1. Gina The Ryman Legacy Chapter 10D Rodney The Truth Jose By Mzyra

2. Time was going very slowly in the Ryman household. Too slowly for Mia. They were just sat there. And she couldn’t stop eating. She probably should have been glad Lyle was studying so much, but she was bored. She wanted something to happen. She was restless. If she was honest, she knew what she wanted: to hear from her Romeo. It was all so unfinished! A man who hadn’t told her she was horrible and didn’t want her… But she didn’t have his number and he didn’t have hers… She gave up, she was going back to bed.

3. But a few hours later she was surprised to be awoken by Gina saying somebody had called for her. “Hello, you’re Mia Ryman, right? It’s Rodney, you know, from this morning? Sorry, after I got home I realised I’d wound up with your mobile, so, uh, I figured maybe we should meet up and you can have it back and… we can talk and… you know, whatever.” “Sure, where shall we meet?” “Um… Red’s 50s Diner? We can grab a bite to eat too, if you want.” “Right, I’ll see you there!” And she hung up excitedly and rushed off to get ready.

4. It just so happened that Rick had stopped by earlier (apparently everyone preferred spending time with other people’s children totheir own – though with Rick having twin toddlers and a pregnant wife it wasn’t that surprising), so Mia left Lyle and Jose to him and Gina while she went downtown, feeling oddly like a teenager going on a first date.

5. It started off a little bit awkward when they first met up outside the diner and Rodney gave Mia back her cell phone, but once the ice had been broken the conversation came quickly – possibly too quickly as Mia found herself rambling thoughtlessly, not even checking what she was saying in case it was stupid. Luckily, it didn’t seem like Rodney was finding anything wrong with what she was saying. Possibly he couldn’t even understand it…

6. But soon the words dried up and the two became close again. There was a kind of strong magnetism between them. It didn’t matter that they’d only met that morning. It didn’t matter that she’d only discovered his name that afternoon. It didn’t matter that they’d fallen in love in the space of about fifteen minutes. It was all somehow so right, regardless of circumstance. Embarrassingly Mia’s happy thoughts were interrupted by her stomach rumbling. “You want to go inside and grab something to eat?” She blushed and nodded.

7. After they’d pried themselves apart, they got themselves seated and Mia was brought a meal – Rodney insisted he wasn’t hungry* as he’d eaten earlier. But even as she ate she couldn’t stop stealing glances at him and he flirted back, even taking a bite of her food at one point. Mia had never been on an actual date while she was in high school, but if she had done, she suspected it would have been a lot like this. If only she hadn’t wasted her time with those other guys… *[In reality a townie immediately came over and stole his food before he could even take a bite. Lovely.]

8. “You know, my life has seemed so much brighter since I met you, Mia. I don’t know what it is about you, you’re like magical…” Mia laughed as she took a sip of water to wash down her food. “I think there’s something magical about what’s happening here, but I promise it’s not me! I feel exactly the same way about you… But- But you do mean it, don’t you? It’s just… I’ve had guys say stuff like this before, then one day, out of the blue, they’ve turned around and denied all of it…” “Trust me, Mia, they must be out of their minds to even consider that. But maybe you just weren’t meant to be with them… Maybe we have something special that you didn’t have with them.”

9. That made enough sense to Mia. She shouldn’t have been with Juan, she’d just been clinging to the idea of staying with a high school sweetheart forever. And with Zack she probably had just been on the rebound. She wouldn’t regret either of those relationships since they had given her Lyle and Jose, but this… This was definitely something more. She’d never felt this kind of magnetism before, it had to be something different. They kissed goodbye and she headed off back home.

10. In return for babysitting, Gina demanded that she get to bring Jose to his birthday cake, so Mia acquiesced to her request. The kids all loved Gina anyway. At such a late hour the only guests were family members, meaning that all of Jose’s uncles were there to see and Lyle even got to stay up late to watch his baby brother become a toddler.

11. Jose had gotten a lot of features from his mother, but if there was one thing that stood out it was his nose, which he had clearly inherited from his father, wherever he was now. Mia had tried making contact with Zack after Jose’s birth, but it had been the same problem as she had with Juan – their cell phones seemed to have been completely cut off. Maybe they’d bought new ones and destroyed the old so they could really have nothing to do with her… Regardless, she had Rodney now. And maybe her kids would have him as a father too…

12. Jose may have had a larger nose than most of his relatives, but it didn’t stop him being adorable. He didn’t seem to be very comfortable in the main party with faces that he barely recognised, but once he was with Gina, Mia or Lyle he became less anxious and became quite clingy and loving.

