All My Children

Parry House, Week 1: Angharad, Violet, Bevan, and a houseful of new children

Violet: Well, hello there! I'm Violet Parry, and this is my family in the picture there. Well, it's my family the way it used to look. Things change.

From left to right, that's my daughter Briallen, my sister-in-law Angharad, my late husband Aled, myself, and my daughter Bronwen. In front of us are my son Bevan, and my granddaughter Ceinwen, Briallen's daughter.

Yes, you heard me right - my late husband. Aled died shortly after we moved here to Pleasantview. I miss him terribly, I do, but I had to find a way to move on with my life. Then my daughters decided to find a house of their own, closer to the action, as Briallen put it, and of course they took little Ceinwen with them. So that just left me, Angharad, and Bevan.


Angharad soon found herself a man. It's nice to see her fall in love - and it's about time, too. Unfortunately it's too late for her to have children of her own, but I hear her Darren has a teenage son from his first marriage. Besides, she's not a family sim like me.

I had this wonderful idea, after the girls moved out. I want to open my home to those children who have nowhere else to go, the ones who have been sent from foster home to foster home without ever finding a family that would take them in - I want to give them that family. Bevan says he's fine with it - he always has his nose in a book, anyway - and Angharad is planning to marry Darren eventually, so I went ahead and contacted the social workers.


Sam and Amin came first - or Samin, as Bevan refers to them. They're brothers, and were apparently infamous for fighting all the time, but I haven't seen any sign of that. Oh, they're not the best of friends, but they get along. Maybe it's because they were told before coming here that they would be put in different homes if this didn't work out; as much as they fight, they didn't want that. They're good boys, really, they just need security and discipline.


Bevan: Can I cut in here for a second, Mom? I just wanted to mention that shortly after Samin came to live with us, something amazing happened. I was abducted, and taken to a spaceship where I met the aliens! I wish I could remember more than I do, but it's all a bit fuzzy... I wish I could go back and meet them again!

Violet: I'd really prefer it if you didn't! That was terrifying, watching my son disappear into the sky, and not knowing if he'd ever be back. Ironically, while he was still missing, and we were all worried sick, Darren Dreamer showed up with a present for Angharad - and he gave her a telescope!


I should perhaps mention that I've found someone myself, too. Like I said, Aled may be gone, but life does go on. His name is Daniel, and he's just so romantic, always giving me flowers and gifts. I'm not looking for a lifetime commitment or anything - the boys are my first priority - but sometimes it's nice to go out and have some fun.


Daniel is a bit shy, just like me. There was this one time when I ran into him downtown, and we ended up having dinner with a very nice woman named Mary-Sue. She's a friend of his, I think. All through that dinner, he looked very uncomfortable, and never made a single romantic gesture towards me. I'm not sure why, exactly, but I didn't mind. I haven't taken him home to meet my kids, either. I like to keep my fun time separate from everyday life, you know?


When Sam and Amin had settled in a little bit, I felt I was ready to adopt another child. Randy had quite a history of running away, time and again, from every foster home he'd been placed in, even the ones with a stellar record. I sat down and had a little chat with him, and eventually he told me he was looking for his brother. Apparently, they're half brothers, and after their mother died, the baby was taken in by his father's family. They weren't willing to take on a child that was not related to them, so Randy went into foster care. Can you believe that?

Well, I promised him I'd do everything I could to help him locate his brother, provided he stayed here and did well in school. If little Vince is happy where he is, we'll arrange for the two of them to visit each other, but if the boy is no longer with his relatives, I'll take him in. Randy seemed willing to settle for that, once I had convinced him I meant what I said.


It seemed that wasn't the only way my family would be growing. Bevan had been complaining of nausea and mood swings, so I wasn't too shocked when he turned out to be pregnant. There have been rumors of that happening to other abductees... So it looked like I was going to be a grandmother again.


And there he was, my grandson, Cai. Isn't he adorable? We had to add another room to the house, so he wouldn't wake up the other boys in the middle of the night with his screaming, but we needed more space anyway. All my children sleep in the same room as it is, while I or Angharad bunk in with the baby. We never seem to sleep at the same time, anyway, since I work nights as a security guard, and she spends a lot of time with Darren.


We did finally manage to track down Randy's brother Vince. He was in foster care, just as we had suspected he might be, so I arranged to adopt him as well. The sad part is, he barely remembers Randy. To him, that's a complete stranger claiming to be his brother, wanting to hug him and be best friends with him. I have faith that they'll work it out eventually, but it breaks my heart to see the look on Randy's face when the baby brother he's missed so much rebuffs him. He tries to be patient, but it's not easy.


I have to go. My little grandson is yelling to be let out of his crib, and he certainly isn't patient. I'm sure the next time we meet, I will have more to tell you! Take care until then!


Adopted: Sam Parry, Scorpio, 6/5/8/3/3
Amin Parry, Aries, 5/8/6/3/3
Randy Parry, Cancer, 6/3/6/4/6
Vince Parry, Aries, 5/8/6/3/3
Born: Cai Parry, Leo, 10/10/4/7/4

Angharad is caught printing money, fined, and lectured