Author' Note: I'm gonna start with this because I need to apologize for the delay. I've had to work a larger than normal amount of hours at work, but things have slowed a little and over a month later here I am. I'll try and get another post up on Thursday to make up for the delay. Thank you to those who have read it while I was away. Now then on to the real beginning of Florence's story.
Florence always felt like a bit of an outsider in her own family, not because they didn't love her or give her the attention she needed, but because she never felt like she quite belonged. Her mother was a woman of a different time, a bygone era of long, uncomfortable-looking dresses with little flair and long hair always pulled up into a bun that gave them a severe, unattractive look. While her mother meant well she constantly scolded Florence for her short skirt and hair.
It made little sense to the teen since the woman of her mother's generation that started it all with their protests and "New Woman" lifestyle. Her grandmother, Maggie-May told her all about it when she was alive, although tragically the bold woman passed before Florence's 12th birthday. The teen still had many of the books her grandmother wrote. She just didn't understand how her mother and her step-father for that matter could be raised by such a woman and then become boring people who seemed far more interested in raising children than seeing what the world had to offer. These feelings only grew stronger starting in about 1920 when her younger, half-brother Clifford became a child.
The only guest in attendance was her Aunt Thelma. The only person to truly take after her beloved grandmother. When no one else was listening her aunt would tell her tales of rebellious juice runners and honor among thieves that would make the scandalous pulp stories she read cower in fear. To make matter worse not long after Clifford's birthday her mother got pregnant once more. After that, it almost felt like Florence was being pushed away as her parents put all their energy into to raising the younger kids, in fact, Clifford found out about the new addition long before Florence. She saw her mother tell him when she walked home from school one day. For extra precious points that almost made Florence hurl, he asked to feel their mother's tummy.
[
It was childish to be jealous of younger kids that needed far more attention, but as silly as it was, it almost felt like Florence didn't matter anymore. Her father died in the war long before she was born and it seemed like her mother and step-father were finally getting to start their real family. Thankfully her Aunt Thelma was always a letter or a phone call away, and her life was far more interesting than the one Florence led. Unfortunately, Her parents considered Aunt Thelma a bad influence and rarely let Florence visit her. That didn't stop her from trying though. She started making excuses explaining that she had to stay late at school for one reason or another. Florence would then use that extra time to stop by Aunt Thelma's house where there was always a fun garden party or something similar, full of interesting people from all over the Roaring Heights and other, more exotic, parts of the world.
One party in particular changed the course of Florence's life forever. It was the height of summer and Florence hadn't visited Aunt Thelma for some time. She used her usual excuse and walked to her aunt's place. There she has approached a young man on the edge of his teen years named Edward Jones. He was much older than Florence but still charismatic and incredibly attractive.
The adults paid them no mind and they talked for hours about nothing in particular and everything at the same time.
Florence had such a fun time, that she lost track of time and had to practically run home to avoid an interrogation from her mother. Florence just narrowly avoided being grounded for life but thought the evening was completely worth it and more than anything else she wanted to see Edward again.
The fact that their exchanges were mostly through letter made the relationship all the more enticing. It was exactly the type of brief escape Florence needed after her mother gave birth to her third child, a little girl named Ruth Maggie Nolan. From there, her parents dove more into their little family, which still felt separate from Florence. As a result, she increased the number of letters she sent to Edward until she couldn't stand just communicating through paper and ink. That night she wrote one more letter that she was going to personally hand him after school, an incredibly forward invitation to meet-up later that night. It was the only way to meet up with him without having to tell her parents all about her meet-ups with Aunt Thelma at parties with very illegal alcohol, something her parents were strongly against since her step-father was a cop and her parents were sticks in the mud.
Soon, night fell and Florence pretended to fall asleep, fully clothed, but it wasn't as if her parents would notice.
Once she was sure her parents, Clifford and the baby were all asleep she climbed out of bed and crept downstairs. She was almost out the door when Ruth awoke with a wail. Florence should have run right out that door and to Edward's waiting arms just a few miles down the road, but instead, she froze and her mother spotted her the moment she reached the bottom of the stairs, Ruth in her arms waiting to be fed.
Her mother took one look at Florence, fully dressed and mere feet from the stairs, and then white-hot rage filled her face. "Were you about to sneak out?"
