Act 1:3 Matters of the Heart

  "So, let me get this straight."  Hera said, in her usual abrasive fashion.  "You said no to his friend staying there, but then you caved anyway, because he came up with some gossipy nonsense about you."

 

  Juliet stared nonplussed at her friend. "Well, when you put it that way..."

  "What other way is there?"  Hera raised one eyebrow.

  Gwen rolled her eyes as she smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle on her bright magenta dress.  "Hera, only you would see everything as either black or white, there are shades of grey you know." 

  Hera shrugged.  "And colors too, I suppose you'll tell me.  Juliet needs to stand up for herself, and not be bullied around by those males."  Her lip curled on the last word.

 

  Juliet sighed, and took another sip of her tea.  Hera meant well, she knew, but Hera was the type to do what she wished, and to hell with what anyone else thought.  She also had a new "boy toy" every week, and didn't have the highest of respect for the male species in general.

 Juliet had never had the luxury of doing exactly as she pleased, the fear of disappointing those she loved, and those who loved her in return, in particular her grandfather, was just too great of a risk.  "They didn't bully me."  She said defensively.  Hera snorted, but Juliet ignored her friend.  "They didn't.  There was just something about Puck..."  Her voice trailed off.  She didn't know why she had felt such affinity for the man, there was just something in his eyes...but how could she describe that to her friends?

  "Maybe you should just sleep with him and get it over with."

  Juliet choked on her tea.  "Hera!  What a perfectly awful thing to say!  I'm married."  Juliet thought her husband was quite attractive too, not that she would ever let him know it.  The man was already far too vain in her opinion.

 

 "So?  I'm married too, it doesn't stop me.  In fact, if you don't want him, maybe I'll take him, I'm so done with Donald anyway."

  "Romeo is not an object Hera."  Cherry said quietly.  Cherry was the shyest of them, and didn't usually speak very much.  She was a great listener though, and one of Juliet's most cherished friends.  "He's a person, and you can't just..."

  "Oh please, spare me the speech Cherry."  Hera said derisively. "I've heard it all before from you, Miss Perfect. We can't all live the fairy tale."

  "I didn't, I mean..."  Cherry clumsily grabbed her cup of tea and hastily took a drink.

 

  "There's nothing wrong with the fairytale Hera."  Juliet came to Cherry's defense.  "I think it's rather romantic how she and Nate Matthews have been sweethearts since middle school, and their wedding was just divine."  Juliet might have been just a touch envious of her friend Cherry.  In another life, she would have preferred to have had what her friend had.  A man that was wholeheartedly in love with her and totally devoted to her.

  "You just say that Jules because you're a hopeless romantic like Cherry, not nearly as practical about love as either Gwen or I.  I didn't marry your Uncle Kent because I fell madly in love with him, or because he was hot.  I married him because he's so old he could keel over at any moment, and he has money, piles of it.  I will never be poor again."

  Juliet shook her head.  She still wasn't sure how she felt about one of her best friends marrying her Uncle Kent.  It made things awkward at times, like when Hera discussed her numerous affairs or his... death.  Where should her loyalties lie?  With her Uncle?  Or with the good friend she'd had since middle school?  At best, she couldn't look her Uncle in the eye.  "I wish you wouldn't say such things."

  "Kent is fine with it, he has his trophy wife, and I have my money, and my lovers.  We're happy."

  "Really, I am not nearly as jaded about love as you are Hera."  Gwen said, as she picked her teacup up.  "Someday I want to find a husband like Cherry has, and raise a passel of babies.  Right now I'm concentrating on my career though, and I don't have time for dating."

  "Say what you will Gwen, but I've heard the rumors around town.  You've been seen with both Rock Tyler and Don Juan..."

  Gwen laughed.  "I said I didn't have time for dating, not that I didn't have time to get laid once in a while.  Rock and Don are hot, available, and not interested in a relationship.  Perfect for a little stress release."

  Juliet groaned.  "Really you two?  Don't you want more than just sex?"

  "Whatever for?"  Hera asked.  "Matters of the heart are...messy.  It's much better to just take what you want, the men all do it, why can't we?"

  "Not all of them."  Cherry spoke up.  "My Nate..."

  "Is a paragon of virtue, yes, I know, you've said it a time or two."  Hera said sarcastically.  "So, there's one exception, to how many??"

