Rotation 3: Chapter 2: The Estmore's

    The Estmores are not only my favorite family out of all of them but they're also one that is very connected with each other. Susan finds peace in motherhood and loves to spend time with little Julia who is soon to be a proper kid, crazy how fast time truly goes. Michael, the prince of the family, is beginning to really find himself through art. His mother being an artist only encourages it out of him more and it is simply beautiful for both of his parents to watch him find his passions. 

    Martha Diane Estmore becomes a toddler, reminding her family of how she looks nothing like her two older siblings who take after their mother. Little Martha here is certainly her father's daughter with his blond hair and features, the only thing that looks like that of her mother's is those Dark Brown eyes. While people may think she takes after Nathaniel, there's certainly some Susan in there somewhere...something which she will likely grow into.

    Julia Victoria Estmore ages up into a child, maintaining that beautiful braid her mother has been doing every morning since Julia started toddlerhood. Julia's overall a nice girl but she has a bit of gutsyness to her, she is one of those people who just seems to claim life and look at challenges right in the right. She gains the Adventurous trait which is suitable considering how she is such a curious little thing always looking for the next thing to discover. 

    Susan's current pregnancy has not been an easy one, a lot of scary complications have arisen here or there. While sure she's able to work through them, it doesn't make the process any easier. The Estmores are very family-oriented people despite the lack of any family sims, thus having a miscarriage would be really hard on all of them especially after considering how many children they've already lost. 

    Nathaniel finds a lot of comfort in fatherhood. There's a lot of tangible blessings he can recognize when he interacts with his children. Firstly having three healthy children is a feat of its own and secondly the fact they're all good little people. He just feels so lucky and loves having them in his life. Being a father has only increased his sense of purpose, he just hopes he will able to supply especially his daughters with dowries good enough to sustain them throughout life. 

    With his younger sister finally being close enough to play the same way he can, Michael and Julia form quite the little playmate bond. The two play tag through their father's apple and plum trees at night, they also love to play make believe and with their toys together. They actually form a fast connection, that is deep and full of sibling love which makes their parents so happy. Hopefully this brother/sister duo can remain close for the rest of their lives.

    With Summer's arrival the trees begin to produce which is the moment Nathaniel has been waiting on for quite a while. The house surrounded by apple and plum trees sets a nice atmosphere for the family overall. There's excitement at the prospect of the business opening again, hopefully this will be their time to shine in the light of success. Even though both Nathaniel and Susan feel pretty successful thanks to all their wonderful kids. 

    Julia is a little nightowl, she especially loves to play outside when it's dark out. Which sure may seem a bit dangerous but Julia knows her parent's rules and follows them. She is just such an active little girl who is always on the go, go, go. Recently, Julia has discovered a love for jump rope and is beginning to get faster at it. 

    Susan goes into labor in the middle of the night which is usual for most of the Bourneford women. It isn't her hardest of labors and once the babe is born she feels quite relieved. The result is a little girl who they name Fanny, she has no middle name as her parents couldn't decide but with this being their third daughter I feel it's only fair for them to struggle. Fanny Estmore looks quite a bit like her mother with the pale skin, ginger hair and brown eyes. Hopefully she will have a strong and happy life ahead of her! 

    Even though the Estmores are feeling rather content with their family as four kids keep them busy and all over, they just can't keep their hands off of each other. If they do have another baby it'd likely be their last as they're approaching elderhood and the household is full to the brim with kids. They certainly will need more money and space before further expansion takes place. 

    Little Fanny, a baby born into a happy family...a baby full of hopes and dreams sadly dies in her sleep. There seems to be no reasoning besides that God wanted to take her to join her siblings. The family is expectantly upset and saddened by what occurred. The loss only adding onto the emotions felt before by the other losses. Little Julia especially grieves the loss for she adored spending time with the little baby. Overall, it's just a very sad time.  

    Nathaniel tries to focus on what the summer season has to offer, especially to him and his family. The plum and apple trees producing so much that the business does begin to truly take off but that doesn't ease his feelings in any shape or form. Losing Fanny is a devastating event, especially such an innocent little girl. Of course it's no different than the losses of Nathaniel Jr. and Simon, all three were innocent and deserving of life. But God and his hand are harsh and Nathaniel tries to tell him myself to accept that.

    Michael Joseph Estmore becomes a proper teenager, uplifting the whole mood of the household. He gains the Artistic trait in addition to his childhood trait of Lucky. He is a proper pleasure sim just wanting to live the life he wants. Which is probably a life full of art, comfortable living and family. 

    Susan and Nathaniel are two very busy people despite all the time they make for their love and family. Susan tries her best to keep their quaint cottage orderly which is a feat when considering three children making a muck. It does help to have Michael older as he has already proved himself a great help especially to both his parents. His father has been focused on the business which is exactly what is currently needed when considering how long the family had to wait for summer to come again. Day or night, Nathaniel wants to make sure the orchard is running and running well. 

    Now that they're more properly settled into adulthood and nearing elderhood meant it was time for makeovers. They're older and wiser than they were when they first moved here, Susan especially feeling like it was time to leave behind the braid of her youth. With his beard more grown, Nathaniel is reminded of the dreams he moved here for...to be a leading man of society. 

    Little Martha Diane Estmore ages up into her child, breaking her parents' hearts as she is currently the youngest and is just growing up so much. She gains the Party Animal trait which suits such a playful little lady. She stands out for her blond hair, something which she inherited from her father.