It was pointless to lie, so Florence confessed everything, although she avoided dropping Edward's name so as not to get him in trouble.
She sat the baby in the buggy in the hallways and turned her attention to Florence. "Do you know how dangerous Roaring Heights is at night?! You and this boy of yours could have been killed by juice runners or kidnapped and held for ransom!"
"Oh please A... Juice runners don't want to hurt anyone, they just want the freedom to enjoy a drink every now and then. Most of the police are paid off anyways!" Florence yelled back.
"I don't even know how you know that, but those police officers are an insult to the badge your father wears!" It was then that Ruth started crying and her mother picked her up and bounced her until she stopped crying. "Look what you did now."
Florence ignored her mother fussing over the baby."Abraham is my step-father. Don't even pretend like the two of you care where I'm at anyways! The two of you have your own family to worry about, I'm just the daughter of the husband you lost a long time ago. "
Her mother's rage-filled face mellowed into one full of hurt and at that moment Florence realized she'd taken the argument too far. "Just go to bed, we'll revisit this in the morning." the fight had faded from her mother's face and all that was left was pain.
Without another word, Florence went to bed feeling like a monster, which was exactly what she deserved. Years later though when she was much older this would be the moment she looked back at the beginning of her and mother's reconciliation and the start of her feeling like a member of the family again. The road to full reconciliation though would be a long and painful one full of steep hills and pot-holes all along the way.
Within a few days, Florence and her mother's argument faded to a distant memory as Ruth neared her first birthday. Florence's parents decided that they wanted to throw a big party for the occasion as it had been a while since they'd seen their friends and family, many of which Florence didn't truly know beyond her Aunt Thelma. The family even went shopping together and updated their wardrobes to ensure they looked trendy. Florence thought her mother's clothes we’re still bit prudish, although she would never say allowed. Thomas, the family cat was even given a special breakfast for the occasion that he promptly devoured and then wandered off to go hunting outside to avoid the incoming guests.
Her mother also gave her and Clifford permission to invite at least one guest of their own. For Florence the decision was an easy one, she'd, of course, invite Edward. They'd been secretly seeing one another for some time and wanted to make their relationship officially public at the party.
The family changed into their party clothes and soon the guests started to arrive.
Twenty minutes after the party began Florence introduced her parents to Edward. Their response was silence at first until her mother broke it.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones. How long have you and my daughter been seeing each other?" Her mother asked.
"A few weeks Mrs. Nolan, but I promise you I'm a gentleman and nothing untoward has happened between me and your daughter," Edward said.
It was a lie, they had already kissed several times, but there were far worse things than a kiss between a guy and his gal. She also appreciated how smoothly he told the lie and hoped it was enough to fool her mother.
"I suppose that's fine then, just be sure to keep it that way until the two of you our on your way to a church," her mother said.
Florence immediately blushed, "Mother, we've only been dating a couple of weeks there is no need to talk about marriage yet," Florence said.
Her mother just hmphed and Florence's hackles began to rise, what she did or did not do with her beau was no one's business but her own.
Before their conflict could escalate any further her step-father drew everyone's attention elsewhere. " I just bought a brand a brand new device called a radio and it would be a shame for it to go to waste at this party," he said and walked over to the machine.
At that point, her mother moved Ruth to her nursery so she was out of the way and everyone else grabbed a partner and began to dance. Edward asked Florence to dance and she obliged, while her brother Clifford found a girl his age to dance with as well. A few moments later her mother returned and her step-father grabbed her hand and delicately pulled her out of the dance floor as if she were a princess or something. It was enough to make her mother to forget about her and Florence's disagreement and the teen had to admit her parents really were quite cute together even if they annoyed her sometimes.
Eventually, dinner was served and the guests slowly began to file out of the house towards their automobiles, Clifford went to bed and her mother disappeared into the nursery to lay Ruth down for the night with her own bedtime sure to follow.
As a result, Edward and Florence were left alone on the dance floor to have one more private dance, the moon, and stars fading as the late-night crept upon them.
"Doll, you look like a choice bit of calico tonight," Edward said, his voice low and seductive.
"Thank you," Florence said.
"One of these nights I want to take you out somewhere truly spectacular, especially now that our relationship is out in the open," Edward said.
