Mod The Sims - Evergreen - Formerly boring name, exciting place

It's been quite some time since we saw them, and this next episode comes after some fairly traumatic experiences, so I think we should begin with a recap of their story and reminders of who Stoffe and Vanessa are. If you just re-read or in general feel you remember it well then you can skip to the first picture if you'd like

Stoffe, as we remember, is an orphan. He grew up in the neighborhood orphanage under the care of matron Lena. Unlike his friend Sally Mae, he was pretty happy in the orphanage, but he had a burning desire to prove himself. To show he's not just some orphan living off the states kindness, he is someone. As a teen, having chosen fortune aspiration, he immediately got to work, in every way he could. Working a job, studying skills and badges to qualify for scholarships at university, and writing articles and giving financial advice on the side to further increase his income. He got accepted to the private school, working hard to pay his tuition. He made it to university with quite a few scholarships, and planned to graduate with a double degree in economy and business management.

Through his article writing he had gotten acquainted with Daniel Sernman, who was one of the higher ups at the newspaper. The Sernman family are very successful, running a lot of businesses in the hood, and one of Daniels is a car dealership firm with multiple branches. His son Joel ran the small city center branch of the business, but Stoffe knew Joel wanted to retire to focus on his family and he convinced Daniel to let him take over. Among the employees that Stoffe hired was fellow economy student Vanessa van Derbirth. Stoffe had long been drawn to the upper echelon of society, thinking that to prove he is someone he must become one of them, rich and moving in the circles of those with influence and heritage. Vanessas name showed she comes from one of these old influencial families, not in Evergreen but somewhere, and being an orphan Stoffe with no family name of note to boost him, thought marrying into a family with an old name would give him a leg up in becoming accepted with that side of town. He pursued Vanessa, who turned out to be a most willing participant in the romance. Being of an old family and growing up in that environment, her goal in life was simply to find a driven man with brains and motivation to go far, that would keep her in comfort and live the sort of life that she grew up being trained for, and Stoffe fit the bill. Sure his background was nothing, but he'd already made a name for himself at the university and within the business world through his hard work and dedication, and Vanessa figured his background would only add to his fame one day, being the poor boy from the orphanage who made it big and proved everyone wrong, and her right beside him taking credit for guiding him and believing in him from early on. So when Stoffe proposed mere months into their relationship, Vanessa immediately accepted and convinced him to get married immediately. They had a private ceremony with townie witnesses at the chapel by the river, and then left university grounds to rent a luxury apartment in Bluewater Village, as Stoffe had goals to set up his own car dealership in Bluewater.

Stoffe continued his nonstop work, spending most of his time shut away in his office giving financial advice, studying or networking. Vanessa assumed her role as a rich housewife, building up a wardrobe of fine clothing, decorating their apartment with expensive art, and using her charisma and assets to convince dormies to do her university work for her, instead spending her time lounging, dancing and being pampered. Neither of them was madly in love with the other, it was a marriage of mutual benefit and truth be told, neither of them had ever really considered what love is or how it would feel, they just sort of assumed this was how relationships were. Stoffe met the criteria Vanessa had for a partner, and she found him physically attractive, and that was enough. Stoffe was in love with the idea of Vanessa's name and heritage, and too inexperienced to realize that that is not the same thing as loving the person. But he happily provided anything she wanted, whether it be art, jewelry or clothing. He worked hard, opening his own car dealership in Bluewater in addition the branch he ran for the Sernman's, and it did not take him long to earn enough money to buy them a fancy mansion in the rich side of Evergreen.

Neither of them had any plans of family anytime soon, but they were careless the night they celebrated their pending move to the mansion and Vanessa found herself pregnant. It was not part of my plan either, but it happened. I wasn't sure what to make of it, what would the two of them do? I did not think either of them would be pro abortion (although I am). Vanessa would gladly leave their offspring at the orphanage, but I did not think Lena would allow one of her charges to abandon their offspring in that way. Stoffe did not maintain much contact with Lena, being busy with his goals, but it was clear he regarded her as his parental figure, bringing her with him to meet Vanessa the day they married, and Lena kept an eye on them, making sure to walk by here and there, once rescuing Vanessa from heat stroke when she foolishly got in the hot tub in the middle of summer. If Lena said no, Stoffe would listen, no matter what Vanessa might say. So I opted to wait and see how things developed, and pushing the decision to the future.