13. Mia immediately got to work teaching him to talk – at first Jose resisted a little, but with some persistence he started to talk, with his first word even being ‘Mama’, much to Mia’s delight.

14. Despite her trials and tribulations, Mia was lucky to have two great little boys in her life. They really made it all worth it. But it would be nice to finally settle down properly. Give them a stable family life without all those problems. Hopefully they would like Rodney and her search would be over…

15. Not that Gina wasn’t technically making a good second parent to the boys – possibly better than Mia herself was, since Gina wasn’t so emotionally turbulent. But two little boys needed a male role model, didn’t they? Gina probably wouldn’t have said so, but Mia didn’t really want to chance her sons’ development if she had a choice… Otherwise they might end up like their lying fathers.

16. But Mia’s problems were apparently far from over. Pregnant again. Okay, so Rodney hadn’t ditched her yet, but nor had she brought up the fact that she was a single mother of two. She didn’t know what Rodney thought of kids. Her heart said that he was so lovely that of course he’d love any and all children, but… What if he didn’t want kids? What if he stopped getting that magnetic feeling when he realised she was a mother? She couldn’t be abandoned again!

17. “Hey Momma! Your stomach got all big again, like before we got Jose! Are we getting another baby?” Mia forced a smile “It looks like we are, Lyle.” “What makes ladies get pregnant, Momma? I thought it had to involve a man, but there haven’t been any men here who weren’t uncles since Mr Zack left, so how do babies get made?” Mia wondered whether to tell Lyle the truth, but didn’t want to have to try and explain her current situation with Rodney, so took the easy option out instead. “I’ll tell you when you’re older Lyle.” He didn’t look happy at this, but didn’t argue, much to Mia’s relief.

18. Mia was just glad that Jose was too young to be thinking these things or asking these questions – he just spent hours every day bashing away at the xylophone. Mia felt an odd relief that he wasn’t so keen on the toys Zack had created, but she felt bad – those might be the closest he got to his father…

19. Lyle, meanwhile, hadn’t given up on his quest to discover where babies come from – imagine how proud Momma would be when she found out he discovered it all on his own! – so he decided to ask Auntie Gina instead. She always gave him things and didn’t treat him as a child as much as his Momma did, she was bound to tell him! “Auntie Gina, I asked Momma where babies come from and how ladies get pregnant, but she won’t tell me! She says I’m not old enough!” “Hmm, I think you’re old enough. But why the sudden curiosity, Lyle?” “Well Momma’s pregnant again, so I’m confused-” “She’s what? Are you sure? But… Ugh, she would choose today of all days… Look Lyle, I’ll talk to you – and your mother – later, but right now I’m late for a date, okay?”

20. And indeed she was – her final teenage date with Jenna before she became a full adult. Which naturally meant acting like a teenager while it was still acceptable to do so. Not that she would stop her pillow fighting and games when it was not so acceptable, but it was the spirit of the thing. And Jenna enjoyed it too.

21. Jenna also enjoyed their other dating activities – massive PDAs in the middle of bars. Her distant relatives weren’t quite so appreciative. Opal: “Oh God, the embarrassment… Why won’t they stop?!” Nery: “Just ignore it Opal, they can’t do that forever…” Opal: “Young people today… Sean and I were never so disrespectful!” Gina certainly couldn’t have cared much less about the opinions of frumpy old people though, she was young and going to have fun while she still could!

22. Not quite so young anymore though, as her family and girlfriend gathered around to watch and that tingling feeling travelled up from her feet… Hopefully she’d still be as surrounded by family at her next birthday as she was for this one…

23. Hopefully she’d also be as consistent, growing into almost exactly the same outfit she was wearing before, just in a different colour. As if anyone would expect any different from her. Now she just had to wait for Jenna to join her…

24. “Err, Jenna, I don’t suppose you feel like growing up any time soon? I thought today was meant to be your birthday too…?” “Erm, yeah, that’s what I thought too… Not really sure what to tell you… I guess I’m… just not ready yet. Or something.” Gina sighed “Fine, whatever, I’d better stay at home a little while anyway… Looks like Mia’s going to be needing my help. Speaking of which-”