"What kind of spectacular place?" she asked
"There's this great hotel I know where we could truly express our love, and maybe even get married," Edward said.
"That sounds wonderful. You can take me there anytime you like, we could even go tonight," Florence said.
Edward chuckled, "I wish we could, but it's an expensive place," he said. Before Florence could respond he continued, "I was thinking about maybe joining the juice runners. I wouldn't get to see you as often, but I could save up for a night at that hotel or even an engagement ring."
"Oh Edward, both of those things would simply be the Bee's knees," she leaned into to kiss him only to hear her mother fake a cough behind her before their lips could touch.
She was already in her pajamas, a frown filling her entire face. "It is getting quite late, I believe it is time for your beau to go."
Florence sighed and settled for a long embrace instead and walked Edward to the door. He left and she started towards her room to change, but her mother stopped her with her voice.
"Florence May Nolan did I really just hear that boy say he wanted to sell alcohol?! That business is illegal and the people involved in it are bad news. If your beau gets involved in that I don't think I want you to see him anymore."
Florence took a deep breath before she spoke to stop herself from yelling. "Mother, Juice runners , and nectar makers shouldn't even be considered criminals, Prohibition is pointless since everybody whose anybody still drinks. Only Bluenoses like you and Abraham are against it."
"Abraham is your father, have some respect, and call him as such."
"No, he's my stepfather and was my uncle, in case you've forgotten that." Florence knowing it would hurt her mother and sure enough hurt filled her face. However, it did end the argument which allowed Florence to go to bed without even a small remark from her mother.
The next few days after Edward confessed his plans to join the juice runners passed with little incident. Florence avoided her mother for the most part and tried to occupy her time out of Edward's company with various chores, she even tried to get rid of her slight bitterness toward her half-siblings by actually spending time with them. It wasn't their fault her parents moved on to a whole new life, one that Florence didn't always feel included in. She eventually had to admit both Clifford and Ruth were quite smart, especially Ruth who was progressing quickly and was actually quite cute when she was playing her little xylophone, which was her favorite thing to do.
Based on what she witnessed, the little girl was learning new words every day and picking up walking pretty quickly as well. From the doorway to her half-brother's room she even watched her take her true first steps, her mother didn't even seem to notice that Florence was watching. Before too long Ruth would be a mover and a talker, perfect for the modern era.
Before Florence knew it, it was Ruth's birthday and a huge party was thrown in her honor. Edward, Florence noticed, was not invited. Otherwise, the party went on without a hitch and after lunch, Ruth blew out her candles and aged into a child.
Several more dull, uneventful days followed Ruth's birthday party. The only thing that shook up the doldrums that followed was when Florence's parents put together Ruth's "Big girl" room as her half-sister called it.
All the while Florence didn't talk much with her parents, she had secret visits to make with Edward and tea and cookies with her Aunt Thelma. Her parents seemed to be fine with her silence until one morning she went to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Her step-father was sitting at the kitchen table as if expecting her. Knots filled her stomach for she just knew the moment she sat down her step-father would lecture her, probably about Edward. However, she was hungry and the conversation was going to happen eventually, so she took some leftovers from the fridge and sat across from him.
Sure enough, as soon as she was seated her step-father put down his fork and turned his attention to her. "Florence, your mother, and I are worried about you."
"What could you possibly be worried about?" she asked with more ice in her voice than she intended.
"For whatever reason, you've be lashing out a lot lately and making poor decisions. Your mother suggested that you may have been feeling a little left out lately, and we both had to admit that we've been focusing a lot on Clifford and Ruth lately. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you? Perhaps we could go out to dinner, just you, your Mom, and me. "
It was as if her parents read her mind and when she'd remember this conversation, years later she'd wish she'd accepted her step-father's olive branch and left Edward and all her other poor decisions behind her. She could have avoided a lot of heartache that way, but when the offer was made she was seventeen-years-old and full of bitterness and rebellion.
Instead of accepting the branch, she grew defensive. "What poor decisions are you talking about out? The people I choose to associate with? The man I choose to love? I think the decisions I've made are perfectly fine!"
"Florence you don't understand, The Jones' are involved with some dangerous people, many I've personally arrested. I don't want you to be pulled into their lifestyle, you could get hurt, like many of the witnessed we've spoken to that led to the capture of those dangerous people." her stepfather said, his voice entirely level and calm.
