Everything neat, everything just so. That was how AnnaMarie liked their life to be, and Paul put up with it. He was fond of his wife: they’d shared many years together, brought up their son. Yes, he wished he could spend more time in his workshop, but married life was a series of compromises. And AnnaMarie had never complained when his job had taken them from place to place for a good ten years, but had quietly made a home each time.
It was only when AnnaMarie started complaining about their son, Sark (she’d named him after where they’d gone on honeymoon) that Paul didn’t know what to say. She’d wanted him to become an accountant – or better still, and actuary – given his undoubted gift for maths. The music – that could be a hobby. AnnaMarie still couldn’t believe that Sark was actually happy.
Sark had gone to university to please his mother, and met Fern when he was in his third year and she was just nineteen. They’d fallen in love, married, and Fern had given birth to Tara ten months after the wedding. Now, surely Sark would settle down, AnnaMarie thought – and kept urging him to do so, especially when Colm was born a year and a half after Tara. And Sark had tried, though he winced whenever his mother phoned.
But he hadn’t been happy, working nine-to-seven and Fern had been lonely and felt neglected. They began to argue, and Sark longed for the uncomplicated days when it was just him and his guitar in the park. The cracks began to appear in their marriage.
AnnaMarie’s illness brought them all closer together as a family. In responding to the emergency, Fern and Sark rediscovered the sense of being a team, of pulling together instead of pulling apart, and their passion for each other flowed in its proper channels again.They listened carefully to AnnaMarie’s final advice to them, knowing that she loved them and wanted the best for them. But wanting the best for someone and knowing what that is are two very different things. All unknowingly, AnnaMarie sowed a disastrous crop, telling Fern it was all about being indoors, having a tidy house, telling Sark that what mattered was job security, salary, a good pension…and after AnnaMarie died, they both tried to follow her advice, but never thought about whether it was the right advice for the people they both were.
And there was another baby, Siobhan, conceived during that period of closeness. AnnaMarie had lived just long enough to see her. Sark was offered a promotion – longer hours, time working away from home – but he took it, remembering his mother’s advice. Their marriage dissolved under the stress of it all.
Paul was heartbroken. He went and stood in the bedroom Tara and Colm shared when they came to stay, looked at the toys he’d made for them, and couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing them again.
Normally, he tried not to interfere in Sark and Fern’s life, but on a sudden impulse he pulled his phone out and called Fern, told her how sad he was for them both. His genuine sympathy got through her defences.“Oh Paul – I thought marriage would be an adventure. I fell in love with Sark because of that. But this is just so boring, so dull. And I’m so lonely.”
“But what will you do, my dear?”
“Go home to my parents. They’ll say, ‘I told you so.’ Look for a job as soon as Siobhan is old enough for me to leave her at a nursery…It’s a shame I never finished my degree.”
“If I can ever help you, my dear…”
“This is a completely crazy idea.” Nevertheless, his father sounded more alive than he had done for some time.“I know,” Sark agreed. “So what do you think?”
“You’re suggesting we buy this old railway station and renovate it? Turn it into a home?”“Why not? You’ve lost Mum. Fern’s leaving as soon as her parents are back from their Australia/New Zealand tour. With the children…”
“Fern wouldn’t stop you seeing the children.”
“Fern – no. But her parents have never liked me. I’m the rebel who spoilt Fern’s university career. They’ll find a way to keep us apart.”
“This used to be the Ladies’ Waiting Room. We could open it right up, make a sitting room. There’s the old ticket office – that would make a kitchen, and the gentlemen’s waiting room could be bedrooms and bathroom. And over on the other platform…”
“Look! A proper workshop for you, with a bit of work.”“And a new roof!” But Paul could see the possibilities, had had enough of being alone in that tidy house that had once held the two of them.
“Why not? Let’s do it!”
It was beyond basic when they moved in. A bed for Paul and a sleeping bag for Sark, and they’d either have to eat out, or cook on a campfire to begin with, but they were both confident that they could do this, and it would fill their lonely days.
And then, returning from a trip to the local DIY store, Sark saw, standing at the entrance, the last thing on earth he wanted to see now.“WHAT are you doing here?”
“My parents didn’t want us. They say they’re not giving up their retirement plans. We’ve got nowhere else to go.”
“This is your side. Stay off my side. The children are welcome, but you’re not. I’ll see that the children are fed, but you’re going to have to sort yourself out.”This is a renovacy – a renovation legacy, so to speak.
Rules for this family:
Fern can’t have a job – she has to look after Siobhan. Paul will babysit occasionally, though and Sark will take her to the library to read with her.
The children can’t get jobs, because they’re too young, but they can fish, collect things – anything like that to help earn money.
They need to be A grade students as fast as possible, and stay there.
Your goal is to transform their living accommodation into a proper home.
You can’t sell the wallpaper or flooring – you have to paper over it.
You can dumpster dive, root through junkyards and so on for anything you can find.
Paul can sell his inventions.
Sark can play for tips.
Fern can do her side up from what she can earn, but she can’t spend Paul or Sark’s money.
You can try to restore all the damaged relationships if you want to. If you manage to get Fern and Sark to fall in love again, the two buildings can be made into one.
Download the house and family here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9164894
Cyclone Sue has some amazing railway custom content over on TSR, including railway lines. Mutske has some brilliant roof stuff too. This is the station after I’ve added some of their content.
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