household;

Dustin Broke = elder

Heart Happiness = adult

Amin (Sims) Happiness = adult

Love Happiness = child/ teen

The news of Cassandra Goth’s passing spread quickly through the neighborhood.  Heart hadn’t known Cassandra well, but she knew her step-father Dustin Broke was very fond of the pretty pinked hair woman.  It didn’t bother Heart that her step-father had begun warming the bed of his step-sister, Cassandra.  She knew he was also warming the bed of Dina Caliente.  Heart was for anything that kept the bitter old man happy and out of her hair.

As a teen, Dustin was the first sim Heart met when she moved to Pleasantview with her mom, Hope.  Dustin had came home with Heart after school, but any attempt at friendship turn sour fast and the two had a fight in her living room.

Like so many others, Heart went off to college.  Dustin, having been left behind by all his friends moved out of the Goth house and next door to Hope.  They’re shared love of cats drew Hope and Dustin close.  Soon Hope and Dustin married.  Heart had been happy for her mom.  She had worried about her mother being alone with only her cat, Honey, to keep her company.  At the wedding, Heart and Dustin had gotten along great for the first time. 

Despite Dustin’s cat Bonkers and Hope’s cat, Honey, discord, it was no reflection of the their owners marriage.  Dustin and Hope had a happy life.  They weren’t a lovey dovey couple, but they were very much in love.  They had only had one child together, Brian, despite having tried many times for more. 

Heart had visited often, attending all her brother’s birthdays, having lunch with her mom and she had even been there when Dustin became an elder.

After college Heart bought the house next door, where she had once lived with her mom.  Being a popularity sim Heart often had a house full of other sims.  She’d dated Justin Kim a few times at college and now on her own things got serious.  Things had been more serious for Heart then for Justin and soon Heart found herself a single mom. 

Hope and Dustin started visiting Heart daily.  Dustin stepped up to role of grandfather quickly and often cared for the infant while Hope cleaned up.  Finally, worried about her raising a child on her own, they insisted Heart move in with them. 

Heart tried to care for Bobbie on her own as much as she could so as not to be a burden on the elder couple, but Dustin dotted on the child.  Heart started dating townie named Amin Sims and fell madly in love.  Dustin didn’t approve, not for anything about Amin other then he was a townie.  Dustin hated townies.

For Hope’s sake, Dustin kept quite about how Heart was living her life but all that changed after Hope passed away.  Only a few days after her mother’s death, Heart married Amin.  Dustin couldn’t keep his true feelings to himself any more.  The moment the couple finished their ceremony Dustin marched up to the alter.  He slapped Amin first before turning on Heart.  He slapped her several times and through out the reception he followed her around poking her and starting arguments with her.  Life with Dustin wasn’t bare able after that. 

Heart had asked Brian to take him in but his wife found it to awkward given her history with him.  Having promised her mother to make sure Dustin was well tended to, Heart sucked it up.  She threw herself into her work, rising quickly in the slacker career. Amin  pluged away in law enforcement while Dustin continued on as a All Star sports talent.  The household income tripled quickly.  Shortly after Love was born, Heart found a large estate for the family.  Hopping the bigger house would make Dustin happier the family moved.

Heart fixed a room up for Dustin on the second floor of the three story house.  There was a large open room on the second floor she fixed up as a game room complete with a pool table.  She put a big screen TV in a small sitting room next to Dustin’s room.  She fixed up a part of the yard for him to have his green house and added lots of fruit trees.  

Amin was slowly winning Dustin over by repairing sprinkler heads in the green house, hour long games of chess and now rounds of pool.

Shortly after moving into the house, Bobbie left for Sim State and Love was close to becoming a teenager.   Heart pushed her memories from her mind as she hurried about the house cleaning for the surprise party for Love.

Heart tried not to think about her two recent affairs.  Her night with Justin Kim was just one more in a line of many.  She just didn’t even want to contemplate her night with Mel Fancey.  She’d known Mel since college, he’d lived in the same dorm as her, but he had not been as good looking then as he was now. 

Heart pulled off a great party for Love who grew up well and very beautiful.  She had her father’s soft brown complection and her mother’s big green eyes.  She had soft red hair like both her father and her grandmother. 

As fall progressed, the men continued to become friends.  They also started spending money.  First Amin bought a flashy sports car as a token of his affection for Heart.  Dustin bought a tent and stuck it out back, which Heart didn’t understand as he never went in it.  Then Amin took Love cloths shopping in the middle of the night.  Dustin decided to add to his garden by putting in more plots next to the green house.  Amin hired both a maid and a gardner, which Heart had to admit would make her life easier.  Taking care of a 5 bedroom / 4 bath house was a bit much to care for along with all the yard work that needed to be done.  The gardener turned out to be a bad investment, as she spent the whole day complaining about the placement of some shrubs on top of a hill and she still charged them for the time despite doing nothing.

As the days grew short and the nights longer the chilly air made Dustin feel his age more and more.  Working in the cold weather left him little desire to spend time with his plants.  He finally gave it to Heart’s and Brian’s pressure to retire.

Heart had mixed feelings about Dustin being home with her all day.  She dreaded that her stepfather would spend his time annoying her but she also felt he’d worked so hard to get so far he deserved to sit back and enjoy his life more. 

The first day home with him she busied herself raking leaves.  He worked in his garden and tended his fruit trees.  He gathered her leaf piles for composting.  The second day was more of the same.  Both working quitly.  Both giving each other space.  The third day was a repeat of the other days.  Heart knew fall would end soon.  All she could do was hope that the green house would be able to keep him busy all winter.