Violet had lived here for so long now. She could remember the excitement of moving in, she and Harold finally being able to move out of lodgings and into their own home. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. The house was full of memories, both happy and sad.
This wasn’t the fanciest end of town, but it had been a respectable address, nevertheless, not like the slums to the north. Only now the shipyard was closed, its glory days long gone, and speculative developers were beginning to move in, buying pieces of land up as cheaply as they could.This was among the last of the neat little terraces that had once been lively with shipyard workers and busy housewives and children playing out on a summer’s evening. The families who’d once lived here had long gone…
The MacPhersons had moved to be near their grandchildren: they’d been the first to go when the yards started closing down. They’d tried to sell the house, but there had been no buyers, even back then.
Then there had been the fire at the Albright’s house, and though both Mavis and Sidney had got safely clear and unhurt, they’d never come back: they’d gone to stay with her sister after the fire, and then decided to move there permanently.“We discovered we really liked seeing so much of our nephews and nieces,” Mavis had explained, a bit apologetically, when she came back to say goodbye to Violet. They hadn’t even bothered trying to sell the house.
And old Mr Wilson? After his wife died, he just went downhill so fast. He stopped doing the little garden that had been his pride and joy, moved into an old people’s home and died two months later. He didn’t seem to have had any family at all, for the house stayed empty and untouched. And now Violet was the only one left in the street.
Sometimes she saw no-one but the postman from one week’s end to the next. It was amazing how often she just “happened” to be doing some gardening when he was due.
“Morning, Mrs G. How are you doing today? Garden’s looking lovely, as always. And my wife says thank you for the cuttings – they’ve taken really nicely”
She picked up the post and took it inside with a sinking feeling. The end of her savings was very nearly in sight. And she wasn’t sure what she was going to do then. No-one would buy the house – apart from a developer. And he would offer a knock-down price – and then knock them all down anyway. But she and Harold had been so happy here. He’d been so proud of being able to buy a house – not bad for someone who’d started as the most basic of hands at the shipyard. Letting it be knocked down would feel like she’d betrayed him. What was she going to do?
“What are you going to do?” Jack was almost wailing, and that wasn’t like him.“I’m not going to let us be split up,” Terry said firmly. “Those buildings over there look derelict – maybe we can camp out there. But first of all we’ll have something to eat. Then we’ll find somewhere we can stay. Then we’ll collect our stuff from the station locker. And then maybe I can find a part-time job and you can look after Emily while I go to work.”
They walked across the bridge to the diner. Those buildings did look scary though – Terry could see why Jack was nervous about them. And not much frightened Jack. Apart from the thought of them being split up, that was…
“What about those houses over there?” Jack asked.“But they’ll have people in them,” Terry protested.
“No, look. That one’s got no back door. And that one’s been burnt at some point. Jack was sharp-eyed and observant. Terry squinted at them to bring them into closer focus.
Jack was right. The end two were derelict. That might be a possibility.“Okay, we’ll go and have a look at them. But we’ll have to be careful in case there’s other people around.”
“The house at the far end has someone there.” Terry kept her voice down to a whisper. “We’re going to have to be really quiet and careful.”They tiptoed inside the house.
“We could close the curtains to stop people seeing us,” Jack said tentatively. At least this was four walls and a roof over their heads. “And that outhouse in the garden is a toilet.”“And there’s a firepit we could cook on,” Terry agreed. “We can start here. And maybe I can find a job near enough to walk to.”
“Or cycle. Didn’t you notice the bike in the back yard? It might need a bit of oiling, but I bet you can make it work again.”
“Let’s look upstairs first before we make any plans.”
And that was what decided it for them. There was a single room upstairs, with a hole in the corner of the floor and a shabby old-fashioned wallpaper – and a cot. Somewhere for Emily to sleep.“We can clean that up,” Jack said confidently. “And they’ll be a laundrette somewhere. How much money have we got left?”
“Not much,” Terry said ruefully. “Let’s get our stuff from the station locker and we’ll settle here for now. We’re going to have to watch Emily though and make sure that she doesn’t fall down that hole.”
And, like downstairs, there were curtains for the windows. They should be able to stay hidden, at least for a while.
“You play with Emily, Jack, while I see if this bike can be fixed.” They’d bought a can of oil, a puncture repair kit, a very second-hand potty for Emily and an equally second-hand toy for her to play with. And Terry really needed to find a job because they needed food and a back door. Though maybe they could catch some fish in the rather murky waters of the bay: there’d been a second-hand fishing rod in the same shop they’d found the toy and the potty. But as long as no-one found out about them…
Only someone already had. Violet had spotted them from her upstairs window when they first arrived. She’d thought they were just children exploring an abandoned building, and had sighed with relief when they left without causing any damage. Then they’d returned, carrying stuff. A boy – nasty, noisy things – and a girl who was old enough to know better.And a small child. Not much younger than their little Rose had been when she’d died of measles. No vaccines back then, not for measles, anyway. He heart turned over in her body. And she watched how tender and loving the older two were with the little girl. She pulled the blind down again and went downstairs slowly.
Violet stood by the telephone, undecided. Surely she ought to call someone? The police maybe? But then the memories swept over her again – sitting on the floor with Rose, playing peekaboo like the boy had been doing. If she called the police, would they separate the children? Take the little girl away from her family? She couldn’t do that to someone else. She knew how much it hurt.And her house was secure. She had the burglar alarm. She had good locks on all her doors and windows. She could phone for help if the boy or the girl looked like a threat. She didn’t really trust the two older children, but the little girl now…that was different.
Download the house and family here:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9534352
Special rules for this renovacy:
Although they don’t realise it, the two families need each other. Violet’s money is running out…Violet has to pay the bills until the two families have made friends with each other, so any money Terry earns can be spent on the house that the children are living in.
Set Violet’s doors to “Allow me only” as she doesn’t yet trust the children. Do the same with their doors, and leave the centre two houses accessible by anyone.
Violet being there means that Jack can babysit Emily while Terry goes to her part-time job without the game mechanics kicking in and demanding that she hires a babysitter!
Terry can’t go to school for the moment, as Emily needs looking after. Jack can though.
When they are all friends, then Violet will babysit and Terry can go to school as well.
Terry and Jack can salvage anything they find in the two central houses to use for themselves.
It’s totally up to you if you want to play that they acquire the two central houses and convert the whole terrace into one shared house!
