If this is it

Round 13: Winter 2019


Patrick Marlowe is 72, Vicki is 68, Alexandra Hayes is 45, Quinn is 43, Aaron and Ethan are 11 and Jeremy is 8.
(Stephen is 18.)

Narrated by Alexandra Hayes

I got a call to work that Quinn had been in a car accident. He drove to Brixton University that morning to enroll into the master's program. On the way back some lunatic had rammed him off the road! The police caught the guy and he was drunk.

I rushed to the hospital immediately. I guess I looked quite panicky because doctor Grace Cooper grabbed me by my arms and told me that Quinn was doing alright considering the circumstances. I felt a huge wave of relief.

She had already put a cast on his broken arm and stitched up his face. He was more conserned about the car though. Men!

Grace came in and told us that they would keep him in for observation for one night but he would be free to go home the next day.

He got some physiotherapy too. Mainly just massage because his muscles are really sore from the crash.

He got home the next day and I'm sure he'll be fine in no time. Mom is doting on him, making sure he eats and rests. I think she secretly enjoys having someone to take care of at home during the day.

Being on sick leave has given Quinn an opportunity to start working on his master's degree. He can only type with one hand so he's making a very slow progress on his paper.

We got a new problem just as I was happy that Quinn was recovering from the car accident. Jeremy was playing with Donna outside when all of a sudden he ran inside.

"Mommy, mommy, Donna won't get up from the ground" he yelled. I rushed outside to see what was happening. She just lay on the ground and wagged her tail.

I called a taxi and took her to the vet. They put her on an iv drip but they said that she's old and weak and they couldn't give any guarantee on whether she would make it or not.

Aaron and Jeremy were playing outside when I came back. I think Aaron understood that I didn't have good news so he tried to keep Jeremy occupied by playing cops and robbers with him.

Ethan was inside with dad. I whispered to dad that it didn't look too good for Donna.

Later that evening I got a call from the vet that Donna had died in her sleep.

It was so late that I didn't tell anyone until next morning.

Mom tried to put on a happy face and insisted on making breakfast but I could tell that she was sad. We had that dog forever and she was a member of our family.

Mom finally broke down in the evening after the boys had gone to bed and started crying. She said she had known that Donna wasn't going to be around for much longer but she still felt really bad that she didn't have the chance to say goodbye.

Quinn and I tried to come up with something that would cheer everyone up. We decided to invite Stephen over for the weekend. I called him and said that we would pay for his bus fair if he wanted to come. He said he would come on Friday after his classes.

Mom was so happy to see him. I know she misses him so much now that he's away at college but she's also very proud of him.

I can't believe how grown-up he looks and sounds. He hasn't decided on a major yet but he wants to work in intelligence so it has to be something related to that. I was a Mathematics major so naturally I tried to convince him to major in Maths too but I think he's more interested in History or Political Science. Hearing him talk about his studies kind of made me miss my years in college. I was a total mess back then though so I wouldn't want to be in that position again.

One thing I don't miss about college life is the food. Stephen said that they still serve mac and cheese in the dorms. No wonder he ate two hamburgers on one sitting!

Notes:

• Title from "If this is it" by Newton Faulkner
• Sorry for the long hiatus. I got back to work two weeks ago and don't have much time to play now. I've been working on some buildings for the hood so I haven't been completely MIA. I'll try to get more updates online during this week.
• First ROS of the round: Quinn rolled the car accident one. It gave me a chance to show off the new hospital. Those of you who are members of N99 probably know that I tore down the hospital that I used for the winter birthdays post. It was too big and I didn't really like it. I'm very happy with how this one turned out.
• Donna was really old. They bought her when Thomas was a toddler and he's 32 now! I have a new way of aging pets so there won't be over 30-year-old dogs in the future.
• I really need to change my sims into season-approriate clothing. The kids playing outside in their t-shirts is a no-no even if it has been a very warm winter!