  "Well, there's Romeo too."  Juliet said, hesitantly.  Her friends all quieted around her.  "What?  What do you know that I don't?"  Juliet felt her heart drop beneath her chest, but she ignored the slight pounding.  Romeo had agreed to give her time, before, well, before.  He wouldn't have an affair on her, would he?  Vain he might be, but he hadn't struck her as someone who would be unfaithful.

 

  "There are rumors."

  "What rumors Gwennie?  If there is something I should know, then just tell me."

  Gwen sighed.  "There are rumors that Roslyn is sniffing around him again.  The mayor hired her to be his secretary, and word is that she and Romeo are working closely together, Romeo is the mayor's latest protege."  She shrugged slightly.  "He was going to marry her, was quite madly in love with her if the gossip is to be believed, had even gone so far as to buy her an engagement ring, one that she still wears, just on her other hand now. He broke things off with her though, to marry you."

  "Roslyn?"  Juliet spoke the name, but she couldn't put a face to it.  She had never paid much attention to Romeo before their marriage, let alone to anyone he might have been friends with, or romantically involved with.  "Who is she?"

  "The blond behind me."  Gwen whispered.

   
   Juliet craned her neck to see who this Roslyn was.  "Don't be so obvious!"  Gwen hissed.  "You're the wife, she's just the mistress."

  "They are just rumors Juliet."  Cherry said softly.  "There is no proof, just lots of sly innuendos from those who don't like Romeo, and dislike him even more now that he has married you and joined the Cappulet family."

  Hera added some more tea to her cup.  "There's no smoke without a fire, I always say."

  Juliet tried not to stare at the seemingly perfect, graceful, creature who apparently held the heart of her husband, but, she failed.  How could she ever compete with someone like her?  Did she even want to?

  Why had Romeo written her that note if he was still in love with someone else?

 
 Juliet tapped her nails on the keyboard.  Ever since having tea with her friends a few days ago, she had been feeling frumpy and...dull.  She studied the webpage in front of her, it said free shipping on orders over fifty dollars.  Shipping must cost at least, twenty dollars or something shouldn't it?  So if she subtracted that twenty, it meant the shoes she really wanted really only cost eighty dollars.

  A bargain for sure!  The sale was ending in an hour, and then those same shoes would cost her over two hundred dollars...so with that in mind...she was actually saving over a hundred and twenty dollars!

 

  How could she say no to that?  She was saving money!  She clicked the add item to cart button and smiled.  Then a thought occurred to her.  Those shoes were fantastic, but she really didn't have an outfit that would show them off properly...

  She clicked the continue shopping button.  She just had to have an outfit to go with her new shoes.  Thankfully she had a credit card for such emergencies as this, one that Romeo didn't know about.  He was no fun anyway, and always tried to curb her spending habits.  She knew the value of money, despite what he said...

 

  Pure Poison.  That was the name of her perfume, the exotic blend of white flowers and sandalwood, the scent of her.  He knew it well, he was the one who had picked it out for her, back when they were still lovers; they had joked about how it had been the only thing he had wanted her to wear. She knew what that fragrance did to his head, so why was she wearing it?  Was it for him?  Or did she just like the perfume?  He briefly closed his eyes and sighed deeply.  It shouldn't matter, he was married now, and not to her.

  "Romeo?"

  Her voice was soft and silky, and it immediately conjured up images in his mind.  Images that he had no rights to anymore.  He was a married man.  He had to keep reminding himself of that, because he didn't feel like one.  It was time to focus on his job, not on her.  He eyed her warily.  "What did you do to your computer?" 

  Her sea blue eyes sparkled at him.  "I made a little oopsy."  She lifted her shoulders in an embarrassed fashion.  "Please tell me you can help me?  You are so amazing when it comes to computers..."

  "I don't know about amazing."  He mumbled under his breath.

    "I really appreciate your help Romeo."  Roslyn said, a slight smile on her lips.  "I don't know what I would ever do without you."

  "No problem Ros."  Romeo said easily, his eyes on the screen in front of him.  "I'll see what I can do, but you should be more careful on what email files you click on in the future though," he cautioned her, "that's how you download viruses, like this one, and sometimes I can't fix it and it'll have to go to tech."

  Roslyn shuddered delicately.  "You're my hero Romeo, saving me from looking like a fool in front of everyone."

 
  Romeo shrugged.  "Really Ros, it's not that big of a deal."  She moved closer to him, and he silently groaned as her silky hair brushed against his cheek.  He remembered grabbing fistfuls of her beautiful hair while in the throes of...he shook the thought off. "Ros.."  He looked up into her eyes, big mistake...