    With Martha growing up, Nathaniel and Susan are only reminded how much they love all their children and especially love the baby/toddler stage even though it's the hardest. They decide it's wise to have some more intention in their intimate moments and hope for a little baby to join the family, completing it with a perfect little knot. 

    Michael is aware of the importance of inheriting the family business and takes it very seriously. It is on his shoulders that his father's legacy rests and he must remain devoted to it especially as his father nears elderhood. Michael finds actual satisfaction with the occupation which surprises him as it is far from the artsy hobbies that he so dearly loves. But maybe it's good to keep his passions separate from any form of work, that way it remains fun and invigorating. Here he is selling some of the fruit to his best bud, Adolphus Fairchild. The two have really become close and it's nice to know that outside of his family there are others who care about him.

    The stress of living in such a cramped house with two adults, a teen and two kids got to its breaking point. Susan demanded that they use their savings on a second floor of their house. Nathaniel, very understanding and also experiencing the stress, also believed it was a good idea. They in total were able to add four rooms upstairs. The room one enters upon going up the ladder which has a mirror and leads to the three additional rooms. One of which they have turned into a room for their heir, Michael. It has a double bed which is important as hopefully in the upcoming years he will come to consider marriage. Then they turned one of the rooms into a room just for the girls, Julia and Martha sharing a bedroom is for the best especially when considering how they used to sleep in the main room of the house. Then the third room is currently empty, waiting to be used for whatever the Estmores come to need. This expansion is a plain simple sign of their success, although it has left them with very little savings....

    Michael's involvement with the orchard has really helped out their business. Nathaniel and his son are able to work and deal with customers faster when they work together and the two just seem to get into a flow of things. Michael often dealing with the register and Nathaniel the customers, then the next day it's vice versa. Their hard work gets the family business to Level 2. Susan is proud of her son and doesn't hide it, she openly expresses to him how lucky she is to have him, how good of a young man he is and how much she loves him. He is her darling boy, her only surviving boy...

    Susan is delighted when she discovers she is with child again. The news is just simply so satisfying, even though she isn't a family sim she derives great pleasure from knowing her family is expanding. She just feels so blessed, despite the struggles, that her family is one of love and closeness. A proper little unit ready to face the wider world. Neither her or Nathaniel care for the gender all they long for is a healthy little baby who has the power to survive. 

    Even though it may seem that the Estmores are trying to put on an image of perfection and love, the image is the reality. The family often can be found bonding together all the kids having close relationships of their own, Julia especially stands out as the closest to her older brother and younger sister which makes sense for a middle child. Susan in continuing with the tradition of painting her family decides to do a side profile portrait of little Julia. She is already beginning to see it form and cannot wait for it to be completed. 

    Julia and Martha are close as the only girls of the Estmore family. Even though the two have their differences, they both just have a lust for life. Julia brings the curiosity and Martha brings the party and fun. Especially with Michael being so focused on the business, they're each other's only playmate. Susan hopes that her girls will be close for the rest of their lives, she really actually hopes that for all her children as neither her or Nathaniel speak to any siblings. 

    Sadly, life is never kind. This poor family. While Susan is resting and Nathaniel is focused on the business, Michael decides to take it upon himself to cook a meal of his own. Unfortunately, he becomes distracted by something and a piece of fabric catches on fire...quickly the whole kitchen is ablaze and the whole situation is a disastrous devastating mess. Unfortunately in the struggle for life, Julia Victoria Estmore passes. Right when the fire is out in one portion of the main room, the family takes a moment to breathe and attempt to process before realizing the other portion is still inflamed...

    With the door blocked by flame, the family all try to put the fire out. Little Martha wakes up to the screams of her family...going down the ladder rather naively. She becomes caught in the flame, seeing before her quite a heartbreaking sight. Her brother on fire, her father surrounded in flames behind her...and then the look of panic on her mother's face. It is a scene of pure trauma and despair. Unfortunately only two survive the event....

    Martha listened to her mother's screams to hurry back up the ladder, when she comes back down to a smokey but fire-free room she feels relieved but then realizes what occurred. Her pregnant mother sobbing in despair in the corner, the remains of her family scattered...this will forever change their family. The father she looked like and admired, gone. Her elder brother who was a protector gone. And her sister, her favorite of companions, gone. How does a little girl try to accept this?! 

    Susan has a breakdown but snaps out of it upon hearing the cries of her last remaining child. The whole scene almost blocked in her mind yet the grief and profound loss still felt by her mind, body and heart. She doesn't know what to do, her husband, son, and one of her daughters have died. She witnessed all of it, every single one burning to their despair. The baby in her womb the farthest from her thoughts yet will most certainly also be impacted by the event...they're all scarred.

    After hours of the two just crying and trying to process this event, Susan's motherly instincts come to shine. She grabs and holds onto her daughter tightly....somehow they will have to overcome this....it's just the two of them.....but then she feels a kick...the infant inside of her having been silent for so long she even forgot she was with child. She must try to keep herself and her daughter afloat. Life is a horrible battle, Susan doesn't know what to do or what to feel about the whole event. Her mind like that of a zombie, she simply takes her daughter into her bedroom where the two hold each other tightly....crying and shaking as they try to sleep.

    

Author's Note: The fire was very unexpected, both Michael and Julia were meant to live full lives. The fire also burned the portraits of Michael and Julia thus meaning that there is nothing tangible left to remember their appearances...only the memory of a mother and a little girl both truly traumatized by such an event...