2.14 Put Some Life Back in Living

Morning came with hunger and hunger had him seeking out food. He found Collin the kitchen already munching of leftover bread sticks. As he looked in the fridge, Cam figured out why, it was about the only leftover left... hmmm... That meant his dad hadn't been cooking as much. Cam made a mental note he should check in with his dad and make sure he was feeling OK.

"Cold breadsticks are as good as it gets, little brother." Collin said over his shoulder and he grabbed a plate and closed the fridge.

"Well you could cook too Collin." he said amiably as he plopped his plate down next to his brother.

Collin grinned. "You look really happy today." he mentioned, eyeing his brother thoughtfully.

Cam chewed thoughtfully on his breadstick. It was still delicious, cold and leftover or not. "You know," he said around the breadstick. "I really am happy today."

The brother's chewed in solidarity of a moment. "Did Laura mention anything to you?"

"Hmmm?"

"I asked Madeline to marry me." Cam said simply.

Collin looked at him wide eyed and stuffed the last bite of bread into his mouth."What!?" he swallowed hard. "When did that happen?

Cam laughed. Collin could be so dramatic sometimes. "Last night, we went on a date. I didn't plan to propose really but... well, it's just felt right."

Collin nodded knowingly.

"You know, everyone always says that all this planning goes into it and that you spend month but with me and Madeline. I don't know. We were just sitting there in the kitchen and the park and all I could think while looking at her was that she just was everything I had ever wanted or could ever want."

Collin looked down at his empty plate in contemplation. "Yea...." he looked at his brother. "You know I have been thinking pretty much the same thing about Myla honestly. Though.... I don't feel like she's the kind of girl you just randomly propose to. It needs to be perfect for her."

Cam smiled. "As long as it's perfect for both of you, bro."

Collin smiled. "You know, I actually have a plan." he smiled mischievously. "Which is my cue to get out of here. I have work to do."

Whistling, Collin walked out the back door and, of course, his slob of a brother left his plate just sitting on the counter. Cam rolled his eyes. Good thing Myla had Landgraab money. She would need it to hire a maid to keep up with Collin's messy habits.

Picking up the plates he tossed them into the dishwasher and not quite ready to sit down at the computer and work on his final house presentation he decided he would try to make a fancy drink. Maybe it would be just the thing he needed to make himself feel more inspired. He needed to plan three houses after all.

As he mixed a drink he heard his brother's screechy violin coming from outside.

Turning he glanced out the side window and saw that Collin was bravely practicing in the back of the house by the trash can still wearing nothing but his pajamas.

Cam shook his head. If there was one thing that Collin was, it was brave. Whatever he planned for Myla, he hoped that Collin at least waited until his violin skills had come back to par with how good he used to be as a child. In those days, Collin's fingers had made beautiful music. All caught up in being a prankster in high school, Collin hadn't really practice much since then and it was almost as if he had reverted to the way he had begun.

The violin screeched again and a chill ran down Cameron's spine. He finished his drink and decided that was cue to get to work.

The next few days passed in a blur. Cameron worked on his proposal, went for jogs to clear his mind and rest his eyes when that began to wear on him and cooked dinner for the family. With Laurent getting older, it seemed it took all that he was to just get up and go to work. He was currently the soux chef but Cam could tell that he was bound and determined to be running the kitchen and soon.

He had a general idea of what his presentation had to be and he even had start looking at house designs to give him some inspiration but the finalized house designs still needed work. His room had been cluttered and many times. He even made a note that he needed to see if the Sim Council could provide a recycling unit for all these new houses. It felt wasteful to toss all this good reusable paper in the trash.

Still inspiration appeared allusive.

....until one morning...

After a morning of munching on breakfast he plopped down on the couch. Not ready for a jog. And not ready for much else, he had flipped channels until he found a soap opera on TV. The characters were funny and he enjoyed them immensely.

Laura joined him, still in her robe.

Cam turned to look at her and saw in surprise she had leftover spaghetti he had made the other night. "Spaghetti?"

Laura shrugged her shoulder. "I eat whatever inspires the muse. Spaghetti sounded good." she took a big mouthful. "And it taste great."

Cam looked at his sister bemused. "You are really being a slave to your inspiration, you know that don't you?"

She smiled mystically at him. "Yes, but then I get rewarded with some wonderful paintings which are paving the way for my future. It's a small sacrifice to my way of thinking."

She took another thoughtful bite. "Sometimes, I think we just need to turn things on their head to put some life back into our living."

Cam frowned thoughtfully at the floor.