   The sound of cursing, hollering, and name calling reached Puck's ears while he was still a considerable way from the house.  He slowed down, and cautiously approached the front door, but the yelling only intensified, so he hesitated.  To go in, or not to go in?  He wasn't sure, but before he could make up his mind, Romeo stomped out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

  "Hey buddy..."  Puck said carefully, trying to gauge his friend's mood, "are you going somewhere?"

  "That woman is impossible!"  Romeo snarled, as he gripped his car keys in his left hand.  "She spent over a thousand dollars on clothes!!  Clothes!  Do you know how long it takes me to make that much money?"  He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.  "It's like she has no concept of money, and doesn't care to learn!"

  "Did she give you a reason why?"

  Romeo sighed wearily.  "Not really.  She just started talking nonsense about me having an affair with Ros, which is totally untrue..."

  Puck eyed his friend.  "Is it?"

  "Don't you start with me too!"  Romeo said angrily.  "I have not cheated on Juliet, despite my wife's cold nature and..."

  "You might want to remove that color of lipstick from your neck before coming home if you want your wife to believe you."  Puck said quietly.

  Romeo stuttered to a stop, and wiped at his neck, and then cursed profusely.  He put his head down.  "It's not what it seems."  He mumbled.

  Puck shook his head.  "It's not me you have to convince my friend."  Something had gone horribly awry, but Puck didn't know exactly how it went awry.  His letter campaign had seemed like such a great idea too.  There was nothing for it, if he wanted to help his friends out, he would have to take drastic measures.  He would have to talk to his father, Oberon.

 

 Notes: So---bit of a roll reveal---I rolled Perfect careers, which, honestly, can be perfectly boring for a Gen 1 roll, lol  It's like grindstone playing, and not much to take pictures of---skill leveling is soooo boring to watch, lol  Which is why I'll end up taking lots of posed pictures---gotta have a story of some kind~

  I had fun with the Tea Party, I wish I could have got all the sims into the pictures though, I spent so much time dressing them all up--only to realize later the venue I picked wouldn't really allow me to show very many of them!  I was so bummed!  I had to show Roslyn though, and with her is Hanley Avendale.  Hanley got picked because she happened to be the closest in proximity to Ros, lol

  Fun fact, Hanley married Renard Marquel, but he decided to take Hanley's last name.  They have two boys, Gerry (teen) and Shaun (toddler). 

Act 1.2 : Winter dreams of Summer

  She woke to frost on the windowpanes and dread hammering in her heart.  Her memories of the night before were murky: a pale hand on her shoulder, the sound of material ripping, a man's low cursing, gunshots, blood, someone screaming, had it been it her?; and then His voice.  Pietrov's. 

  She had blacked out then, and had come to with Pietrov's soft kisses and murmurings of love and concern, but how had he found her?  She hadn't told him where she was going, she had been furious with him and his overbearing ways, determined to show him that while she loved him, he did not own her.

She rolled over, looking for Pietrov, but the bed was cold and empty beside her.  She sat up and looked around the room, but there wasn't a trace of him anywhere.  With increasing alarm...

  The doorbell rang, disturbing Juliet's concentration.  "Drat it!"  She threw her pen down in disgust.  "That is the fourth time today that I have been interrupted, I told Romeo I needed a butler!"  His response had annoyed her, a bunch of heavy sighs combined with that "reasonable" tone he tried to use with her.  It made her feel like a spoiled child.  Then he went on and on about their finances, as if she were stupid and couldn't remember the fact that while they might have been gifted the house, they had not been gifted with the money for its upkeep.  In fact, both of them had to bring in an income just to keep the lights and water on.  The expenses on their "gift" were ridiculous. 

  Romeo had told her he didn't just want to make a paycheck, but he wanted to make a difference with his life as well.  Of course, she wished him the best of luck with that, even if she thought he was all kinds of crazy for joining the mayoral campaign--- as a lowly peon of all things! Not like it would do much to change things either, the Mayor was below the Prince after all.  At least he was ambitious, unlike some she knew, like her brother Tybalt who spent his days sleeping and his nights fighting and drinking.  No, Romeo had set before himself quite the herculean goal: changing "Vernonaville's archaic ways", as he put it.

  She picked up her pen again, and twirled it absentmindedly between her fingers.  Her idea was to write a best seller, and make easy money that way.  She had always toyed with the idea, and it seemed the perfect timing to try her hand at it, but so far, it wasn't as easy as she had expected.  