Vanessa had a hard time with pregnancy, but watching the two of them it became clear that while it was not part of the plan, both of them were going to embrace the situation and were slowly starting to look forward to their baby. But as the pregnancy progressed, Vanessa struggled more and more, finally fainting on her way back to bed from the bathroom, waking up Stoffe who slept in the guestroom, dashing inside to find her passed out on the floor. Stoffe promptly bought a vacation home in Twikki Islands, and took Vanessa there to get away from stress and just rest. The trip did not go quite to plan though, as poor Vanessa got mugged by the charlatan while Stoffe was getting a massage. Stoffe attacked the charlatan and got Vanessas money back, but getting revenge could not remove the memories from Vanessa. The same night as they slept, the burglar came to their home and managed to steal a painting before the police showed up and seized him. Being woken up in the night to find a stranger in their cottage certainly does not create a low stress relaxing environment, as Stoffe had intended. The next day Stoffe suggested they go out to dine, thinking that a new dress and jewelry would take Vanessas mind off things, and never one to pass up an opportunity to get dolled up Vanessa agreed. They had a wonderful evening at the beach hotel, for once actually seeming to see each other. So often their interactions would have one of them looking away, or thinking of money, they never really seemed to be in the same place together, but rather just two people who happened to be in the same house. But that night, they were actually looking at each other, and seeing. They ate, danced in the moonlight on the terrace, and seemed to have quite the evening. But as Vanessa got into bed that night, her face was that of concern, with sad eyes and insecurity. Stoffe being out on the terrace having a drink did not notice.

The next day, they got in the taxi to return back home. But on their return to Evergreen, they found their house engulfed in flames. Stoffe had given their household staff the week off, thinking they could get to enjoy themselves too while him and Vanessa were away. Their mansion had quite extensive landscaping and required constant upkeep, keeping both a gardener and their butler busy, and without care it quickly got overgrown. Lightning struck and set fire to the weeds, and the rain was not able to put it out. With no one there to notice and call the fire brigade, the fire got out of control in no time and by the time Stoffe and Vanessa drove by in the taxi, there was nothing to be done. The taxi dropped them off down the street, outside the home of Vanessa's friend Rakel. And that is where we find ourselves today!

I'm not sure what Rakel must have thought, seeing the flames in the distance and finding her pregnant friend in tears while her husband wrung his hands in worry.

Rakel however is a very simple woman. She's not one to pry, or ask questions, or even really wonder. And she tends to think feelings are overrated in the first place, so she simply walks outside, and waits patiently for Vanessa to stop crying.

She gives her a hug, and tells her to come inside. As they head in, Stoffe's phone rings which turns out to be the fire department informing him about the situation. They contained the fire before it spread, but their house and all of their belongings were lost.

Stoffe comes inside, and gives the news to his wife. Vanessa, as you may have guessed, does not take the news very well and lashes out. In her mind, because of him, they are now homeless.

While Stoffe is rather annoyed that she's yelling at him, but she is pregnant and he's worried she'll harm herself or the baby. So he gives her a backrub to calm her down, and suggests she go rest while he makes some calls and tries to figure out the situation. After all that is how things are in Vanessas world, it's the husbands job to provide for her, to keep her safe, and handle things, so she calms down and agrees to go lay down.

Stoffe calls the insurance company, to inform them of what has happened, and get started on filing a claim to get some of their money back. To his surprise, the insurance company says they have no grounds for a claim because the situation was self-inflicted.

Stoffe vehemently rejects the notion that it's somehow their fault.

But as we all know, insurance companies are experts at finding reasons not to pay out on their policies, and they calmly explain that Stoffe failed to take reasonable precaution when leaving, letting the garden get overgrown and creating a fire hazard which means they forfeit any claims to compensation. Eventually Stoffe realizes there's nothing he can do, the money and their house is simply lost. You can see the truth sink in and his grudging acceptance of it, the eyebrow slightly raised in disbelief, the pouting lips of sadness and worry, the concern in his eyes.

Rakel has had her butler set out a buffet for dinner, and she and Stoffe sit down to eat. Vanessa, having borrowed a dress from her friend, comes down to eat as well. She seems in better spirits, thinking Stoffe has taken care of everything. Stoffe looking more grim faced, knowing the challenges facing them.

Rakel tries to cheer them up, pointing out that Stoffe recently got promoted. They'll get back on their feet in no time.

No freakouts from Vanessa at dinner, despite the news. After dinner Stoffe heads for Rakels office, going into problem solver mode, focusing on earning money to get them back to where they were. Vanessa spends the evening in Rakel's art room, painting to calm her nerves.

