Tracy

 

Oct 2030

Andrew Goss is 30; Tracy Goss is 26;  Neal is 8; Tania is 6; Aiden is 1

Bluewater Village was beautiful in autumn, and ordinarily it was one of Tracy's favorite time of year - the colours in the trees, the coziness of lighting the fire on a chilly evening and closing out the early darkness...

This year, not so much.

She was still mad at Andrew, she couldn't pretend she wasn't. She got what he was thinking, at least to some degree. He wanted to provide for his family. He wanted to feel successful. And, truth to be told, he no doubt wanted to satisfy that itch for adventure that Tracy was sure was still there, no matter how many times he told her he was content with their life together.

There were better ways he could have gone about it, though. Better than just coming home early one afternoon and springing it on her.

"You're doing what?!"

"I'm joining the army."

Of course she'd been mad. Who wouldn't be? This was the kind of thing you should at very least warn your wife about, before committing to it.

"There wasn't time," he'd said. "I mean, I've been looking for a better job for a while... I've been looking for a career... and do you know how many jobs I've applied for and didn't get?"

"How many?"

"Erm... not that many really... but that's the problem. There aren't that many jobs out here with a real future to them. Then I saw a recruiting poster, and I remembered the army base, and... "

"... and you had to go there, right that minute, without so much as mentioning it to me, and sign up and go through the whole recruitment process without a word..."

"I haven't gone through the whole process yet... I still need to have a medical and then I sign the contract... but, yeah, the recruiter seemed pretty sure they'd take me."

"So you can still back out?"

"I guess I can.. but I'm not going to. This is a chance to really get ahead. The salary is much more than I get at the shop. We can get the kids' rooms built, we can start getting ahead a bit... "

"Andrew, this is huge. You're talking about going to war and - "

"No, no, I'm not going to war. That's the great thing. I can work in a clerical support services role. It's basically an office job, and at the base here, too. It's mostly support services here, so its perfect. If it goes well they might even put me through college. I mean, I have to do basic training like everyone else, but after that... "

"They told you this?"

"They said they thought that I'd be suited for it... I had to do an exam to see if I was eligible to join and what's I'd be good at, and they think I'd suit an administrative job. And I shouldn't have too much trouble getting a long term posting to the Bluewater base. No one wants to stay in a tiny place like this."

"It was good enough for you until now. At least, I thought it was."

"That's not what I meant. Think about the kind of people who usually join the army - they want adventure, they want to see the world. Not in an office job and not in some tiny little village like this. They seemed to like the idea of someone who didn't want to transfer out as soon as they could."

"Well, ok... if it works out that way - and that's a big 'if', because this is the military and they basically own you - but if it works out that way, it might not be so bad. And at least you'll be staying in here. I'm guessing you won't be able to live at home for basic training but at least you'll be in town and - "

"Um... actually... about that..."

"What?"

"I can't do basic training here. Like I told you, Bluewater base is really just support services. For basic training I have to go to Three Lakes."

"Oh, you are kidding me!" 

"Tracy, it's only three months. Three months, then I'm back home. I work out of the base here. I don't like it either, but it's three months' sacrifice for a better salary, a better future... "

"Do you have any of this confirmed beyond basic training? Do you 100% know that you'll be accepted for support services? That you will be able to come back here and stay here? Do you really know its going to work out or are you just gambling on everything falling in place the way you want it?"

"No, I don't have any of it confirmed. But I went through it with them when they interviewed me. They know I have a home and a family here. They know I'm suited to admin work and I want to be based here. Given that most recruits don't want to be here, they felt there would be no barriers to me doing that. That's the best I could get. So, yeah, maybe it is gambling, but it feels like a fairly sure bet."

"I don't think that's - "

"Where am I going to get another chance like this, Tracy? I'm 30 years old, I'm not qualified to do anything but sell books, and before you say it, yes, it was enough - before. I've got kids now, I've got responsibilities. You're doing great in your job. You'll probably be making more than me in a couple of years, but it shouldn't all be on you. I need to do my bit, too. I had the chance to go to college on a scholarship and I didn't. I've wasted other chances. I don't want to waste this one."

"I don't want to have to choose between living here and us being together. I don't want to have to move halfway across the country just because someone else tells us to. And I don't want you going off somewhere and getting blown up... "

"I'm not going to get blown up."

"You can't promise that."

"Look at me... look... I'm going away for three months. Then I'm coming back. Then I'm working in an office at the army base here in Bluewater Village. It's going to work out. And I'm not going to get blown up."

"How are we going to explain this to the kids?"

"We tell them I'm going away to school, to learn my new job. That's basically the truth. We tell them I'll be back before Christmas... I will be back before Christmas.."

"Christmas is a long way away."

"It'll go quickly. You'll see."

---

It wasn't going quickly.

Not with articles to write and deadlines to keep, and three kids to take care of. 

Sure, she'd been a single mother before, but that had been to just one toddler. 

And that had been without the constant worry about the future that wouldn't go away until Andrew was back home, in the promised office job at the Bluewater base, and everything felt a bit normal again.

If she looked at it objectively, he was right - assuming it all worked out, it would be a great opportunity for them. The pay was good, the benefits were good. 

They wouldn't have to live on base because there was no on-base family accommodation - he'd be paid an allowance to live in their own home. It sounded too good to be true, and that was what worried her the most.

That, and the possibility of Andrew getting a taste of adventure again, and deciding that the quiet family life just wasn't for him. 

She should trust him more, she told herself. But the nagging doubt just wouldn't go away.

---

Andrew felt like the weeks at the Three Lakes army base were going by almost too quickly.

The training was hard, but he found he loved the challenge.

He'd never been to Three Lakes before so when he finally had some time off, he spent it hiking and exploring the area.

The place was stunning. He'd forgotten how much he loved exploring a place he'd never seen before.

It'd be winter soon. In town they were already advertising the start of the ski season on Great Bear Mountain.

He wondered how Tracy would feel about learning to ski. They could teach the kids to snowboard on the beginner slopes.

He understood why Tracy loved Bluewater Village so much. She'd grown up in Brooklyn Heights and her family had visited her grandparents in the village every summer. To a kid used to the city, the small town by the sea must have seemed magical. 

Then, when she'd moved there to get away from a bad relationship with Tanya's father, it was a safe haven, and an opportunity to raise her child in a place where she had so many happy memories.

But you can make memories anywhere.

He found himself imagining a different future for their family. Moving from base to base, to different towns, even different countries. The army paid all the relocation costs, and they'd never have to worry about building on extra bedrooms because the army would provide a house to suit their family. 

They could keep the Bluewater cottage, maybe rent it out. Maybe it would be a good place to retire some day in the future.

But for now, there was so much more to discover. He just had to find a way to make Tracy see that.

---

This is all driven by Andrew's midlife crisis wants - along with the want to change career, he's rolled some little, easy to fulfill ones like changing his clothes, and some big ones like travelling to all three World Adventures destinations. So, yeah, the travel bug has bitten.

I've based his career plans off this mod. In TS2, I imagined the military base was in Bluewater Village, and my military sims could only live there. I put a small base in the TS3 version of the village, and later added a bigger one to Salmon Woods, to give me another reason to move some playable sims there. 

We'll catch up with these guys again in a few more story-months.