  The doorbell rang again, more insistently this time. She didn't care about logic or reason, she wanted a butler darnit! "Hold your horses!"  Juliet muttered under her breath.  She cast one last longing look at her notebook, before putting her pen down and getting up to answer the door.

 

 She flung the door open, "Yes?"  She asked crankily.  This time it had better not be a salesperson.

  The man in front of her was cute in a impish kind of way, and he paid her ill humor no mind, instead he grinned at her.  "Oh!  It's the lovely Juliet!"  He exclaimed, as he gave her an enthusiastic hug.

  She pushed the strange man away from her.  "Don't touch me!  And who the heck are you?"

  "What? Romeo didn't tell you about me?"  He feigned being hurt.  "I am wounded, terribly wounded."

  Juliet eyed him warily.  He didn't seem entirely normal, and if Romeo was playing a prank on her, she would kill him, slowly and painfully.  "I say," she said stiffly, "Mr.??"

  "Summerdream!"
 
  "Mr. Summerdream, I have no idea who..."

  "Oh, no, my friends call me Puck!"  He said sunnily.  "And I am sure we are going to be the best of friends!"

  Juliet definitely didn't trust the twinkle in that man's eye.  She needed to get rid of the strange man, and quickly.  "I think..."

  His face brightened up.  "Excellent idea!" he interrupted.  "Invite me inside, out of the cold."  He gave a slight shiver, and without warning he slipped past her and into the house.

  "Hey wait!"  She called out after him, alarmed.  Had he really just invited himself into her house??

  

   "He is not staying."  Juliet said firmly.

  "Puck, what are you doing here?"  Romeo shook his head, "Besides trying to get me into trouble with my wife."

  "She is very pretty, but needs to work on her sense of humor!"

  "Puck!"  Romeo warned.

  "It's so cold outside, surely you wouldn't make me sleep in the snow?" 

  Juliet was impressed with the speed in which Puck could turn from charming to pitiful, while still managing to look adorable, much like a woebegone puppy.

 

  "He's not staying."  Juliet repeated.

  Romeo hesitated.  "Juliet..."

  Juliet countered.  "Romeo..."

  "He is my friend, and he has no where to go, we can't just..."

  "Yes Juliet!  Have a heart!  I don't believe any of those things that other people say about you.  I know you are compassionate and..."

  Juliet narrowed her eyes.  "What people?  What things?"

  "Well,"  Puck said thoughtfully, "where should I begin?"

   Puck absentmindedly tapped his fingers against his thigh, lost in a million memories of times past.  He had been born an awkward child, to aloof parents more interested in themselves than in the children they'd had; and moving to Veronaville when he was six hadn't alleviated that any.  If anything, it had exacerbated it, thrusting him into a society that hadn't understood him or liked him, because he had been different from them...he had come from the "other side of the tracks" so to speak.  The horror!!  Could anything be worse than that?

  Puck snorted.  Oh yeah, there had been, his pointy ears, unwashed hair, torn and dirty clothes, and his tendency to be a little mischievous...harmless pranks, all of them, but not many found them amusing, least of all...Tybalt. 

  Puck didn't know exactly what it was about him that Tybalt had taken an instant dislike to, but from day one Tybalt had set out to make his life miserable.  The incident had only cemented it.   He had been crying, he remembered, sobbing really, if he wanted to be honest, when he had felt the soft touch of a little hand.  A girl, hardly two years old with big green eyes had looked up at him, a flower clutched in her tiny fist.  She'd held the flower out to him, and he'd automatically taken it from her, without even thinking about it first.  She had smiled at him, a cherub's smile, and patted his shoulder.  He hadn't been able to understand her garbled words, but her intent had shone clearly through those emerald eyes of hers.

  It was the first bit of kindness he had ever received, and it didn't matter that it had come from someone so small.  She had touched his heart, and warmed his tears away.

  And then, suddenly, Tybalt had been there, all fire and malice, shouting and yelling, kicking and punching.  The blows to Puck's body had hurt, but what had hurt him more was to hear the crying of the little cherub, the one who had shown him love in his moment of despair.  With every blow to his ribs, he had heard Tybalt's voice, screaming over and over and over, "Stay away from my sister you little ?!&*!  Stay away from her you pointy eared freak!!"

  He hadn't known who she was, his little cherub, until Tybalt had beaten it into him; she was none other than Juliet Capp, beloved granddaughter of Consort Capp.  How she had happened upon him that day, he didn't know, but he had kept that cherished memory of her kindness close to him, and had watched her from afar.  He had never made the mistake of being near her again.  Until this very day.

