Avery Legacy - Chapter 109 - The Miller's Move

The Miller Household: Weldon Miller (adult, knowledge, pp), Binah (adult, fortune, pp), Calandra (teen, popularity, 20 best friends), and Reuben (child).

Strange things have been happening at the Miller house. Calandra has been telling anyone who will listen that it's because of the ghosts. Ghosts? Binah couldn't understand where Calandra would get such a crazy idea. They were the first inhabitants of this house. There was no way it could be haunted. Or could it? Weldon agreed with Binah. The house couldn't be haunted. It wasn't that no one had died on the lot. No that wasn't it at all. Actually three people had died on the lot thus far. But he had gotten rid of the bodies. Well, Binah's man eating plant had gotten rid of the bodies. He had just disposed of any residual evidence. Yes Weldon has found that it is sometimes necessary to make examples of people who worked for him. He was a crime lord. Making examples of fools was what you did. It gave you a reputation that kept you alive. (Deaths: Luc Wilkie & two annoying townies)

But nothing could convince Calandra that the house wasn't haunted. The 2nd floor lights would go out the moment you walked upstairs. She swore that she could hear things moving about in the dark. She continued to carry on until she had Reuben just as scared as she was. Weldon was concerned about the lighting issues. He hired contractors to look into the matter. He was more concerned about that stupid Laura 'Captain Hero' Avery that just kept nosing around. She took Calandra's stories seriously. She thought she might finally be able to figure out what was going on in the Miller house. Well the contractors brought bad news. There was damage. Unexplained damage. Although the house was less than ten years old, it was declared uninhabitable by the city. Just weeks before Reuben's birthday, the family had to pack up everything they owned and move. Binah persuaded Weldon to buy a townhouse across town. Then the kids would calm down about the whole ghost nonsense. Weldon didn't like it but agreed.

So the family moved across town to a multi-generational townhouse on Friendly Drive. They tried their best to settle in. As Reuben's birthday approached, Binah went downtown to buy a gift. She came back a little different then when she left and she didn't bring back a gift. Calandra was just starting to return to normal but seeing her mother sent her back into hysterics. Her mother was a monster. She screamed an ran upstairs to hide. Reuben thought it was funny. It was just a game right? Mom is just pretending to be a vampire for Halloween. Right?

Weldon wasn't scared of Binah but he was concerned. Binah wasn't acting like herself. She didn't talk. She flew around as a bat. She hissed at people. She seemed like an unintelligent animal. But Weldon concern was short lived. It took Binah no time at all to bite her loving husband. Now there were two vampires in the Miller family.

Weldon loved being a vampire. He loved it so much that he feared being changed back. He loved it so much that he wanted to make his children vampires too. Luckily Weldon's change went over far better than Binah's. Weldon still had his intelligence. He knew that his children were better off as they were. He knew that, so he didn't bite them even though he longed to.

Calandra remained a nervous wreck. She hid from her parents. She ran whenever she saw them coming. Weldon had no idea what to do. Then he heard on the street that there was a machine that could change people. It could make you forget who you were and become someone else. Although he didn't know for sure how well it would work, Weldon considered it the only chance to save Calandra. It was either that or ship her off to some boarding school. So Weldon left the machine out back. He left Calandra a well written note convincing her that the machine would take away her fear. Calandra tried it. Unfortunately she didn't know how to operate it properly. The machine malfunctioned. Yes, it took away the fear of her parents. And in it's place it gave her a love...an obsession....for GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES. Calandra's world suddenly revolved around that one tasty item. Nothing else mattered. Her parents could be monsters just so long as they kept the frig well stocked.

Yes Calandra's fear was gone. She no longer ran in fear of her mother. No, now her mother ran in fear of her. Whenever Calandra got a chance she would corner her and tell her all about the making of a proper grilled cheese sandwich. It didn't bother Calandra that her mother didn't respond. It didn't concern her at all that she would scream BLAH!, turn into a bat and then fly far away. She was sure that her mother was just tired and probably starving. So she'd run to the kitchen and fix another batch of grilled cheese. Sandwiches for everyone... morning, noon and night... for ever and ever.

In the midst of the chaos that had become the Miller family, Reuben's birthday went unnoticed. There was no cake. Instead he was given a big grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. He didn't mind though. Ok maybe a little. But Reuben's hormones had finally started racing. Reuben Miller longs to chase girls. LOTS of girls. He hopes to someday have 20 notches on his bedpost. Ahhh, it's good to have goals.

Weldon's love for vampirism grew. He loved the fact that he could study all night without being tired. He loved the new found respect he had within his criminal organization. After all, it's one thing to work for a crime lord. It's another thing entirely to work for a VAMPIRE.

While Weldon embarrassed his new found life, Binah continued her animalistic ways. Weldon didn't know how to fix her. He knew their was a cure but he didn't want to give it to her. He wanted her with him always and he wasn't sure that the cure would bring back her sanity. So Weldon kept his vampire wife. He tucked her into her coffin every morning at daybreak. It was the only thing he knew to do.

But Weldon didn't realize that Binah was getting out of her coffin after daybreak. He didn't realize that she wondered the house in a daze. He couldn't know that she stood in a third floor bathroom screaming about the sun. Screaming about her hunger. Screaming about her exhaustion. But doing nothing to take care of any of those things. And even though she remained out of the direct sunlight, it was the sunlight that killed Binah. Perhaps though it was for the best.

Weldon grieved deeply after losing Binah. He felt as though he had failed her. Perhaps she would still be alive if she had not stayed with him all these years. But there was no way to change the past. All he could do was strive for the future. And as a vampire, he had a lot of future to look forward to.

The children dealt with their grief by studying. They began to prepare for college. Weldon told them that their mother wanted them to attend college. That kept them busy and focused at least for a little while.

And while the children studied, Weldon painted a portrait of his Binah.

He placed her ashes and her portrait in his crypt. Now he would see her every evening upon waking up.

With time, studying got to be old and boring. Reuben found a new pursuit, Lacy. Lacy use to be just this skinny neighborhood kid. But suddenly overnight she had blossomed. Reuben couldn't help but notice. So he pursued her. It gave him something to do and gave him a chance to practice some really important stuff, like kissing.

After about a year, Weldon too started to notice the opposite sex. Before he had only had eyes for Binah. They were together for over fifteen years. Now he had to start over. He had eternity. Did he want to spend it alone? The first woman he went out with was an old friend named Lisa. They had a really good time and wound up woohooing in his sports car. Of course Lisa REALLY shouldn't be doing that. Not since she has been dating Chance Avery for the last three years. Not since they had an understanding that they would be married someday. But Chance is young and can't give her some of the things that Weldon can. Things like the ability to marry a rich sim. Yes Lisa loves money. Weldon has money. So now she just needs to decide which is more important, love or money.