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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Chapter 9.23: Dear Diary, Secrets

From the Diary of Amy Noble:

Dear Diary, just when I tell you I have nothing to write about, everything goes nuts. And here I thought my life was boring.

My day started out with my friend Tom Wexler, who comes from a wealthy ranching family and lives with his father and his aunt. I never saw much of his father because I reckon he’s busy with the business end of the ranch. But his aunt is just as crazy as my grandfather! She spends her days floating around their glamorous mansion in designer outfits not doing much of importance that I can tell.

When I mentioned to my mom that we were just as rich as the Wexlers and the Stapletons (who own another big ranch and have produced my best friend Harlow) and we should also live in a mansion, she said those families put on airs and we weren’t that sort. She seemed proud of that, although I don’t know why. I mean, if you have it, why not use it?

Anyway, I keep jumping around when I’m trying to tell you about Tom. He is so handsome and nice, too. We never dated or anything. He is going out with Harlow, actually. She is madly in love with him and since we were ten years old, he’s all she talks about.

Harlow doesn’t mind that Tom and I ride together because she knows he’s only interested in her, and I would never, ever hurt her.

We often rode together in the early mornings after my chores were done. Tom didn’t have to do chores because his family hired people to do just about everything for them. I didn’t think I’d like having so many people in my house all the time, but Tom was used to it, so it didn’t bother him.

When we rode together, I often stole glances at him. I would have been so embarrassed if he’d caught me staring, so I kept reminding myself to look away, too. He was just so darn handsome!

Ahem. Anyway, I wondered what it was like to be Harlow and to have feelings for a boy that made you want to kiss him and be close. Those feelings never seemed to possess me when I looked at Tom or our other friend, Jude Dempsey.

Jude was handsome, too, in a different way than Tom was, but, no, I felt nothing other than friendship.

“What are you thinking about?”

Tom adjusted his hat, then smiled a little as he shot me a glance.

“I dunno,” he said, his voice relaxed and pleasant to my ears. “I guess I was thinking about Harlow.”

I nodded. “She’s so pretty.”

The fact was, whenever I thought about my best friend, I got a funny feeling in my stomach, like a butterfly was in there, fluttering about. It was a strange but agreeable sensation.

“She sure is,” he said with a slight nod. “Sure is hot today, and it’s only morning.”

“I know, right?”

Stealing another peek at him, I wondered what it felt like to kiss those lips. They looked kissable and soft.

Somehow, though, the thought of doing that with him didn’t even remotely feel like something I wanted to do. In a moment that shocked me, I realized maybe I’d rather kiss Harlow.

What? Harlow?

For the rest of the ride to Tom’s house, I stared straight ahead, afraid if Tom spoke to me, I might tell him that most inner, personal thought. For the moment, it was best kept to myself until I explored it further.

Not long after we got to Tom’s house, Jude and Harlow showed up.

Jude was wearing some kind of sweater that had a cat on the back, hanging from the shoulders. Then, when he turned around, it looked like the cat had slid backward, clawing him all the way!

“OMG,” Tom laughed, barely able to get the words out, “What’s going on with your sweater?”

Jude grinned sheepishly, his face turning bright red. “I had to wear it. My mom made it.”

“No, it’s cool,” Tom said, stifling laughter behind his hand. “I sure hope my aunt doesn’t start dressing me.”

“That’s mean,” I said, coming to Jude’s defense. “I think it’s nice your mom made that for you. If my mom ever took up sewing, I’d take her temperature because she’d have to be sick out of her mind before she’d pick up a thread and needle.”

Harlow looked from Tom to Jude, and I knew she couldn’t decide whether to support her boyfriend or her friend. In the end, the moment passed, and the boys were already talking about something else before she reacted.

Later, Harlow hopped on the back of my horse and we rode across the bridge from Endon (the island the Wexlers shared with Grandfather and some other families) to Cadwe, where the main village was. Our plan was to drop Harlow off at her house on Cadwe, then I would cross the other bridge to the smallest of the Veiled Islands to Flatcroft, where my house was.

Once we reached the village, we stopped at the Sheriff’s office where my father was. There wasn’t much crime on the islands, but there were disputes that arose once in a while. Sometimes he dealt with drunks and vandalism, and that sort of thing, too.

“Hi, Dad,” I called as I dismounted.

Harlow slid down off my horse and joined me as we spoke to my father.

“Hey, Love,” he said with a smile and a nod. “What brings you girls by?”

“We’re almost to Harlow’s and we thought we’d stop and say hi.”