  He remembered too, the day he had met a boy his age with somber brown eyes, who had befriended the lonely boy Puck had been.  Romeo had thumbed his nose at Tybalt and all the others, and laughed at Puck's pranks.  They had been thick as thieves, both of them had played off the other.  The taunts and cruel snubs had no longer hurt as much, now that he had a friend to weather the storm with.

  As they had grown older, Romeo had started to attract the attention of the fairer sex. His friend was naturally athletic, charismatic, and could make a mean Pansotti alla genovese, all nicely packaged up with the vast Montague fortune.  Puck had teased him a great many times about it, and Romeo had taken his ribbing with his usual good humor.

 But then she had happened.

  Roslyn.

  A distant Capulet cousin that Romeo had sworn the sun and moon had shone upon.  Puck hadn't cared for her much, she had soul eater eyes, and wouldn't even deign to speak to him.  Romeo hadn't noticed though, he had been too enamored of her icy beauty.

 After their first date, Romeo had declared that he was going to make Roslyn his wife.  Puck had tried his best to get along with her, out of deference for his friend, but she had not reciprocated.  In fact, she had it made it quite plain to Puck that he was an unwanted third wheel.

  Of course, she had been nothing but peaches and cream when Romeo was around, so all of Puck's attempts to save his friend had been for naught, for Romeo was far too gone under her spell to pay any attention to Puck's warnings. Puck had tried to be philosophical about it, it wasn't like he was going to hang around Veronaville.  He'd had big plans for his life, and they all revolved around leaving Veronaville in his rear view mirror.

  He hadn't been able to kick the dust of Veronaville off his shoes quick enough to suit him, even though he had graduated a year early.  He had left right away, without even a word to his parents, but he had promised to stay in touch with Romeo, and then he had promptly broken that word.  He had reasoned in his mind that his friend would be enjoying his vows, and well, there was no love lost between him and Roslyn.  She would have been glad to be rid of him.

  But then, one day, out of the blue, his younger sister Tomi had called him.  He had been happy to hear from her, and they had exchanged news.  It was then that he had found out that Romeo had gotten married, but not to Roslyn, no, to the fair Juliet.  He had listened in disbelief as his sister regaled him with the tale of just how Romeo and Juliet had ended up married.

 He could hardly comprehend it, his little cherub married to his best friend?  It wasn't like Puck had wanted her for himself...no, that idea had never entered his head.  To him, she would always be the little cherub that had lifted his spirits on his lowest day, not that she had ever known it.  She had been too young to remember him, but he remembered her kindness just the same.

 He thoughtfully tapped his chin.  Romeo and Juliet.  Unhappily married.  At the moment, at any rate.  He scratched his nose, and pursed his lips.  There just might be something that he could do for them, that would in some small way, repay his debt to them.  They both deserved to be happy...  

 Puck nodded to himself.  Yes indeed, that would be his mission, to make Romeo and Juliet fall in love.  First, he would start with the written word, using Romeo's own handwriting, or a reasonable facsimile of it, if Juliet didn't look too hard...

  Dearest Juliet.... 

  

Notes:  Welcome to my new legacy!!  Juliet Capp was one of my favorite sims in Sims2 (loved Puck too!!), and I loved Veronaville.  Played so many hours on that game, it was ridiculous.

  I also want to say thank you to the creators of the sims I am using---I fail in that while I had written down the whos and whats---I have lost it. *puts head down in shame*   Anyways---I do remember using Buckey's Romeo D'Amore for Romeo, because Buckley makes such lovely sims!!!  I saw him on my tumblr and I couldn't hit download fast enough, lol

  I've also snagged sims from a number of legacies, so that I'll have some good genetic diversity.  So you might catch a glimpse or two of a familiar looking sim.  It also makes it a little more fun for me to see what some of my favorite sims are up to in my town.

  For instance--this happened as soon as I placed her into town:

  Skuld is giving everyone fashion advice, lol  It didn't surprise me that she left poor Kent sobbing on the street though, ha!

  A small list of some of the sims that I added:

 I also had downloaded a bunch of sim dumps, and put some of them in there as well.  It's interesting how sometimes the pretty sims make ugly babies, lol

  I'll try to keep up on this one, my RL this past year has been crap, so sometimes I am just not in the mood to do anything. =(

  Thanks for reading!