Rachael looked out the window of the taxi as they pulled up to the house. After a week away she was happy to be home and looking forward to seeing her brother and sisters and Ochre though the children would still be at school at this time.
"Is that a patio?" she asked turning back to Cerulean after seeing the addition to the side of the house.
"Patrick already approved all the changes. He thought you and Rhidian would like to have an outdoor area for entertaining guests. We moved his garden out a little farther but it's all there."
Rachael smiled, "I like it a lot."
Mags was waiting for them at the door when they pulled up.
"Welcome back," she cheered as they climbed out of the vehicle. "Told you we could manage the kids for a mere week."
"You did. And they weren't any trouble?"
"None at all. They had a great time at our place and your uncles place too. The workers finished yesterday. I'm only here to deliver the keys to you."
"Thanks Mags," Cerulean said.
"Come on," he took Rachael hand as he opened the door, "I'll show you all the plans Patrick and I came up with for the house."
"Don't forget dinner this weekend is at our house," Mags said as she left.
"You're not coming in?" Rachael asked.
"Not today. And Patrick will be back after the children get home. Bye now," she waved and continued walking off.
"After you," Cerulean opened the door and gestured Rachael inside.
"Wow," Rachael said stopped in the doorway and felt her jaw drop.
The gray walls were replaced with a bright blue paint that complemented the blue sofa, love seat and living chair in the room. An area rug set the sitting area apart from the walkway through the room. On the wall across from the sofa was a new television and the old bookcase.
"It's beautiful," Rachael said looking at Cerulean.
He smiled and pulled her through the room to the hallway.
Rachael looked ahead and saw bright yellow walls in the room.
Through the doorway the room opened up into an informal sitting area with a fireplace. The desk was set up in the corner of the room with another bookcase next to the boy's doorway and the dollhouse in the corner of the area.
"The patio is through that door," Cerulean said pointing to the door. "The bathroom and Patrick's room are still through these doors. Rhidian has decided to start bunking with Patrick so that the kids keep their rooms. The kitchen is through there."
"Why are they sharing a room?" Rachael asked.
Cerulean looked down for a moment before saying, "it was Patrick's suggestion. He knows he is getting older and doesn't have much time left to live so the room would be going to Rhidian at some point. Rhidian refused at first but he accepted the arrangements before we left."
Rachael closed her eyes in rejection of the eventuality of Patrick's death but like they said it was coming and they would do better if they could start accepting it now.
Taking her hand and drawing her attention to him he pointed to the bookshelf. "I thought you might put the books you write in this bookshelf and at night we can sit and read or talk in front of the fire while the kids are playing."
They turned to look at the other end of the hallway, "the bathrooms still on the right. All the kids things are in here now, except the monkey bars which are still out front."
"The girls and Ochre chose the new wall color together. Patrick thought it might be better to open up the rooms with an arch making it more of one larger room though both rooms have their own doors to the hall."
"The girls are used to sharing a room but how will Ochre feel?" Rachael asked looking around and through the arch to the boy's bed.
"Up until now he has needed someone near to fall asleep so it should be good for him. As they get older we can put up a wall to separate the rooms again."
"It's so much more than I ever thought possible." Rachael said trying not to cry.
Cerulean smiled and pulled her back out of the room. "There's still more," he said leading her to the kitchen.
"Rhidian was supposed to pick out the furniture but I have a feeling Mags helped when it came to choosing colors."
Rachael laughed because the colors of the room did look like ones her friend would choose. "It looks wonderful though. It's relaxing in here. Just like a kitchen should feel."
Cerulean smiled.
"The dining room is through that archway now, so it's a separate room."
Rachael walked over and looked inside. The room was set for five at the moment but she thought they might be able to move chairs around and seat everyone in here for meals.
Then she looked through the windows and saw the garden outside. Rachael gasped putting a hand over her mouth as she felt tears well in her eyes. Her mother's and her grandmother's gravestones sat in the middle of the most beautiful and colorful flowerbed she could imagine.
Cerulean walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her before laying his chin on her shoulder.
"Patrick thought you might like the garden for your mom outside there."
Rachael turned in his arms and looked up at him. "It's perfect," she smiled at him before kissing him, "thank you."
"You're welcome. There's just one room left now."
Rachael looked at the door on the opposite end from the entrance. Cerulean stepped aside and let her lead the way to their bedroom.
Rachael opened the door and looked around.
The colors of the walls nearly matched the kitchen, though they might be a shade lighter. Or that could be the result of all the windows in the room giving it an open feel. The furniture contrasted with dark woods, while the beds gray coverlet matched the cooler blues and grays of the window treatments. Two blue chairs sat in the corner near windows for natural light for reading.
The doorway led to a master bath with a standing shower and what looked like a Jacuzzi bathtub.
Cerulean stayed near the doorway while Rachael explored their new room. "Anything you don't like we can still change. There's room on most of the walls for your grandmother's paintings that you kept, or you can go shopping and get new painting to put up."
"Where did we get the money for all this?' Rachael asked knowing she hadn't had nearly enough for one room let alone all the rooms that he had done.
Cerulean shrugged, "I've lived with my parents or Viridian and Mags all my life. I get paid very well for what I do and I've never had expensive taste or need to spend much so I've saved a lot of money over the years. I figured it would be for Ochre and his education but now seemed like a good time to start using it."
Rachael looked around in astonishment.
Cerulean walked over to her and took her hands. "Is it okay? I wanted it to be my wedding present to you."
"Lean it's so much more than I ever dared hope I could do. Thank you," she said kissing his cheek.
He smiled before pulling her close. "This is how you thank me," he said kissing her on the lips.
Random Ramblings
So this was supposed to be part of the next chapter but it was getting too long so I cut out the next part and put it in a new post.
So basically this chapter is just a tour around the house and a look at all the changes I made. The basic layout is the same I changed colors, made the hallway bigger, added the dining room, patio and cemetery. Other than that it really is a lot of the same. Just better looking.
Yeah so story wise they were broke after moving to the new house but really they had all their money intact and goodness was it a lot. Over 300,000 simoleans. She is the 4th generation in game after all.
So really it's all her money used for the new house even if I say it was his.
Well done! Such lovely colors. I really enjoyed seeing it all!
ReplyDeleteThank you. When I first built the house I used the cheapest ready to go rooms and stuck them together (since they were supposed to be poor). With Lean moving in I allowed myself to get creative and really decorate. That is something I've loved to do since Sims2.
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