Mesa Vista – A Build a City Challenge: Week 3 (Part 1)

Hello and welcome back to my Build a City Challenge for fun! Mesa Vista has grown quite a lot in its first two weeks, and as a reminder, its residents now include: Zach Adams, the founder, and his wife Nikki and their twin sons Ryan and Quincy Neil Cameron and his roommate Madeleine Mazza Kerie Ng, her son Noah, and her best friend Brandon London, who had moved in to help with the baby Diane Shin and her fiancé Stephan Go, whom she had met while vacationing in Takemizu Village Marie Sims, a former Celebrity Chef who was planning to re-enter the Culinary career by opening up a bakery (pictured above) Carl Homeless, the hapless victim of my stab at Callista's Homeless Challenge Nemo and Ciel Outside, owners of Mesa Vista's first clothing store, and their four children: Nicole, Mina, Emily and Neil (For now the story I'm aiming for is telling what happens in Mesa Vista as a whole, and won't necessarily be in the same order that I played the families.)

Over at the Adams house, Nikki was not only expecting their third child, she was expecting to become Mesa Vista's first Business Tycoon very soon.

Their twin toddlers were keeping both parents hopping.

But one fine morning found said parents sleeping like babies...

Because it was the day Quincy and Ryan Adams were going to celebrate their birthday.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Happy Birthday, Quincy!

Mesa Vista was so close to having a Business District and yet so far... Nikki still had some skilling left to do for her final promotion.

"Quincy sweetie, put it down, that's Mommy's piece."

"Why don't you go play with your toys so I can finish practicing, and we'll play a game for fun later."

"Dad, we need some new toys, the only ones we got are for babies." Zach covered the phone with his hand. "Not now, I'm keeping up our friend count for Mommy's job. Go outside and catch some bugs or something."

"Okay, I'm back." ... "What?"

The boys had been put off by their parents for long enough, and Zach finally gave in to their demands for attention.

"Neil says we aren't the only ones in Mesa Vista having babies." "Yes! More baby gossip, please." "Kerie Ng had one," Zach said, believing that if the news came from him he could keep better control over the situation. "Really? I saw her when I was out shopping the other day and she didn't say anything about a baby." Zach swallowed. "You never mentioned seeing her." Nikki frowned. "That's a little strange, isn't it? Especially after I told her we were expecting. In fact, she left without a word right after that." "And that's all? She just left?" "Mmhmm. I mean come on, darling, it's the 21st century, why wouldn't she want to share about her baby? I wonder what..?" Zach suspected one reason and became rather alarmed at the direction Nikki's thoughts could take. "Er... not everyone is as Family-oriented as you, Nikki." Yep, better to nip this in the bud right now.

"Which is what I love about you," he continued as he turned suddenly and pushed her down on the bed.

It wasn't long before Zach's diversionary tactic turned into very real passion for him as well as his adoring Nikki... ....

Over at the Shin household... "What's the matter, honey?" Stephan asked. Diane sighed. "What happens now, we get jobs, we get married and we start having kids like everyone else?" "We can run the store for a while."

"That's right, mustn't forget we also have a city to help build." "I just thought of something better," Stephan said as he contemplated one of the wall hangings. "We can think of it as getting some extra money for a honeymoon."

"That is, if you would like to go to Takemizu again?" "Stephan! I could definitely go for that!"

Now that they had something to look forward to, Shin's Orient, Diane's tribute to the first time she had spent in Takemizu Village, was opened for business.

"This place is awesome! We can finally get some decent furniture around here!" "Thanks, Nikki, I hope you find something you like."

The store sold some large pieces of furniture.

And a small section of accessories, which was plenty to keep the couple busy.

Stephan and Diane were back up to a solid three bolts and Dates kept their motives high enough to stay indefinitely on the lot, even without an Energizer, being that they were quite sufficiently energized by each other.

The only real problem was Shin's Orient was becoming too popular too fast and the happy couple was struggling to keep up with growing demand.