Dad smiled again. “Well, you’ve just made my day.” Then he turned his attention to Harlow. “I spoke to your father earlier today. It seems he’s fine with you spending the weekend at our house while he goes to the mainland for business. He’ll return Monday.”

Harlow and I grinned at each other.

“That’s great news!” Harlow said.

“I thought you might like that. You’d best be getting along now. I’ll see you in a while for dinner.”

Harlow and I mounted back up, and I directed my horse Duchess to walk along the bank as a shortcut to Harlow’s ranch. Looking out over the water, the bridge to Flatcroft became visible, and across it, just beyond the big red barn, was my house.

“You seem in a hurry to get home,” Harlow mentioned as we rode up her driveway.

“I kind of am. Grandfather gave me a strange seed the other day, and it sprang a tree. He told me it’s a very special, rare seed and to keep close watch over it.”

“I can’t believe how excited you are over a tree.”

“I know it’s probably strange to you, but if my grandfather says this will be something special, I know I’ll really like it.”

But when I got home, I wasn’t prepared for what I found. I couldn’t stop staring at it.

“What in the hell-o-kitty is that?”

Squinting, I stepped closer to it.

Holy shit! Those leaves are money!”

A freaking money tree!

Just writing that made me go to my bedroom window even though it’s late at night right now while I’m writing this. There was just enough moonlight to see the money-leaves glistening with the rain that had fallen recently.

Yep. Still there.

Grandfather had told me to keep the tree fertilized, so that’s what I did. Then, I ran inside and told Mom what I’d grown.

From the Diary of Sophie Woodbury-Noble:

Dear Diary, I’d invited Gerrard over for tea even though he rarely rose before evening. He had a lot of explaining to do!

When Amy had first told me about the money tree, I scoffed. Then I saw the damn thing and knew Gerrard was responsible for this monstrosity.

Also, when I saw it, something rang a bell. So, I thumbed my way throughout the family diaries, clear back to Generation 3. And there it was… My ancestor Blue Capra had found a money tree, too, in Winchester Farming Community.

Winchester was rumored to be a magical place, and sometimes you heard of pilgrims searching it out, even though it was difficult to find. In fact, it wasn’t far from here, as we shared a mainland with Winchester.

“I don’t want Amy growing up this way! You had no right to give her that seed.”

Gerrard calmly added honey to his tea and stirred it.

“I have the right to do whatever I deem fit for my family. Amy has a green thumb, and I knew this would amuse her.”

My hands closed into fists under the table and I willed myself to remain peaceful.

“No, that is not true, Gerrard-“

“-Call me father.”

“That’s the point,” I continued, “we aren’t even really related. Your connection to Sebastian was as a vampire. Now that Sebastian is human, you are no longer his father.”

He placed a hand over his heart and rather dramatically said, “Child, you wound me. I have been a member of this family for quite some time and I even brought you under the protection of the Veiled Islands. Everyone who lives here is here for a reason.”

“Yes,” I said as firmly as I could. “You have manipulated circumstances for many people. Yet you do not claim to be their father or kin.”

An unpleasant smile thinned his lips. “Must we go through all of this again, Sophie? You are here for my amusement. That is all. It pleases me to have a family and grandchildren. Besides, I have been Sebastian’s father longer than his biological father ever was. As long as you live, I will be here, watching over you.” His shining eyes grew darker then, as he said, “Keeping Amy’s heritage from her will not protect her. She has the right to the diaries. She must know now who she is and what she is capable of. The sooner, the better.”

“That isn’t going to happen!”

In truth, I wanted Amy to know everything, but something inside… my fear, perhaps, would not allow it. Amy’s life was normal. Her days were filled with friends, parties, school, and family. I had no right to ruin that with the news that she was a powerful being, capable of who knows what. I was sure it would lead to her downfall, just as it had led to my sister’s.

With nothing left to say, Gerrard took his leave. He never drank the tea anyway, he only went through the motions. Much to my disdain, it was blood he craved.

As expected, that conversation went absolutely nowhere, but I had to try. Over the years, I’d spent a lot of effort attempting to make Gerrard understand that Amy deserved a better ending than my sister had gotten.

Thinking of Gigi always put me in a melancholy. Even now, after all this time, my heart ached as I missed her.

I was still reeling from my time with Gerrard when Sebastian got home. He found me upstairs in front of the mirror, in a daze.

After a time, I was able to tell him what had happened with the money tree and Gerrard. I could tell Sebastian was upset by it all, but then he told me he thought maybe Amy should have the diaries.

“No!”

“Soph,” he said, his voice calm and full of love, “I have never interfered with Amy’s upbringing. But I’m afraid that she’ll eventually be a keg about to explode if we’re not honest with her. She’s already asking questions, and the more you try to keep the diaries from her, the more she’ll want them. Some day, she will find out where she comes from, and there is nothing you or I can do about it.”

