The Windsor Family Season 7

George Windsor—Elder male family sim
Aries personality
Neat 5, Outgoing 8, Active 6, Serious 3, Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—have 6 grandchildren—Achieved!

Andrew Windsor—Adult male fortune sim
Aquarius personality
Sloppy 4, Shy 4, Lazy 4, Playful 7, Nice 6
Lifetime want—become chief of staff—Achieved!

Elizabeth Windsor—Adult female family sim
Cancer personality
Neat 6, Shy 3, Active 6, Serious 4, Nice 6
Lifetime want—reach top of education career

James Windsor—Teen male popularity sim
Sagittarius personality
Sloppy 4, Shy 4, Active 9, Playful 7, Grumpy 2
Lifetime want—own 5 top level businesses

Edward Windsor—Teen male pleasure sim
Sagittarius personality
Sloppy 4, Shy 4, Active 9, Playful 7, Grumpy 1
Lifetime want—50 dream dates

Victoria Windsor—Child female sim
Sagittarius personality
Sloppy 4, Shy 3, Active 9, Playful 7, Nice 6

Sophie Windsor—Child female sim
Libra personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 8, Lazy 2, Playful 6, Nice 7

Lily Windsor—Toddler female sim
Cancer personality
Neat 6, Shy 3, Active 6, Serious 4, Nice 6

In the last update—Andrew and James worked on getting the family business to a level 8. George fulfilled his lifetime want of having six grandchildren as the Windsors adopted their final child, Lily. The family grew up as Victoria and Sophie became children and Edward became a teen. Edward dedicated his life to pleasure and wanted fifty dream dates, as his old brother, Philip, had done.

Season 7—Spring

George loved spending every single available moment with his grandchildren. They made him the happiest man in the world. Playing with Lily was so rewarding. And, George knew he definitely had a lot to be proud of.

Elizabeth was grateful that she had George to help raise the children. Andrew still preferred to spend all of his time at the hospital, but Elizabeth wanted to advance in her own career. Thanks to George, Elizabeth was finally able to focus on her career and earned promotions to College Senior Professor and eventually even College Dean of Students. Still, there was nothing more rewarding than coming home to a happy family.

Philip and Amaya made frequent visits to the house so they could spend more time with their family. The place was still way too crowded for Philip to even begin to consider moving back in, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to socialize with his siblings.

Of course, there were always people coming over all of the time to simply hang out, play pool, and make friends. With a popularity teen and a pleasure teen, the house was always full of people

With that many family friends, Lily’s birthday party had to be a huge event. Half of Emerald Isle joined in for the festivities.

Unfortunately, as Lily was blowing out the candles, an unexpected visitor arrived.

Death had come for George. “Oh my God, what kind of party is this?” Alyssa Cory screamed as she saw the grim reaper extend his bony hand.

Everyone broke into tears as George passed away.

George was ready. He’d led a fulfilling life and had achieved his biggest dreams. Still, the death of everyone’s favorite grandfather at Lily’s birthday party gave everyone a bad memory.

Poor little Lily couldn’t even stop crying long enough for anyone to get her birthday portrait. She kept her head in her hands sobbing and refused to even look at the camera.

Andrew tried to be strong for the family. He didn’t want his girls to see daddy crying. He tried to hide his pain, but he’d just lost his father. Andrew went outside, pretending to work on his money tree garden, but he actually just wanted to cry alone. Even as he forced himself to come inside, he couldn’t help wiping back a few tears.

Lily awoke the next morning having not slept well at all. It was her first day of school, but all she could think about was how much she missed her grandfather. She didn’t think she could make it through the school day without breaking down into tears.

That night was George’s funeral. Everyone finally let out all of the pain they had been holding inside. There wasn’t a dry eye in the cemetery as Andrew gave his eulogy. George had lived a good life. He’d been a successful politician for years before moving to Emerald Isle. He’d raised a lovely family that would carry on his memory.

Sophie was taking her grandfather’s death particularly hard. James gave her a hug to try to make her feel better. He promised to play with her after school every day like Grandpa George had. He even offered to help her with her homework from then on. Sophie appreciated the effort, but she still just couldn’t stop crying. She missed her grandfather so much.