"What so dangerous about juice running?" Florence asked.
"The juice runners and nectar makers have practically created a criminal empire of the stuff, of course they're dangerous."
"Those you call dangerous, I call rebels. Prohibition is a dumb law."
"Clearly I can't get through to you, so your mother and I will have to go to plan B. Starting in January you will be enrolled in a finishing school until you graduate. Hopefully, they can help you see reason." her stepfather said and the argument was over.
A few weeks after the argument the bus that would take Florence to Madame's Finishing School For Girls arrived early in the morning before the rest of her family woke-up. It gave her the opportunity to say goodbye to Edward. He met her on her porch and they started a conversation about the weather.
It felt silly and pointless with Florence's departure hanging over their heads. When she couldn't take it anymore Florence pulled Edward towards her and gave him the best goodbye kiss she could give.
They broke apart and for a moment Edward just stood on her porch, shocked.
However, just as Florence began to feel guilty about kissing him without asking he broke the silence. "I'll miss you too, Doll. Promise to write?"
"Of course," Florence said.
They kissed one more time before Florence climbed on the bus, away from Edward and life as she knew it.
Author's Note: I never actually sent Florence to boarding school in my playthrough, but there really was a large gap of Gameplay in Florence's "teenage years" where she didn't really go on a date with Edward or do anything interesting until she aged up into a Young adult. I figured sending her to finishing school would be a good way to explain that gap storywise.
Florence wrote to Edward every single day she was at finishing school. He responded in turn, at least for the first few letters. After that, his responses became less frequent and by the time she graduated he'd long stopped writing back. She convinced herself he was just busy and focused on getting through a finishing school and breaking as many rules as she could along the way. Eventually, her two years at the school were over and she returned home. Her family even seemed happy to see her when she returned and threw her 19th birthday on the small beach by her house.
Still, even after she aged up and gained all the powers being a young adult granted her she still didn't hear from Edward. He didn't even call her even though many of her letters contained her graduation date and telephones were being used more frequently. Once more she convinced herself that he was just busy, although some annoying doubts did start to creep in, like fears that he was cheating on her. She tried to brush the doubts off as ridiculous, but the none-the-less they lingered. The best she could do was distract herself long enough to stop dwelling on her doubts. Edward would call she just had to be patient.
Three days passed since her return home and still, she hadn't heard anything from Edward. She was almost ready to admit that her doubts were true until she went to the beach near her house and spotted a very familiar man. Like her, he'd matured and grown, but it was Edward, without thinking she ran over and embraced him. He stiffened at first, most likely because Florence had grabbed him so suddenly, but eventually he hugged her back and for a long time they just stood there in front of all of Roaring Heights just holding one another.
Edward broke away first and asked, "Doll, what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come to the beach and unwind and then I saw you which made my day even better!" Florence said.
"Mine too," he said, a little distantly, but Florence didn't think too deeply about it since it had been a couple of years since they'd seen each other last. Naturally, things were going to be a little awkward at first.
" I missed you so much! Where have you been and why did you stop writing to me? You aren't in trouble are you?" She was only half kidding about the last part.
He took a small step back from her. "Because Juice running is still illegal, I have to move around the operation a lot. There were some days the police got real close, your dad included. It would have simply been unwise and unsafe for me to disclose my location to you."
"Abraham is just my step-dad. I'm so sorry he gave you so much trouble," Florence said.
"Don't worry about it most pigs are stupid," Edward said, Florence laughed and there was a pause where they just gazed into one another's eyes before Edward spoke again. "I do have money now and there's a real nice speakeasy around here that I would love to take you too, so we can celebrate being reunited."
Florence hesitated for a moment because speakeasies were still illegal, but only a moment. "I'd love too, but let me go home and change and change first, I'll meet you back here in about an hour."
"I'll see you in a few," Edward said.
****
At their date following their reunion on the beach both Florence and Edward agreed that for the time being they needed to keep their relationship a secret, even from Aunt Thelma, but they still saw plenty of one another. Even when life made it so they couldn't go on actual fates, Edward called her on the phone and they would talk long into the night, although they had to keep their voices low so no one in Florence's family would catch on.