25. “In case you didn’t notice earlier, Mia’s bringing a new member tothe family. And I can honestly say that I have no idea who the father is.” “You mean she didn’t bring any men back here? When did she get pregnant?” “Saturday, aka yesterday. I thought you were watching her when she went out!” “I was. But then she spotted me and told me not to. She seemed okay, so I stopped about 10am.” “Well she got home at 11, meaning she got pregnant in the space of an hour! I guess that at least means it was somebody she already knew though… No idea what’s wrong with the woman… I’ll talk to her tomorrow morning.” “Yeah, well, any more trouble and you know my number…”

26. “…Mia?” “Mhm?” Mia responded, distracted by the game at hand. “You know how we’re best friends and all?” “Sure…” “… Are you going to tell me who the father of this baby is? I guess it’s someone you’ve been friends with for a while…” “Erm, yeah. It feels like I’ve known him all my life…” “Mia, you realise that’s something people tend to say when they’ve only just met someone? You have known him for a while, haven’t you?”

27. Mia hesitated “Look, I know you’re concerned for me, but I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions!” “They may be your decisions, but the consequences are taken by the kids! And me…” “If you want to move out, you still can, I’m not forcing you to stay.” “I’m not going to leave you with three kids! Heck, it could be twins, then you’ll have four to look after! How will you manage that?! Will the father of this one help out?” “I- I haven’t exactly told him yet…” “Oh, Mia…!”

28. “Look, whatever’s happened has happened, I’m having this kid either way. But… I can’t be rejected again already, Gina. Once the baby comes I’ll tell him and see what he says, but I don’t want to be a mess again…” “… Okay, you’re right. What’s happened has happened. But you can’t keep adding kids to the family without a stable foundation for them. What if something happens to you? Do you know what’s it’s like to grow up hardly even knowing a parent? Losing both when you’re just a child? You have to take this more seriously!” “… I know. I am! I’m trying, anyway…” “It’ll be okay. I’ll stick around until Jose’s a child and this next one’s a toddler at least. Jenna hasn’t grown up yet in any case…”

29. Meanwhile… “Yay! I made it through the whole day at school without telele-porting home! Momma will be so happy with me! … Aw, but my grades still suck. Why is school so hard all the time? Wish I could just stay at home and play…”

30. Luckily for Lyle Gina was on hand to help him catch up on all the stuff he missed from before the weekend. She hadn’t been the most studious child herself, but she had at least got a firm grasp of junior school subjects, if not high school. “So I know it sucks having to do homework every day, but you might as well do it if you want to keep up with the other kids. And isn’t there something that you might want to do when you grow up?” “Not really… I like food? Do you need to do schoolwork to cook and eat stuff?” “Um, well… Some recipes can be complex, so you have to, you know, focus on your reading and, er, do maths so you know how to weigh ingredients and things. It’s all very important, I’m sure.”

31. Back inside the house it was time for the third child to make its appearance. Mia wouldn’t have chosen to go into labour in front Jose, but he seemed contented enough with his bottle and she didn’t have much of a choice-

32. Mia saw herself, in the middle of a lush field and bathed in light, a wonderfully happy expression on her face…

33. And then she was looking into the face of a little baby girl. Despite the difference in their fathers, she seemed to have a lot in common with Lyle – black hair and green eyes, though her skin tone was the same as Mia’s. From what could be told so far, the only thing she had received from her father was the eye colour – you never would have guessed Rodney was the father if she hadn’t known already.

34. Hmm, Mia hadn’t really thought of any girls’ names yet and she obviously hadn’t discussed them with Rodney… She might have to think on that one for a bit, she mused as she placed the little girl in her new crib. Then she felt an odd wave come over her…

35. “Hey Mia, I think Jose wants y- Mia?” “Bock bockbock!” “Mia, what are you doing….?!” “Bucawk! Bock bock…” “Mia, snap out of it!” “Bock bockbock…” “Okay Jose, Mummy’s acting a little strange right now, so she’ll play with you later, ‘kay? Now I just need to make a phone call…”

36. Gina was not qualified to deal with stuff like this and there was only ever one place she would turn, regardless of the problem…

37. “She’s what?!” “Acting like a chicken! Don’t believe me? I’ll put her on if you want!” “But… When did this start?” “I don’t know, I was teaching Lyle how to do his homework and then looking after Jose, last I saw she was giving birth! She had a little girl, by the way, but unless Mia wants to call her ‘Bock’ I don’t think we’re going to know her name any time soon!” “Maybe the stress of the birth messed with her mind or something… Did you discover the identity of the father before all this?” “No, apparently she hasn’t told him anyway so we can’t really expect a visit any time soon either.”

