Chapter 23: What The Job Demands

For Willow the house seems a bit empty with just her and Christmas again, and more because she knows that she will soon be alone in it. Christmas is on the verge of aging up and she and Sunny have been talking about sharing a house in San Sequoia. While neither of them have the money to move into a house of their own, sharing one... well that's another matter and that opens up San Sequoia for the both of them.

Willow is of course happy for her industrious daughter, who seems so certain about what she wants to do with her life, but at the same time it is a bit bittersweet. For herself all she ever wanted was a beautiful garden with one of every plant, and a child with magical blood. But what do you do when your life long wish is complete?

Willow has some thinking to do.




But first work, as her employer has made an impossibly big request from her. Just the other day they brought her into the office, confirming that she had an adult cowplant in her garden.
"The cowplant is incredibly researched when it comes to it's cellular make up," her boss told her. "But not so much what happens when inside one."
"Inside one?"
"You know, when it eats you. So I'm thinking we have a perfect opportunity to study that here, to be the first to publish a paper about the process of being eaten by a cowplant, how it digests your essence into that milk, and how it feels to be eaten."
"You want to know what it feels like to be eaten?"
"Well, not me, personally. I thought you would do it."
"You want me to be eaten by my cowplant."
"And write a scientific paper about it."
"..."
"It will be fantastic! You're sure to get a raise from it, well if you raise your logic skill a bit at least."
"I'd get a promotion if I raise my logic skill anyway."
"A faster promotion."
"I would hope so, you're asking me to risk my life, here."
"Don't be so dramatic. You would only need to be eaten once, how else would you write it about it, unless you're tempted by the prospect of living as a ghost? That could make for an interesting article."
"No! That's a no, there is a limit to what I will do for my job."
"Well I guess I can't ask for everything, can I. But shall we say tomorrow, for that paper?"

Willow walks away thinking she might want to reconsider her branch choice, surely no one ever asked someone who arranges flower to jump into a cowplant.




The next morning, Willow waits for Christmas to head to school before dealing with her new job assignment. She knows the best chance she has is in the morning, when Rosalie is at her most hungry.



So braving the snow and gloomy weather, Willow takes the plunge and reaches for that cake tongue, and one, two, three she is swallowed up and find herself inside Rosalie's vast mouth, where a liquid she makes sure to get a sample of comes gushing out of small holes in the back of Rosalie's mouth. An emzyme, Willow realises, to digest and extract her life essence, and it doesn't matter that she knows it's supposedly safe, she is scared all the same as she feels the enzyme enter her pours and drain her emotions from her.




And then, just as fast as it started, Rosalie opens her mouth again and spits her out, whole but slimy onto the ground. Around her remanents of the gooey enzyme spread on the ground and a stench that Willow has never before smelled fills the air. It takes a moment before Willow realises that it's not the enzyme itself that stinks, but the reaction it has when touching her skin. Ewww.




But alive, she is, and after a long - a very long - shower to start feeling something like herself again, Willow sits down at her computer to write up her scientific paper. "He'll better be happy with this," she mutters as she types.




Luckily, he does, and Willow gets that promotion she's been after. One more step to go then she'll be the boss. She is sure she will never ask one of her scientist to be eaten as a part of their job.



Additional promotions will have to wait, however, as Winterfest is fast approaching and Willow needs to go to Oasis Springs to pick up her mother.

"I could have just gone with Sandy tomorrow, you know?" her mother says as they sit down for a game of chess. "Not that I don't appreciate that you are here, it's always nice to see you, but you could have saved yourself the trouble."
"But this way I get to enjoy your company for longer, and you can help decorate the tree."




Candice does not argue with this, because while she likes her new home, and has made many new friends, she always enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren.
They have a nice time decorating the tree that night.





And later in the day the entire family arrive to the house.



Sunny really likes the food. I mean why settle for one plate when you can have two?



And as the evening draws to a close, Father Winter arrives. This year, he makes sure to give his daughter a present.




The rest of the family get presents too, and gather around the tree to open them.



The next day Summer comes over to their house. She has been coming around a lot lately.



She gives some valuable feedback while Christmas is painting. "Nice colors, but get better."



It makes Christmas wonder, however.
"How long have you known Summer?" she asks later at dinner.
"Almost all my life, well since we moved to Willow Creek. She used to baby sit when I was a child."
"So you'd say that you know her well."
"I'd say so, she was around every birthday, Winterfest and Harvestfest as I grew up."
"So why does she always come alone?"
"What do you mean?"
"She has a husband, yes? And kids?"
"Travis, yes, and three, no four children, although one moved out some time ago."
"Why do they never come around? Why do we not invite them when inviting Summer."
"Because this is Simland! We can't invite someone we haven't met, even if they are family to people we know extremely well, so we don't really ever meet anyone's family unless we really want to."
"Well I really want to," Christmas answers. "It seems stupid that Summer is supposed to be here for New Years, but we can't invite her family."



The next morning, Christmas takes her bike and ride over to Summer's house, hoping her family will be at home. It is, so Christmas makes sure to introduce herself to all of them. Jaxon, the eldest, is a bit hot but completely uninterested and just walks away. Travis mostly stays in their room playing with his computer, so instead Christmas talks to Wyatt and Alivia.



