The days following the death of April Brayton were very difficult for her widower and child. Harry lay in bed most nights without sleeping a wink, often rising to check on Cecily Rose in the nursery. Watching her sleep, it was hard to believe something tragic had happened to her — she looked so tranquil, so unburdened. But when she awoke, she cried and cried as if nothing would ever console her again.
Of course Harry couldn’t take care of the child by himself — he still had to work long hours as a physician’s assistant for Dr. Hutchins — so he hired a nanny.
Her name was Arianna, and she was the daughter of the town greengrocer, Mr. Jalowitz. Harry’s first impression of Arianna was that she was a little cold — she always listened to his instructions with a solemn face and did her work with the most grim efficiency, never smiling or singing as April had done.
At least Arianna was an excellent cook, who kept both Harry and the baby well-fed. She also cleaned the house and tended the garden, but her primary job was taking care of Cecily.
Harry worried that Arianna would approach her care of Cecily in the same way she did everything else — briskly and dispassionately — but it didn’t turn out that way. In fact, as Cecily grew older, she and Arianna formed a deep bond.
Harry would often come home from the hospital to find Arianna giving Cecily a kiss before bed and tucking her in, much as April might have done were she still alive. Harry missed April terribly, but things had improved since Arianna had arrived, and soon he would be a full-fledged physician. He couldn’t help but puff his chest out a little when he thought of people calling him “Dr. Brayton”.
One night after Harry had finished his evening meal and read the newspaper, he called Arianna into the parlor. She had just finished doing the the dishes and looked rather exhausted. Harry gave her a kind smile and asked her to have a seat with him on the couch. She did as he requested and sat with her hands in her lap, her back straight, her eyes fixed on embers burning in the stove across the room.
Harry almost laughed at this picture of perfect politeness, but refrained, and cleared his throat as if ready to issue a command.
“Arianna, I have a few important things to discuss with you.”
Arianna clasped her hands together and said “Yes, sir,” without even looking at him. Harry smiled. He didn’t much care for all of this nonsense about servants knowing their place and averting their eyes when their master addressed them. He knew what it was like to feel invisible, and he didn’t want Arianna to feel that way.
Harry continued. “First of all, I would like for you to smile more often. Perhaps laugh a little now and then. Do you think you could do that?”
Arianna’s eyes widened as she finally fixed her gaze upon Harry. “I beg your pardon, sir?”
Harry continued, a little more forcefully. “This house has been somber enough since April passed away. I would like it to be a little more cheerful, if possible.”
“What, shall I do a jig on the table every morning before breakfast?” Arianna said, her politeness suddenly vanishing.
“Well, it would be terribly amusing,” said Harry, his eyes full of mirth.
“I am not here to amuse you!” Arianna said, standing up. She couldn’t leave the room, however, as Harry had not dismissed her. Harry let her stand there a moment, then released a half-sigh, half-laugh.
“Very well, Arianna. No jigs required. But surely a smile now and then wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
Arianna stood completely still, her hands clutching her apron. “I’ll do my best, sir. Is that all, sir?”
“I think that’s plenty for now,” Harry said, standing up. “I’ll save the rest for another evening. You may go.”
Arianna strode frostily out of the room, leaving Harry behind to scratch his head. “Odd woman,” he chuckled to himself.
(continued on Page 2)
Great! I love how you’ve captured the timeline this time! Of course I wasn’t around anywhere close to that time but it’s a wonderful story!
Wonderful storytelling, I have been following your blog since the beginning and it keeps on getting better and better!
Great job Jen! I was defnitely missing your updates. Did you move Arianna in or did you use SimPE to edit her? She looks great, as does Cecily. This was really well told. Keep up the great work! I can’t wait to see more.
Awww, poor Cecily! Hopefully she isn’t too frightened of spectres from the past. ;) Great storytelling/flow. It’s always fun to write stories as opposed to just narration sometimes. Looking forward to what happens next!
Wicked update. Looking forward to what happens next ay! I wonder if they’ll ever get married?
ur blog is nice
Jippie! Another historical update! I love the decorations of your house, where did you get the stove?? I can’t wait to see how the story develops further.
Great update! I love this story and all your furnishings really do look as if they’re from that time period :D
Hello again Jen, i´m following your blog since the beginning but this is only my second comente here.(I am portuguese)
I´m 30 years old and i´m like a kid for candys with your blog…..shame on me.