The next morning Vanessa wakes up early, and Rakel suggests they go out for breakfast. So Vanessa leaves Stoffe in bed, and heads off with her friend.

They head for the bakery, since Vanessas favorite foods is creppes suzette. Rakel figures the best thing for Vanessa right now is to do the things she usually does, such as go out to eat with her friends (lovingly dubbed the Ladies who Lunch).

Vanessa is rather quiet, but Rakel chirps along about her usual topics, like her latest mancrush and whatever woohoo she's had recently in her couger life.

But Vanessa is not really in the mood for idle chatter, she's had her whole world turned upside down and that's bound to get anyone thinking. I think she's talking about how they live a life of show, that what is seen isn't always real. Rakel probably wishes she would play along of pretending all is fine, and normally Vanessa would, but it's been three traumatic experiences all within the span of three days and it's effectively broken down the walls, the etiquette of how she should behave and think.

They finish their food, and head over to the boutique to get some clothes for Vanessa. She can't exactly go on wearing her vacation clothes, and Rakels wardrobe is not in Vanessas style. Rakel is happy to pay for her friend, especially if it means she'll stop talking about serious things

They get home that afternoon, Stoffe having left for work, and they sit down to have some espresso while waiting for the butler to finish dinner. Rakel chatting along again, and Vanessa mostly listening with that serious face.

Rakel keeps it up through dinner, talking about this and that. A random townie dude that Rakel found attractive had been walking by and got invited in for dinner. Poor guy, awkward atmosphere to be invited in to.

Stoffe has come back home from work as you can see, also there for dinner, and he seems to be trying to engage with Vanessa.

She won't catch his eye, seeming to barely listen to Rakel and instead be deep in her own thoughts

Vanessa and Rakel excuse themselves from the table, and leave. Vanessa goes to sit in the kitchen on her own, and breaks down in tears. Stoffe can hear through the arch, and looks upset.

Seems the situation is weighing on him out too, when he gets up he finds the dinner put him over the threshold and he sprouts a gut. He gets up to go comfort Vanessa.

He tries to tell her everything will be okay, he will take care of her, and he goes in for a hug

But Vanessa rejects him, throwing up her hands and pushing him away.

She tells him to not touch her

And right at that moment, her pregnancy progresses and she pops on to third trimester

None of which Vanessa is ready to handle at this moment. Progressing to the next trimester forces her to face the fact that very soon she is giving birth, and the idea of giving birth and facing becoming a mother with her whole world upside down is more than she can handle, and she breaks down again.

She finally admits whats on her mind, and tells Stoffe she can't understand how he could be so careless as to let their staff go on a break, how could he let this happen to them. I love this picture, the way she's standing and her facial expression. I can almost hear her voice, the upset, the hurt, the cry of "how could you let this happen?!"

But Stoffe has had enough too. First the insurance company blames him, and now his wife. He says their staff deserved to put their feet up, to have a rest too.

He says it's not his fault that lightning hit, how was he supposed to know that would happen?

Vanessa simply raises her shoulders in a shrug, as if she can't believe how naive he is

And now it's Stoffes turn to break down, rushing out of there. Rakel having been in the next room overhearing the whole thing is probably starting to second guess her decision to let them stay there.

As Stoffe comes running out the door, who happens to be walking by if not matron Lena from the orphanage? However old her charges get, she still cares and she seems to be able to tell when they need her.

Stoffe rushes over and greets her.

Lena suggests they go for a ride, get away from the house to talk. They borrow Rakels car, and head for a park near the orphanage. (The lovely Serrano garden by Stellmaria here on MTS)

Stoffe looking rather grim as they sit down on a bench to chat, Lena having her usual calm demeanor.

"I mean, what does she even want from me? I have worked hard, I've earned so much money for us"

"So, SO much money!!"

"Money is not a magic potion dear, it does not fix all problems..."

"But I took care of everything, handled everything!"

"I bought her a vacation home..."

"I took her to the sun, to rest and be taken care of..."

"There's more to the world than just money, and riches. There's a whole world out there, and everyone has their problems and challenges."

"So what do I do, do I just throw away everything?"

"You get to the root of the problems, and you try to grow from there. Things are hard, but greenery can sprout from the ashes if you are willing to try."

I'm sure the conversation was deeper and had more things to it, but that's what I heard as I watched them, Lena listening patiently and gently trying to open Stoffes eyes to the fact that the world is not as simple as he had tried to make it out to be as a teen. Money and riches do not fix the problems, you have to get to the root of things and grow from there. Stoffe may not understand yet, but he trusts her and knows her advice is good.

