Pick'N'Mix Mods for The Sims 2

9 - Moving On

Deano stood leaning against a tree in the little copse behind the barn.

"What's up?", enquired Sophia-Grace, coming up behind him and handing him a sandwich.

He pointed down the slight valley the barn sat at the head of, a patchwork of fields on either side of the small stream that started in the damp ground that watered the trees.

Sophia-Grace squinted into the sun, "Can't see anything", she said.

"The green and brown field", Deano said pointing to the right, "there's a tractor turning the soil. It's been getting closer every day. He'll be in this top field tomorrow; we'll have to leave tonight."

"Okay", Sophia-Grace said with a shrug of her shoulders, "we knew we'd have to move on eventually. Tonight it is then", she turned to leave.

"Ummmm ...", Sophia-Grace paused.

"What?"

"Ummmm ..."

"WHAT!"

"Ummmm ...there's a problem", stuttered Deano

"Get on with it!"

"I'll have to reverse down the track; can't turn around"

"And?"

Holding his head in his hands, Deano finally admitted what had been troubling him, what he'd been dreading telling her, "I don't think I can do it."

To Sophia-Grace's credit, she didn't go ballistic at him. The previous three care-free days, able to be a child again, not a care in the world, free to do as she wanted when she wanted to do it, and just enjoy life, had filled her with a massive inner peace.

He felt her soft warm hands cover his and gently pull them away from his face, he saw her soft blue eyes, pretty nose and smiling lips directly in front of him.

"I'll help", she said, her sweet breath tickled his cheek, "how hard can it be?"

Sophia-Grace looked at the narrow track between stone walls and then the width of the bus. She was amazed Deano had driven up without scratching the sides - reversing in daylight would be difficult, in the dark impossible. She returned to the barn, absently tapping her top teeth with a fingernail. Her gaze caught the stack of straw bales.

"It's only the turns that are the problem, yes?"

Deano nodded.

"We could use those", she said, pointing at the bales, "to pad the corners."

Deano stood, walked over to a bale and tried to lift it, it barely moved. He sat on it, looking dejected. Sophia-Grace resumed her tooth tapping.

"We could fill those", she said, indicating the pile of empty feed sacks, "with straw and put them on the corners."

"Not enough", they said together.

"Put them on the bus, like when you play human bumper cars with pillows", chimed in Lottie.

Deano and Sophia-Grace looked at each other and laughed. Their combined intelligence had just been trumped by a ten-year old!

With Lottie and Ona watching the corners and Sophia-Grace watching his general alignment, Deano reversed slowly down the track. After a few false starts, Sophia-Grace realized that shouting "left a bit" and "right a bit" were frustrating Deano and she resorted to hand signals, raising a finger, her hand, or arm for how much he needed to steer and in which direction.

It took Deano over an hour to reverse in the dark what had taken less than five minutes to drive in daylight, when he finally made the main road the girls cheered and clapped him. He pulled over, released the door and went outside into the cool evening air. Sophia-Grace cut the padding from the rear and sides of the bus and, leaving Lottie and Ona to drag them into the bus, went in search of Deano.

She found him sat on the crash barrier, just outside the beam of the headlights, staring at the ground.

"Watch your feet", he said as she approached. There was a small puddle of vomit in front of him.

He raised his hand to stop her and retched again. She retreated.

"Deano", she said quietly. He looked up, white as a ghost, and without further comment handed him a mug of water and a handful of tissues.

As he boarded the bus a cheer came from the back "Dean-O ... Dean-O ... Dean-O ... Dean-O".

He bowed theatrically, took the driver's seat, and pulled on to the highway. Singing came from the back,

"The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all night long!"

8 - If At First ... 10 - Green Ham