KTDalton - February 2008

Trinity is 52, Keith is 42, Terris is 9, and Terryn is 9.  Jolie Dawson visits from Apple Valley.

This was the Dalton house weeks ago.

For several months, the family had to live around boxes and massive clutter because Keith was finally making good on his promise to remodel their home and make it a cozy place to live in.  The hurricane had destroyed everything they had before.


At times I thought Trinity was gonna blow another gasket!  She'd just stand there staring into the mess for minutes at a time.  The last thing she needed after working at the hospital was to come home to disorganization.  It was grating on everybody's nerves, including mine. 

With Keith working long hours at the store, it didn't help.  No one was home to oversee the contractors hired from Sim City.  One of them had broken the trash compactor and didn't fix it.  Keith had to fire all of them.  Months went by before he found anyone else to work on it.  Truth was...he needed to look in his own backyard for the right Sims.

Trinity reminded him of that one evening.

Smiling and trying not to sound too frazzled.  "Honey, we've got Lars here and he knows good people.  Shoot, he's the one that built this house, he's perfect for the job."  Trinity said almost begging. 

"I did ask him, but it was during the football game on New Years.  I don't think he wanted to talk about work, with Minena in town and all.  He just kinda shushed me and shrugged it off.  Not like him at all.  He's always trying to make a few more bucks.   After his lightning accident...I just didn't want to bring it up again. "  Keith shrugged.  But Trinity gave him that crazy look of hers.

Keith got on the phone and called Lars to see if he'd be willing to help with the remodeling for an affordable fee.  He wasn't expecting the guy to come over right then and there, but he did.  Lars offered to start building the fireplace and finish taking up the floors and stripping the rest of the wallpaper, right away.  Keith made it easy because he already had all the materials there.

Lars noticed those Sim City guys did an awful job marking and preparing the wall for the stone fireplace. He wondered how many simoleans Keith had lost on hiring them for this job.  But, Lars was determined to work into the early morning hours until he finished it.  No more disappointments for this family that he'd come to care about. 

Trinity fried some catfish because Lars had worked up a hearty appetite.  He'd complained a few times that he hadn't eaten anything before rushing over.  She and Keith hadn't eaten either, after feeding the kids and putting them to bed.

"Thank you so much, Lars, for getting the fireplace done right away. I'm so happy this livingroom is finally starting to take shape!" Trinity smiled.

"I had a ball working on it, you're very welcome."  Lars was exhausted though, truthfully.  This was his first remodel job since leaving the hospital, but he felt he owed Dr. Dalton for saving his life.

"Once I got the grout laid down and the pavers in place, it was like putting a puzzle together."  He chuckled.

He even tried to fix the broken trash compactor, but it was beyond his expertise.  The good SimLord knows, he didn't want to get shocked again.  He couldn't even think straight to finish the floors and wallpaper as he wanted to...it was way too late.  Trinity noticed his hand shaking and told him to go on home.  Almost dragging the floor, Lars left to go crash in his warm bed...leaving Trinity to call a repairman.

Ends up...the repairman couldn't fix it either. The compactor was far too gone.  It was almost as old as the twins, so no one was surprised it had to be replaced.

***
The next day all remodeling plans halted to a dead stop. Keith got a call from Jolie Dawson in Apple Valley requesting that he design her living room and dining room in a cozy cottage chic style.  She sent him pictures of her home and they passed fabrics back and forth, finally coming up with a design that Jolie loved.  As they worked together on this project long distance, the thought came to mind that Jolie was really good at expressing ideas.  She's full of creativity and hunts fabric swatches as often as she hunts new cookbook recipes.  He was ecstatic that she accepted the position of Design Consultant for SimCity Furniture Online.  Not only that, but she also offered to design his livingroom!  Leaving him more time to deal with the constant rise of customers at the store.

He and Jolie felt they made a great team.  It wasn't long before Keith had put the finishing touches on all the custom pieces.   Jolie flew into Simmington Hills to meet him at SimCity Furniture Store and to fill out her employment records.  She wanted to be at the Dalton home to help install the furniture and see Trinity's face, firsthand, at the reveal!