The secrecy felt a little ridiculous at times, but somehow it still made Florence's relationship with Edward all the more thrilling. However, within a few months, even that thrill started to wane weeks later when they still had to keep their relationship a secret. Florence wanted to be able to talk about her relationship with someone. Not to mention if she and Edward ever wanted to marry her parents would eventually find out. This desire to be open about her relationship came to a head the morning of Edward's graduation from a local community college. He'd explained to her shortly after they reunited that he took classes so he could appear as normal as everyone else, despite his main job being a juice runner. Not to mention college was also a great place to find new customers. Florence thought his plan was brilliant and more than anything she wanted to watch him graduate and it felt wrong to simply lie to her family about where she wanted to go that morning, graduating any sort of college was a huge accomplishment that shouldn't be hidden.
That morning she woke up determined to tell her family about her and Edward's relationship at breakfast.
As always everyone was already grabbing food and setting around the dining room table, at least everyone except her step-dad.
"Mom, is dad sleeping in today?" Florence asked.
"No, he had some business to attend to at the station," her mother said.
That made things a little more difficult, but her mother could always pass the information to her father when he returned home. However, wanting to confess and confessing were two different things and Florence simply couldn’t bring herself to reveal her relationship with Edward because she knew it would lead to an argument and that was something neither Clifford nor Ruth needed to see.
Eventually, though her mother offered her the perfect moment to confess. " I've noticed that you've been speaking on the phone an awful lot lately. Did you meet someone special while you were away at school?"
It was meant to be casual, light breakfast conversation, but her mother's simple question made it impossible for Florence to hide her relationship. "Yes, actually ran into Edward a few weeks back and we started seeing each other again."
Her mother immediately set her plate down on the table before briefly turning her attention to Clifford and Ruth. "You know, it is a lovely day outside, why don't you two go play out there for a little while."
Her half-siblings immediately got up from the table and headed towards the door.
"Oooh, Florence is in big trouble," Ruth said just before she and Clifford were out the door and out of earshot.
"Why that boy of all people?" her mother said, but she didn't sound angry, just worried which made the whole situation worse. "He didn't speak to you for years and now he suddenly wants you in his life again. I don't like it, Florence."
"He was just busy with college," Florence said, no need to remind her mother that he was involved with juice running. "In fact, I'm going to his graduation today whether you like it or not."
She expected her mother to yell, plant her feet in the ground and tell her she couldn't go, but that's not what her mother did. "As long as that's all he's been busy with that's fine, just be careful I don't want you to get hurt," her mother said. The yelling would have been easier to deal with and she'd feel less guilty and immature.
"Fine. I'll see you tonight," Florence said and headed towards her room to change. Her mother didn't stop her.
***
After the graduation ceremony, Florence waited for Edward and the other graduates to exit the courthouse. She quickly spotted Edward and immediately ran over to him. His family was nowhere in sight.
She moved to hug him he pushed her back. "Careful people might start to suspect that we're together."
"Don't worry about that," Florence said and moved a little closer to her beau. "I told my mother about us this morning, we don't have to hide out love any longer."
Assuming he'd agree with her, Florence broke the distance between them completely and kissed him full on lips.
Instead of kissing her back though he pushed her away again. "You don't understand. Your father is still a pig and last night some of his fellow coppers picked up some of my friends from work. Odds are they interrogated them and know all our identities by now. People can't know we're dating, for both your safety and mine. "
Suddenly Florence knew just what kind of "business" her father had at the station and her mother would soon know that her daughter's beau was still a juice runner.
"I'm so sorry, Edward," Florence said.
For a brief moment, she swore Edward's face may have turned red with anger, but it quickly faded. "It's all right, Doll you didn't know any better. However, it would be best if perhaps we took a break, just long enough to let everything die down.
"Okay, I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
They parted ways and Florence's heart ached. In hindsight, she should have listened to it a little closer, if she had she would have ended her relationship with Edward right then and there.
This is so great! Question though: How long is a decade in game? How do you figure that?
