Chapter 11: Changes

The end hadn't come quite as Gunther expected.  He was ready to grasp Grim firmly by the hand and, with a slap on the back, slip into the ethereal realm.  Instead, he stumbled across a breathing mass of dark brown fur.  He had made too much noise before realizing the importance of silence.  With a grunt, sniff, and yawn the mass of fur took the form of a bear.  Gunther stood rooted to place for a moment.  He didn't even know bears lived around Sunset Valley, let alone in the catacombs.  Of course he made the worst possible decision when his senses came back to him and the awe wore off.  Gunther ran.  The bear got his fair share of Gunther, but Gunther made it out of the catacombs before the bear could end him.  Being mauled to death was not the headline he wanted to be splashed across the front page of the paper.  Gunther grabbed a book and headed to the hospital to be bandaged up.

Gunther played off the bear incident in the catacombs as an accident.  He told no one of his real reason for being there.  The last thing he wanted was to be locked up in the psych unit in the hospital.  The family took his story at face value and life returned to the normal hustle and bustle of the Manor.  Soon it was Alexander's and Damen's birthdays.  It happened to fall in the middle of the week so no party was thrown, but since it was a transitional birthday they decided to celebrate with cake.  Mortimer and Bella could hardly believe time had gone by so quickly that their little baby boy was going to be a toddler.

Then it was Alexander's turn to blow out the candles.  Their   boy was shy at most times but when he was excited he could hardly contain himself.  Bella held tight.  Alexander made a reach for the candle.    The flickering flame piqued his interest.  Like any curious toddler he wanted to hold it and put it in his mouth.  With encouragement from the rest of the family Alexander eventually  followed Bella's example of blowing out the flames.

It shouldn't have been a surprise, yet Bella was amazed that her three natural children looked so different from each other.  She saw families around the neighborhood in which all the siblings looked similar.  Though she supposed that she and her brother didn't share so many features.  Bella saw her husband snicker to himself out of the corner of her eyes.  Then she noticed it too.  Damen may have taken after his Grandpapa, but in just the right light anyone could see a slight purple tint in his reddish brown hair.  Cornelia had left her mark.

Alexander was a genius and he enjoyed being alone, but he wanted more than anything to just belong with everyone else.  He just didn't know how to do that.  The new glasses weren't helping either.  He spent time worrying about what others thought of him and not caring that other children even went to his school.  Alexander's parents told him they were thinking about sending him to a special boarding school where all the students were exactly the same.  He meekly took it all in and didn't argue a single point.  Deep down he hated the idea.  Alexander fell back on the one constant he knew he could trust; Jada.  In turn, Jada went to their parents and convinced them to have Alexander stay home.

Alexander did the best he could to stay out of his parents way.  He didn't want to give them any reason to send him away.  Alexander discovered an old chess table that looked like it hadn't been used in decades.  The wooden board was inlaid into a stone table.  He held each piece, one at a time, in his hands.  Alexander closed his eyes and let his fingers memorize the feel of each piece; memorize the difference of each carving which made each piece distinctly unique.  It was still weeks before he would play the game.  After getting the feel for each piece Alexander would spend countless hours lining each piece by rank with not one out of perfect line.  He began to play and had eight move sequences in his head.  Alexander had tried to get Jada to play with him, but when he beat her in four moves she vowed to never play chess again.  After a successful game he sometimes wondered if there were other kids at the advanced school who could beat him, but he still didn't want to leave.  Chess was a fine game to play alone.

Damen became sure of himself quickly.  Mortimer and Bella started to teach him to walk after he tried to follow  Cassandra around.  As the youngest of four Damen wanted to be anywhere there were other family members.  Damen was  quick to learn the basics. Mortimer was sure he knew how to do it but when it came to  showing off to others Damen wouldn't let go of Mortimer's hands.  Damen toddled around on his little legs as much as he could but like each of their other children he wanted to be carried around by his parents .

Cassandra was getting increasingly more agitated with each passing weekend.   There was nothing to do in the small boring neighborhood that she hadn't done a thousand times before.  Cassandra was meeting Darryl at the pool one evening... again.  Cassandra hated the place but since no good movies were at the theater it would have to do.  The pool lost its charm when it became apparent none of the boys were noticing her.  Cassandra eventually formed a plan for herself out of complete boredom.  Once Darryl arrived she shared her secret with him. She was going to get an after school job.

