3.2 Opposites Attract

Phoenix was quite proud of his new address. It had been in construction for a short time and those last few nights on the houseboat had been worth it. It had taken his mother all of her charm to get Alex to leave the houseboat behind. They now lived on an island he'd discovered while diving.

Kelsey, who moved in with them immediately after Phoenix arrived home from University, wasn't as happy about the mansion. It was beautiful and impressive, but it seemed like a complete and total waste of money. Kelsey was a frugal sim. The way Phoenix threw his wealth around sometimes made her a little nauseous.

Thankfully, that was the only thing that bothered her. If she had to live in a mansion, at least it was with him. His parents had come along as well, though Alex seemed a bit out of it now that he wasn't on the sea anymore.

One of the few times Kelsey didn't begrudge Phoenix's wealth is when he proposed. No girl in her right mind turns down a beautiful engagement ring, not even a frugal sim like Kelsey!

As much as Phoenix cared about Kelsey, she really drove him nuts sometimes. She didn't seem to understand boundaries between staff and employer. She was constantly chatting up 'the help' and treating them like friends. It was a wonder they ever got any work done with her following them around, acting like they were buddies all of the time!

Both Phoenix and Kelsey had parties before their wedding. Kelsey wanted a much smaller affair, happy to hang out with a few friends. Phoenix, however, rented out an entire venue. It was sheer unadulterated chaos.

There were two party dancers instead of one. They said they came as a pair and they were both named after sweets--Cherie Pie and Candy Bar. Magnificent, really.

Alex gave the toast, but by that time, everyone was kind of out of it, so Phoenix couldn't even remember what was said. All that mattered was that fun was had by all and that him and Alex had to call Maya to come get them at four in the morning.

Boating and driving in their state was just out of the question.

Phoenix and Alex were nursing their hangovers over a shared helping of Mushroom Omelet when Kelsey started gathering up the dishes. That was the maid's job. Kelsey's excuse was that she was giving him a hand. The house was too big for one man to handle.

Phoenix commented on how he'd wanted to hire a butler, but she'd adamantly refused. Kelsey ignored him, knowing he was just poking at her because of his rough morning.

 Their wedding was lovely, held on the back deck of the house and facing the islands of Isla Paradiso. Unfortunately, the camera had bunged up and they'd been forced to re-stage one of the shots. At least Maya's camera seemed to be working, so their vows were forever preserved and placed on the wall within the mansion.

Of course, the wedding arch was quickly replaced by a hot tub. The back deck had been extended for that purpose entirely. It was now an entertainment area with a hot tub, chairs, a bar, and a stereo.

Phoenix's college education was helping him move quickly through the ranks of the political career, so he needed a place to hold campaign fundraisers.

Maya and Alex mostly just hung around the house or spent their days diving. Alex was soon to retire and Maya had always been unemployed. It was just the way she liked it. They had enough money now to not have to worry about anything at all. It was certainly different from the time Alex had moved into his houseboat with $2,000 to his name.

They'd been hoping for grandchildren since the wedding, but Phoenix and Kelsey were apt to take their time. Besides, they couldn't really agree on the timing. Kelsey thought now was the perfect time whereas Phoenix preferred to wait until they'd built up their cash reserves a bit more.

That didn't keep them from 'practicing' though.

Which inevitably left Kelsey getting sick in the bathroom. She felt awful. Did she have a virus? It was springtime.

She was also feeling overly hormonal, nearly biting Phoenix's head off when she caught him texting his old college friend, Gabby Ahmed. She'd saved his life, they were friends! But Kelsey's hormones couldn't have cared less.

By the time she figured it out, she was nearly showing. Kelsey was overjoyed at being pregnant, but she worried that maybe it was too soon for Phoenix.

Maya was there when Kelsey told Phoenix. Before Phoenix could even react, Maya had seized her and nearly squeezed the life out of her. She was strong. Thankfully, Phoenix wasn't upset, he was happy, even if it wasn't as he had planned.

Alex was just as overjoyed as Maya, having had his birthday recently. Now he would be a true grandpa and his gray hair would be a badge of honor instead of a curse.

Of course, just because Alex looked like an old man now didn't mean he'd act like one. He could still cut a rug with Maya at the festival, as they had done for so many years since their initial meeting. Maya would be joining him soon enough on the gray hair train and they could both be doting grandparents together.

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This family is ridiculously wealthy. It's obscene. Building the house and adding on the deck/etc brought them back down to around 20k, but Phoenix's career is going fast so it'll probably replenish itself. Also, please excuse the awful house. I am a terrible builder. I was forced to do this because I wanted them to move onto one of the islands!

Maya and Alex came along because I didn't want to leave them to story progression and it was Alex's money Phoenix used to build his opulent mansion! That would just be rude.

Kelsey and Phoenix are polar opposites. I wish I had the misc. fun 'opposites' thing, would have made sense for them. ;) They never seem to fight, though. Kelsey's an Easily Impressed Frugal Mooch who Sleeps Lightly and is Neat. Go figure. A complete counter to Phoenix. I'll still be sad when I have to kick her out. She's cute like a Disney animal.

Also, I have NO wedding pictures because stupid Fraps wasn't taking shots and I wasn't checking to make sure. Sigh. 

I found a trick for mermaids... a use for that LTR 'Hardly Hungry'... USE IT. Suddenly, they only need ONE kelp every two days or so. This is better than a billion kelp every day. Ugh.