Tony, on his way to work as a diver for Island City Hall.

He doesn't look relaxed as he always does when he travels in his boat, he looks thoughtful, and he is. He is troubled by Cassandra's sudden silence.

Since he returned to the Island she has not been in touch. The last thing she said was that they had to talk business. What is she up to? It will take us some time to find out. 

Tony and Jeannine, Together Again

Tony left Champs Les Sim promising not to go back there, unless it was with Jeannine and their son, Jean.

Before returning home, he had visited Egypt briefly to put in order his relic business.

And left determined to take his next step, although he didn't do that right away.

First, he took a few days to do the things he enjoyed the most, like windsurfing, diving and boat riding.

He visited his favorite bars to 'say farewell' to alcohol.

And dedicated the evenings to relax and plan his new life.

He took refuge for a few days in the smallest of his two houseboats, to be alone with his thoughts.

There he spent the nights reading, meditating, and trying to break free from the memory of Cassandra, until he did, with a mix of courage, willpower...

And determination. 

"It's over. This is as far you and I got, Cass. Good luck and may you be very happy".

 

The next morning he called Jeannine on the phone to tell her he'd go to see her. She breath with relief. Since Cassandra had announce her wedding with Dean Lothario she had been praying for Tony to call her!

That evening, Tony stayed at the Villa Le Rose, the house he had bought for Jeannine and their son at the Island.

There, for the frist time in many years, Tony felt really at home and in peace.

In the morning, while Jean was at school, Tony invited Jeannine to his houseboat to ask her to live together.

"We'll move in together, that's all?", she asked.

"You know that I'm not good with commitment, but all I ask you is to let me take care of you and Jean. We'll see if it works and maybe later you and I could..."

"Alright, I'm in".

That wasn't exactly what Jeannine wanted, but it was a start, and the opportunity she had been waiting for, a dream come true. With Cassandra out of the scene, the rest (marriage) will surely arrive on its own.

They spent the rest of the day together at the houseboat, like in a honeymoon, making plans for their new life together.

None of the two knew what the future had in store for them, the only thing Jeannine knew was that she loved him with all her soul. And Tony was sure that by her side, he would never feel alone again.

Credits:

House: Villa Le Rose - No Store Version - NO CC de gokukaren 

(Sims 3 Exchange)

A Dream, a Nightmare, and Back to Reality

Tony stayed a couple days more in France to continue his quest with the Dutiels, getting the pomgranates for the spirit in the garden of their house, which wasn't any problem for him.

And since he was at the Nectary, he picked some bottles of 'nectar' to take home.

He still had a whole day to think about his decision, why not accompany it with a good wine?

Thinking and drinking wasn't the only thing Tony did, he also went fishing for frogs by order of his friend Adele Durand, (for a change).

In the evening he tended his recently started garden, which was starting to look pretty good.

He worked at the invention table to improve this skill which he had forgotten about a bit.

He practiced some of his favorite cooking recipes to perfection.

And ended the day practicing one of the things he enjoyed the most: painting.

When the time to go to bed arrived, Tony had two unsettling dreams, or should we say, one nightmare and one dream.

In the nightmare, he and Cassandra had a not pleasant encounter at the Island Paradise beach, she was poorly dressed (not like her) and he was wearing his adventurer clothes.

They were arguing heatedly, she insulted him and Tony defended himself in the same fashion. Another strange thing, cause they had never done such thing in all the time they were together.

Cassandra slapped his face.

And they started a fist fight, another thing that would be impossible in real life, cause Tony had always been friendly and respectful, and Cassandra was a total lady.

In this horrible nightmare, Cassandra beat Tony, which he thought was in line with reality, since he couldn't forget her and that counted as a defeat.

After that, Cassandra asked for his forgiveness, but he was so offended that he wouldn't give it to her.

And Cassandra left crying. That image was stuck in Tony's memory until he had the second dream, one much nicer and comforting.