Wyatt is fun, and is quite happy to be invited to Christmas's New Years Eve party.



So Christmas returns home and start preparing for the guests. It's Summer and Travis (although the latter looks like he'd rather be at home) and Jaxon and Wyatt and Alivia and Olivia (which is weird since Summer and Olivia also know each other well) and Austen Goth who Christmas said hi to once by the beach when on a jog, and Neo and Malik and some other guy whose name Christmas can't remember who she said hi to once to complete an aspiration point and who then followed her into their home and has since kept returning for no obvious reason. Oh, and Hannah, who her mother has known forever but who still dress as if she's 15. It's a good party.





And it turns out Wyatt is quite cute. And interested. And cute.



So while the others are watching the countdown to midnight, Christmas makes this the day she has her first kiss.



Happy New Year!



Inspired by her first kiss, Christmas made the resolution to get a significant other. She thinks Wyatt might be a good fit, and since she's feeling extra confident, she invites him over. After completing a confidence painting.



Wyatt is more than up for the challenge of being Christmas' boyfriend.



And with that comes the experience of messing around, where? In the treehouse after dark of course. After all, what is life as a teenager if you don't try to make out in a treehouse at least once?




But time being a teenager is short, and soon it's time for the family to gather once more, this time to wish Christmas a happy birthday. Perfectionist as she is, she has it all figured out. Career, place to stay, how to afford a place to stay... it's going to be perfect!

But first she need a perfect party. She has convinced her mother to not just bake a cake, but to make a special cake, with tiers. "It's not just any birthday, after all," she says.
"Well maybe you should spend some time learning how to cook," Willow teases, as Christmas has so far resisted every effort to do so, meeting a call to cook by looking at her phone and sitting at the kitchen table.
"I'm not an adult yet," Christmas answers.

Soon the guests start to arrive and the house is once more filled with people. Wyatt is there, of course. Along with the entire family and a lot of their friends.




Willows food is praised, and then, finally, it's time for Christmas to blow out the candles.




Christmas surprisingly (well her mother is surprised at least) adds foodie to her traits.

Even more surprising is it to find Rosalie very happy with herself after the party. Apparently Sunny felt like having some more cake, or perhaps Rosalie just got a taste for sims now that she's tried it once.



Willow hopes that phase will fade, or she might have to fence Rosalie in to keep others out. She'd rather not have fences in her garden, which now boasts one of everything. Willow even got a plack in the mail to prove it. She hung it on the wall together with her father's plack for collecting all keys to Princess Cordelia's treasure.



She also mastered herbology, and therefore completed her second ambition. Now that Christmas is moving she is a bit at a loss. Her entire life has been spent caring for Christmas, she needs to find something else - or someone else - to care for. 

But today Christmas is the busy one, as she has a move to prepare for. She starts by being accepted to her new job as a painter.



Then packs up her room so she's ready to leave.



Before she can take off, however, there is something else she needs to do.Wyatt is cute, and she has had fun, but he's still a teen and as a young adult, that's just not appropriate. So she heads over to gently let him down and break up with him, which is apparently harder than it really should be.

First he's just on his phone.



And gets up and leaves as she starts talking. Apparently there is food to be had. Outside. In the rain.




When he returns he's at firs preoccupied with his food, and when Christmas finally gets him to sit down, Jaxon decides this was a great time to join the conversation.
"What are you two talking about?"




But Christmas is on a mission, and Jaxon or no Jaxon, she needs to do this before she moves to San Sequoia - it wouldn't be fair otherwise. So ignoring Jaxon, she just tells Wyatt what she needs to say.
"You're a great guy, but too young, and I'm too far away, and this needs to end here." Jaxon has very large ears suddenly, as Wyatt tries his best not to cry. "So does that mean I have a chance...?"
"Jax, quiet!"



Christmas cannot get out of there fast enough. That was... annoyingly difficult. She thought she'd be sad, but mostly she's just feeling confident.




Now she's ready to move! She hugs her mother goodbye, and then takes her things and head off to San Sequoia where a townhouse is waiting for her and Sunny - well when he gets back from work. In the meantime Christmas gets to decorate the place.




The place is so modern! Christmas loves it! But she knows to start with what's most important - the plants. She has chosen some of her mother's most valuable plants and now plants her own. An Orchid, a Bird of Paradise, A lily and - of course - a Dragon Fruit. She brought a growth fruit as well to make sure she has plenty of fertilizer for her plants. This will generate a good profit for them, and more than pay for the house and bills.



Inside, the kitchen is ultra modern in red and white, and while they have a seating area downstairs, they've added the tv on the second floor as an extra living room. This is also the floor where Christmas has her bedroom, while Sunny sleeps on the third floor, where Christmas also has an art studio. She needs to paint a lot right now, to keep up with her work tasks.






Back home in Willow Creek, her mother tends her plants, and Rosalie and start working on a new aspiration - to find a soulmate of her own. Like Sandy and Neo has, and as her parents were to each other. Perhaps it's not to late to start fresh?
"What do you say Rosalie? You think I can do that?" She wants to imagine that Rosalie nods. "Just don't eat him, will you? It makes such a bad impression."