38. “Well, besides letting her have lots of time to relax and regain normality, want do you want me to do, Gina?” “Let her relax?! She has three kids! If she’s not looking after them, I’ll have to! You have to fix her, Calvin!” “What do you think I can do about it?!” “You were the one who went to university and got a degree! Didn’t you do psychology or something?!” “I majored in drama, Gina!” “Your little sister is convinced she is a chicken, Calvin – how is that not drama?!”

39. “That’s not what it-” Calvin sighed, you couldn’t fight Gina and win. “Whatever you have, it’s more than I do! I only became an adult yesterday…!” “Okay, fine. I’ll come over and see what I can do, but don’t get your hopes up too high…” “Great. See you soon!” Why was having a family so difficult all the time?

40. Mia had been through a lot, it wasn’t that surprising that she might have a mental or emotional breakdown, but Calvin wasn’t sure he could bring her out of it. But he had an idea of who might have better luck, so he decided to call in some reinforcements before he left.

41. “Thank God you’re here, Lyle’s come home and is asking awkward questions and who knows what Jose’s thinking by now!” “Yeah, I brought someone I hope can help – have you met our cousin Tiana? I was at college with her.” “Um, why is she sparkly? And dressed like that?” “She’s a witch, I’m hoping she might have a spell or something to sort Mia out and cheer her up, get her out of this constant bad luck she seems to be having.” “Okay then, whatever works…”

42. “So yeah, she’s been like this for maybe two hours now and I can’t get her to stop or seemingly understand anything I say.” “…” “…Any ideas? You must have a spell or something…?” “I do. But this is magic already. And I know whose it is because I’ve sensed it before. Your whole lot is coated in it…” “Somebody’s been putting spells on us?” “Yes, or at least on Mia. I know who it is, but I don’t understand why… Come on, bring Mia outside and we’ll sort this out.”

43. “So what are we doing?” asked Calvin, who’d been busy reassuring Lyle for the previous conversation. “Tiana thinks somebody’s been putting spells on Mia and she knows who it is.” “What, magic? How many witches and warlocks are there around here?” “Only four: me, the high dark witch, the high light witch and…” “Hang on, you don’t mean-?”

44. “Seth.” Tiana finished her spell and suddenly there was a golden light where there cousin appeared. “Ooh, I’ve never been on the receiving end of this before, it’s tingly. To what do I owe this pleasure, Tiana?” “Just a second…” Tiana murmured.

45. Mia abruptly snapped out of the middle of her clucking and clutched her chest, trying to catch a breath that had somehow been out of her control. “W-what’s going on? How did I get out here? I’d just put the baby down and then…”

46. “I thought so,” Tiana said grimly. “Seth Jayapalan, what the hell is wrong with you?!” “Hm? There’s nothing wrong with me – oh, the green is magic indu-” “You’ve been casting spells on Mia! And numerous spells on this lot!” “What? Oh, Tiana - I only live over the road, it’s probably just the wind carrying over my magic…” “So you’d have me believe that all the bad stuff that’s happened to Mia and this family were simply bad luck?” “Maybe some bad choices, too, but mostly luck, yes.”

47. “You know, I’d love to be able to believe you. I’d love to believe that you’re as nice and normal as you always seemed to be, that you’re not an evil criminal, though anyone who would choose the dark magic over light or neutral, probably should have been questioned to begin with.” “Oh Tiana, I never would have thought I would hear such blind prejudice from someone such as yourself!” “I never judged you before. I thought I knew you better than that, but it is your magic here, it was you cursing Mia just now. You are just a hateful, pathetic criminal.”

