CHAPTER TWO: William

Character description of second main character

   

William lived on the opposite side of town as Jeanine.  He lived in Talabu bay all his life, minus the 4 years he attended St. Jettersburg College. His major was in anthropology. William wanted to volunteer at the local museum in Talabu Bay.  After acquiring a proper amount of experience, he was hoping to move on toward the start of his career as a field tech or surveyor.  He was already working on the research needed in order to find a few reputable archaeological associations to send his resume to.

  

 Upon graduating, William couldn’t wait to move back home.  He missed his family and friends more than he expected he would.

William now lived with Trisha, his best friend from grade school.  They share a 2 bedroom home, which his parent’s used to rent out as a vacation home. Fortunately, they gave him a choice between the 8 vacation homes they owned.  He chose the one which was located near the walking trail he used for his nightly jogs.  The fact that it had a pool in the backyard played a huge role as well.

   

Even though William’s dream was to venture out into the world of Archeology, his true passion lay in becoming a chef.  Consequently his minor in college was culinary arts. 

William had a collection of memories that stuck with him all his life.  Those memories were of him as a young child working beside his grandfather at the family bakery. 

His Grandpops, Jorge William Hartman III continued running it after his own father Jorge William Hartman II handed it down to him.  Subsequently, he passed it down to William’s father when he retired.  The bakery’s name carried their family name, “Hartman’s Bakery Delights”.

William did most of the cooking and baking between him and Trisha.  You would think that every night he would cook something extravagant for dinner. Most of his days were busy, so he usually ended up throwing something simple together like grilled cheese sandwiches.

Oddly, he didn’t own a dinner table, therefore their meals were usually buffet style which they would eat in the living room with the accompaniment of television.

   

Even though he and Trisha usually had the TV on during dinner, they usually ended up deep in conversation.  William tried to get ahead of the discussion to avoid Trisha’s usual question of ‘have you met a girl yet’.  To him, it felt like it was at the top of Trisha’s to-do-list to help him find a willing companion.  Deep down though, he knew she meant well.

 

He often chuckled as he thought back to the time she set him up on a blind date with Sharon, her old roommate.  She wasn’t a bad looking girl, with her black curls of satin, and skin almost as pale as how you’d describe a vampire.  As soon as she opened her mouth though, William wanting to run away was putting it mildly.  Let me just say, she was very loud and mouthy.  Her laugh was like that of a donkey with hiccups, and she wasn’t shying away from any curse words once she was intoxicated.  After that incident, William made Trisha promise she would never set him up again.

   

Each night after dinner, William was happy his best friend loved to clean.  Cleaning was not one of his strong suits.  He would probably just end up leaving the food out until it grew mountains of penicillin.  

   

He would cringe at the thought of how bad it became when he was in college.  Mice and roaches literally had taken up residence with him after days upon weeks of piled up laundry and dirty dishes collecting mold as if it were going out of style.  He did, however, chuck it up to the fact that most of his time was spent on classes and studying.  His studies truly did require a lot of research on his part, not to mention the practice that was essential for his culinary classes (Which clearly contributed to the collection of dirty dishes).

   

Williams’s favorite time of the day was shower time.  He could never imagine sliding between his pristine clean sheets with dirt and grime on his body.  He may have been a bit untidy, but when it came to his body he treated it like a temple!

   

That moment when the warmth of the water doused his skin in a blanket of soothing wetness, was like heaven.  He would almost break out in song as soon as he began to feel clean again.  It was like a ritual!

 

He spent most of his time drowning his face beneath the shower head.  After a long day, those hungry pores really became stuffed with oil and grime from all the hard work William put himself through.

He even paid extra attention to his scalp.  It was no fun having dandruff!

Before his showers he would often forget to bring his robe, so he would quickly sneak upstairs to his room. He feared the fact that Trisha might catch him wearing only a towel.  To him, that was the biggest down-side of having a female as a roommate, regardless of her being his best friend.  He really missed the ‘freedom’ of running around in the buff in his apartment while away at college.

After a shower, he was able to think with more of a clear mind.  That’s when he usually remembered he needed to take Treble, his other roommate on a walk.