Darryl knew better than to try to talk her out of it.  He would gladly switch places and not have to work but life just didn't work out that way.  Instead he just listened, like he always did, and then convinced her to go swimming for a little while.  Since he was a guy it took him less than five minutes to change so he had to bide his time while Cassandra took her sweet time.  He crept closely to the girls locker room and once the door opened he grabbed Cassandra before she had time to react and threw her in the pool.  A water fight ensued with Cassandra the clear winner by the end.

Darryl grew accustom to Cassandra getting distracted by checking to see if the guys were looking at her.  What she didn't notice was that when she wasn't paying attention to them Darryl was.  He didn't know why she would even bother with getting their attention.  They would just use her because of her family's standing in the community.  Darryl saw one of his classmates eyeing Cassandra while her back was turned.  The look was part lust, part mockery.  The guy started making gestures as if he would have Cassandra blow him right in the picnic area.  The group laughed hysterically.  Darryl challenged Cassandra to a breath holding contest before she could notice the guys and mistake the attention for flattery.

Cassandra had talked about hatching many a hare-brained schemes to deride her boredom.  The most current plan was serious to her.  She felt she would literally die with nothing to do if she accepted living like a rich brat.  Most of her classmates held part-time jobs around town.  Cassandra didn't understand why her parents discouraged her from having a job.  She secretly started applying places and going to interviews.  Cassandra figured that she would tell them once she had one so they couldn't really do anything about it.  Finding a job was harder than she thought it would be, but a last attempt with the "wanted" ads proved to be the jackpot.

When Alexander's countless hours playing chess turn to countless weeks Mortimer and Bella began to worry.  They enrolled him in Sim Scouts at school.  Then they learned he had found a way to play chess there as well.  They knew Alexander had a tendency to become obsessed with activities that were comfortable for him.  As his parents, they had to make sure he wasn't consumed by his obsession and challenged him to explore new things.  Alexander's weeks turned to months so Bella and Mortimer decided to intervene.  They bought him a telescope.  Since space was so expansive there was no way he would get stuck in a obsessive routine.  At first the telescope sat, gathering dust.  Then the curiosity about the wonders of the universe got the better of him.  Alexander stayed up much too late, but searching the universe opened up new worlds to which he could escape.

Alexander had his good days.  For as much as the good days were good, his bad days scared everyone in the house.  At times his reclusive nature held to him like a vice.  Alexander would completely withdraw and wander aimlessly looking intensely at the smallest details of the world around him.  His family knew to watch him carefully so he would not wander off;  realizing when he became aware of his surrounding he was lost with no recollection of how he got there.  Bella and Mortimer saw this happen time and time again on the manor grounds.  The thought of Alexander wandering away terrified them.

Once they were children Alexander and Jada were given separate rooms.  It was a hard adjustment for Alexander.  Jada was the one he trusted completely; the only person he let into his lonely world.  She was his best friend and they were forced to be separated by walls and doors because he was a boy and she was a girl.  Some nights Alexander would wake out of a deep sleep worried and confused.  He enjoyed solitude but in the dark of the night he couldn't stand being alone.  Alexander tiptoed out of his room and crept quietly down the hall.  At first he would try to sneak in with Jada but the next morning consisted of talks with his parents about privacy and overcoming his fear.  Eventually, he took to sneaking in with his grandfather.  Bella and Mortimer still tried to persuade him to overcome his fear but Gunther would usually step in to convince them Alexander was welcome and given time he would be back to his own bed.

Mornings after his sleepless nights were often hard.  It was during those mornings Alexander would fight going to school.  Nobody understood him there and the only one who wanted to play with him was Jada.  Alexander knew it wasn't going to last though.  She was starting to get new friends and wanted to play with them sometimes instead.  Not even his teachers could fully understand.  They often allowed him to sit alone and get lost in his work.  It was easier than trying to challenge him only to get basic responses and no eye contact.

The family ghosts stilled remained active every night.  Cornelia visited more often with each passing year of her death.  Ghosts had never seemed spooky or scary to the Goths.  Each passing member of the family came back to visit or watch over the living.  Their presence was a comfort to all in the Manor.  The ghost had always been an expansion of the family; offering silent support, wisdom, understanding, and pride.  With the exception of Lolita all other ghost were the pale white color of sims who died of old age.  The Goths were blessed to have a family graveyard that wasn't filled with deaths resulting from sickness or major accidents.