48. Seth just laughed. “Oh, Tiana! I’m not a criminal, but even if I were that’d be a little bit rich coming from the daughter of the two most notorious criminal masterminds in Simfield history! How are Sean and Opal, by the way? Oh wait, didn’t you just lose your mother? I’m sorry, but I’m sure the police aren’t.” “I used to like you Seth, but you’d better shut your mouth rightnow.” “Or what? You’ll take a leaf out of your parents’ book? As for your accusations of me being a criminal, some of us have a member of the police force in our family, rather than hardened criminals…”

49. “What’s going on?” Gina quietly asked Calvin, confused by the argument between two people she’d barely met before. “I’m really not sure… I’ve known Seth for years and he was a bit aloof sometimes, but to say he’s behind everything… I’m not sure Tiana’s right about this-” “See, Tiana?” Seth interjected, having heard their muted conversation. “Even Mia’s own brother thinks you’re out of it on this! And if it is magic but it’s not me, maybe you should look closer to home…” “I’m tired of you baiting me, Jayapalan. We’ll soon establish if you’re as innocent as you pretend…” And she whipped out her wand and chanted quickly, before Seth could react.

50. Light magic shot from the end of her wand and wrapped itself around Seth. “Hey, what-?!” Then the light magic reacted with the dark sparkles, bursting them and stinging his skin. “What the hell are you doing to me, Andrews?!” Night fell…

51. But the lot was bathed in a different kind of light, particularly over the old dark chasm in the centre of the field…

52. “Ugh, what have you done, you stupid bint?! You took my magic! I looked good in green, damn you!” “I think you’ll find this isn’t the only thing I’ve done… I’m undoing some of the magic you cast on this lot.” “You can’t undo all of it, it’s too complex for your weak, light magic to deal with! … Why did I just admit that? What have you done to me?!” “Truth spell, Seth. Prepare to spill. Though from what I’ve seen, criminal masterminds are always willing to expound on their dastardly plans. Oh, but before you start, look –”

53. The golden light had not only refilled the chasm, but had made the grass over the whole lot grow better than it ever had before, springy and dark green, rather than brownish and limp. “Behold the power of light magic, good will always win out in the end, Seth.”

54. “That’s complete bullshit, Andrews. You may have gotten lucky, but this isn’t over yet.” “We’ll see. Now start talking.” “You can’t make me.” “Don’t you want to explain to the people you duped for so long? And besides, I don’t think you want to see what else I can do with this very pointy wand, Seth.” Seth considered the pointy wand and the confused faces of the three Rymans. “Fine, you’ll see…” ~~~End of 10D~~~

55. Neighbourhood updates! As mentioned, first generation spare-spouse Opal died aged 76, leaving many distraught family members, especially Sean, who we expected to go with her, but then didn’t, which is probably saddest of all. Still, she died permaplatinum with two children and four grandkids and a vast criminal empire, so all was not lost, though she will be missed.

56. She wasn’t the only one though; first generation spare Marina died aged 81. Again, we expected her husband Nery to go with her, but didn’t. She never did achieve her LTW of raising 20 puppies or kittens, but we never expected her to. She did manage to have 5 children and 5 grandchildren though, so we like to think her family sim heart was happy when she died.

57. There were also a number of birthdays to match the deaths, though. Johanna Andrews, Tessa Mamuyac, Norman Tang, Lola Cormier and Wally Verse all became teenagers, twins Ivan and Joey Wong became children and Isabel Verse became a toddler. If you’ve forgotten who all these sims are and how on earth they’re related to the main household, I don’t really blame you, though there is a family tree if you really care.

58. Now on to other – interesting – things. In the top leftKaren and Laura demonstrate that one teenage twin can even read their other teenage twin to sleep, not just kids and adults. Ivan and Joey remind us of the fighting over a bottle interaction that we haven’t seen at all in the legacy so far! What good parents they must have…. Behold, in the centre, Tiana and Jihoon’s glitched bed that sparks despite nobody using it! And, finally, Tessa and Janice show us a relationship bordering on incest, but which we allow since they’re romance sims who want 20 simultaneous lovers. And they have 3 bolts. Little bit creepy, all the same.

59. I believe Rodney’s a fortune sim, and of course to a fortune sim nothing says ‘love’ more than an expensive widescreen TV. Which was promptly sold to go into the ‘build the Rymans a proper house again’ fund.

60. I, and my sims, suck at posing. Gina and Mia: “We’re getting massive cramps standing like this for hours!” Calvin: “Forget this drama, I wonder what my life would be like if I were a Chef…” We have more than enough chefs – Simfield has had/is having 6 celebrity chefs, but has yet to have a single Lawyer or Journalist….

61. Oh Sean… 