The nouvelle Nouvel Legacy

I kept so busy during my pregnancy that the time really flew by. I woke up one morning feeling a little pain. Mom rode with me to the hospital.

Dad was already there, performing surgery but he promised to check in on me as soon as it was over. The labor was easy and I was so happy that both of my parents got to see their first grandchild born.  The next day I left with my beautiful healthy son, Dominick Nouvel.

He was an easy baby and seemed very content to just lay in his crib when he didn’t need anything.

Not that he spent much time there. Dominick was in someone’s arms almost constantly. Mom and Dad both doted on him but I was still Mama. I got up for the 2AM feedings and diaper changes.

I cuddled and walked him through bouts of colic and fevers.

I loved my son fiercely. The depth of that emotion surprised me a bit, and I swore to do everything I could to help him grow up happy and strong. Slowly my anger at Danial faded because without him, I wouldn’t have my wonderful son.

I planned a big party for Dominick’s first birthday. Conrad and I never had birthday parties growing up. Between his illnesses and Mom’s crippling fear of people, there was just no way. So this would be my first experience hosting a party. I decided to start out small and just invite family. Our cousins Petra, Ursula, Brendon and Dmitri all came.

Poor Ursula looked tired and worn out. She had some serious baby-daddy drama going on. Timmy Mather was a real dead-beat, always trying to skimp on child support and neglecting his daughter.

Petra and Brendon were in the party mood though. They had a dance contest with Con. Even my serious cousin Dmitri was ready to strike a pose.

And look who else showed up. Danial had never seen his son. He had been touring for over a year. I called him when Dominick was born and sent a few photos but he didn’t seem very interested.

I thought maybe meeting Dominick would change his mind. I wanted my son to grow up knowing his dad but I wasn’t going to chase Danial down and try to make him be a parent. The party was my last shot.

I brought Dominick to the cake and Danial was right beside us. That gave me a little hope.

Everyone cheered except for Aunt Roberta, who was starving.

Dominick became an adorable toddler. He reminds me of Conrad at that age.

Dominick Nouvel - Genius, Couch Potato

As the party was winding down, I got up my courage to speak to Danial.

I was really nervous but we needed to settle things once and for all. I would not have Dominick growing up like little Lashanda, who was so hurt and disappointed by her father’s neglect. I approached Danial cautiously and asked him if we could still be friends for our son’s sake.

I didn’t notice at the time that he was busy making eyes at the catering waitress we had hired for the evening. I was totally unprepared for the violence of Danial’s reaction.

“You stupid wench. I don’t need to be your friend and I don’t want the kid. I spend every night in a different city with different model or two or three. You were fun to play with while I was stuck here in between gigs and I might do it again if you got me drunk enough but that’s it.”

“And if you try to come after me for child support, you and the kid will regret it.”

Oh no he did not just threaten my son.

“I don’t need a dime from you Danial Newbie.You’re an asshole and I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. I’m going to call my lawyer and have your parental rights terminated. So if you ever come near me or my family again you will be on your knees begging for mercy after what we unleash on you.”

Needless to say, the party was not a huge success. I think we provided gossip fodder for the rest of the year.

Conrad was doing so much better since his last treatment. So was Bambi. They were both in high school now and spent even more time together. A couple of brainiac kids always had their heads together over some calculus or physics stuff.

Or at least that’s what they wanted us to think. They thought they were being sneaky but everyone knew what was really going on.

Secretly holding hands on the bus. Jeez was I that obvious as a teenager?

Are you alright Bambi? Cuz it looks like my brother is “leaning”.

Aww young love is so sweet. Especially after all the stress and worry we all went through when Conrad was little. It was so special to see him able to be a normal teenager.

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Conrad did have a few interests other than Bambi. He and dad were very close and had wicked chess matches a few times a week.

Con also took an interest in gardening. Mom was an excellent cook and Con loved to hunt down the perfect ingredients for her famous recipes.

Conrad was fascinated with space. From the time he was litle, he dreamed of becoming an astonaut, the first Sim to land on Mars. But his body was too weak from years of illness to handle the vigorous physical training required.

He got an opportunity to make a little money tracking a new satellite that had entered our system and began doing more odd jobs for the science center, bringing them specimens of fish and rocks. So Con decided to focus his intellect on breeding the perfect bio-mechanical organism that would not be limited by human frailties and could explore the furthest reaches of the galaxy. It sounded like some mad scientist junk to me but he was totally into it. And it would give us a chance to get in with the Alto cell in the science center and hopefully force them out.

Inheriting the Nouvel legacies is a big responsibility. I’m really glad I have my parents and Aunt Babs to help me out at first. From the time I was little, I knew I was supposed to carry on Grandma’s name and pass the house and land to my daughters but Aunt Babs’ legacy blew my mind. Every industry in Riverview is run by a mob out of Sunset Valley? It sounds like the plot of a cheesy made for tv movie. It was a lot to take in you know?