It was as if death was the great liberator for Cornelia.  No longer bound by the the responsibilities and expectations as a wife and matron of the Manor, she was able to do as she please.  Cornelia did not fancy herself as spiteful during her life in the Manor. She accepted her role with dignity and pushed her hatred deep where it couldn't surface.  She couldn't say the same in death.  No longer bound by society rules she made her anger and spite known to Gunther as often as she could.

Cassandra naively believed she was going to be able to hide her job from her parents.  She didn't understand, yet, her family's standing in the neighborhood allowed for her parents to know almost everything going on with the residents of Sunset Valley.  Of course they had heard about Cassandra's job almost to the minute she was hired.  Bella confronted her daughter before breakfast.

"When were you planning on telling your father and I about your latest decision?" Bella asked.  Cassandra froze like a deer in the headlights.  For a split second she weighed attempting a lie and telling the truth.

"Oh come on Mom," she rushed in exasperation.  "I'm tired of everyone treating me like trash because of who we are.  I can't even make friends.  I just want to be like all the other kids my age and they have jobs.  I want one too because I don't want to be a trust fund kid like Monte Alto or Nikole Landgraab."

Bella considered Cassandra's point of view.  It would be hard letting her have a taste of independence.  She argued for Cassandra to rethink and focus on homework or after school activities.

"Mother don't make me quit.  I'm not stupid.  I can be really good at this," Cassandra pleaded her voice growing louder as she prepared to have her first real fight with one of her parents.

"Cassandra, I know you can do it.  You just have the world yet to open up to you.  Eventually you will have to deal with all the responsibility.  Now isn't the time."

"Yes, now is the time.  I know that Dad did the same thing to Grandpapa because he expected a reaction just like this.  Now you are both doing the same thing he wanted to avoid."

Mortimer shot his wife a glance and nodded his head before grabbing breakfast from the fridge.  His daughter had positioned herself to come out on higher ground.  He'd be damned if he didn't believe she hadn't planned it from the start.  Bella was at a loss for words.  Cassandra positioned herself to win the argument.  Bella relented, "Cassandra having a job isn't fun and games.  It's a responsibility.  We are going to hold you to that.  You will face consequences if you stop taking it seriously."  Cassandra rushed at her mom with a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  She exclaimed.  Cassandra rushed off to get ready for school; too excited to remember she hadn't had breakfast.

Settling down after the drama of the morning Bella decided to spend some quality time with Damen.  They practiced talking together.  Damen was quite the odd toddler compared to the other three at that age.  His first word was actually his first two words; hazardous material.  Bella wondered when being a Goth started being synonymous with being odd.  She blamed her husband.  Try as she might to bring normalcy to the Manor and the Goth family it seemed genetics was always working against her.  Bella couldn't help but to smile.  It was awfully cute when Damen babbled 'hazardous'.

Darryl came home with Cassandra after school.  She could hardly contain herself from telling him all about her new job.

"So I'm working at the cemetery now," she said as casually as possible.  "We will have to hang out on the weekends mostly."

"Really Cassandra?  Of all the places you chose there?  They are all just going to make fun of you even more you know."

Cassandra pouted at him.  She thought Darryl would be the happiest for her.

"Don't be such a spoilsport Darryl.  What's wrong with you sometimes?  Can't you just be happy with me?"

"I guess, but that is weird place to be happy about getting a job.  The others that work there hate their job."

"Oh don't worry so much Darryl it will be fine."

Having an after school job was harder than she thought.  It took awhile before she found a way to balance homework and work and spending time with Darryl.  Often when she visited his house they would sit down to watch TV only to fall asleep on his shoulder before the first commercial break.  When it was time for Darryl to go to work he would gently scoot out from under Cassandra and gently lay her down the rest of the way on the couch.  He shook his head.  He thought it was lucky for her that she was part of such a rich family because she never would be happy if she actually had to work to help her family make ends-meet.

Gunther's initial attempt to meet an early end was a failure, but he still let the idea consume him.  There had to be a way.  He frequented the cemetery almost every night.  His family thought he was there to keep an eye on Cassandra and he did always walk her home after her shift.  Gunther's true reason for being there was to rethink the approach he would take to instigate Death into taking him.  He hoped for the stillness of the cemetery to inspire him into a successful end of life.