Chapter 13 Monster In Law

Last chapter Gabe was named the next heir of the Starsze Legacy and he wasted no time in proposing to his girlfriend, Tayler. Logan achieved his aspiration but somewhere along the way he seems to have developed an irrational sink phobia. I suppose all that clogging and pranking came with a price tag. Abby has been focusing on her cooking and hasn’t had time for much else as she works until 1am and spends her awake time cooking anything and everything she could possibly dream up.

Abby “I can hardly believe it, my big brother is about to get hitched! How does it feel? Are you getting nervous yet?”

Gabe “Nervous? Try petrified! What if I mess up the words? Or worse, what if I drop the ring in the mud and can’t pick it up because my hands are so slimy and clammy?”

Abby “Oh stop it! Everything is going to be perfect.”

Gabe “I sure hope you’re right. Tayler has been going on and on and perfect this and perfect that and I don’t think I’ve done anything to perfection my whole life. What if I don’t live up to the vision?”

Abby “Well I think you’re wrong. You pulled off the duties of a big brother flawlessly so I know you will not only meet but exceed any expectations.”

Gabe “Thanks sis, I needed that!”

Mya “I’m about to lose my baby boy, they grew up way too fast. I remember when he used to say the only girl he would ever need was his momma and now….sigh.”

Gabe “Wow! You look um.. oh wow”

Tayler “You look pretty wow yourself! Are you ready to get started?”

Gabe “Huh?”

Tayler “I said are you ready to start the wedding”

Gabe  “Can I just stand here and look at you for just another minute? I never ever want to forget how you look right this very moment.”

Tayler “I love when you say things like that.”

Sterling “Hey! No kissing before the wedding!”

Tayler “Was that the caterer?”

Gabe “Yes, I believe it was!”

Once Gabe had a few extra moments to admire his beautiful bride to be, and the guests were all seated it was time for the ceremony to begin.

 Cause it’s you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do nothing to lose
And it’s you and me and all of the people
And I don’t know why I cant keep my eyes off of you.

What are the things that I want to say
Just aren’t coming out right
I’m tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don’t know where to go from here

 Something about you now
I can’t quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

 What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive

Gabe and Tayler Starsze made their union official with a romantic kiss as their loved ones cheered them on. Everyone was so focused on the couples kiss that the scowls of a very important family member went unnoticed.

Logan “Welcome to the family Tayler!”

Tayler “Thank you Mr. Starsze.”

Logan “None of that Mr. Starsze nonsense, now that you’re my daughter in law I want you to call me dad!”

Mya chose this as her moment to insert herself into the conversation and let her true feelings be known.

Mya “You may address me as Mrs. Starsze, and don’t think I won’t have my eye on you.”

Tayler “I-I don’t know what you mean…”

Mya “I see no reason to beat around the bush here and I have no problem saying that I have my doubts about your intensions with my son and I intend to see to it that he doesn’t end up hurt.”

Logan “Alright darling, I think you’re in need of a drink. Let’s head over to the bar.”

Sterling “Well that was a lovely ceremony but I suppose it’s time to get back to work!”

Abby “I can’t wait to see what you’re planning for the main course! Maybe I could watch you and pick up a thing or two from the town’s best caterer?”

Sterling “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth you know.”

Abby “Well don’t make broth then!”

Tayler “Would you like the first bite Mr. Starsze?”

Gabe “That would be lovely Mrs. Starsze! Man, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that.”

Maverick “The wedding was beautiful, and they look so happy together don’t they?”

Abby “Yeah, they really do.”

Maverick “I hope I’m lucky enough to marry the girl of my dreams someday.”

Abby “Yeah um, I’m sorry Mav but could you excuse me for a moment? I think Sterling is ready for me in the kitchen. He’s going to teach me how to cook a roast chicken.”

Maverick “Oh yes, of course.”

Abby “So I’ll see you around then?”

Maverick “Yeah, sure.”

Abby “I brought you a piece of cake.”

Sterling “That was nice of you, thanks!”

Abby “So are you ready to show me what you’ve got in the kitchen?”

Sterling “Ready! You sure do seem to love cooking.”

Abby “It’s my passion! I’m thrilled you agreed to teach me some new techniques, it’s not every day I meet a man that knows his way around a kitchen like you do.”

Sterling “Gosh, I think you’re giving me too much credit. I don’t think I’m that great.”

Abby “I suppose I’ll be the judge of that!”

Tayler “I had a wonderful time today but I’m kinda glad it’s all over.”

Gabe “And why is that?”

Tayler “Because now I get to have you all to myself.”

Gabe “Last one to the bedroom is a rotten llama!”

The newly married couple wasted no time consummating the marriage.