Together they get in the car and head over to Sunnyside, to pick out some gifts for Vanessa. That is how Stoffe usually shows he cares, by giving her gifts and he figures it's a way to start the conversation.

He picks out new jewelry

And he buys a collar, remembering the poodle Vanessa once found so cute, thinking perhaps an animal could cheer her up

Finally they end up in the café, drinking an espresso as Lena tries to give Stoffe advice on how to prepare for the coming baby and becoming a parent

I'm not sure how much she really got through to him though, as he goes back to just talking about money. She looks quite frustrated by the end, but she knows he has to figure it out for himself.

They say goodbye, and Stoffe returns to Rakels mansion, finding her in the entryroom trying to put the moves on the poor dude who was walking by and got dragged into this environment. No surprise he's not in the mood.

Stoffe goes up to Rakels home gym to think before he faces Vanessa, and also get rid of the gut he sprouted. Showing up with a pot belly is unlikely to put Vanessa in a better mood.

Vanessa has changed into some of the clothes she got, and has heard him come in. She walks into the gym as he's working out.

Stoffe looks pleased to see her, it seems the talk with matron and working out helped him settle his thoughts

Vanessa seems ready to pick up where they left off, starting arguing immediately. But this time, Stoffe is not getting defensive, and getting angry back, he's standing there and accepting her words.

I can't quite decide if I think he's starting to feel responsible, or if he's just feeling upset and sad in general at the situation they are in.

Whichever way he's leaning, there is a baby on the way and he's decided that he's not giving up, that he wants to try and make things better. So he lets Vanessa talk, and when she finishes, he takes out the gift he got her in hopes it'll put her in a better mood.

Normally, it would have worked. This time it doesn't seem Vanessa is ready to be swayed by expensive jewelry. Instead, it seems to make her sad again.

Vanessa tells him she needs some time alone, and leaves him in the gym. She goes to the room Rakel gave them, gets ready for bed, and sits there, thinking.

Her whole life she's been taught that marriage is a transaction, that she has her role and her husband has his. That the husbands role is to provide for her, to protect her. She married Stoffe thinking he would do all these things. He certainly provided for her, but as far as keeping her safe, he has failed spectacularly. Stoffe had tried to take her mind off the robberies, getting her more clothes, taking her out to dinner, just like he always does. Trying to throw money at the problem. Thinking if he just got her things, he'd done his duty, fulfilled his part of the bargain.

When she got upset about everything that had happened, he stormed out and returned with a necklace hours later. Couldn't he see that giving her a new necklace is pointless? What's that supposed to do about the fact that they are essentially homeless? Is she supposed to forget the vision of the Charlatan threatening her just because she's looking at something sparkly? True, Stoffe is charming in many ways and he does care about her, but in a detached sort of way. Going through the motions on autopilot. It hadn't bothered her in the past, in fact she'd never really noticed it before, but all of a sudden it made her furious.

In a way everything that had happened had laid bare the very core of their relationship, and Vanessa wasn't sure she really liked what she was seeing. She lay there all night, looking at the spot where Stoffe usually would be sleeping next to her, trying to sort through her thoughts.

Stoffe, having slept in a different room that night, came down to breakfast the next day, still trying to figure out what to do.

As he's shoveling down cereal with his usual degree of decorum, Vanessa comes waddling in

So what decision did she come to in the end? I think some of you probably guessed it. Her insides are still a mess of confusion, but thinking through the night she has realized that if she has to face all of this, she wants to do it alone. Not weighed down by a husband that shows up with a necklace and thinks everything is okay. And so she utters the words finally...
"I want a divorce"

"We're done, you hear me? I want you out of here!"

Stoffe tries to plead with her, but she holds fast

There's nothing to it but wipe your tears, and go Stoffe.

And go he does. His stubborn streak kicks in, and he does not even stop to pack or put on clothes. She said out, and out he goes.

And that is where we leave them for today. Stoffe walking off in his pyjamas, as Vanessa calmly sits down to breakfast having just ended their marriage. Where does Stoffe go from here? All that work, throughout his teens and university, working every moment of every day to reach his goal of being rich, of being someone admired by society, marrying into an old family, and here he is, with nothing, having been kicked to the curb by his wife. About to become a father, with the woman who just told him she wants nothing to do with him. Having just been told by the one person he trusts that he's got his priorities all wrong, that money does not solve everything. Time will tell.

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