Chapter 34 An Encounter With Death

And Another With Life

At #2 Vintage Road, home of The Bertino Bunch, life continues to be totally chaotic. And no one in this household is very particular about household cleanliness. So it seems like someone is always getting sick. No one remembers who came down with flu first in the latest round of illness. But no one will forget who was last- teenage Roland. Everyone had pretty much recovered except for Roland and even he was feeling better. Well enough in fact to take a shower to get all the sickroom grunge off. But as he finished dressing after his shower he was overcome with a fit of coughing and soon found himself choking, unable to breathe.


Gasping for breath he gave a strangled cry and fell to the floor as an ominous presense filled the tiny bathroom.


Orlando, just outside the room waiting for his turn in the shower, heard Roland's cry and rushed in. To find death had arrived.


Orlando fell to his knees and begged for Roland's life. "Please, please, don't take my son."

"He's so young, he hasn't even begun to live."


Death offers a game of chance. And Orlando wins.
YEEEHAHHHH!!!
But Orlando is not a gracious winner. He badmouths Death. Not a good idea.

Yah, yah, I beat you! You're not so smart! Yah, yah!
"Watch what you say there, BOY. Your time is coming. And it will now be sooner than later."

Gulp
`Yes, Orlando now has his son back. But what will he lose in the future? Oh, is he ever sorry now for his hasty words.


Orlando has never been good at expressing his feelings verbally but later tries to tell Roland how devastated he was at the thought of losing his first born son.


As the family now all recovers from their illness the house settles back into a more normal state. Time to go back to school. Aura, Platal's youngest daughter is always hard to wake up. Someone usually has to go shake her awake. Here Orlando does the job

And she always argues and whines too.


But the threat of Social Services coming for her almost always gets her going in time. Yes, it usually takes threats to get her to school or to do her homework or to do much of anything except play.


Orlando has continued his habit of spending a couple of hours after work each day indulging in romantic pursuits involving various women. One day his relationship with Lisa Creelman matures to the point of her slipping into a clothing booth at the Mall with him.


The activity within the booth attracts a small crowd including one of the young Cormier girls, who hasn't a clue as to what is going on. A few crude remarks from a male bystander shock her to the core.


Medora Trollop remonstrates with the boor. She too is a romance sim but she doesn't approve of such gross behavior in front of children. Though the clerk seems to think it is all hilarious.



After Orlando emerges from the booth, Medora has a few words with him also. And a new relationship blossoms for both of them.


Roland, though not yet 15, is a family sim and is already having thoughts of marriage someday. But just which girl is provoking those thoughts? Tori Scott? Or his step-sister Lyra?


Lyra is still seeing Dominic Phillippine on a pretty regular basis. Usually at the Romper Room where they can pursue their idea of romance without interruption.


Here is a rare family dinner with most of the family present. Aura is probably taking a nap and Orlando is not yet home from 'work'. Leda, engaged to Forest Cormier, has already moved in with him. But the rest are there. Counterclockwise from the left, its's Lyra Enabler, Javier Bertino (Orlando's youngest) Roland Bertino, Platal Enabler-Bertino and Tesler Go, Lester Genester's youngest son.


And the situation between Lyra and Tesler, now both 19, continues to heat up.


Whenever no one else is around, they can't keep their hands off each other.


Something has to give. The tension between them is becoming unbearable.
They start going for 'walks' after dark in order to have more privacy. They have to slip out of the house so the younger kids don't try to tag along. There are a couple of old trees and a bunch of overgrown bushes out behind the house to give them some seclusion. And there in the dark they can let themselves go.

Tesler can't think of anything except how much he wants this girl


And of course she feels the same way. They decide it's time to take their relationship to the next level.


The ground may be hard....


But they don't notice.


And if they come inside from their walks a bit disheveled, with grass stains on their clothes, no one seems to notice.

How long does Orlando have before Grimmy returns? Will anyone find out about Tesler and Lyra carrying on? What will happen if someone does? What will happen if someone DOESN'T? Stay tuned for the next episode of All My SimChildren.

Next episode: Another wedding