#136: The Willow Creek Swim Club, Part 1

Now that Alice and Dude had bought the Glass Box house, all of the houses in Willow Creek had been sold, so the Town Council had finally built the community pool and playground that had always been in the neighborhood master plan.

In addition to a very nice pool, there were chess tables,

a horseshoe pit,

a couple of charcoal grills,

picnic tables,

 monkey bars,

a Spaceship jungle gym,

and lots of chairs and lounges.

The open-air clubhouse had a full bar and full kitchen,

a vending machine,

a generous bathroom,

with lockers,

and 2 showers and 2 toilets.

 "Just put on sunscreen, okay?" Kelly told Declan.  "Because I don't want you to get burned."

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"You've done a really good job with Declan," Alice told Kelly.  "I admire you for that--it can't have been easy for you, because of the whole Derek-Lana thing."

(Kelly had recently discovered that her new husband had had an illegitimate son years before, whom said son's angry estranged mother had recently unceremoniously dumped on Kelly and Derek's doorstep.)

"I feel bad for Declan," Kelly admitted, "and I think he can be saved."  (Kelly was an evangelical, and thought pretty much everyone could be saved.  She had previously, for example, managed to save Alice from a life of binge-drinking, partying, and casual sex.)

_______________

"This swim club is a REALLY great addition to the neighborhood!" Regina enthused.

"Yes, if ONLY there were hot poolboys!" Lou kidded.

"Umm, Peter's got a really good body," Regina said, cautiously.  (Lou could be depended upon to explode into a rant instantly for almost any reason.)  "I never noticed before today."

 

 "I guess," Lou dismissed Regina's comment.  "Never thought about it."

"Although I suppose he'd be good breeding stock."

#135: Lou, Lana, and Devin Career Update

Lou  had been promoted to Assistant Nurse,

could now perform new tests on sick Sims,

and could now perform minor surgeries.

_______________

Lana had been promoted to Senior Detective,

and Zoe had even convinced her to get a (slightly) more fashionable haircut.

She had the VERY enjoyable task of taking a Civilian Report from Cristobal Abasolo (whom she knew slightly, as he was Rafael's chauffeur, and had driven her a couple of times).

"The man, he seem very strange to me," Cristobal urged (in his hot Latin accent).  "I do not like seeing him near the playground.  I do not know if he is a danger to the children, but he is odd, and bears watching, I think."

Lana promised to check out the playground loiterer, but also was happy just to spend a few minutes with a really gorgeous man.

'Good God!' she thought.  'Is this guy ever a hunk!'

"And if you will permit me to say, Miss Detective, this new haircut is very flattering to you," Cristobal offered.

_______________

Devin had been promoted to Serum Sequencer,

and had upgraded his SimRay so that it could change people's outfits.

(Not all his co-workers enjoyed this as much as Devin did.)

_______________

So, Devin left work and went to the park, where he thought he might find people with better senses of humor.

He came upon a woman napping in the park lounge.

She sat up sleepily when she heard him approach.

"What the--???" the woman said, alarmed to find herself suddenly in pajamas and bunny slippers.

"But you were SLEEPING," Devin explained, "so I put you into SLEEPWEAR.  I was just trying to make you comfortable!"

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU WEIRDO!!!" she yelled.

Devin hurriedly left the building.

"Look what I can do, little girl!"

The child quickly walked away.

"Oh, YOU'LL surely appreciate this!" he exclaimed to a small boy.

"My father's not going to like this," the kid muttered.

_______________

Lana had been on patrol nearby, and answered the call from the dispatcher to check out strange goings-on at the park.  'Oh, hell,' she thought, approaching Devin just as he was about to zap another unsuspecting civilian.  "Mr. Austin!" she called, and he quickly put his SimRay away.

"Oh, hellooooooo, Detective!" he greeted her, simultaneously delighted and somewhat fearful (which was how Devin most enjoyed feeling).  "I LOOOOOVE your haircut--and usually I don't like short hair.  But this one is all 'bed-heady' and stuff!"

"Mr. Austin," she said sternly, narrowing her eyes, "we've received NUMEROUS complaints about your activities in this park--harassing women, embarrassing men, and frightening children.  And Alexander Goth's father is considering pressing charges!"

"Awww," he whined, disappointed.  "Some people just don't appreciate my help--I was just trying to make the public look better!"

"You may NOT change people's clothing without their prior consent!" she scolded.

"If I hear any more reports of you doing that, I will put you in jail MYSELF and throw away the key, and you will NOT enjoy the experience!"

Devin wasn't sure that Lana was correct about that--he was kind of intrigued at the thought of being "roughed up" by her.  (Or even by other prisoners.)