So I found myself roaming downtown to the diner. A lot of theater folks hang out there, playing for tips or jamming on the weekends. My friend Danial was there. He’d been touring with The Gnomes as a roadie/band manager for the past year so we had a lot of catching up to do.

I was so happy to see him again. We hung out for hours talking and drinking.

You know what they say. One drink led to another.

And I invited him to crash at my place so he wouldn’t wake his parents and little brother.

You can guess what happened next.

Blecch. Is every major event in my life destined to be some horrible television cliche? Getting knocked up from a drunken one-night-stand with a loser musician is so original. Yeah I said loser. Danial and I haven’t spoken since the day I told him I was pregnant. His last words to me were “Good luck with that. I gotta catch the tour bus.” What a jerk.

I had to take several months off work. There’s not much you can safely do in the theater when you’re pregnant. But I kept busy.

I practiced painting a lot. Aunt Babette was always there to encourage and critique my work. I really want to get good enough to paint portraits of Conrad and my children as they grow. I also continued to work on my music, composing new pieces and practicing around town. I recorded an album of kids songs and was invited to perform it at the library during story hour.

I had a blast. I was really starting to look forward to sharing music with my own child.

Babette came home from work one morning in a complete state of rage.

“That’s it! Those gnome-loving, llama-brained imbeciles have messed with the wrong lunatic. They will regret this.”

That night Babs called a family meeting. All of the adults were to meet in the kitchen at 10:00PM. We were all curious since Babs didn’t have much to do with the rest of the family. Once everyone was gathered around the table, Babette began her speech.

“As you know, with Dad’s help I infiltrated the criminal organization here in Riverview, looking for information related to the chemical spill and its effects on the population. I have still not made it to the top of the career but I did manage to confirm our suspicions. The spill was intentional. The organization planned to contaminate the entire town with their mind-altering chemicals, hoping to create a violent chaotic environment that would allow them to easily take control of all the major industries and services. And they have. The top people in every industry are all under orders from the Organization. The military base, the science lab, the hospital, even the smaller businesses like the spa and book store, all pay tribute and take direction from the organization. I had hoped that by becoming Emperor of Evil that I could change all of that myself, but it is going to take much longer. Tonight I was promoted to the Emperor’s second-in-command and I finally learned where the true power lies. The Emperor takes his orders from a council based in Sunset Valley, headed by the Alto family. Each business in town reports directly to them, so even as Emperor of Evil, I will not be able to free our town. But there is a chance that we can still make changes. After I was promoted I was given a chance to buy in to the warehouse and take a cut of the profits. I had to give the Altos a “gift” of 15K simoleans for the opportunity. My plan is to extend my influence over time and either buy or force them out of the warehouse. Then I can pass along ownership to Clementine as heir to the legacy. But that will only free the warehouse. So a Nouvel will have to make it to the top of every career in town and be given a chance to buy in to the business if we are going to restore Riverview.”

We all sat silent for a minute, stunned to realize how far the corruption had spread into our town. Then Riley spoke up.

” I have already been approached with an opportunity to “invest” 30K  in the hospital. I’ll go sign the papers on Monday.”

“Good.” said Babette. “The more businesses we can influence the better chance we’ll have at finally forcing the Altos out. Clem, with the promotions you are receiving, you should soon get the same offer at the theater. And when Conrad moves into a career, he can do the same. If the only way to save Riverview from the Altos is to own it ourselves, then that is what we’ll have to do.”

That night both my legacy and Babette’s passed on to Clementine. A single legacy to cement the Nouvel name in the history of Riverview and rescue our city from the evil Altos.

Just a quick update to let you know what happened with the other Nouvels of generation 2.

Elder Bertram

Bertram and Anitra had twin daughters Petra and Ursula. They tried for many years to have another child and finally resorted to fertility treatments. When baby Brendon was born, they were thrilled until the doctors informed them that Bertram was not the biological father. There had been a mix up at the fertility clinic. Unfortunately there was no way to tell who was Brendon’s true father so Bert raised him as his son. He’s a very good looking young man and just graduated high school.

Petra followed in her grandmother’s footsteps by going into politics. She married her second cousin Dustin Lesson and they had a daughter JoAnna who is in school with Conrad.  Here is a picture of Petra. I think she is just adorable.

Ursula works at the theater with Clementine. She is very artistic and musically gifted as well. She is still at home and has a baby daughter named Lashanda. Ursula won’t say who the father is but we suspect that wild boy Timmy Mather, Oscar and Lulu’s youngest son. Ursula definitely has the look of Blythe and Babs.

Speaking of Blythe, she and Chris Crosby have two boys.

