| Aztec Legacy |

After much anticipation and excitement, the twins celebrated their birthdays and journeys into teenhood! Chantico recieved her father’s virtuoso trait, and Metzli became lucky. As birthday presents, Metzli asked for her own room, which her parents were able to build as an addition onto the house. Chantico was happy with her room and asked for a trip to the salon. Now somewhat self-concious about her looks, she wanted more unique hair like her sister and mother and so got the tips of her red hair bleached platinum. Looks good, I think!

Metzli awoke with a start early the next morning. She had a nightmare about being taken prisoner by the government for threatening to expose a conspiracy. I need to get out of this house and get some fresh air, she thought. She got dressed and jogged down to the beach behind her house, enjoying the spray of the ocean and sand under her feet. Suddenly she saw something shiny in the early morning sunlight. As she got closer, she found a couple of rocks. One was a chunk of silver, the other looked like nothing she had ever seen. “Whoa! Silver and a space rock!” she exclaimed, picking up the rocks and putting them in her pocket.

“You, stop! You’re breaking curfew laws!”

Out of nowhere, a police officer took her by the arm and pulled her toward his squad car. Metzli felt a surge of panic. Police work for the government! They know! They’ll take me hostage!

“Sunset Valley penal code states  teen and child sims are not allowed off their home lots between the hours of 10 pm and 7am,” the cop stated. “We’re taking you home and informing your parents.”

Metzli blinked, she was moments away from freaking out. “But it’s 6:30am, officer. And I’m basically in my own backyward.”

“The law is the law, young lady. I’m just doing my job.”

Metzli was in tears by the time the cop dropped her off in front her house, partially from relief of not being taken hostage, and partially in humiliation of being picked up by the police for something so trivial.

Her dad was awake and waiting for her when she approached the house. She gulped. She  had always been closer to her mother, and she could tell he was in one of his grumpy moods.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, sneaking out of the house like that?” Artie bellowed.

“Dad, I wasn’t sneaking-”

“Don’t talk back to me, girl! Do you have any idea how embarassing it is for ME to have my daughter brought home by the police? What kind of things do you think run through my head when I see you sitting in the back of that squad car?”

Hurt and embarassed, Metzli ran into the house with the waterworks on full blast. Thankfully, her mother was up and Coatlicue pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

“Mawwwm… I didn’t… do… anything!”  Metzli gasped with sobs between her words.

“I know, sweetie. It’s okay, I’ll talk to your dad. Go wash up and get ready for breakfast.”

While Metzli was in her room pulling herself together, Artie was ranting to Chantico about Metzli’s “rebellious” behavior.

“You’re like my mini-me, I don’t have to worry about that from you,” he said, messing up her hair affectionately.

“Honestly, dad. I think you overreacted and should apologize to her,” Chantico answered in defense of her sister.

Artie raised an eyebrow. “How do you figure?”

“She’s got the outdoorsy trait, pops. You know she can’t stand to be cooped up inside. She just really enjoys being out there with the fish and the bugs and the rocks. We don’t really understand it because we don’t have the same traits. But it’s who she is and how she expresses herself.”

Artie was taken aback by Chantico’s intelligence and compassion. He smiled to himself. “Maybe you’re right, mini-me. Damn sure is something else when my little girl is teaching this old man something!”

Chantico went off to get dressed and he heard Coatlicue in the shower. He looked in the fridge, no leftovers besides birthday cake. Artie didn’t want a bunch of sugary cake for breakfast and with the wife busy,  he decided to make waffles himself. Metzli would appreciate that as an apology, right? And how hard could it be?

Without realizing it, Artie set the timer on the oven for hours instead of minutes. After ten minutes of watching TV, he noticed a distinct burning smell in the air. He ran to the kitchen and was horrified to see the stove engulfed in bright orange flames.

“COATLICUE! CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!”

“Artie, what the- OH MY GOD!”

Coatlicue called the fire department right away, her heart about to burst out of her chest. They never bought a fire alarm, because Coatlicue had the natural cook trait and cooked all the meals with no fire risk. My God, how could I be so careless as to not get an alarm? Hurry, firefighters, hurry!

In just a few short minutes, the fire had completely engulfed the stove, the two adjacent counters, and the dishwasher. All brand new kitchen upgrades, which Coatlicue worked hard to get raises for and saved up for weeks for.

The whole house was in chaos. There was not a fire extinguisher in the house, and all family members were in fear for their lives. Chantico and Coatlicue clung to each other near the ground in tears, Artie was trying to kill the flames by fanning them, but he only helped make them bigger. Metzli was on her own, neuroticism in high gear, freaking out and screaming that she didn’t want to die.

Luckily, their maid arrived for work within a moment. She had basic fire training and ran in with a fire extinguisher from her car. Right after she began blasting flames, a firefighter finally arrived and put out the fire for good.

“Be more careful next time!” the firefigher said as he walked out the door.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, no one was hurt. But the kitchen, Coatlicue’s hard work and pride, was ruined. Once everyone had calmed down, Coatlicue called the appliance store to find out about replacement costs. Her heart sank. With their current savings, she could only replace the stove and one of the counters. Replacing just those would leave them with a measly $200 leftover.

For the first time that day, Coatlicue looked squarely at her husband. Chantico looked at her mother with a mixture of curiosity and fear. She had never seen her mother look so angry.

Coatlicue’s voice began low and quiet. “How could you do this, Artie?”

“Wifey, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make breakfast for us.”

“You put our family in DANGER!” her voice now escalated to a shrill scream. “How could you take a risk like this? You can’t cook and we don’t have a fire alarm!”