In said dream, Cassandra came to visit him to his new home in Island Paradise, she looked fabulous as ever.

She told him that she thought of him all the time, and that, as much as she had tried, she hadn't been able to forget him, 

That she still loved him and that she wanted to go back to him

Then she returned to live with him and their son, Bradley, (in the dream he was already a teen), promising that she would never leave again. Tony's happiness was endless.

But sadly, it had been just a dream. It was time to go back to reality. The next morning, Tony was back in Island Paradise, ready to make a permanent change in his life.

Quick Adventure in France

  

As he didn't have much to do in Island Paradise, Tony returned to Champs Les Sims to look for some easy quest with which to distract himself. Upon arriving, he got a message from Lea Dutiel: "Hi, Tony. I moved in recently. While I inspected the grounds I found a strange walled area near my house. I'd like to investigate it, but I've been busy rearranging the interior. You know how things can get! I'm willing to pay someone to investigate for me. The aspiring adventurers should pay to visit me in my house. Sincerely, Lea Dutiel".

"I would really appreciate it if you could investigate this peculiar area for me. All I know is that my basement seems suspiciously deep and, ocasionalmly, there's strange noises coming out of it. Maybe you should check down there first. Here's the key. When you finish, come to talk to me about what you found".

 Tony isn't very inspired, nor he feels like investigating anything, but Lea and Gaston are his long-time friends, and he really wants to distract his mind, so he accepted. By the way, Lea knows he isn't any 'aspiring advernturer', it was just a joke. Or so he hopes".

With the key that Lea gave him, he was able to get in the basement where he found the typical: a locked door, a switch and pushable statues. Boring!

"There's no other choice but to push the statue, which, as always, is too heavy.

But that isn't a problem for Tony and he manages to push it all the way to the switch.

There, the door is unlocked.

Now let's see what's inside of there.

Wow, that's a fairly big area he will have to investigate.

The first thing he finds is this hole on the floor with a switch inside of it, which Tony activates and...

A secret door opens at the other side.

Tony crosses to find out what is inside.

Impressive!

He'll have to report his findings to Lea Dutiel, but first, Tony opens the chest and loots the treasure.

He checks as well inside the sarcophagus. No treasure should be left behind!

Before leaving he remembered he still had to investigate something else for Lea.

"... Turns out it could have been a reason why my secret garden was sealed. It's haunted! Do you think you can communicate with the apparition for me? Perhaps you'll discover what is it that he wants, what he needs to go, or maybe what he accepts to pay of rent? His tumb is in the garden.

A haunted garde? Geeze, but anyway, it's money and, besides, Tony appreciates his friends the Dutiels too much, so he doesn't hesitate and goes to investigate.

"This place does give me the creeps..."

"After crying in front of the tomb, a voice whispers in the wind: 'My beloved adored pomgranates. She loved to eat them after dinner. I think the garder would be truly complete if pomgranates were planted in it. If this was done I think I could finally rest".

"So this was it, pomgranates. Okay, I'll inform the Dutiels. Now let's stand on that floor switch ".

Tony stands on the switch and...

Another secret door opens, this leads to the Dutiel's garden.

The area isn't sealed anymore. Problem solved! Now they just need those pomgranates.

Tony goes back to the Nectary to talk to Lea.

Tony reports his findings with Lea, she feels happy and Tony receives not only her gratefulness, but 20 visa points, 500 simoleons and a better friendship... Along with another quest:

 "I'm so glad to find out that the ghost isn't hostile. I was about to call my real estate agent to tell him a thing or two. Could you ask the apparition if there's something else that he needs? I want to leave this ghost matter behind as soon as possible."

Tony is fed up too with the infamous ghost, but he accepts to continue the next morning. It's been enough for today.

After promising Lea that he'll continue with the mission at dawn, Tony retires to rest in his now cold and wintery yet very beloved Champs Les Sims.