Elder Blythe

My oldest nephew Earnest was horribly affected by the toxic dump. His psyche is extremely damaged and he can be violent at times. He was in and out of therapy and institutions all through his childhood. Now as an adult he is homeless. We see him around town sometimes and take him to the diner for a good meal or invite him home for a shower and a warm place to sleep but he will never stay for long. Dmitri, the younger boy is working in journalism and married his high school sweetheart Malika Williams. They have a newborn son, Reinaldo Crosby.

Chris and Anitra have both passed away. They are missed by everyone.

Poor Conrad seemed to catch every new illness that came along, MRSA, H1N1, everything. It seems this was another effect of the chemical spill. As each generation went on the contamination became more and more pronounced. Now it was weakening our children’s bodies, even causing death in some  cases. So we spent a lot of time in the hospital with him as a young child. Even his sister’s birthday. It was just Clementine and Riley at home to celebrate her 18th birthday.

Clementine Nouvel: Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper, Ambitious, Brave, Commitment Issues

Clementine knew exactly what she was going to do. Music was her life, her one passion. Even as a teen she had enjoyed playing for tips around town. So it was no surprise that she immediately took a job at the local theater. Clem hoped to eventually become a world class composer and she spent all her free time learning new compositions and working on her own tunes.

Her talent was obvious and she landed promotion after promotion.  She also began taking painting lessons from Babette after sitting for her portrait.

Clementine wasn’t the only one concentrating on a career. Riley was studying hard and had earned a couple of promotions as well.

And pretty soon he began to look like a distinguished doctor, until you noticd the bunny slippers under his scrubs.

Conrad had his big boy birthday in the hospital, but isn’t he handsome?

He did his schoolwork at home or in the hospital through tutors, but he did manage to make a homework buddy all the same. Bambi Rhodes was actually a distant relative. Her grandmother was Riley’s aunt Mary Kay Shallow. Bambi was another patient at the hospital. We saw her often during Con’s visits.

They were so cute. They usually requested to be in the same room and would spend hours working puzzles or playing chess together.

I think Conrad was getting used to being in the hospital on his birthdays. He was sick on his teenage birthday too. Riley had been working with the gene therapists on a breakthrough treatment that might strengthen the children’s weak immune systems. Conrad volunteered for the clinical trial and was finally sent home after his thirteenth birthday, hopefully for good.

Grumpy, Genius, Ambitious, Easily Impressed

Riley and me, we finally did it! Wait a minute, oh hell.

Okay I didn’t mean it like that.

What I meant was I finally became recognized as a professional author, earning over 4k simoleans a week in royalties. And Riley graduated from med school. He’s now a certified (and certifiable) MD.

Alright alright, and we did it. And I got pregnant, OMG what? I thought I was too old for this, practically grandma age. Because of my advanced years, I spent my entire pregnancy in the hospital on bed rest. I saw Riley every day during his rounds and Clem came to visit several times a week. She took on more responsibility around the house too, and made it on the honor role.

Even with all the precautions Conrad was born early and had to stay in the hospital a few months. We were finally able to bring him home just before his first birthday.

We had to be very careful about exposing him to germs so we had a very quiet birthday party. Just the immediate family. Con grew up to be an adorable toddler with the Nouvel eyes and his dad’s coloring.

Conrad: Bold Counsel (genius, grumpy)

Con was a very smart baby but so difficult to please. It seemed like he was never really happy. I was sure that the difficult birth and long hospital stay were the cause of his fussiness. Riley and I both spent as much time as possible with him, hoping for a smile or a laugh.

Riley even took him outside for the first time to teach him to walk.

While I spent a lot of time reading with him and teaching him to talk. His first word however, was a complaint.

The pregnancy and caring for a baby at my age really took a toll on my body. My hair started to turn gray and wrinkles appeared almost overnight. I woke up one morning and looked like this. EEeeeek! Scary old lady.

At least I wasn’t the first to go gray. Babs seemed to age up before I did. I’m not sure whether it was her stressful occupation or my late pregnancy somehow held off the aging process a bit but for a short time we didn’t really look like twins.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures of Clementine’s childhood. Our home was burglarized one evening when Riley and I had taken Clem to the movies. The thief made off with our television and stereo as well as several photo albums with all of Clem’s birthday pictures.

We had never worried about burglars before, as our house was definitely the poorest in the neighborhood. And with Babs so high in the organization, we should have enjoyed a crime-free existence but apparently this young man was an upstart who was not attached to the organization. We purchased a security system and replaced the electronics but there is no way to replace the childhood memories.

Once Clementine started school I began to focus on my writing. I was often away from home doing book tours and cons, so Riley was the main caretaker.

He helped Clem with her homework and was always up for a good game of tag.

Riley’s childlike nature made him a natural with kids and soon father and daughter were best friends. He did get a little rough when they played video games, always talking trash.