Thanks. There is a way to calculate time if you read the original Decades Challenge rules by ZombieCleo, but I really don’t bother with all that, personally I just change the decade when the next heir is in their last four days as a teenager or even as old a a Young adult. However, If you want to calculate time here’s a link to the latest version of the rules(originally for the Sims 4): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BlzYMuvOyaCRZTV0nB2YCnw60WzfogThkKhaZ75x0Zk/mobilebasic#
While she and Edward were on a break he never called or even wrote and time seemed to drag on forever. However, since she wasn't seeing her beau she got along much better with her parents. It also gave Florence some time to think. As her Young adult days continued to pass questions arose, like what she wanted to do with her life. At the time the answer seemed simple, she just wanted to be with Edward and she thought the only thing she needed to be happy was to spend more time with him. With this in mind, she decided to call up Aunt Thelma and see what kind of wisdom she had up her sleeve that she could lend Florence.
A few hours later the two of them met up in a nearby park.
After exchanging greetings and gossip Aunt Thelma turned the conversation toward a more serious topic. "This catching up has been wonderful, but I get the feeling you have something in particular on your mind."
"Yes I do actually, " Florence said. "You see I met this boy and we've been together a long time, but there are times I feel like he's avoiding me or something."
The light mood of their earlier conversation vanished. " I assume this boy you're talking about is Edward Jones " Aunt Thelma said.
"Yes. How did you know?" Florence asked.
"There were a lot of people at that college graduation when you kissed him, right there in broad daylight. Now, stop dodging the question; what is it that you really want to ask me?"
Florence lowered her voice to a whisper and moved closer to her aunt. " I don't get to see him very often because he is a juice runner and as you know my father works for the police, so we can't exactly meet for normal dates and such. I also know that you are a juice runner yourself and I was hoping that perhaps your organization needed another member."
Aunt Thelma smiled then but quickly changed her expression back to something more serious. "Are you absolutely sure you want to join us? You could get in serious trouble."
"I'm sure," Florence said and Aunt Thelma's smile returned.
"All right then, come to the old warehouse in North Roaring Heights late tonight and we'll find you a job. The combination on the lock is 6642." Florence nodded and was about to walk away before Aunt Thelma stopped her with her voice. "One more thing before you go," Aunt Thelma said.
"What?"
Her aunt crossed her arms and appeared a little smug before she winked. "I'm a nectar maker, not a juice runner. I am an artist."
"I'll keep that in mind," Florence said before the two of them parted ways.
***
Night fell and long after Florence's family was asleep she left the house and caught a cab and asked the driver to take her to North Roaring Heights, without giving away the exact location of the warehouse.
When she got out the cabby stopped her for a moment. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss? This isn't exactly the most lady friendly part of Roaring Heights."
"Trust me, I'll be fine," she said after giving the cabby a generous tip.
When the cab driver disappeared from sight though and the dark of the late hour engulfed her, it did feel like there were several eyes watching her from somewhere within the darkness. She picked up her pace and eventually broke into a run, at least until she was within a few feet of the warehouse. At that moment she slowed down to keep her dignity intact and approached the warehouse door.
It was an enormous structure of cement and metal and surrounded by garbage and old crates. It was a far cry from the Art Deco fair throughout the rest of Roaring Heights and the lock looked ancient and somewhat rusted, but the combination worked and the door opened with a loud creak. Florence stepped through the doors and closed them behind her. After that, she entered a hallway dimly lit by torches. Coming from inside were muted bits of conversation far ahead of her. Her heels clicked on the cement floor and echoed throughout the hallway. For a moment she wanted to turn around and forget about the job, but she ignored those impulses and kept moving forward. When she reached the overstuffed, but comfortably sitting room full of her future co-workers her fears turned into thrill and rebellion. She walked further into the room still and her heartfelt light as a feather when she spotted Edward for the first time in a long time. He was talking to an amazonian woman with dark hair. She wore one of the shortest flapper dresses Florence had ever seen, or so it seemed at the time.
At first, they didn't seem to notice her and the woman moved a little closer to him.
"Edward Jones, who is this lovely lady you're talking to?" Florence asked as politely as her jealously would allow.
Edward immediately backed away from the other woman. "This is my co-worker, Virginia Black. What are you doing here?"
"After missing you terribly and talking to Aunt Thelma about it, I decided to become a juice runner too," Florence said.
"This young lady must be your girlfriend, Florence. She's awfully young." Virginia said.