William and Trisha had two dogs between the two of them.  Treble was a very mild mannered sweet laid back Finnish Lapp Hund.  William adopted him from one of his classmates while he was away at college.  Treble was one of a litter of 9.  What struck William into choosing him was the soft low treble like howl he heard over the other puppy’s yapping.  

 

Treble enjoyed his nightly walks so much that he never forgot about them. The proof was in him meeting William at his bedside leash in the mouth if ever it slipped his mind.

 

Maxi, Trisha’s slightly temperamental Spaniel mix, was taken under her wing after she found her wandering near the dog park down the street.  After no one responded to her ‘found dog’ ads, their home became Maxi’s permanent shelter.

William and Trebles walks usually started out like that… as a ‘walk’.  He would always take him on the same route he took for his morning jogs.  He especially loved this walking trail, because it was next to the city’s canal.  Being that the canal emptied out into the ocean, it reminded him of his favorite place on the beach that he wasn’t able to visit often enough.

   

If it was too late for a walk (which rarely happened), William would substitute it with tricks for treats instead.  As soon as Treble heard the rattle of the bag, he would come running! 

   William spent a lot of time teaching him as many tricks as he possibly could.  His favorite series of tricks he had him do was sit, shake his left hand, shake his right hand, and twirl in a circle, ending it with a leap in the air to catch his treat.

Before William would retire for the night, he would make a trip to his desk. There he would do more research, check emails and end it with a little bit of social media.  He was waiting for a reply from the local museum to see if they had accepted his request for volunteer work.  Upon opening his email one night, he was excited to see they had responded.  Sadly, it wasn’t the answer he was anticipating.

                

It was from the desk of John Edwards Hanson, Curator of Talabu Bay Museum.  They turned him down due to a shortage of artifacts.  They just didn’t have much for him to work on.  They did, however, ask him to check back in a few months.  He was happy at least to see they were impressed with his resume as well as his college transcript.

 

Even though William was disappointed, he tried not to let it get him down.  He had only been home from college for a few weeks.  That left him plenty of time to convince the museum that they needed his expertise.  It was then that he decided he would go ahead and accept his father’s offer to manage the bakery.

William’s second favorite time of the day was bedtime.  It was his time to un-wined by reading a book or watching some Netflix before he surrendered to slumber.  He looked forward to sleep because it was almost always filled with memorable dreams.  He had become so accustomed to lucid dreams, that he was able to change them before they reached the point of becoming nightmares.

 

He would, however…

… Never fall asleep without his buddy, Treble. J

Sometimes Treble would get up after William fell asleep.  You would think he pretended to be asleep to appease William, then sneak off to visit with Trisha.

 

When Trisha was ready to go to bed, she would have to shoo him off to William’s room so her Maxi would settle in.

 

It would seem in a dogs mind, they chose who their owners were, but to a Sim, not so much.  In this case, they were all family.  Treble and Maxi were both just as equally happy around either of them.

Like with William and Treble, bedtime just wasn’t bedtime for Trisha, until her Maxi was fast asleep at the end of her bed.

William adored Maxi just as much as Treble.  She had her ‘iffy’ moments, but she never could get enough attention between him and Trisha. 

 

It was a bit of a rough start when Maxi and Treble were first getting used to one another.  Maxi didn’t take to well to Treble at first, but after much coaxing on William’s part, she seemed to be more accepting.

Trisha worked long hours at the Taboo Hair Salon as a ‘Jane of all beauty trades’.  Even though she specialized in hair, she was equally as good at skin, nails, and makeup.  She really didn’t have a lot of time to attend to her Maxi when it came to walks, so William tried to fit in a walk or two during the week to help out.  He would of much rather just taken both dogs to the doggy park.  Sadly, Maxi was too jealous of the other dogs there. 

 

William found out one day on their walk, that Maxi didn’t take too kindly to other Sims either.  It was too bad she was so darn cute because most Sims wanted to run straight up to her and pet her without so much as a warning.  William was glad Maxi wasn’t close enough to bite one Sim as she started yapping and nipping.  After that incident, he went shopping for a comfortable muzzle.

 

When he felt more settled into his new life of no more college, William was beginning to feel lonely. Other than the not so great blind date and dog walks, he really didn’t get out of the house much for fun.  Trisha could tell just by looking at him that he was beginning to look somewhat gloomy.