“I don’t want to argue,” I said, my voice quiet.

His dark eyes softened, and he pulled me into his arms.

“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”

When we finally made it downstairs to the kitchen, we were still in each other’s arms.

He was right, we would handle all situations together. And I was certain that would be enough.

“Get a room!”

Seb and I both jumped at the sudden statement.

“Gil, you surprised us.”

I turned to my young son, a stern expression on my face.

“Gil, where have you heard that before?”

He shrugged, then said, “Jude said it to Harlow and Tom, then Amy laughed.”

“Well, I don’t want you to say it again,” I instructed.

Then it occurred to me. Were Tom and Harlow already sexually active? Was Amy?

And I thought money trees were a difficult subject to handle with her.

I was abruptly brought out of my thoughts by screaming kids.

“Dad’s set the place on fire!” Amy shrieked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Seb said, grabbing the extinguisher. It was obvious to me he was more shaken than he was letting on.

As the kids continued their screaming, I yelled at him, “You were only cooking hotdogs! How could this happen?”

Finally, the flames were gone and we all just stood there like statues, staring at the charred grill.

Then Gil said, “But what’s for dinner?”



A special thanks to Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee) for the poses used in this post from these pose packs: Emotions – Adult, and Couple 53-Couple 54 Alternate (not yet available for download).

Well, what do you know about that? LOL Sebastian really nearly did burn the entire house down cooking hotdogs on the grill! At first, he panicked and was doing the usual jumping around with his hands to his head, screaming. That is until I forced him to get out the fire extinguisher. LOL Wish you’d been there. haha

Thank you, too, dear friends, for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! I hope you enjoyed today’s chapter!



Other Credits:
World: Winchester Farming Community
Lots: Woodland Cottage, Bergere House, Bear Gulch Sheriff’s Office

Kymber Hawke
Kymber Hawkehttps://booomcha.com/
I am a simmer, Rennie garb wearer, author, and dog petter. Judy Garland is my queen, horror movies & classic movies are my jam. INFJ with "Unity Hayes" as a pseudonym. A little bit eccentric, owned by two cats, Cesare & Josie-Pye. 🐱🐱

55 COMMENTS

  1. Amy is going on about how pretty both Tom and Harlow are but I think she’s the most stunning of them all, she has such lovely eyes! I hope things work out with her crush Harlow (perhaps at this sleepover?) although judging by the way she’s crazy about Tom, it probably won’t go down too well.

    Gerrard and Sebastian agreeing on something for once, wow LOL, but I think they are both right. Gil is a hilarious little kid! I wonder if he has any secret powers or is just a normal boy.

    • Thank you so much, Lila. I agree about Amy and her eyes. If only I could take credit for how beautiful she is, but alas, she was born like that in game. lol

      Can you believe they agreed on something? I guess we’ll have to see how long that lasts. haha

      That’s a great question about Gil!

  2. I’m not sure how I got behind! So first, Amy is beautiful. And it appears that she is into girls and planning a sleepover with the one she ‘likes’. I hope it goes well and she doesn’t get humiliated or hurt by expressing her desires when it’s not clear that Harlow shares her feeling since she seems to like boys. I think it’s still too early for her to say anything, but who knows.

    And Gil is so cute too. Standing their with his floaties on looking at the burned up hotdogs whining about what he can have for dinner now.

    Now, the diaries. Sadly Seb and Gerard (money tree and all) are right. She needs to let her read them so she knows what and who she really is. I know it terrifies Sophie. 💔

  3. Thank you for sharing another chapter!,. Seb builds a case for TV dinners.. 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May your troubles be less
    Your blessings be more
    And nothing but happiness
    Come through your door
    (Irish Saying)

  4. LOL! Seb setting the grill on fire, though… that was priceless. 😀 Several of my Sims were notorious for starting fires — seemed like on purpose, lol. They must have been bored!

    Loved your creativity. You’ve got quite a brilliant mind. ❤️

  5. As much as I like Amy, I’m glad that Sophie is also making entries into the diary.
    Amy. Whoa. I kinda thought she had the hots for Tom the way she kept checking him out. AND THEN MIC DROP, she reveals she doesn’t think about guys like THAT and then WHOA… HARLOW?! Oh man, and Harlow is gonna be spending some overnight time at their house. Will it just be a typical sleepover or will Amy disclose her feelings to Harlow?!? I am looking forward to what happens.

    Ugh, Gerrard needs to work on his listening skills. He’s not listening/respecting Sophie’s wishes.