"I'm not much younger than Edward," she said. It was a poor defense that sounded childish, but it was the only response Florence could come up with at the time.
"May I have a moment with my girl?" Edward asked Virginia.
"No problem," she said before she moved over to a table with a champagne fountain surrounded by wine glasses on top of it.
"If your father ever found out you were working for us..." Edward started.
"He's not going to find out I'm working for you guys. Besides I'm an adult, he can't tell me what I can and cannot do." Florence said, looking back she never sounded less like an adult in her entire life.
"I'm not sure we have any openings," Edward said
Before Florence could correct him, an older man, possibly in his mid-forties approached the two of them. "Who is this lovely young lady who has graced our presence?" he asked.
"Florence, this is Clyde Reeves, my boss," Edward said and then turned away from Florence to Clyde. "Mr. Reeves this is my girl, Florence Nolan. She would like a job, but I was just saying that we have no positions available."
"It is true that we have no positions available in the warehouse, but the leggy doll who used to serve drinks at the Palm Tree Bar just up a married, and that position is now open." Mr. Reeves said.
"I thought all bars in Roaring Heights were closed," Florence said.
"We run them.... unofficially, but we get large crowds every night. That place could definitely use a gal like you. " Mr. Reeves said.
"Working at a speakeasy just sounds like the Bee's Knees! When can I start?" Florence asked.
"Tomorrow night," Mr. Reeves said. "I'd also recommend working on your Athletic skill, just in case are juice runners are injured or arrested. Not to mention our customers at the Palm Tree Bar like a well-shaped lady."
Florence wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Mr. Reeves' comment, but at the time she really wanted the job, so she agreed to his terms. After that, she signed her work contract, kissed Edward, and headed home.
***
The next morning Florence rose fairly early and set-out to work out a little as Mr. Reeves advised.
As always though, her step-father was also up early and was just about to leave for work when he noticed Florence and approached her.
"Well this is new." her step-father said. "I've never seen you work-out before."
"We ladies have to watch our figure and mine hasn't been the best lately," Florence said, it was a poor lie since it wasn't something she cared about until she met Clyde Reeves.
Her step-father's face grew serious. " Some of my neighborhood watch saw you talking with your Aunt Thelma in the park yesterday and another was doing his North Roaring Heights rounds and he saw you get out of the cab and head towards some old warehouses. Let's step inside and have a little breakfast and a chat."
In a last-ditch effort to avoid an unpleasant conversation, Florence said, "Won't you be late for work?"
"Yesterday I was promoted to Cheif of Police, I can be a little late to work." her step-father said.
With no other choice, Florence followed him back inside the house. Ruth was at the table, but her father sent her away before he took a seat. Nervously, Florence took a seat next to him.
"What are your thinking? " her step-father asked. "Your Aunt Thelma is a person of interest and my crew has been watching that warehouse for a few days now as a suspected juice-runner hide-out. Why on Earth were you over there last night?"
Florence attempted to dodge the question. "I didn't know Aunt Thelma was a person of interest."
"No, but I bet you knew she was a juice-runner."
Florence stood up from her seat. "Aunt Thelma is a nectar-maker, not a juice runner. Besides those people shouldn't be considered criminals anyways. As far as I know, they haven't caused anyone, any harm!"
Her father stood up as well, but more slowly and far less emotionally than she did. "A couple of my officers have been injured by them. Thankfully nothing serious, but who knows what else they are capable of."
"They wouldn't be injured if they just left well-enough alone! Besides being part of the group is the only way I'll ever get to see Edward."
"I knew that beau of yours was trouble! You will break-up with him immediately because no-one under my roof will fraternize with the enemy!
Florence pushed her chair underneath the table as possible. "Fine, I won't live under your roof then. Starting now I'll find a place of my own and I will keep working for the juice-runners whether you like it or not!" With that she walked out of the kitchen and away from her step-father.
It was one of the most reckless, immature decisions Florence would ever make.
Author's Note: Please ignore the horribly anachronistic security cameras around the warehouse and athletic clothes Florence is wearing in this chapter.
Author's Note: Content Warning: this post contains a moment of dubious consent, nothing graphic, but it might bother someone, so read at your own risk.