"How's the baby, Kerie?" "He's fine. Thank goodness for Uncle Brandon." "... Have you told Zach?" "I haven't decided yet if I want to. Do you think I should?" "I already told you what I think. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sound mean, but I can't help you with this." "... You look tired. Maybe you should hire someone to help out around here." "Thanks, that's not a half bad idea." "Good business advice I've got plenty of. It's the personal stuff I'm not too good at..."

"I can sell you one for very cheap," Diane told the homeless guy she had seen at various locations around Mesa Vista. "Got no use for no lantern. Look purty, though." "My favorite is the blue... no, that green one..." Laura Langarek sighed. "It's so hard to choose." Diane shifted her attention to the teen. "Can I have a word you?"

"Would you like to work here? It pays 32 simoleons per hour." "I'll have to quit my job, but sure!"

"Welcome to our team, Laura." "Why are you bowing to me?" "Because it's a Takemizu custom. Maybe some day you will be fortunate enough to visit there."

Diane told Laura she would mostly be needed for restocking, a task Laura liked a lot more after she got to choose her own work uniform.

"You did a good job today. Thanks for all your help, Laura." "That's okay." "If you don't mind, I would like you to keep an eye on the store while we're in Takemizu on our honeymoon." "I could do that." "You can also come to our wedding, if you like." "Thanks, maybe I will."

Diane groaned silently upon re-entering the store. She did not need this kind drama in her life. "What do you know about Kerie's baby?" "Why are you asking me?" Stephan shot back. "She's your neighbor, you must know something." "That's Kerie's business, so I would suggest asking her yourself." "Now look here," Zach growled and poked Stephan, stress overriding caution. "Stop it, Zach," Diane interrupted shakily. "What about you, Diane? What do you know?" "If you still consider me a friend, stop this right now."

"Diane's friend or not, I am not going to let you push us around!" "Let it go, Stephan, we have more than enough money now for our honeymoon, and we have a wedding to plan." "You heard the lady, we're closing shop. You can leave now." "I do still consider you a friend, Diane, so I guess Nikki and I will see you at the wedding?" Zach said before departing.

"So, you're really inviting that guy to our wedding?" "Don't be upset with me, Stephan, I just want to keep the peace, and I don't think crossing Zach Adams is a good idea."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'm not upset with you. I think you have good instincts." "That's right, I found you, didn't I?" "Yes, you did," he smiled, his fingers working their magic across her shoulders. ....

Zach arrived home, very upset with himself for the scene he had caused with Diane's... well, almost-husband. If he kept this up, the whole town would be suspicious before he could even confirm it was true. "Come here, tiger!" Zach growled in mock menace, and swung a giggling Ryan round and round... Spinning and spinning...

What if she should ever decide to show up at the house? Just her greeting could cause real trouble...

And if the baby was his, would he be able to hold back? Three bolts was nothing compared to how sexy he found a woman willing to bear his child. Just ask Nikki... Nikki...

"Who is Daddy kissing, Mommy?" "Go in the house, Ryan. Daddy is going to have to leave." "NO, he can't..." "Ryan? In the house, NOW!" Wishing and wishing and wishing he could take back that night with Kerie Ng. Wishing he could take it all back. "DAAAAD..." Ryan sobbed.

"DAAAAD, stop! This isn't fun anymore, I'm going to throw up!" Zach set Ryan down and they both took deep breaths of the cool, wonderfully pungent air that came with the desert's occasional rain showers. "I was going to be sick! Don't do that again, 'kay, Dad?" "I won't, Ryan, promise." He placed his hands on Ryan's shoulders and they marched unsteadily to the front door together. Before they entered the house, he bent down and kissed his son's cheek. I won't do it again, Zach vowed again silently, this time to Nikki. ....

Over at the Cameron household, Madeleine Mazza also received a wedding invitation. "Of course I'd to come, Diane! I have to ask, though, is your formalwear decent?" .... "Good to hear, a frowny plumbbob on the bodice wouldn't do at all," Madeleine teased with a laugh. .... "Sounds lovely, let me know if you need anything."

