Kyle - Part 1

 

Two years ago

Kyle Centowski is 60; Willow Centowski is 58

2028 - Summer/Autumn

There was a proverb about how the only thing that stays the same is change. Kyle could believe that. The last couple of years had been a string of one change after another, and it didn't look like things were going to settle down any time in the near future, either. 

Two summers ago, for example, the house had been full of teenagers. 

Only two of them lived there, Kyle and Willow's foster kids, twins Georgia and Garrett. Teenagers tend to move in flocks, however, so usually their friends would be around all day too. 

Georgia spent most of her time with Melissa and Hope, and Hope was also Garrett's girlfriend.

... which sometimes left Melissa on the outside a little, although she seemed to enjoy Willow's company too.

They had all just finished their final year of high school and were excited for college and what lay ahead. The four would be living in the same dorm at Richmond City Tech.  Kyle and Willow hoped that this would mean reasonably frequent visits, as the college was less than an hour away.

That autumn, with the kids moved out and the house empty, Kyle and Willow had their first real vacation in some years. Kyle had just marked a 'milestone' birthday and they wanted to do something special to celebrate.

They went up to the cabin in the mountains in Three Lakes. The cabin had previously belonged to Kyle's parents, but now their large extended family shared use of it. 

Over the years they had developed some rules and routines around cleaning and maintenance, and little ways to make things more relaxed, like each person leaving some non-perishable food in the kitchen so the next person didn't have to shop immediately after the long drive.

There were also down sides to sharing the property, though. The cabin still had only an outside toilet. They planned to build on a proper bathroom, but no one had really taken responsibility for coordinating the project. Kyle and Willow hoped that, now that things would be a bit quieter at home, maybe they could start working on that.

Bathrooms aside, the place was comfortable and cozy, and just right for a quiet week away in the cooler weather.

They spent a day wandering around the nearby town of Salmon Woods.

"I've been thinking..." Kyle said.

"About...?

"About making Cory and Rose partners in the shop. Let's be honest, I'm barely ever there now. Cory's practically running it himself anyway." 

It was a bit of an exaggeration to say that he was barely there, but Kyle had been spending significantly less time at both his shops, now that his writing career had taken off again. After poor sales of his last book, and an attempted follow up that he couldn't even get published, compounded by his father's death around the same time, he'd given it up. But as time had passed, he'd found himself drawn back to the manuscript he'd put aside not expecting to ever work on again.

At first, he'd not told anyone. It caused Willow considerable worry when he started working later and later at the shop, and being secretive about why. But when the book was finished, and accepted by a publisher, he had finally explained.

The book was a moderate success, but the follow-up did far better than anyone expected, least of all Kyle himself. He had a genuine bestseller on his hands, and suddenly he couldn't imagine not being a writer first and leaving the shops in the capable hands of his two managers.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"I think its a good idea," said Willow. "So long as Cory and Rose agree."

"I think they will. It'll be good just knowing that its in good hands when I'm no longer there to run it."

"You're only 60! Isn't it a little early for succession planning?"

"There's nothing wrong with thinking ahead. I'm certainly not going to be like Dad, working into my 80's."

---

Other days, they ventured further out of town...

"We should retire here," Kyle said.

"I thought we were retiring to Twiki Island"

"We could do both. Get a house in each place, live here until winter, then when we've had enough of snow we go to the island. Come back here in spring. It's be amazing..."

"I think it'd be amazing to be able to afford two houses in prime tourist spots," Willow said.

"Stop being so sensible and spoiling my fun!"

"Well, you were the one who didn't want to work into your 80's!"

They both knew that retirement plans were for the future, though. For now, there were still books to write...

Shops to run...

Gardens to tend...

Pets to care for...

Family to catch up with...

... and a lot more changes, too, in the months and years ahead...

---

I haven't disappeared again - its summer here, with more time outdoors and less time at my computer...

This story is to be continued in another update - there has been way too much going on for these guys and the people connected to them, to make just one post.  I mean, not much happened really during the vacation, but I couldn't let all those pictures go to waste!

There are a lot of pictures because the trip was one of the last updates I had planned before I stopped blogging a few years ago (the other one is another vacation, which will be my next post).  I'm glad to finally get it out here. My TS3 recreation of Three Lakes is the beautiful Salmon Woods, with some additions by me to give it a TS2 Three Lakes vibe. It's so pretty, this is why I want to move some of my playable sims out here and play it more often.

Willow, I think you've already had too much...