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.
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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