With the wedding out of the way, Tayler immediately turned her attention toward achieving her goal of becoming a Painter Extraordinaire. She had turned to painting at a very young age as her means to escape the chaos in what had become a very dysfunctional household. Whenever her mother brought home a new beau she would be banished to her bedroom as her mother didn’t want her suitors to know she had children. She had quite the operation running and as a result never had to work a day in her life. Men were such suckers for a beautiful woman in a tight skirt and she would use each one until their bank accounts dwindled.

Often confined to her room, Tayler would paint imaginary lands and imagine herself living inside her paintings. As a perfectionist each painting was carefully thought out and executed and one could easily imagine themselves stepping through the canvas into another place and time.

Mya “Let’s see, purchase a full background check on any sim for only 20 simoleons your satisfaction is guaranteed. Sounds good to me!”

Mya filled in her payment information and waited for the results of her search to pop up on the screen.

Mya “Ah ha! I knew it! Seems her mommy dearest has quite the rap sheet and I’m willing to bet the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. And what’s this? Maverick is her brother? That boy has been coming over here since he was a kid and neither of them ever mentioned being related. Come to think of it, I don’t think they even spoke at the wedding.”

After the awkward encounter at the wedding Taylor had done her best to steer clear of Mya but that wasn’t always possible now that they lived under the same roof. If Gabe noticed the tension between the two most important women in his life he gave no indication.

Mya waited until her son had left to go fishing before executing her attack.

Mya “So, how come you never mentioned Maverick was your brother?”

Tayler “I-I just don’t like to talk about my family.”

Mya “Why is that dear? Is it your mother’s lengthy arrest record for swindling unsuspecting old men out of their live savings or is there something else you’re hiding from my son? The fact that you’re following in her footsteps perhaps?”

Tayler “How dare you?”

Mya “What? You think I haven’t heard you asking my son to move his prized mounted fish out of the bedroom, and interviewing decorators to come change his room into a luxury suite? You’re trying to change him and I will protect his best interests at all costs!”

Tayler “There is nothing wrong with liking nice things! And Gabe completely understands that being watched over by a bunch of beady little fish eyes is, well it’s creepy! As a fellow snob, I would think you of all people would understand.”

Mya “I suppressed my snob trait long ago. In fact, when I got married there was no bank account for frivolities. For plumbob’s sake, there wasn’t even a house! I gave up everything for love yet all I’ve seen from you is take! Let’s be honest here, you knew my son inherits everything and that is the real reason you’re here ISN’T IT?”

Tayler “I refuse to justify myself to you, or to anyone else! I am Gabe’s wife and there is nothing at all you can do to ruin that because I won’t let you! Now if you will excuse me I need to use the powder room.”

Refusing to let Mya get another word in, Tayler stormed off into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

After a cold shower to cool herself down, Tayler remembered there was something very important she had planned to do that morning. The positive pregnancy test didn’t exactly come as a surprise as she had been feeling run down and had a much larger appetite than normal but the morning’s events with Mya sucked dry any ounce of joy that she had anticipated and left her wondering if trying for a baby was a big mistake. Fearing the news would only fuel the fire she locked herself in the office to paint herself into an imaginary land far away in which mother in laws didn’t exist.

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Author’s notes: The tension between Mya & Tayler wasn’t planned and is 100% real. I can’t have them in the same room without some sort of blow up or awkward conversation but I suppose that is part of the fun in letting my sims tell their own story. The chapter revealed that Tayler is a perfectionist snob. She also has the Muser trait due to her aspiration. Her final trait is cheerful but this is one of those traits that a sim has yet for some reason you never see it, much like Mya’s snob trait. The song I envisioned for Gabe & Tayler’s wedding ceremony is called You And Me by Lifehouse in case anyone was wondering.

 A couple of Legacy things I wanted to include but didn’t have a place for…

Mya is only 1 promotion away from topping the Author branch of the writing career. To get the final promotion she needs to submit 2 books to the Literary Digest and I found that can only be done once per week. Logan & Mya both had full life bars and I wasn’t sure that she would make it so I had her drink the 1 life potion that she is allowed. Hopefully that buys enough time to reach that goal.

I am currently trying to complete the plant, fish, and Sim trophy collections so I had Gabe build a rocket ship in an effort to get that space seed that’s on the list. So far I haven’t had any luck.

And a blooper! I typically like to make my sims work toward weight loss but I wanted to just test out what the slimming potion did at least once. As Abby had the most aspiration points I had her buy the potion and tried it out on Gabe and this was the result. I admit that I got a little nervous but luckily he went back to normal when I changed his clothes.

Yet to come…Is Mya just having trouble letting go of her baby boy or is there actually something to be worried about? How will their dislike of one another affect other relationships in the household? What’s up with Abby and Sterling? Are her intensions only to learn to cook a roast chicken? She appeared to give Maverick the cold shoulder at the wedding, have they drifted apart to the point of no return? I’ve really missed having a little one in the house, what will the new baby be like? And most importantly, will Logan go head to head with the kitchen sink? Until then, Happy Simming!