Generation One - Chapter Three: Growing Up Without Cake

When his parents were busy with the baby or each other, Hektor played with a little doll they had bought at the consignment store. Her name was Helen and she would tell him stories of battles long ago.

It wasn't long before little Diomedes grew into a toddler, as well. He was content to ignore his brother's infatuation with his strange little doll. He much preferred playing with the little block set.

While the human boys might have been slightly ignored by their parents, kitten Edgar was constantly being groomed by one of her parents.

Haemon was growing more and more disillusioned with his life. When he left home at eighteen, he had never imagined he would end up dirt poor with two kids, a constantly pregnant wife and a handful of cats. He thought Antigone would become a rock star. He'd be a famous painter. They'd travel the world, rolling in dough, making love in exotic locations.

But still, his father had never been there for him. So Haemon was determined to be a good father to his kids. He sang off key while Diomedes smacked away at his little toy xylophone.

And before they knew it, Hektor's birthday had arrived.
"Do you think we have enough to buy him a birthday cake?" Antigone asked between bites of her stale grilled cheese sandwich.
 Haemon shook his head sadly. "We can barely afford that sandwich you're eating. We definitely can't afford a cake. Let's just go clap for the kid."

So the sparklies engulfed little Hektor

And brought him into childhood. With sad eyes he looked to his parents. "No cake?" 
"Sorry son, not this year. But we did manage to make enough this month for a pretty cool gift!" Haemon replied.

They led him to the backyard where a chemistry set they had purchased on sale at the consignment shop waited. "Cool! Maybe I can experiment to make my OWN cake."

Life continued on as usual. Antigone looked after Diomedes,

Antigone fixed the broken appliances,

and Haemon read Hektor bedtime stories while his imaginary friend, Helen watched in amazement, wishing she could be part of the family too.

Despite the fact that her career wasn't going as well as she'd hoped, Antigone practiced her instrument every day. She had finally found a job, but it was for very low pay. And they were a very family-oriented organization. They required her to take extended maternity leave after Diomedes was born.

She used that leave to retain her close bond with her children. Every day she sat with Diomedes and read to him, dragging her fingers along the words and coaxing him to follow along.

Even though he hated being poor, Hektor was really glad that they had cats. He was a real animal lover and wished he could adopt all of the strays he saw sometimes wandering the neighborhood.

Instead, he took that love and focused it on his cats, playing with and grooming them every day. But Dexter was secretly his favorite. He was the alpha, the hunter, always bringing back trinkets and little animals. One day, Hektor hoped that he could provide for his family like that.

But before he could have his own family, there was homework to attend to and his younger brother's birthday.

Both boys were pretty bummed that there still wasn't any cake. So Diomedes instantly declared himself king and in his land, there would always be cake!

"I say, from henceforth, let there be cake! Or off with their heads!"

And so, Hektor scurried off to appease his little brother's demands. He certainly didn't want to lose his head, and Helen was especially concerned. She convinced him to try his hands at the chemistry set again. There had to be a way to get cake from all those weird chemicals.

That night, Diomedes went to bed, sure that life would get better soon.

But Haemon had just learned that life was only going to get harder. They were expecting. Again.

Generation One - Chapter Two: Barely Scraping By

It wasn't long before Antigone realized she was pregnant again. It hadn't been intentional. Hektor was still only an infant. She took to searching the stars in hopes of finding the answers to life's hardships.

It was a beautiful sight, but didn't offer much in the way of answers. She sighed, wondering how Haemon would take the news.

Especially since the two cats they had adopted had recently given birth to their own litter. Little Edgar was just so adorable. Antigone couldn't bear to give her away. (Yes, Edgar is a her.)

The next night, Antigone took Haemon out with her to stare up at the stars. "Darling, I'm pregnant." she stated somberly, refusing to make eye contact.
Haemon smiled a sad little smile. "I've noticed your expanding waistband, the baggy clothes. I just wish you hadn't tried to hide it from me."
Antigone sighed, "We just have so little money. And the house is so cramped. Where are we going to fit another crib?"
Haemon replied, "Don't worry. We will make do. We always do."

Antigone smiled with wet eyes and leaned in close to whisper in her husband's ear. "You know, there are still rooms we haven't christened. And I'm not likely to get any more pregnant..."

It seemed like their frisky actions had hurried things along. A few short days later, Antigone began to feel labor pains. Despite being through this before, Haemon stood beside his wife in a panic. "I should call a taxi! We need to get to the hospital!"