"How are you, Mrs. Jolie, Madame?"  Keith put on his most chivalrous British accent.  And they laughed together.  "Let's get out of this freezing weather.  I'm about to become a popsicle out here!"  Jolie laughed as they went inside the store where Keith promptly gave her a tour.

"So where is everything?  I thought you were going to show me what you did?"  Jolie asked.

"It's not here, it's in boxes at the house.  Everything is completely ready for install this afternoon. I'll be sending Trinity and the kids away, so she won't see it until we're all finished." Keith said excitedly.

"Oh, I can't wait! And how did you like those hunter green Embassy Tiles I sent you? Strange mix, huh? Were you able to use them in any way?" Jolie asked.

"Ohhh, you're not going to believe how I used them. You just wait and see." Keith smiled.

It was almost as much a reveal for Jolie as it was for Trinity.

The phone rang, so Keith had to get back to work. Jolie went back to the hotel to wait on his call. She would meet him at home to get to work.

***
"Hello."

"Oh hi, Keith, I'm so glad you picked up. I heard you were doing some remodeling?"

Minena Silver had called to say she'd heard from Lars about the remodeling and wanted to see if he needed a helping hand.

"I've actually got it covered, Minena, but I certainly appreciate you calling. I thought you were changing career fields, though?" Keith asked.

They chatted for awhile, then Keith hurried to open the store and start the day. He couldn't wait to get home to finally finish what he'd started. He left one of the sales girls in charge to run the store in his absence.

***
Trinity and the kids left to go to the movies at the library while Keith and Jolie worked.

Lars finished up the prep work; knocking down a small wall in the kitchen area, as a last minute decision on Keith's part. Once everything was finished, Keith called Trinity to come home. Her surprised face filled with happy tears, and spoke volumes for Keith and Jolie's hard work.

"We thought you might've seen a ghost or something, the way you jumped clear off the floor!" Jolie laughed.

"Ta-daaaah!"  Keith shouted.

"Oh my goodness!  It's BEAUTIFUL!  Thank you, thank you!  So much!"  Trinity smiles and hugs Jolie.

"EEhhhhemmmm" Keith clears his throat. "What do I get?" He snickers.

"Mmm, you get this." Trinity smooches her guy and whispers that there's more where that came from.

She'd have to wait just a few more minutes, however. Jolie changed clothes to take her Bio picture for SimCity Furniture Online before catching a plane back home to Apple Valley.

The kids played outside in the light snowfall, not particularly caring about all the fuss inside. They loved making forts out of those boxes. Now they knew they had to be on their best behavior and not mess up Mommy's new 'precious'. They weren't in a hurry to come in.

"Ok, I've got 'er all set up, take a seat and I'll just snap your pic real quick." Keith said, directing her to the hunter green Embassy Tile chair he made.  He couldn't see how those tiles would be of any use, but the idea came to him at the last minute and Jolie adored it.  He now calls it his 'boss chair'.

After saying their goodbyes...

Keith excitedly claimed his prize for keeping his promise...

Trinity made her slow and tantalizing walk up the staircase...shedding her clothes as she went.

***

"We better take off our boots and stuff before Mommy comes down here."

"Shhh, did you hear that?" Terris goes to the foot of the stairs.

"Grrosss!"

The twins burst into fits of "gew-gew" faces and noises; falling out in the floor.

"You guys BETTER NOT BE TRACKING SNOW INTO MY NEW LIVINGROOM!"

The kids run into the foyer to take off their wet shoes and coats and huddle there for few minutes before entering the house again.


---
Whew!  I finally finished this rotation. Sorry for the wait, if I've still got any readers out there. :P I've been really really busy.


This couple Woohoo's twice a day, I swear! I can't keep them out of the bedroom. (At least they have the decency to go to the bedroom, right?)LOL! Trinity's a cougar, that's all I'm saying. She loves her some Keith. She really acted like getting this new room made her horny! I could barely get Jolie outta there, she was calling Keith to the bed. I had to have her come back downstairs and say goodbye to Jolie. That's the least she could do, right? Be courteous, Trinity, dag. Then Keith stares at her butt walking up the steps...*bleeping horny Sims*


Now ya'll be sure and please check out the new SimCity Furniture Online.  Many thanks to Starsim.  *smooches, girl!*  And also see the How We Livin' Tour for the KTDalton house.