Lily was worried about her sister as well. She finally pointed out to their parents that Sophie didn’t seem to be getting any better weeks later. The rest of the family had started to move on, but Sophie still came home from school and cried every day. Andrew and Elizabeth offered to do anything that would make Sophie feel better. Finally, she admitted that she thought she’d like a kitten. It was the only thing she could think of that might raise her mood. Elizabeth called the Humane Society and asked to adopt a kitten right away. A police officer dropped him off shortly after that. Sophie fell immediately in love with the little white runt. She named him Omi. Omi was exactly what she needed to start feeling better.

Lily invited over a friend she’d met at school. She had ended up crying most of the day her first day of kindergarten. A lot of the kids made fun of her for it. They called her a crybaby because they thought she was just crying because she missed her mommy and daddy. However, there was this one little boy that came over to talk to her at recess. He was really nice to her and let her talk about her grandfather.

After a while, the kids in her class forgot about that first day, and Lily became popular. She was pretty, fun, and energetic. All of the other children wanted to be her friend. Lily liked her new friends, but she made sure to still make time for Severus. He’d been her kind protector that first day when she really needed a friend. Lily would never forget that. Unfortunately, most of the other kids still picked on Severus. His first day of school, he’d shown up with a black eye. That combined with his shy and serious personality made him an easy target for the taunts of cruel children. Severus’ brother Harry tried to protect him and tried to have him included in recess games. Lily had punched a few boys herself for playing cruel pranks on Severus. He was an odd friend. Lily had never met a child that was so serious and cynical. Still, she knew that he was a true friend that would do anything for her. In the end, that was what mattered the most.

So, Lily invited Severus over to play often. He would go along with any activity she suggested; although, he frequently just watched her swing or let her beat him in tag. Lily knew that he loved to play chess, which was such an odd hobby for a child, but she had him teach her how to play. The simple logic of chess was one of the few things that would put a genuine smile on his face. Lily cared as much about his happiness as she did her own, so chess quickly became their favorite after-school game.

It was hard to get Severus to open up. He was so quiet and reserved, but sometimes after they had been playing for a long time, Lily could get Severus to talk to her a little. She was particularly worried about him one night. It had been a bad day at school. Severus had forgotten to do his homework and the teacher made fun of him for it in front of the whole class. Then a couple of mean boys roughed him up a little at recess, but they stopped when Lily came running to his defense. Lily didn’t know how Severus always managed not to cry. She’d have burst into tears if the teacher had made fun of her like that. But, Severus was always cool on the exterior. Lily worried though, what was going on inside his head. Finally, after they had been playing chess for several hours, Lily broached the topic.

“Will . . . my dad” Severus corrected himself as he began, “says he’ll pay for me to go to private school if I want. I want to go. Today was . . . humiliating. I don’t know how much more I can take, Lily. But, I don’t want to leave you.”

Lily felt an odd swelling in her throat. Severus was serious. He was contemplating staying in their school just to be with her. “Are you talking about Emerald Isle Academy?” Lily asked as she shook off her shock. “My sisters and brothers go there. Mom and Dad said I could go there after kindergarten. I could ask if they could get me in now. I’m sure they’d say okay.”

Severus grabbed her hand, which surprised Lily further. He was normally so reserved. “We could go there together, you and me. Harry, too,” he quickly added. “Nothing is going to separate us. We’re best friend for life, right?”

“Right!” Lily agreed with a smile. Her parents got her into Emerald Isle Academy with no trouble at all. By the sixth child, the admissions process was simply a formality. Lily was very proud to be going to private school now with her older sisters, and Severus would be joining her there just as soon as his admission application was approved.

Edward was dealing with his grief over the death of grandfather the only way a pleasure sim knew how: clubbing every night. Edward started out going to Midnight Flows, but he found the place too cheery. He started going to more and more hard-core clubs until finally he started hanging out at the Crypto-Night Club every night. Dancing there among the caskets and the funny blood colored drinks was the only place that Edward didn’t feel depressed. One night he met a boy that asked him to dance. Edward was all about fun, so he agreed. The odd thing was that he found himself having romantic feelings toward the boy. Edward didn’t know what to make of that, but he did have fun dancing the night away with his friend. He even went back the next night and asked Joshua to dance again.

