The Charming Family

Claire Charming and her dog, Luna, lived a peaceful life in Old Town.  Sadly, she became lonely when all the friends she made started drifting away as they got married and started new jobs.  Though she had never intended to get married herself, seeing how happy her friends were encouraged her to go out and meet new people.  As a Medical Technician, she met very few people, but now she put out the effort to make friends outside of her profession.  She wasn't leaving the profession, by any means:  her goal was to become the Chief of Hospital Staff at Old Town Memorial Hospital.  Barring that--and all her colleagues told her it was a thankless job--she would settle for becoming a Medical Researcher instead.

Then she met Justin Charmer who was exactly what he was...a charmer.  It took only a few weeks for her to fall madly in love with him, and vice versa.  Shortly thereafter, they married and he moved in with her and Luna.  Luna was, for her part, not quite sure what to make of Justin, but he charmed her much the way he charmed Claire, and now they get along famously.  Justin, though, was finding it difficult to get work.  He had long held a desire to make a difference in the world and felt that politics was the way to go.  Unfortunately, there being no elections coming up, it was hard to get a job as a Campaign Worker.  However, when a fellow Old Town resident decided to step down from her seat as a Senator, it opened the door for Justin to begin working in politics, albeit working on someone else's campaign.

Around this time Claire's younger brother, Mark, returned from college and needed a place to crash until he figured out where to go and what to do.  Mark, who loves his older sister dearly, was very suspicious of Justin--his last name said it all--and put the poor fellow through all sorts of tests to make sure that Justin wasn't playing around with his sister's affections.  Finally satisfied that Justin was sincere, Mark let him off the hook and began focusing on his career:  Music.  Gifted with a lot of creativity and charisma, he quickly rose to become a Rock Star.  The late hours not withstanding, he's happy with his life right now.  To celebrate, and because Luna was becoming more and more miserable since she no longer had Claire to herself, Mark went into Old Town and came back with a lively, expressive dog whom he named Sol (Luna being moon, Sol being sun, it made sense to him).  Now Sol and Luna entertain each other and play with each other, keeping themselves happy and socialized even when their humans aren't free to play with them.

Needing a place to stay, Justin's younger sister Lori dropped in for a visit...and ended up falling deeply in love with Mark, who reciprocated.  Now it was Claire's turn to be suspicious.  However, with Justin running interference, it didn't take long for Mark and Lori to get married.  Lori, who was possessed of immense creativity, almost excessive charisma, and a body to die for, entered into the Fashion industry with every intention of becoming a designer of the highest quality and status.  She will, however, settle for talking about it all as a Fashion Columnist.

Part of Justin's running interference for his sister included getting Claire pregnant.  Shortly after Mark and Lori's marriage, Claire and Justin welcomed their daughter Rebecca into the world.  She was followed by Mark and Lori's daughter, Sherri.  The two girls room together and have taken over the responsibility of bathing the two dogs.

With money now coming in more steadily, the Charming family hopes to improve their home and their lot, making it a little more impressive.  Although she denies it, Claire really envies her friends whose homes are much more impressive--spell it "rich"--and luxurious.  Justin, however, happy with the minor renovations that were needed to house their growing family, is unwilling to invest too much more in home improvements.  While he won't object to some gardening and landscaping, he likes the coziness of their home.  Mark and Lori, similarly satisfied, are siding against Claire, but they do want to get a hot tub, something for them to relax in after a long evening at work.  They're willing to settle for a pool, though.  The girls just want a little more fun things around the house--painting, music, checkers, computers, television, reading...they've done it to death and want more variety.  Luna and Sol just want a bit of peace and quiet now and again...it's hard always jumping up to greet their humans when they've just settled themselves for a nap.