Months and months folow this blog, day by day, always in anonym.
Maybe because i am a litle shy and my english are bad, but i´m read very weel and i love your stories.
This is with no doubt my favourite blog.
By the way Harry Brayton is´t very cute, i think he is very alike my husband LOL.
Jen you are great. :)
hi Jen. Awesome update. After reading your great writting i now remember why i first starting coming to your blog. Your writting is just wonderful and i missed that so much while you did the challenge. I’m really looking forward to the next update.
Oh BTW i saw this cute victoria crib on themodsims
hmm i think i also saw it on “bringing up daysies blog” a few weeks or months ago.
Hey all, thanks for the comments! I’m sorry it took me so long to update. I took a break from the Sims for a few reasons (the main one being that my sister visited for the weekend and commandeered my computer so she could play HER Sim family), but I’m back now and even have an update on Mia ready to go soon. (And I might post on the Shanley Hall Shanleys, too.)
To answer some questions:
Jessica — I moved Arianna in (she was the maid) first, then had her change into the Victorian get-up. I end up having to do things all backwards for the sake of the story, but it’s great fun.
Yannick — That stove is actually in the game, in the Fireplace category. I forgot it was even there for a long time because I usually use the larger fireplaces. It’s a neat stove, though, with a ton of colors to choose from.
Susana – Hi and thanks so much for commenting. Your English is great!
Mary – Thanks, I’ve actually downloaded those old-fashioned cribs, but it was too late for this story (I took these pictures about a week ago). They’re really cool, though, and would have been perfect for this story! I’ll probably use them in the next few stories, as I’m not sure when the modern day crib came into fashion. Time for some research…
I’m so glad you posted again…Man! your stories are awsome! Yay!
I love this story! Keep it up :)
By the way, I’m still not sure what’s up with the pictures on those posts of my blog…they’re not showing up when I edit anymore either…maybe I’ll have to upload them again…I hope not, that’s my least favorite part of posting. I think it’s something on Blogsome’s server though.
Aww! That was so sweet! I feel bad for poor Harry, being rejected like that. And mean old April scaring her daughter in such a mean way. I hope That Arianna will eventually marry Harry, how cute would their babies be? Looking forward to the next installment!
oh, what a great addition! i love the name Arianna and have often considered naming my first born child that (if/when i have kids). keep up the good work! :)
Hey glad you got a chance to update; kept coming round your site to see if you had.
Love the story …are Harry and Arianna going to get married or are they married already (wink..wink) ..since Arianna was the maid does this mean she’ll produce an heir for Harry?
Toodles….
brilliant storytelling as usual. You’ve certainly stuck to you plan of “going through the ages” Look forward to seeing the tension between arianna and Harry ^^ I just love it how you put so much detail and effort to make such a great post so do keep it up^^
Wow, great update, Jen! Your story telling is amazing and I am really enjoying how you are working this challenge. I had a question though, I bet you are scrounging all over the place looking for clothes and objects for different eras and such and I was wondering if you would do a post either here or on Sims Scribes with links to all the sites you are finding sorted by decade. I know I am surfing around and coming across clothes or meshes and thinking, “Wow, that would be great for a sixties child, or a forties teen, or a thirties adult.” Besides, it might be helpful if other people decide they want to do stories that take place in certain eras. I know I would probably throw in my two cents whenever I found a site, and we could help you out in return. Just a thought. :) Keep up the great work!
Bitsy, that’s an awesome idea. I’ll write a post for it. Thanks!!!
I’m really enjoying this one, Jen… There’s something very unique about the way that you’re telling this story (apart from the period dress and decor, that is). You’re a great storyteller and I’m finding myself looking forward to your updates more and more!
I plan on starting to feature another blog in mine every week and this week I’ve decided to feature your Brayton Legacy. I hope that’s okay with you, but as it means an extra link I don’t see why it would be a problem :D
Becki – I would be honored to be featured in your most excellent blog! :-) I’m glad you’re enjoying the Brayton story so far.
*CRY!!!*
Why won’t she marry him! *pout* Darn it!
I wonder why April is so angry. Is it because she was MURDERED! *dun* *dun* *duuuuun* (Or not). *LOL*
I really love this period setting.