Those words seemed to spark something in him. A smile lit his face and he looked out the back doors. Maybe there was something to Laura's poetic musings. Maybe instead of trying the same thing over and over again he just needed to shake things up a little.

He leaned over and kissed his sister on the cheek. "Thanks." he said simply.

Laura looked up from her spaghetti and tilted her head as he rushed off to his room to change and grab his sketchbook. "Um... your welcome?" she murmurred through the mouthful of spaghetti.

Sketchbook clutched in his hand, Cam decided that he would go to the one place that had always been his thinking place. He was trying his hardest to be the best Mayor possible but maybe the truth was he was trying to do it in a way that wasn't like himself.

The lake was clear and peaceful when he arrived, just as it always was. At 9 in the morning, with the suns shining brightly, he felt at peace. There was only one person fishing on the other end of the lake and she looked as likely to engage as Cam felt. He had needed this. The sunshine, the fresh air, the gentle lapping of the water on the lakes edge and the occasional splash of an active fish.

Turning slightly away from the water, he looked at the empty lots. He stared at them for a long moment. This would be the family friend, cost effective neighborhood. If he could only decide. Then suddenly an idea popped into his head. What was it about his own home that made it perfect.

Sitting down beside a karge boulder at the lakeside and letting his feet sink into the grass, Cam suddenly knew exactly the kind of the house he wanted to draw.... Of course, he wasn't an artist like his sister but it was straight lines... couldn't be that hard.

Before he knew it, the sun had shifted across the sky and it was almost lunch time.

"Wow, Cam... that looks... awesome."

Startled Cam looked up and saw standing over him looking at his sketch.

"Geez, Laura, you almost gave me a heart attack." Cam said lifting the sketchbook to try to shade his eyes.

"Let me see?" she said and without waiting for an answer she grabbed the sketchbook.

"Ah, but--Laura.... I don't even..." Protesting, Cam struggled to his feet and watched as Laura flipped through his designs. He stood for a moment watching her as she looked over the designs. As he stood there, he realized that the warmth from the sun was being outweighed by a sudden chilly breeze and he suddenly felt a chill run down his arm.

"Fine... I'm just..." he huffed as he realized his sister wasn't even paying attention to him. "I'm going to go change into something warmer."

Laura nodded, her eyes still intent on his drawings... "Oh wait, before you go." she reached out and  plucked the pen from his hand as she stopped on one particular of the designs and started messing with the design.

Cam frowned but he refrained from protesting and jogged over to the house to change.

When he came back, Laura was still thoughtful sketching on a design.

 It was odd but Cam felt strangely protective of his drawings. He wasn't sure he was ready for his muse loving, artistic sister to butt in. Especially when it had taken him so long to even put down a design.

She didn't even look up at him."There's a few perspective issues... but the houses are sweet. They look all warm and cozy. Built specially for nice families to move into." she murmurred to herself as she sketched out more lines on the page.

"There only beginning sketches, Laura... I mean... I haven't even thought about the overall layout yet."

Laura continued intently scribbling and erasing and looking intently at the sketchbook, practically ignoring that he was even present.

"I mean...There's still so much to do. There's still the material costs... and I'm waiting on estimates and I might even have to change contractors before we even get these designs approved."

Laura looked up at her brother's serious face and then she laughed."Cam, these designs are great. I just know the Sim Council is going to love them. You need to lighten up."

Referencing the sketch she was fixing. "It's obvious that you know exactly where you're going with these designs and the love and attention to detail is amazing. Once you finish with these the layouts will be a cinch."

Cam was shocked. There were his first designs and he hadn't really thought they were ready to be viewed by anyone.

"I mean, your perspective is a bit off and the windows don't quite flow the way their supposed to but... I can fix that." she looked up at him intently. "I mean I can paint you some design examples for your presentation if you want. I know that you're the Mayor and all but... anyway I can help... I really want to Big Bro."

Cam suddenly felt less defensive. Laura really was trying to help him out. "I think.... I think that would be really great." he said finally.

"Honestly, my artistic eye is...." he smiled, "well, lacking. I could probably use as much help as possible."

"Don't sell yourself short, Big Bro." she said and then she handed him back his sketchbook. "You have all the materials here for a great presentation.They just need a little polishing."

Cam looked down at the sketch. It did look quite a bit better than he had started off with. "Thanks, sis... really."

Cam felt much better after his converation with Laura and deciding he need a little break before he sat down and worked on the interior layouts. He decided to water his mother's garden and enjoy the outdoors for just a little bit more. Unfortunately his good mood apparently made him a little too generous in watering the plants.

