We mark the passing of John Burb, who was paid a visit by the Reaper only hours after his retirement. The family was in a shambles, his wife, Jennifer, had to be consoled by the psychaiatrist, then spent the rest of the evening practicing on the piano. Daughter, Judy, simply couldn't get the hang of raising her son, Marco, properly. Everytime she wanted to bond with him, he wanted to sleep. When he wanted her attention, she was too tired. Marco spent much of his time playing with the water in the toilet and making puddle after puddle on the bathroom floor.

On Marco's birthday, Judy invited a number of guests over to celebrate, but only 3 of her friends showed up. Sad. But just as the party was getting good, the Party Mood Indicator suddenly declared the party a "Disaster" for no explicable reason. Then it became clear. In full sight of everyone, the Reaper visited again and took Jennifer with him. Everyone burst into tears and Marco was traumatized. Poor kid.

Anyway, the good news is, Judy tracked down Marco's father and it was a good thing they were still crazy about each other. So Brandon has moved in to take up the slack left by the now absent grandparents.

Potential problems for the family: Judy and Brandon are both Slackers and both Romantics, which means that they are not likely to remain faithful to each other. Judy is also a couple of days away from becoming Elderly, while Brandon is still young and virile. And Jennifer's ghost haunts the house every now and then...

Stay tuned to the next installment of The Sims 2: The Burbs in Pleasantville, QEV version.