Chapter 12: A Life for a LifeIzzy had started to feel that she’d made a horrible mistake. It had seemed like the right decision at the time but was it really? They’d spent so long talking around in circles that maybe they’d just got confused. They were certainly exhausted by the time morning broke. And then they had to go to graduation.
Izzy graduated as valedictorian, much to her surprise. Georgie had seemed to be doing better all through high school. Their classmates didn’t seem to have much respect for them, though: Izzy was voted most likely to burn down her own house and Georgie was most likely to get arrested. After the ceremony, the sisters hugged goodbye and Georgie moved out.
It was lonely without her twin. She still had Riley, of course, but he was such a weirdo. He’d be friendly one minute and then mean the next. He didn’t like her new hobby either. Georgie had given her a book before she left and now she was putting what she’d learnt from it into practice.
Riley didn’t really understand about food and drink – how could he? He couldn’t believe that anyone would pay to drink something that had had someone’s feet in it. And then he laughed at her when she fell over. Which, she had to admit, she did rather a lot. It was a relief to go back to her writing.
With her tasks progressing nicely, it was time to start thinking about the next generation of Gooles. Reluctantly, she visited the graveyard at night.
The ghosts were getting concerned. First Steward had left the graveyard and never been seen again, then the same thing had happened to Kid. When Lacy came over on one of her periodic visits from the other side of town, she’d told them there were rumours of ghosts going missing from other places, too.
A few of them had seen strange ghosts around the cemetery from time to time and little Wilhelmina said she’d seen one of them talking to Kid just before his gravestone disappeared. What was going on?
Bob-Andy Baker had had a happy life. An adored young wife, two small sons and great plans for the future. What more could anyone want? With his love of plants and her love of cooking, he and Mary were going to start their own restaurant one day. Excellent ingredients, cooked to perfection. In the meantime, they were bringing up their boys and saving every Simoleon they could.
He’d decided that angling would be a useful extra skill – Mary could cook the best fish and the extras would make good fertiliser. But then, one foggy morning, he got lost in the swamps in pursuit of the one that got away. The mud was very cold, very soft and very,
very deep.
And then he was a ghost.
He’d heard it said that people with unfinished business came back as ghosts. He certainly hadn’t finished with life – but how was he ever going to do anything about it? He guessed someone must have found his body eventually, since he was in the cemetery rather than out in the middle of nowhere.
Once or twice, he’d sensed Mary crying at his graveside but he never seemed to be able to make contact with her and now it was a long time since he’d seen her at all. What had happened? Had she moved out of town? Remarried? And were their sons grown men now? What were they like? Had growing up fatherless scarred them?
None of the other ghosts could help. They’d all been in the cemetery longer than he had and knew very little of what had happened in the world since their deaths. Being the newcomer, he was very much the junior member of their society, too. Maybe that was why they left him to talk to the unfamiliar ghost who appeared one night.
Izzy probably shouldn’t have brought up the subject of marriage so soon. She knew she had to marry this man – or have a baby with him, anyway – but how could he be expected to know her unusual circumstances? Without that knowledge, she must have seemed completely mad. No wonder she’d scared him off.
Mind, she hadn’t expected that answer. He was married! What was she going to do now? If only Georgie had been heir instead. She’d probably have seen a married man as a challenge.
Bob-Andy had a plan. Why did
he have to father that strange girl’s baby? There were other male ghosts. What about S. Windle?
Not exactly the answer to a maiden’s prayer, admittedly, but he was single – and ruthless enough to make the most of whatever it was that she was offering. A few nights later, she came back to the cemetery and he introduced them.
This time, she explained what was going on. She told them about her family and their strange bargain with the Grim Reaper. She couldn’t marry S. Windle because there was already an electrocution ghost in the family.
“The two remaining deaths we have to undo are fire and water. There are several fire ghosts around town but they’re all women.
“You’re the only possible choice. We can’t find any other ghosts who drowned, so it has to be you. I’m not asking for marriage – or even love. I just need to have a baby.
Please.”
Bob-Andy thought fast. He felt sorry for her – but he still loved Mary. Oh! Maybe this girl could find out about his family.
“…So if I knew what had happened to her, I might be able to help you. If she remarried, maybe I can, too. I’m sorry, Isabella. I need to know. Please help me.”
And then he was gone. Now what? Well, maybe here was a good place to start. She could check the records in the mausoleum.
She found a Mary Baker and two male Bakers, Lincoln and Newton, who might be Bob-Andy’s sons. She realised that he’d mentioned ‘the boys’ but not actually told her their names. From the dates, all three had died of old age. Then she looked at the dates again. If she remembered her family history correctly (and she should – it had featured in several of her books), all three Bakers had been alive when Great-Great first came to Twinbrook. Maybe she’d known them – or known of them, at least.
“Mary Baker? Yes, of course I know of her. She was one of the rich people in town back then.
“She lived in one of those big houses on Puddlewick Drive. I worked for her once – she had a poltergeist infestation. That was before I went into medicine, of course.”
“She was rich? I had an idea they were short of money.”
“Mary Baker, short of money? She was
the Mary Baker, author of
Mary’s Book of Baking.
“That book alone must have made her a fortune and she wrote several others. I think we have some of them. The library in town certainly has the full set – local celebrity and all that. She had a sad life, though. She was widowed tragically young and her two boys were a handful, by all accounts….
"Isabella, why do you suddenly want to know about Mary Baker?”
“Oh, you poor child! I am so sorry. Is there really no alternative?”
“Well, if finding out more about his wife will help, I suppose the newspaper offices would be a good place to start. I seem to recall a somewhat flowery obituary. That might give you a few leads. Christabel might be able to help, too. She used to be a private investigator, remember.”
“So it turns out that my great-great-grandmother knew Mary slightly…
“…She never opened her own restaurant, although she did carry on working at the bistro in town, even after she was a famous food writer. Wanted to keep her hand in, I suppose….
“…and she never remarried.
“I’m afraid we couldn’t find out much about your sons. They don’t seem to have married or had children but they did both live long lives.”
“I know you still feel as though you’re married to Mary and obviously she always felt the same about you. As I said, I don’t want love or marriage. In fact, if things had worked out differently…
“No. We’re both in love with other people but maybe we can be friends – and still bring up children together. And afterwards, when this is all over, I’ve worked out a way that we can all be happy. You see…”
Summary – generation 5Heir: Isabella Goole
Life state: starvation ghost
Traits: disciplined, hates the outdoors, over-emotional, heavy sleeper, clumsy
Lifetime wish: Renaissance Sim
Toddler requirements: best friends with both parents, reached level 3 in two skills (logic books, writing books)
Child requirements: on honor roll, one opportunity completed (Quest for the Lead)
Teenager requirements: on honor roll, reached level 3 in mausoleum clerk part-time job, had a romantic interest (Benjamin Ezell)
Unique best friend: Riley (imaginary friend)
Two career rewards: Nectar Maker's Symbol of Honor, Author's Honor Trophy
Three unique opportunities: Fixing the Books, A Public Speaking Event, A History of One
Four unique Lifetime Happiness Rewards: Meditative Trance Sleep, Acclaimed Author, Long Distance Friend, Fertility Treatment
Five unique 5000+point wishes: master nectar-making skill, make nectar worth §150, make nectar worth §250, make at least §10000 a week in royalties, write a masterpiece
Six unique skill challenges: Mix Master, Flavourful Feet, Master of Nectar-Making, Children's Book Author, Prolific Writer, Speed Writer
Seven items for mausoleum: nectar
