has Ione and Finn living close to her... well I don't actually remember if they live close but anyway, she won't be completely alone.
How sad for the Romilly family! At least he got to see Ione and Finn grow up, but poor Elspeth, losing her father when she's still in high school. I hope Araminta doesn't get too lonely when Elspeth goes off to college. It would be nice if she could move in with one of her kids. That's what I'm planning to do when one of my sims' husband dies so she doesn't have to live alone.
ReplyDeleteDrew, thank you! It's hard to imagine what you'd do with yourself being left a widow after over 60 years of marriage (or 45, as it was for Araminta and Henry). :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading.
Rachel, it will be very difficult. It's just more upheaval at a time where there'll already be a lot of different experiences for Elspeth to deal with.
I actually considered keeping Elspeth at home and having her do what you did (seeing I can do that now, with a base hood uni), but in the end, it's not something I could see her doing. She's worried about her mother but she's extremely keen to get out of there at the same time.
Thanks for reading.
Tanja, Henry did die too young. Fortunately, most of my Sims live much longer, even with my edited age span.
The house is feeling very empty for Araminta right now. We'll see what happens in Finn and Ione's updates.
Thanks for reading.
Sari, oh, that's so sad that you lost your dad at such a young age. I think anger at death is a fairly common reaction, but mostly especially when it's unexpected and at a younger age.
LOL, Ione lives quite close but Finn lives in Exeter. That won't stop him from helping out though, fortunately.
Thanks for reading.
Sarah, Ione and Finn got a decent amount of time with their dad and he lived to see both of them have children of their own but Elspeth has never been sure if she'd be so lucky. Araminta and Henry were both older when she was born (he was 50, she was 52).
That's what I generally do with my Sims when they're widowed. Partly because I feel sorry for them and partly because I prefer not to play Sims on their own!
Thanks for reading.
Apple Valley I forgot to get back to you about Elspeth's outfit but I just checked Body Shop! The info on the top says it's by Mikexx2 - I'm assuming it was on his LJ, because I don't remember downloading it from MTS.
ReplyDeleteThe pants I'm not sure about but I'm pretty sure they're from MTS as well. I think they're by Migamoo - it's hard to tell, because I'm not sure what pants I put her in, lol!
It is definitely sad. I was stunned...Elspeth seemed to take it harder than Araminta, but youth probably has something to do with that. And maybe Armaminta won't be so miserable by herself. I'd like to see her try.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in the restaurant was really lovely. Warm and so softly lit, just beautiful.
S.B., part of it is Elspeth's age and part of it is that Araminta is reluctant to completely break down around Elspeth. She might need a little time on her own to grieve properly.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you! I downloaded that restaurant and left it basically as is. One of my playables, Adam Gottlieb, owns and runs it.
Thanks for reading. :)
Aww! The poor family. My first worry after his death was Araminta, of course. I'm glad that Elspeth did think of her, but isn't going to put schooling off. Maybe it's time for Grandma to move in with some of her family to help out, lol.
ReplyDeleteLunar, this will definitely be the hardest for Araminta. Her children all have plenty going on but she's at home on her own all day. :\ If she stays on her own, it will be tough for her. Most likely, she'll move in with Finn and his family but not until next round.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!