Confused about his feelings, Edward wasn’t sure what to do. He decided to talk to the only person he thought might possibly understand. Edward called his brother Philip and asked him to join him at the park. They went fishing and chatted about nothing for a while. Finally, Edward got up the nerve to discuss everything with Philip. “Philip, you know I’ve been sad since Grandpa George died, but I don’t seem to be having the same reaction as everybody else. I don’t really want to have family time. I just want to go on dates and go clubbing at night. I’ve been sneaking out a lot.”

“I was the same way at your age, Edward. There’s nothing wrong with letting yourself do some activities that make you feel happier. All I ever wanted to do was go on dates with Amaya. I’ve settled down some since I was a teen, I guess. I like to spend more time with our sisters, for one, but when you’re depressed, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to go out and have some fun. Enjoy sneaking out and clubbing if that’s what you want. Just be sure to keep your grades up for Mom and Dad,” Philip advised.

“What if . . . what if I only want to go clubbing with a boy? What if I want to go on dates with boys?” After the initial hesitation, the words came out of Edward in one giant rush.

“Oh!” Philip said, completely and totally shocked. He nearly lost his fishing pole into the lake he was so taken aback. Maybe his brother wasn’t just like him. He had to take a minute to absorb the fact that his little brother had just told him that he was gay. Philip realized that every moment he took before he responded was killing Edward, but he wanted to be sure to take his time and say the right thing. “Does dating this boy make you happy, Edward?”

“Yes,” Edward answered immediately. Being with Joshua was the only thing that could give him that super-happy platinum feeling. When he wasn’t with Joshua, he was still all that Edward could think about.

“Then I think that you should have fun being with him. Life is too short not to make yourself happy,” Philip commented. He wouldn’t have chosen for his brother to be gay, but if that’s what made him happy, Philip didn’t care.

“I knew you’d understand,” Edward said with relief before he gave Philip a hug.

“Hey now, don’t go getting all sappy on me. I’m not one for family moments,” Philip laughed.

Emboldened by Philip’s advice, Edward went to the Crypto-Night Club hoping to find Joshua. He was there, just as he was every night. “I was hoping you’d be here. Why don’t you and I get out of here? Maybe we could go home to your place?” Edward asked.

Joshua took his hand. “I’d love to go out with you, Edward. But, we can’t exactly go to my place. I live in my car. I suppose we could go make out in it if you want, though, I’ve found the changing booths here to be easier.”

“You live in your car?” Edward asked, confused. “But, you’re just a teen. What about your family?”

Joshua shrugged. “I don’t really need one. They never did much for me anyway.”

“But what do you do for food? Do you have a job? Do you really sleep in the car?” Edward was full of worry for his friend.

“I do what I have to in order to get by,” Joshua said vaguely.

“No!” Edward realized that he’d yelled it. He knew that he had no claim to Joshua. The teen was free to do whatever he wanted, but in Edward’s mind, he was already his boyfriend. Edward couldn’t stand the thought of Joshua living like that. “You can come live with me. My family has plenty of food and . . .”

“And your parents are going to let your gay boyfriend come live under their roof?” Joshua raised an eyebrow. “Do they even know that you’re gay?”

Edward’s heart leapt at the mention of ‘boyfriend.’ Joshua obviously felt the same way about him. “No, they don’t know, but . . .”

“Forget about it, Edward. Look, I really enjoy being with you. You make me feel special, like I’m not trash. If you’re willing to overlook the fact that I’m homeless, we can still have a really good time together,” Joshua offered.

“The fact that you’re homeless doesn’t make me like you any less,” Edward reassured. “But, I can’t stand the thought of you living like that. I’ll tell my parents. They’ll understand.”

“No!” Joshua exploded. He took a breath to calm himself for a moment. “Look, that’s when things turned really bad for me. I can’t let you do that to yourself, Edward. I’m fine. I’ve been living like this for almost a year now.”

Edward’s heart suddenly ached as he realized how Joshua had become homeless. “Okay, I won’t tell them. Just come crash on my couch for the night. You can just be my friend. You can get something to eat and have a warm place to sleep. It’s still pretty cold out for March.”