“I-”

“And I put my whole heart, soul, and savings into this kitchen! I bust my ass to provide for this family! This whole house was built up from nothing thanks to MY hard work! Then it’s so easy for you to destroy part of it, and we’re back to being dirt poor again!”

Artie was shocked and hurt. She had never spoken to him like this before.  “Come on, wifey. You know I contribute too. I watched the girls when you were at work and wrote books for more income. We survived then and we can do it again.”

“You used MY funds to hire maids and babysitters because you were always so tired! And what extra income? You don’t even make $200 a week in royalties! Then you yell at our daughter for doing nothing wrong this morning! You’re no help!”

Coatlicue climbed into bed alone that night. Artie offered to sleep on the couch and she said, “Please do.” She needed more time to herself to cool off. Most of what she said in the kitchen wasn’t meant. She was in shock after nearly losing her family, but that still didn’t excuse going off on Artie.  She rolled over and hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

The girls were fine, with the exception of Metzli having a momentary freakout over thinking her mom would kill her father in his sleep. Chantico put her at ease quickly, explaining that fights are fairly normal in relationships and usually nobody gets killed.

I’m really glad I got a sister like Chantico, Meztli thought as she prepared for bed. She helps my neuroticism so much. I hope we never separate.

Coatlicue got up early the next morning and prepared for work. While updoing her hair, she stared at her now middle-aged face in the mirror. I’m going to be an elder in a couple of days. Time has passed by so quickly! It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with the girls. That reminded her. She had to talk to them about carrying on the Aztec bloodline. There was still an hour before work, so she decided to speak with Metzli.

Metzli was up early too, feeding her fish and polishing her rock collection. “Morning, mom!” she said cheerfully when he mother appeared at her door.

“Morning, sweetie. Got a minute to talk?”

“Sure!”

“Well, I know you’re still young, but have you ever thought about getting married and having babies?”

Metzli shook her head emphatically. “No way!”

Coatlicue’s face fell. This was not what she had expected. “Why not?”

“Because then the government knows all about you! With the marriage certificate and birth certificates of the kids, they know your social security number and where to find you! And then they’ll-” Metzli began to tremble as she felt a freakout attack building up. Coatlicue put her hands on her daughter’s shoulder to calm her down.

“Sweetheart, we’ve told you many times. These conspiracies are only in your head and the government isn’t out to get you. We’re all fine. Nothing is going to happen!”

Metzli shook her head again. “I can’t believe that, Mom. I’m sorry, but my brain just won’t let me. Besides, maybe it’s better off that I don’t have kids to pass this trait onto. ” She could see her mother’s disappointment. “Chantico would be a much better mother than I. I’m pretty sure she wants kids!” she suggested.

Coatlicue tried to smile positively. “I’ll talk to her. Thanks for being honest.” She suddenly heard the BEEP BEEP! of her carpool and speedwalked out the front door. Artie was still sleeping. She had meant to talk to him that morning too, but it would have to wait.

Artie was engrossed in a book when she got home, so she started on lunch without disturbing him. Hmm, I’m thinking Stu Surprise. She gathered the veggies on the cutting board and swiftly began chopping.

“Hey wifey,” Artie’s voiced sang softly behind her.

She turned around and smiled. “Hey sweetheart.”

“I sold my paintings, the ones we had in our bedroom. We now have about $3000 to fully replace the kitchen with.”

“What? Artie, you didn’t have to-”

“Yes, I did. You were right and I’m sorry.”

“No, sweetie, I was wrong and I’m sorry! You’ve helped me so much, I never could have made it without you.” She felt tears well up and her husband took her into his arms. When she regained composure, he turned her playfully back toward the counter.

“Now finish making my lunch, wifey. “Cause on your birthday, I’m spoiling you so don’t expect to do anything!”

Despite Artie’s protests, Coatlicue insisted on going to work on her birthday. As she neared her final life stage, she felt convinced she was over the whole birthday thing. Nonetheless, she was pleasantly surprised to come home to her family waiting with a birthday cake and candles.

“Woohoo! Big birthday wishes, Mom!” everyone cheered.

“I wish that my hair would never go gray!” Coatlicue exclaimed with a laugh.

“And you’re still beautiful, wifey,” Artie told her with a squeeze and kiss as her unique hair became the telltale gray of an elder sim. “Welcome to the Old Fart club!”

“Don’t worry, mom. We’ve got the fountain of youth right here!” Chantico and Metzli held up salon tools and a bottle of red dye.

“I don’t look half bad for an edgy, old lady,” Coatlicue said with a smirk while checking herself out in the mirror.

“Red tips are definitely you, mom. At any age!” the twins agreed.

As the day wound down, Coatlicue began to seriously think of retirement for the first time. I’m not ready yet, she thought. I want to reach the top of my career and give the girls some wiggle room when they become young adults and find their own jobs. But still, it would be nice to pick up a new hobby. I can’t cook all the time! She paused by Artie’s easel, then on a whim, picked up his pastels and began drawing on the canvas. Artie meandered into the living room after she had been at the canvas for about fifteen minutes. He grinned at the sight of her. “Is my wifey already passing me up as an artist?”

Coatlicue stepped away from the canvas and grinned back at him. “You tell me, Art!”

Artie’s expression completely changed. His face went from a wide smile to an odd, tense grimace from trying not to laugh.

“It’s, ah, really cute,” was all he could muster with a straight face.

This entry was posted on July 10, 2009 at 12:26 am and is filed under Generation 1, Generation 2 with tags artie, aztec, chantico, coatlicue, metzli, twins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.