When Antigone returned home a few days later with their newborn boy Diomedes, Hektor had grown into a toddler. He was an adorable blend between the two of them. And despite their money troubles, Antigone had a hard time looking down into his loving eyes and feeling any regret.

Their days were filled from morning to night. Between potty training young Hektor

to fixing the constantly breaking appliances,

the couple barely had any time for each other. They didn't even have enough time to scold their cats for sleeping on the kitchen counter.

But they did have enough time to love their two sons. Haemon picked up Diomedes and whispered into his belly, "One day you will be big and strong. And hopefully rich, because with your mom's failing music career and my struggling painting career, we're going to need all the help we can get."
*******
Short update is short. Antigone's career really was failing at this point. Since she was constantly pregnant, she was on maternity leave for ...oh a good ten days or so. This first generation is poorer than any previous first generation legacy I've ever played.

Generation One - Chapter One: A Life of Poverty

They had met in high-school. She was something of a musical prodigy and he was an artist. He dropped out of school his senior year, ready to begin peddling his wares away from his restrictive parents and their conservative little town. And she chose to follow him to a place called Appaloosa Plains. Barely eighteen years old with nothing but love and the small amount she had saved for college to last between them, Antigone and Haemon Caballero were wed.

They moved in to a shack of a house, which depleted all but a thousand of their funds. Haemon set about learning to cook for the first time on his own. It was a lot harder than he had expected. His mother had always provided him with a full stomach of home-cooked meals. While he daydreamed too long about her famous biscuits, Haemon burnt the pancakes.

But Antigone didn't mind. She was too wrapped up in learning her skills to care about  burnt food. She was actually quite used to eating overcooked meals. Her mother had died when she was young and her father wasn't much of a cook.

The young couple had high hopes for their life together. Antigone hoped to become a famous scorewriter for all of the big movie productions. And Haemon hoped to hit it big with his paintings. But before she got to work on her career, Antigone wanted to get to work creating the perfect family she never had.

"Haemon, dearest. I have something to show you," she called over her shoulder.
"Sure thing, Tig. Whatcha got for me?"
"Just follow me!" she said with a flirtatious smile.

"Not so fast!" Haemon exclaimed, pulling his wife into his embrace. "I know what you're up to. And who says we need to go anywhere for that?"

But, Haemon quickly acquiesced to Antigone's request. She had no problem christening the living room, but she felt they should make love in their bed first. And that's exactly what they did.

Even after they finished their festivities, Haemon could barely muster the strength to pull himself from his young wife's embrace. "I love you darling. But you've got a job to find. And I've got some masterpieces to create!"

Haemon got to work painting a small canvas while Antigone went out to find work. Instead she came back with two kittens, a male and female named Dexter and Tabitha.

While the kittens played together, Haemon glared at Antigone. "I thought you were going to find a job."
"Well, there's not a lot of work out there, with the economy and all. And I found these two hiding under a bridge, all snuggled up together. I had to bring them home! The weather is starting to get brisk. They could die out there!"
"Oh Tig, we can barely afford to feed ourselves. How are we going to feed them?"
"We'll figure it out!"

Little did they know that they were about to have some bigger problems in their near future. Antigone woke a few nights later, covered in sweat with a terrible feeling in her stomach. She hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time.

The next morning, while Haemon painted and she practiced some new compositions, Antigone asked, "Are you feeling okay this morning?"
Haemon grunted an affirmative response.
Antigone sighed. "I think I might have had some undercooked chicken last night for dinner. We should throw those leftovers away." Haemon nodded. He'd get to it later.

It didn't take long for Antigone to realize that she didn't have food poisoning. She was pregnant. She sat at their tiny kitchen table and contemplated how to tell him.

The next day she returned home with two books. She presented one to him and sat down to read the other. Haemon glanced at the thing in his hands and read the title, "What to Expect When You are Expecting." He dropped it like a hot coal and stared at his wife, his mouth forming a small "o." He gulped and picked the book back up. It appeared as thought it was in his best interest to learn how to be a father, if a book could even teach such a thing.

And a little while later, Antigone experienced labor pains. They rushed to the hospital, and when they emerged a day later, they were the proud parents of a baby boy. They named him Hektor.

They took the baby home to his tiny little nursery, where Antigone bottle-fed him. And Haemon stood behind her, worrying about how they would ever afford to raise this child.
 **********************
Notes: Antigone is a Sim that I created, but Haemon is actually Liam by FREEDOM_55 at ModtheSims.

Generation Rolls:
Couple
Three Children (Heir is Child 1)
Careers - Artist and Music (Classic)
Generational Goal - Awesome
Miscellaneous Fun - Born With It