"Would you like to go to Diane's wedding too?" "I'll pass. Weddings aren't really my style." "Okay," Madeleine smiled. That was the good thing about just being friends and roommates... no obligations, on either side. "What do you think about going into business together?" Neil asked.

"What did you have in mind?" "I'll leave that up to you." "Okay... something fun, then." "You made this old codger's twilight years much more fun when you moved in, Madeleine." "Call me Maddie." "You're very pretty when you smile, Maddie." "Neil!" Her smile grew even wider. "So do we have a deal, Maddie?" "It's a deal, Neil." They both burst out laughing.

"I'm making chili if you want some."

After lunch, Madeleine went to her favorite hobby lot to start working on a couple of outfits for the store she and Neil would be running together. ....

In the meantime, Marie Sims became the proud owner of Just Desserts, a small bakery that would put her mad cooking skills to good use. Lucky Mesa Vista!

"Woo, I'm ready to get this show on the road!"

But there was the tiny matter of maxing the rest of her skills first.

The last skill Marie needed was Mechanical, and she was all over the invitation she received to visit Will's Garage. What better way than to work on some automotive clunkers?

But the only clunkers she found in the first building weren't quite what she expected.

The middle building looked like a waiting room, so Marie went to the last one on the left. "A train set?" she muttered. That wasn't going to help... guess she'd have to find someone to ask.

Back at the first building, Marie finally found someone at Will's Garage who looked like a legitimate mechanic. "I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the cars to work on?"

"No cars here. We have a train set though." "But... you're a mechanic and this is a garage. What gives?" "Don't ask me, lady, I just work here."

"*Grrr* That's it, I'm outta here."

She went back home and happily maxed out her Mechanical the old fashioned way.

Marie also wanted to show her stuff in a cooking contest, but as a former Celebrity Chef townie with maxed Cooking, but oddly enough no enthusiasm for Cuisine, she couldn't gain it by skilling. She had a ton of baking to do to fill Just Desserts' food cases, though, which helped.

Taste-testing her creations was essential and luckily increased her enthusiasm as well. "I'm glad you stopped by, Zach, I need an objective opinion. I want you to be brutally honest and tell me what you think of the cheesecake." "In my brutally honest opinion, it's the best cheesecake I ever tasted."

"I would appreciate it if you would return my honesty in kind, Marie." "I'll try," she said a little warily, her mind starting to race. She found Zach very attractive, even if he was married. Does he want to...? And if he does, do I want him to? "What do you know about Kerie and her baby?" First Nikki, and now Kerie... and a strange sense of urgency she could hear in his voice. Suddenly Marie wasn't too keen on Zach anymore and where her thoughts about him had been going. "Honestly? Kerie doesn't confide in me," she said as she abruptly got up from her chair. "Excuse me, I still have a lot of baking to do."

"DAMMIT!" Marie shouted, but still managing to quite deftly pull out a fire extinguisher. "OH MY GOD, DO SOMETHING!" Zach yelled, dancing around a bit in panic. "I'M TRYING! Stay back, idiot!"

Once the crisis in the kitchen was over, Zach blithely followed Marie into the bathroom while she washed away the smoke and grime. "I've got to hand it to you," he called over the running water, "you dealt with that fire admirably!" "Get your ass out of here, Zach, because I swear, you and your wife do not want to know how I deal with voyeuristic pervs." Zach laughed nervously. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking." "Sure you weren't."

"Let's try this again," Marie said to a fresh pan of chocolate cake batter. "Sorry about that, Marie. I'll be going now." "Good idea." "You know, you really are something." "I used to be, and I intend to again right here in Mesa Vista." "You're really something now." "I know that too, Zach, but thank you for saying so." And as Zach left for home, he thought, Whoever said small towns were boring had obviously never encountered the likes of Marie Sims.

After stashing another perfect chocolate cake in her inventory, Marie got the paper, settled herself on the sofa and began reading the Cuisine section with enthusiasm. .... (to be continued in Week 3, Part 2)