After much nagging and convincing on Trisha’s part, William decided to tag along with her on her next night off... that was as long as it didn’t involve any blind dates.  Their destination was a small club tucked away on the pier, which they used to frequent years ago.

 

The Jade Eclipse was a happening club for Sims to devour a drink or ten, grab a bite to eat, play some darts, karaoke, and dance n’ mingle.  Since it was located right on the pier, the smell of fish pooled with tobacco smoke wasn’t the most pleasant combination of aromas.  Mind you though, it was the only club in Talabu Bay. 

 

Upon arriving, William began to feel more at ease.  A few of his old high school friends were already at the bar feeling their own bit of tipsy. 

 

As he was trying to decide on a drink, a familiar shriek of giggles broke out, followed by the sound of his name.  If he knew any voice, he knew this one well.

“If it weren’t for my eyes, I wouldn’t believe it!”  He could hear the excitement in her southern twang.

“Willy Willy Willy!”

He began to feel that blast from the past as she ran right up to him, throwing her arms tightly around his neck.  William hadn’t seen Terri since prom night.  That was a night he would have loved to wipe from his memory! 

 

   William rolled his eyes as Trisha quickly snatched her drink and strode away with a goofy smirk on her face.  She knew how much he loathed Terri. 

 

He decided he would sit there and pretend to be listening to her babble until someone else came along that caught her attention.  He knew firsthand how rapidly her interest would change.

It wasn’t long before his prediction was confirmed.  Darwin, her old high school sweetheart showed up out of the blue.  Without so much as a goodbye, she zoomed away almost as lurid and swiftly as she had arrived.  He felt a huge sigh of relief coming on.  It couldn’t have happened at a better time… when his order of nachos was ready.  He knew now he could eat in peace.

After downing a few Tom Collins, Williams was beginning to feel tipsy.  He looked around to see where Trisha had run off to.  Sure enough, she was sitting with her coworker who she usually chose to party with. He didn’t want to disturb her, so he quickly said his goodbyes and parted on his way.

 

It was half-past one when he walked outside.  He wasn’t ready just yet to rush home, so he decided to go for a jog around the pier before calling a cab.

 

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath.  Standing there at the end of the pier, he gazed out at the ocean as the wind steadily began to pick up.  The scent of the salty waters tickled deep inside his nostrils.  The smell seemed to awaken something in the depth of his soul.  Suddenly he was in a mixed state of mind.  He felt a deep desire to feel complete, yet taking in the freedom of solitude as if it were beckoning at his soul.

 

Shaking his head, he realized the alcohol had gotten the better of him.  It was time to head home.  Tomorrow was a new day.  He decided at that moment he would plan a long day out… just him and his faithful friend, Treble.  But for the night, he would dream as long as he could.

 

(Thank you for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 3 of Purrrfect Love!)

Author's Note

Please enjoy chapter 2 of an ongoing series of chapters to my 'sims' story chapter book... ALL reviews are loved and welcomed!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the site!!! :)

Reviews

[barleygirl]

You have a very distinct writing style. Your storytelling is interesting & compelling. There’s a simplistic style to the way your characters interact, the things they enjoy, etc., as if this were written for a younger crowd – maybe pre-teen or teenage. The best part about your storytelling is the way your storyline goes from one activity to another, with a ton of variety, whizzing thru different things in this guy’s life, things that most people can relate to, but also told in your unique & upbeat style. I love that there are ups & downs in these lives, which makes your stories sound realistic. You are very imaginative in the various experiences you share (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Rebecca J Martin]

First I need to apologize... I came on earlier on my Android and my keyboard grew a mind of it's own and went haywire... I tried to reply to your review then, with no luck.. I was worried you would see my 'like' and no response... but wanted to let you know, I was REALLLLY thrilled to read what you wrote!!! I don't get many people reading my chapter book at all... you are the second person on here who has reviewed one of my chapters and it just totalllly made my day!!!! I was in shock at what a good review you gave me too! I'm really a beginner with story writing. I've mostly done poetry up until now. I actually left the audience open (teens, young adult, adult, etc.). I don't plan on anything above a PG rating, but have added a bit of romance to my soon to be posted 5th chapter :). Anyway, I REALLY was thrilled to read this! Thank you SO much!!! HUGGGS back!! :)