After he had watered them he turned aorund and saw both his parents were mopping up the desk. "Oh man... Mom, Dad I didn't mean to make a mess. Sorry, guess I was inside my head too much." he walked gingerly around the puddles trying to stay out their way.

"Cameron," Adaleigh huffed a little as she finished mopping. "You'll get much better at judging how much water the plant needs but... try not to waste so much water. It's not good for the deck."

Standing, she rubbed her lower back and took Laurents and her mom back inside to store it away.

She walked back out onto the deck and Cam smiled. "Actually I am glad you guys came out."

"Oh?" Laurent said, "Your mother and I were just going to take a stroll around the lake. She thinks I need to get out of the house more often."

"Well, you work so late, Laurent, that really you almost never get out in the sunshine. You need a little vitamin D, your doctor would agree, if you ever made time to go see him."

Laurent smiled indulgently. "Whatever makes you happy, my outdoor loving bride." he looked at Cam and winked. "Happy wife, happy life."

Cam smiled. He loved his parents relationship. They always seemed to find a way to talk and find a happy medium. "I'll have to remember that with Madeline." he promised. "But the reason I wanted to talk to you is that, I finally decided on my house designs. Laura said she would help me put together the artistic renderings but I think I have a great idea for the floor plans already."

"See, Cameron, I knew that you could put those designs together." she reached out and pulled her middle child to her for a loving hug. "I'm so proud of you already, my sweet sweet boy."

Cam hugged her back. "Thanks Mom."

As Adaleigh pulled away, Madeline walked out onto the porch. "Hey..." she looked from Adaleigh to him. "Everything alright?"

Cam smiled. "Better than alright. Oh, hey, new clothes?"

She smiled and twirled in the doorway showing off the blue/turquoise crop top and the figure-hugging shorts on. "Yeah, I took my mom shopping with a little from my last check. Thought I should try to dress like I wasn't homeless any more. So... why are we better than alright?"

"I finally penned the designs."

Madeline beamed. "That's fantastic news, Cam!" she said and she reached out and hugged him to her. Pulling away she glanced at her watch. "I don't have work for a while yet... you want to hang out and you can tell me all about them?"

Cam looked at his father and shared a knowing glance. "Well, who would I be to say no to such a great invitation."

"That's my boy. Speaking of invitations?" he held out an arm to Adaleigh. "You ready to walk down to the lake and maybe around the block before I have to leave for work myself."

Madeline looked at Laurent. "We're riding in together, right, Chef McGinnis?"

Laurent laughed. "You can just call me, Laurent... or Dad, if you like? You are going to be family after all."

Madeline smiled but she looked down at the ground and there was a small sadness to her smile. "Thanks... Laurent."

"Anytime Madeline." he replied and then he and Adaleigh walked off the porch arm in arm.

Cam watched them go with a smile. Someday he hoped he would be just as lucky as they were. "So," he said turning his attention back to Madeline. "Where shall we 'hangout'?"

Madeline smiled. "Honestly, I know its a little chilly out here but... mind if we just lounge on the grass?"

"Sounds perfect."

The two lounged together for a while and Cameron told Madeline all about his house designs and what he wanted to do with the plots. After a while they wander indoors and Cam made some BLT sandwiches. Madeline had work so he quickly wrapped hers in a brown paper bag. He made a BLT for his dad as well and waved as they headed off together.

Cam smiled as he watched Laurent gallantly open the door for his fiancee and then he headed to his room to sit down with sketches.

_________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Randomly while setting up the posed shots by the lake (because I HAD to do them by the lake which meant I had to use a different transporter and I am still a noob at using it *rolls her eyes at her past self*), Cam changed clothes and I didn't notice until I was writing this...so had to find a reason for him to change so quickly... So yeah, hope it worked. 

Normally I would have probably gone back in and reshot them but... I have been inspired by other SimLit writers to try and let Sims be Sims and not micromanage everything. Sometimes it's good to just roll with the things that happen...

The poses used in this were Can I See It? Posepack created by larsgofman. I also used a self-editted version of inabadromance's sketchbook included in her Hammock Pose Pack. It was a lot of fun recoloring her mesh to create my own cc for this story using Sims4Studios (yes, I outlined that house in gimp myself, though I had a template house to work with so its not handdrawn or anything) and I think I may just do some more when necessary although I'm probably not going to share it... Still nice to know I can do it. :)

Hope you enjoyed!