The Broke-Lee Family: Week 6

Click here for the 5th week with the Broke-Lee-family.
Note: because of there having been two surnames up until recently in this household, they were played twice each round. Therefore, it is their 6th week already.

Welcome back to the Lee-Broke family. If you have read the chapter about their previous week, you'll know that they moved to this art-deco-style house which came into our games with the Mansion & Garden stuff pack (I think).

Dustin Broke (left) is, as you all know, Brandi Broke's eldest son - now an elder himself. He and Emily Lee, his college sweetheart (right), got married not that long ago. The lady in the middle is Opal Contrary, just visiting. Both Dustin and Emily are City Planners. To be in that position was their lifetime want, and of course they are on Permanent Platinum and are (mostly) treated as unplayables.

The architectural office is on the ground floor. Many of their designs are on display here.

Upstairs are the master bedroom and Lee's room. Lee is Dustin's half-Alien son; he was named Lee in honour of Emily's last name. Very fittingly, he wants to become a City Planner just like his parents. For now, he is a teenager with still a long time to go before he can start college.

The week at the Broke household (Emily took her husband's surname when they were married) starts on Wednesday, because that is the day they moved here. On this Wednesday, Pleasant Servo passes by and is greeted by Emily.

The Brokes share a meal of Grandma's Comfort Soup.

Lee is happy that his parents (ok, Emily is not his biological mother, but their relationship is just as close as if she were) finally got married and threw a great wedding party, and he tells his Dad so.

On Thursday, Emily is seen busy doing some gardening in spite of the family having a hired gardener coming twice a week.

She even finds and clears up a pile of dead bugs - I never saw it!

She has good reason for making sure that everything is spic & span, because the Private School Headmaster has been invited for an evaluation visit. Lee really wants to get ino Private School, and so I forgot my "unplayable"-rule about Emily and Dustin for a few Sim-hours and let them do what they can to make the visit a success.

The Headmaster is most interested in Lee's Alien heritage, and asks lots of questions about the home planet of his other father. Of course, Dustin can't tell him anything - he can remember that he was kidnapped by the Aliens a long time ago, but can't remember any details. Emily is amazed the Headmaster is asking such personal questions.

But the visit ends successfully, and on Friday, Lee goes to school for the first time in his brand new uniform.

Padma Patel walks by in the afternoon, and Lee greets her. So far, he has not shown any particular interest in a girl (or a boy).

For several days now, he has spun up the wish of buying a cell phone. I don't think any other Sim in the entire neighbourhood has one - I usually don't consider it important enough to act on that wish, but this time I thought, why not, and have Lee take a taxi to Sims Gone Wired, a community lot that I can't even remember ever having played.

Lee buys his cell phone and is then free to roam the premises.

He meets Padma Patel again.

Then he bumps into one of his many half-siblings. This one is Lance Landgraab, who is obviously overjoyed to meet another family member.

"An espresso for my brother, please!" Lee celebrates the new-found sibling.

Back home, he spends Saturday afternoon fishing with his Dad. He earns his Bronze Badge.

Emily prefers drafting a new design at her drawing table.

On Sunday, both his parents go to work in the city. Lee invites over some friends and half-siblings: Charlie Cho, Padma Patel, Martina Martin, Lance Landgraab, Paola Picaso (front to back)...

...as well as Hailey Hart, Ramon Ramirez and Wilma Williamson (back to front).

It is a very demure party; the young people don't even dance (there is no stereo in the house). Instead, they sit down for a meal.

There are not enough chairs for everyone, but the others don't mind eating in the kitchen.

Looks like Ramon Ramirez is quite interested in Martina Martin!

The kids leave not long after Lee's parents return home. Dustin unwinds at the fish pond and makes his Silver Fishing Badge.

Monday passes rather uneventful, with work and school for everyone. It is now autumn, and the leaves want raking.

On Tuesday afternoon, the gardener has just left when Emily puts a match to one of the piles of leaves (which the gardener should have dealt with, actually, but never did). To her horror, the flames spread much further than just the leaves.

Dustin is resting in the living room and has no idea what is going on outside.

Lee gets off the school bus and finds his mother ablaze. In his effort to help her, he gets too close to the flames himself. I wonder what I bought him a cell phone for!

Only when Mr. Reaper appears for Emily, Dustin realizes something is going on and comes running outside.

Minutes later, only a tiny pile of ashes is left of his wife and son.

And the fire is still burning! Now two townies, who happened to walk along, are panic-stricken. It had been raining a lot during the week, and even on the same morning, but now there is no rain to quench the flames.

They leave without helping Dustin, who soon follows his wife and son.

Mr. Reaper was busy today! Emily and Dustin were 66 when they died in the flames. Lee was in his mid-teens. The Broke surname still has a chance to be carried on through either Beau or Benvenuto, but so far, neither of them have a girlfriend. The week at this household is over - and so are, unfortunately, the lives of three Sims who have done nothing to deserve this - nothing but my determination not to intervene.