I missed being with Clementine every day but as soon as I got home, I would give her a big hug and tell her all about my latest trip.

The years passed quickly. I was writing hits and best sellers nonstop and had almost reached the pinnacle of my career. Riley was doing well in the medical field. He was working hard and going to med school at night. Babs was becoming absorbed in her mission. She had not yet made it into the inner circle but was very close. It seems like one morning I woke up and Clementine was a teenager. How on earth did that happen?

Clementine: Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper, Ambitious, Brave

After her party (why did the thief have to take the birthday album?), Clem immediately went to the city park to try out her new birthday present. Riley and I had bought her a guitar and Babs paid for a few lessons, although Clem seemed to be a natural.

She took to music like a duck to water. Her school work on the other hand, not so much.

Clem began studying with a couple of boys from school.

August Lobos was the grandson of mom’s good friend Carlotta. He was a sweet boy and I got the feeling he had a bit of a crush on Clementine.

Danial Newbie was in the school band with Clem. They had a lot in common. Clem didn’t seem to be romantically interested in either one though. She said she just wanted to get through school and work on her music. Boyfriends were a waste of time.  For the most part I was relieved that she wouldn’t be distracted by teenage boys, but I hoped she might change her mind as she got older. Clementine was the heir to the Nouvel legacy and I hoped she would not find it too much of a burden.

My pregnancy seemed to drag on and on. I was two weeks past due and still no baby so my OB decided to induce me. Riley and I drove to the hospital early in the morning in Dad’s old pickup. I drove because Riley could not get a license. Trust me, there was no way Riley was getting a license.

I felt so huge, like I was ready to pop. I was really hoping for a girl, because I did not want to have to do this again.

Riley stayed with me the whole time. The inducement went well with no complications and the baby was immediately given the special vaccine that Babs had promised. There was no way to know for sure at this early stage, but everything looked promising. So the next morning I was released with my daughter Clementine.

Riley could not come home with us. He had missed one day of work already for her birth and dirty bedpans wait for no man. Clementine slept heavily all the way back home in the cab.

I hoped she would continue to be such a good sleeper. Since I worked from home, I would be the primary caregiver. Thankfully she was. Of course she had her moments like any baby.

But for the most part, she was content to sleep and listen to her classical lullabies in her crib.

Riley adored her. As soon as he came home every day, he would stop to see his daughter.

Clem’s first birthday was the same day as my 30th birthday. Babs was in prison again and Riley was working long hours as a paramedic so we didn’t bother with a party.

Clementine (merciful, gentle) - Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper

She looked a lot like me, with Dad’s gray eyes. But I was rather surprised at her soft buttery blond hair. Riley said it came from his mother Lydia Pearl-Shallow.

I updated my look a bit to go with my more mature age. Plus it was easier to take care of Clementine in jeans and tennis shoes.

Now that she was a little older, her personality was really starting to shine through. Clementine loved her xylophone and other musical toys, but she also liked to play dolls with Daddy.

She also loved to pull out all her books and read them over and over again.

And of course we didn’t neglect her basic skills. Riley and I both worked on the potty training. He taught Clem to talk.

While I helped her learn to walk.

Our little girl was growing up so fast.

Riley was thrilled to move in with us. He did not really fit in with the rest of his family. The Shallows were old money and very cold and snobbish. Riley was a genius but very childish and had been hurt terribly by his parents’ neglect and condescension. Now living with us he was free to be himself. His alien contacts wanted him to get a job in the medical field. They were gathering research on different aspects of Sim life and had given him a mission to become a surgeon. So Riley woke bright and early the next day and trotted off to become a doctor.

I was a little worried about the sleeping arrangements. I couldn’t bear the thought of sharing a bed with another person all night. Having someone that close for that long made me really nervous. Luckily, Riley was not inclined to share a bed either. He was worried that when the aliens came to beam him up for testing at night, they might miss and take me instead. So he took over Mom and Dad’s old room.

Speaking of Mom and Dad, we soon felt their presence among us again. They apparently had not broken all their earthly ties. It was almost as if they were still alive.

Dad spent his time working out.

And Mom spent hers just working.

I have to wonder how the other world leaders felt, receiving correspondence from beyond the grave.

Babs and Riley weren’t fazed at all by our incorporeal visitors. It freaked me out at first but my life was already so weird that hanging out with two ghosts was really not much stranger than hanging out with a crazy crook and a demented doctor.

And it was good for my career. My new novels Back From the Other Side and Ghosts of My Parents were flying off the shelves.

With Riley moving in and the baby coming soon, we needed more room. We extended the first floor, adding a bedroom and studio for Babs downstairs.

Babs was rising up the ranks of the organization and working long hours at night. We didn’t see much of each other any more. So it was nice that Riley was there to help while I was pregnant. He was so excited to have a child to play with soon and could not wait to be a daddy.