Residents: Blazej & Jania Jeffress, Louis & Loraine Proudmoore, Aiden Proudmoore
With a soft click, the other end of the line went dead. Loraine growled in frustration, poking the ‘end call’ button on her cell phone. She stood there for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.
That little homewrecker was a crafty one. Now she had a kid and she’d managed to cut off Loraine’s inside connection. Serena was weak. She wasn’t meant for a life of crime; too busy dating and being carefree. Loraine could go on without her. Besides, she’d isolated Kitty completely. The rest would take care of itself. it was a shame a child had to be caught up in the mix.
Setting the phone aside, Loraine’s mind wandered past her plots and planning. The last few weeks had been quite hectic. She was beginning to wonder if things would ever go back to normal.
The beginning of the trouble was Louis finally coming clean about the affair he had with Kitty. While Loraine had witnessed it herself and had known for quite awhile, the rage bubbled anew and it took every bit of self control she had not to do him in. She could have him ‘taken care of’ and no one would be any the wiser. Unfortunately, she had her own weaknesses. She’d just have to deal with the consequences.
Things in the house were extremely tense afterwards. Even little Aiden could feel it. One day he came to Loraine and even admitted that he had seen ‘Aunt Kitty’ around while Loraine was at work. It had been in the past, but it meant Aiden knew. His childish innocence masked the true meaning behind it, but soon that veil would be lifted. It was a sad thought, but it gave Loraine some weight in the family.
Despite the tension building up around him, Aiden continued to be quite the over-achiever. He got straight A’s and was quite the popular kid at school. It helps when you’re grandma is Mayor and you get the trademark Proudmoore charisma. Loraine did her best to reassure her son and keep him as oblivious as possible. The time would come when he would play his part, but until then… she had to preserve him. She did not want him to be broken by the knowledge of his father’s misdeeds. Especially when he idolized him so much.
Jania was also making her own waves. After a long time in the position of Mayor, she finally stepped down, allowing her good friend Alan Love to take her place. It was a happy occassion. Jania had done all she wanted to do in the office and felt death creeping upon her. Before she left this world, she wanted her family to be stable. In order to do so, she’d have to spend many hours at home. If she was lucky… she would be able to set the wheels of change in motion.
Poor Aiden didn’t deserve to come from a broken home.
It wasn’t long ago that Jania called Loraine aside. They spoke in hushed tones despite the fact that the house was empty. Using her way with words, Jania tried her best to usher a sort of change in Loraine’s attitude. The woman was still very angry and bitter. It was no secret that Loraine was also quite vengeful. Jania didn’t want to see her son hurt, even if he was a fool. So she kept trying and trying until finally, she made a breakthrough.
“You love my son, don’t you? And Aiden? Do you think it’s best to continue this?” Jania prodded.
Loraine sighed, “No, but I refuse to act as if nothing happened! It did. Actions have consequences and this just happens to be one of them. Your son seems oblivious to that fact.”
“He’s always rather impulsive… it’s just a trait of our family. I know, he let it get out of hand… but I’m sure that he is sorry and if you would speak to him, you’d know this.” Jania replied softly, trying her best to paint a better picture. “The affair with Kitty is done. He and I have spoken on this matter extensively… and there are dire consequences if I see any hints of a reunion.”
“It is not your pl-”
“This is my family, Loraine. The only real thing of value I will leave behind. I may have been quite the kid in my day… but it’s all serious now. I have a broken home.” Jania stood up, causing Loraine to take a step back. Their eyes met for a moment before Jania took her leave. “Talk to Louis.”
Against her better judgment, Loraine did as Jania said. She knew the old women well after living her for several years. Jania was dead serious about everything she said and the consequences of not following through would be catastrophic. Besides, Loraine did miss Louis, even if he was terrible lout of a man.
Louis had insisted he take her out to talk it over. She played it difficult, before finally agreeing. It was nice to have an excuse to dress up outside of her evil lair. While she was no spring chicken anymore, her Derico genes ensured that she’d look youthful for a long time. Louis was floored by her choice of dress. It worked like a charm.
They didn’t talk much. It had just been an excuse to be together. That is all it took for Loraine’s ice to melt. She did love her husband, and it was that love that made her feel so terribly betrayed. However, being away from everything allowed her to forget, if for only a moment. There was no Kitty and her bastard child. It was a perfect, Kitty-less world.
By the end of the night, the two had reconciled their differences. It would take some time for things to return back to normal. Louis would find himself pushed to the limit trying to rebuild Loraine’s trust. Especially when that nagging question in the back of his head wouldn’t leave him alone. What had Kitty wanted to tell me?
Unfortunately, tragedy soon struck. Blazej passed away unexpectedly one afternoon. He had been watching the Yummy Channel repeats of his cooking show when he drifted off into a peaceful slumber. He never woke up.
Jania was heartbroken, but she did her best to remain strong for her family. Louis was beside himself with grief. Poor Aiden still asked after grandpa, not fully realizing the weight of the situation.
Aiden’s birthday soon came, however, and knowledge was suddenly abundant. Especially the kind he didn’t want to have. Suddenly, everything fell into place. He understood what had happened between his parents, the gravity of what had happened that day he saw Kitty and Louis together, and that grandpa wasn’t coming back and grandma had one foot in death’s door.
He was not the happiest of children. He found himself resenting his father and mother. He hated his father for hurting his mother, and he couldn’t understand why his mother had let it happen. Aiden continued to excel in school, but his relationships at home were very strained.
Jania left this world with that knowledge. Her time had come, she could do no more, but she wished for Aiden to come to some sort of understanding and closure. He was the future of the Proudmoore line and as such, there was a lot of weight on his shoulders. She hoped he wouldn’t buckle under the pressure as Louis had seemed to.
At least Jenna had turned out well, even if she was married to a vampire. Jania had entertained thoughts of leaving her the estate, but didn’t want to disrupt her happy life. So everything went to Louis and Loraine, with Aiden listed as the next one on the line. The family was at a loss, everyone mourned Jania’s passing… even Loraine.
As there has always been, balance reigns supreme. With death there is life and so forth. Loraine was quite surprised to find herself feeling the familiar symptoms of pregnancy. She was middle-aged and pregnant. Even more upsetting was Aiden’s reaction to the news. He was not happy. He thought his parents careless and pitied the poor child.
Loraine tried her best to patch things up with her son, but it was an uphill battle and she just didn’t have the energy to climb. So she let him brood and tried her best to look forward to the newest member of the family. She was hoping for a girl.
After a breezy pregnancy and labor, little Petra Proudmoore was brought home. She has her mother’s hair and complexion, but her father’s eye color. Petra was the band aid the family was in desperate need of. She brought Louis and Loraine closer together, and even Aiden found himself melt at the sight of the small child. His little sister. He had no idea that he had another sibling… and if he did, not even Petra would be able to patch that situation.
Aiden Proudmoore
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I just realized I have some ‘backlogged’ photos from the time I spent playing last week. So I’ll probably have a few updates. Hooray for three day weekends.