    I like how Seb tells Soph that whatever happens they will take it on together. Couple goals.

    A teenager and a money tree. That’s like THE BEST THING EVER. I wonder what teenage-Amy will do with all that money/simoleons. Damn. Gerrard can adopt me!!!!

    Ahhh, Soph is starting to realize that Amy is already exposed to/on the cusp of being exposed to adult situations (woohoo), so perhaps this will enlighten her that Amy is also old enough to handle/be responsible for her powers.

    Great story, Kymber 😀

    • Thank you so much, Ninja. 🙂 xoxo

      We’ll probably keep hearing from Sophie until the end of the generation. 🙂

      Mic drop! I love that! LOL The sleepover might prove to be interesting. We shall see. 😀

      Gerrard’s strong point is definitely not his listening skills. haha

      Couple goals, for sure. I’m hoping they become kind of a power couple, but we’ll see since this story sometimes seems to write itself. LOL

      Man, but what I wouldn’t give for a money tree, but especially when I was a teen! LOL Gerrard can adopt me, too, and I’ll figure out someway to deal with his faults. lol

      I think that’s a good point about Sophie getting enlightened that Amy is old enough to handle the truth. Hopefully, you’re right.

      • Oh. I’m not sure how to feel about that… when you say “end of the generation” you mean Sophie’s death, right? :\

        Hahaha I’m sure the sleepover will be interesting, no matter what direction it turns.

        I mean he IS a man… it’s hard to find one with listening skills :p Haha, I’m joking. I think Seb could teach Gerrard how to listen, but Gerrard would probably be offended lol.

        As long as Seb stays away from grills, the chances of them being a power couple is in their future lol.

        • Oooooh, I hope I don’t disappoint you. Every generation is 30 chapters long, so we’re nearing the end of the generation. Sophie will be shown during Amy’s generation, but Amy takes over at that point. There might be a bonus post here and there from another character’s POV, you never know.

          I sure hope you’re right about the sleepover. LOL I will try. 😀

          LOL @ the “men” comment. Seb would definitely annoy Gerrard with that sort of thing. Gerrard already thinks he’s arrived, so he wouldn’t listen anyway.

          You got that right! Seb and appliances don’t seem to get along too well. haha

          • Disappoint? Unlikely. I was more concerned that an end of a generation meant the characters had to die 😮 I’m glad that’s not the case with your stories.

            Bahahaha Gerrard for sure is confident lol not right, but confident :p

            Hahaha, maybe Gerrard should be the griller of the house :p

  6. Boys. Always worrying about their stomachs lol. I’m glad Sebastian wants her to have the diaries. She’d probably tear the house apart trying to find them anyway.

    • LOLOL Gil is a corker, that’s for sure! haha Seb cooks like I do, too. Let’s plan to keep him away from all appliances in the future. He seriously almost burned down their entire house. lol

  7. Ooh, Amy likes Harlow! I wonder if she’s confused and thinks she likes Tom because she’s jealous and doesn’t know of whom exactly in this relationship. Or could be she likes both. But then she does seem to prefer Harlow. So exciting to hear she’ll be spending the night at Amy’s. I wonder if we will get to find out more about how she feels. Does she really like Tom only? I’m thinking of this song as I write this comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6jxPFtIAnw It seems fitting.
    I loved how you used the cat shirt from the Pets EP, ha ha. You’re so creative. Reminds me of when you used the Katy Perry pack for Marty’s work wear at the candy shop.
    Hm, Gerrard and Seb are both right. Amy has the right to know about her heritage.
    I smiled at the ‘What in the hell-o-kitty’, lol.
    I think Bee’s right you managed to capture the voice of a teen. I compared this to Jilly’s journal and I think that one was much more childish. I wonder if it was just Jilly’s personality being that joyous, but Amy sounds more grounded and actually like a real teen.
    And aw, Amy is so pretty. I wonder if she’s lesbian or bi. Doesn’t seem to be perfectly straight, considering her crush on Harlow. I think it would be interesting, though, to have the last heir not have kids and see how their life turns out without founding a family. And also because we’ll be left wondering what happens to the kid after the end of the story. I wonder what you’re planning to do.
    This was such a great chapter! I like Amy’s voice.

    • I think that song fits really well, you’re right! 🙂 I think maybe Amy feels like she is supposed to be crushing on one of the boys in her life, but she’s slowly realizing Harlow fits the bill better. lol I look forward to bringing this part of the story to life.

      That cat shirt has always killed me. LOLOL When I created the sim, he came with that on and I thought I’d use it. lol

      I think Gerrard and Seb are right, too, much to Sophie’s dismay. It could be a real mess if Amy discovers these secrets on her own rather than have them sit down and talk to her about it.

