[Sara, a single mother, and Mike, her son, are homeless and living in an abandoned park in
The Sims 3. You can backtrack to any of the first four entries (
1,
2,
3,
4,
5) or jump right into their continuing adventures.]
Sara visits Abraham Finkel at the condo he lives at. Despite the fact
that he looks like a poorly-dressed college dropout, he discusses
politics and nature. Oh wait. (The baby isn't Abraham's, though he
does pick the baby up and carry him upstairs.)
The usual comes up. Sara wants a home. Abraham asks what it's like sleeping on a bench. Sara says she wants to take a bath.
Abraham invites Sara up. Their conversation remains amicable. Sara's
rather concerned about the baby, though. I can't tell if her concerns
are maternal or merely curious. Abraham turns on the TV.
Sara meets the lady of the house. The baby may be hers, though I don't
see her interact with the baby (who's crawling off elsewhere) or with
Abraham. She's apparently a bit of a drama queen.
Sara then heads for the bathroom. She may not have showered for a week
(which, in "Sims Time," equates to about a quarter of her adult life),
but no one will accuse Sara of not taking care of her teeth.
Sara brushes her teeth once, twice, three times. Abraham finally has
to shoo her out of the bathroom so that he can use the toilet.
Maybe that was Sara's cue to just leave. She heads out the door, but
Abraham meets her out front before the cab arrives. They goof around.
Perhaps misreading the signals, Sara enjoys making faces with Abraham.
She heads back inside the condo. That might not have been the effect
Abraham was after.
On the other hand, getting on Sara's good side may have been a ploy all
along. Abraham drops a startling request on Sara: He asks for money.
Sara doesn't acknowledge the request. They both head into the kitchen
and grab some dinner. They sit at separate tables, and they stop
talking to one another. The mood is suddenly somber. Abraham's
request wasn't detrimental to their friendship, no; but Sara
immediately leaves after the meal. Abraham wordlessly cleans up after
her. Sara doesn't call Abraham again.
Back at the abandoned park, Mike is doing his homework, diligent as
always. He usually finishes it all before the strain starts to set in
and he has takes a nap.
I watch Sara head for the cab, and it looks like she's just going to go
home. Then I switch views back over to the abandoned park. When she
doesn't arrive, I have to look around town to locate her. In another
unexpected move -- one that makes me applaud her autonomy -- I find
Sara at the public pool, finally getting herself cleaned up.
The weekend arrives. Sara has been practicing guitar all morning, and
now she wants to play in the park. I send both her and Mike to Central
Park. She plays, and the crowd grows to a burgeoning half-dozen. Sara
gets uncomfortable with the size of the crowd, but she keeps playing.
Very soon, Sara will be good enough to play for tips.
Mike will have a birthday and become a teenager tomorrow. Sara
continues to pursue her dream of mastering the arts. Things are
looking up. But, without any income as of yet, there's one person
that's going to remove a tiny piece of what little Sara and Mike have.
It's the Repo Man.
And that's it, folks. This blog ends on an uncertain note. The story
of Sara and Mike will continue; just not in written form. Again,
special thanks to Robin Burkinshaw for his embarrasingly-addictive
Alice and Kev blog. Which is still ongoing. Do yourself a favor and go read his work. It's fantastic.
[Previous:
From the Bottom of the Harts' Fridge]