Joshua reluctantly agreed. He’d been freezing in his sleep recently, and he was hungry. The next morning, things seemed to be going okay until James saw Joshua. “And who’s this, your boyfriend?” James asked with a laugh as he gave Joshua a noggie.

Edward cringed and pinched his temples. Of all of the embarrassing things to happen . . . Edward didn’t know what to do.

“Oh my gosh, he actually is . . .” James dropped his hands from Joshua’s head. He’d meant it only as brotherly joke. It was a big brother’s job to pick on his little brother’s friends. Edward’s reaction had given him away, though. “Sorry,” James said as he blushed at how he’d put his enormous foot in his mouth. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” James found himself saying.

“No . . . I think it’s time I tell everyone myself,” Edward decided.

“No, Edward,” Joshua said with alarm.

“I’m not doing this for you, Josh. I’m doing it for me. I’m tired of hiding who I am,” Edward whispered.

“I guess we can live in my car together if it comes to that,” Joshua offered.

The talk with his parents went better than Edward had expected. His parents weren’t angry. They said they loved him, however he was. That really made Edward feel good inside. He told them about poor Joshua’s plight. He wanted Joshua to move in with them. His parents refused, saying there just wasn’t room for anyone else to live in the house, especially not once Philip and Amaya moved back in. But, they offered that Joshua could have a house key, and was welcome to sleep on the sofa or raid the refrigerator anytime he wanted.

“How’d it go?” Joshua asked as he nervously waited at the bottom of the steps. “Do I need to make room in the car for a permanent guest?” He joked about it, but he was terrified that Edward would end up hurt and outcast like him.

“They said you are welcome to spend the night whenever you want. They said that if I truly love you, then you’re a part of this family, too. You can’t move in, there’s not room, but you’re allowed over anytime you need.”

“You told them you love me? Even . . . knowing everything?” Joshua asked with tears in his eyes.

“Of course I told them I love you, because I do. Can I ask one favor, though? Can we make it official? Will you see me exclusively now, Joshua?”

Joshua agreed as he hugged his boyfriend. “I love you, Edward. Thank you.”

Edward lit a fire in the fireplace to warm Joshua. He couldn’t imagine how cold it was sleeping in a car when it was still occasionally snowing outside. He found some blankets and said goodnight to his love.

Joshua didn’t spend the night every night. Some spring nights were warm enough that the car wasn’t that bad, and he didn’t want to be a nuisance to the wonderful Windsor family. On those nights he’d drop a rose by Edward’s door to remind him that he was still thinking about him and keeping his promise to stay faithful to Edward.

Life seemed to move on after that. Everyone had their thing that kept them happy. James had started a garden and enjoyed working in it to relax. He spent so much time out there that he earned a silver gardening badge. Andrew had taken up robot crafting. He earned 50,000 simoleons and a gold robot crafting badge. Elizabeth had her teaching, Sophie had her kitten, Victoria and Lily had their friends. Family had to be important to them all, but it was okay to escape and enjoy whatever made them feel fulfilled.

Elizabeth cried when it was time for another one of her boys to leave for college. She was proud of James. It was a good thing that he was growing up, but it made Elizabeth teary eyed all the same. He’d earned scholarships for his grades, all of the available skills, and dancing. But, it seemed like just yesterday that Philip had left for college and now he was all grown up. James would be an adult starting a family of his own before long. Elizabeth took heart in hoping that would mean grandchildren soon.

Season Recap

1. George passed away at Lily’s 5^th birthday party. The loss devastated the family.

2. Sophie adopted a kitten, Omi.

3. Lily formed a strong friendship with Severus Turner. Lily was also accepted into private school.

4. Edward began dating Joshua Jennings, a gay homeless boy.

Points Recap

Previous non-money points 141

Top influence at time of death, George +1

Platinum grave, George +1

New non-money points 143

New money total for this household to be added for neighborhood points 184,208 simoleons.

Author’s Notes

Sorry this update got a bit wordy, but I really fell into some of the stories I’ve got developing here. The Lily and Severus stories are fitting together well, and Edward’s boyfriend demanded that I write a background story for him.

George’s death at the birthday party was insane. I’m glad I got pictures. I’ll have to keep that in mind, though, if I have an elder that’s about to die. Note to self, have the birthday party earlier in the day.