      My daughter Katy says the Hell-o-kitty thing. haha I thought I could hear Amy saying it, too, while I was playing. She just seemed the type.

      I really appreciate your kind words about Amy’s teenage voice. I remember Jilly’s entry and it does seem childish, you’re right. I think at the time, I thought of Jilly as super overly protected by her parents, so I thought of her voice as younger for her age. If that makes sense.

      We’ll definitely be exploring Amy’s budding sexuality because at the moment, I think she’s only discovering for herself what’s going on.

      That would definitely be interesting to have the final heir really be the final heir without children. More on that in the near future. 😀 😀

      • It definitely makes sense that Jilly was overprotected and that’s why she sounded younger than her age.
        I’m looking forward to seeing Amy explore her sexuality. I think she’s going to be your 2nd LGBT heir after Holden. That’s going to be fun! Holden couldn’t really stay with his boyfriend because we wouldn’t have an heir that way, at least a blood-related one (not counting Ella’s pregnancy cause that was a disgusting case). Now, seeing as Amy is the last, I think it’ll make a lot of sense for her to be in a childless relationship with a woman. Looking forward to seeing how you resolve this.

        • Yeah, that was another rule I had for myself that the heir could be male or female but must be blood related. That’s why when Amy said to Sophie that perhaps Gil should be the heir, Sophie told her no, it had to be her. Amy is Gigi’s only child.

          I think you’re reading my mind. hahaha

          • I had that blood-related rule in my legacy too. Kids was a real issue tbh, and what I hated most about the legacy thing. I just felt like it got super boring once kids came about and I didn’t know how to write it in an interesting way when it was family life generation after generation. So at some point I had my heirs be really bad parents so I could focus less on kids as an excuse, lol. But it does get boring once you enter another generation with the standard family model. I know some people just skip the entire growing up process and write about them when they’re teens or adults but I would feel so guilty skipping so many years!
            It’s interesting to think that Clint could be eligible to be heir because he’s blood-related to Hailey. I think some people asked me if I was going to continue the legacy with Clint. And I then realized I didn’t exactly close every door to continuing when I killed off Bindie. I kind of forgot about him. I felt like he was more Frank’s kid than he was a Rosenthal.
            I remember thinking about my last gen at some point, too, and I also wanted rthe heir to have no kids so that’s why my mind went there. I think it’s going to be interesting for the heir to finally be able to choose a different life path than being a parent. As I wrote above, gets tedious quick.

            • I loved the bad parents in your story because not many people write that, tbh. I think it’s good to have the kids involved in the story, but I agree with you that it’s hard to keep it from being boring because really, each generation is just about producing the next heir.

              Oh, that is right! Clint is a blood descendent! Cool!

              I love that Amy is following her own path without the restraints the other generations had. I can’t wait to see where this goes.

            • Oh yeah, I did have some bad parents. I remember Stephanie aka socallucyfan rated my heirs on parenting once. Definitely leaving the kid with your mentally unwell mother and setting off to China should be on top of the list of what not to do as a parent, LOL.
              Yeah, Clint is the last person alive lineally related to the 5 heirs. But since Ron was heir technically only his kids would be eligible. So there is no descendant if you look at it this way. Unless Shari kept some secrets with her to grave, that would be a fun twist, haha.
              I’m waiting to see where it goes with Amy too! I can’t believe I finished my legacy and you almost finished yours and yet we never had a crossover. You should throw some Frank speaking on gay rights on TV when Amy is watching for balance, LOL

            • LOL! I remember that! haha Yeah, not exactly parent of the year material there.

              I think that’s a marvelous twist! lol 😀

              That;’s a great idea! I just might do that! 😀 😀

      • I do hope Sophie sits with Amy and soon with the diaries. I can completely see Amy discovering them by accident and getting upset and accidentally lashing out with her power.

        As always looking forward to the next post.

  8. I agree with Seb and his father. Amy has a right to know about the family journals. It’s her inheritance. Without the ghostbusting and cursed jewelry 😉

  9. This will be a chapter I add to my fav list. It’s down to earth, real life teen and it comes from the perspective of a clear teenage voice! Well done on that. I laughed when I first read it and again today. And I agree, no more grilling for Seb! Gil is going to make for a real interesting character for this last gen. I hope he slips in often in every chapter till the end!

    • Thank you, Bee. I’m so glad you loved the chapter that much. 💕 Seb needs to stay away from all appliances, especially the grill! LOL

      I love that you like Gil that much. When I’m playing, he is a voice that is so easy for me to hear.

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