The house Florence found was not the best. It was a tiny, old-fashioned eyesore and though she had a view of the ocean, it was a limited view and her yard constantly smelt like dead fish, but it was hers and her parents didn't need to know any of these things.
Conveniently, she was also too busy for her parents to visit, especially her step-father who she feared would only want to come over to interrogate her about the place she worked. Luckily, even if he managed to come over, she wouldn't have anything to tell him; Mr. Reeves and even her own beau made sure she had plausible deniability and told her little about anything beyond what was required for her work as a bartender, which had little to do with the organization's true purpose. Mr. Reeves also mislead her about her position. While other speakeasies in Roaring Heights did get large crowds every night, The Palm Tree was not one of them. The bar had people who would stop by regularly, but it wasn't quite as popular as others. The clientele were mostly male day drinkers who constantly compared her to the girl who worked there previously. Florence found herself relieved that most of the time the bar was quiet and nearly empty and she could drink as many of the bottom shelf drinks for free, which made her time there bearable.
To make matters worse she still didn't see Edward very often. He'd never stop by her house even when she invited him and only stopped by The Palm Tree every now and then before rushing off after a quick kiss and some excuse about how busy he was as a juice-runner. It was during these moments that Florence would wonder if perhaps she'd be better without Edward, but then he'd send her an expensive gift or a beautiful letter and she'd forgive him immediately and believe whatever excuse he made that day.
Her life went on just like that for months and she never expected it to change, until it did. The change began the day before Leisure Day, almost a whole year after she started her job at The Palm Tree Bar. That day she had a bad customer, after bad customer who insulted her looks or touched her without getting her permission first. One customer even brought in a small dog that not only yapped the entire time he was in the bar but chewed on the furniture as well. When Florence confronted the customer he yelled at her and left without tipping her.
The next day Florence called Edward to vent. He actually listened and they talked an hour more after that. He even invited her to a party he was throwing later that night.
"Consider the party an apology for me putting work first lately," Edward said.
"That sounds great! See you there." Florence said and hung up the phone.
***
She arrived at Edward's house a few hours later. The front door was wedged open and the sound of rich Big Band music drifted from Edward's backyard and filled the house with a festive atmosphere. Florence practically skipped inside her heart light as a feather in anticipation of seeing her beau. Within a few moments, she spotted him chatting with a man she didn't recognize.
Edward immediately turned away from him and walked towards Florence. "You look Beautiful, Doll," he said and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her in a way he hadn't done since they were teenagers.
" This Dame is much prettier than your last one, younger too," his friend said, until that moment Florence had forgotten he was there.
"Edward, what is he talking about?" Florence asked, "As far as I know, I'm the only "dame" you've had."
His friend seemed like he was about to elaborate, but Edward interrupted him, "Don't mind him, he's already zozzled and doesn't know what he's saying," Edward said and moved her outside where a champagne fountain was located. "How about I get you a drink and then perhaps we can find a nice corner to do some more kissing,"
At that point, Florence should have left, but she was enjoying Edward's attention far too much and had been lonely for far too long, so she let him get her a drink and several more after that, they also did quite a bit of kissing. After that, the rest of the night was a blur, but one moment stands out. One where they left their cozy corner and found a bedroom.
The next day she woke up terribly hungover, but Edward was still right next to her in the bed. For just a moment she really thought the two of them could make it work and she didn't regret her actions at all. Even years later she still wouldn't regret her choice because, in the end, it would put her on a much better path.
Not long after the party, the oddest thing started to happen, the smell of alcohol started to make Florence quite nauseous and her job unbearable. At first, she didn't think much of it and just assumed the heavy drinking she did at Edward's party turned her off of it and she simply avoided drinking any nectar, juice, or champagne. Three weeks went by after that and she realized that she had skipped her monthlies the previous month and her avoidance of alcohol made complete sense. She was pregnant and Edward was the father.
At the time she and Edward were seeing a great deal of each other, so without hesitation, she invited him to a nearby beach and told him the surprising, but good news.
He seemed thrilled about the idea and asked to feel her stomach. She obliged.
For while Edward spent any time he had with Florence and then three months before her due date they went out to a silent movie. Although it was bold, at the end of the night Florence asked him if he wanted to move in with her. Edward hesitated a little but agreed to her proposal.
"We have a child together after all," Edward said.
"Oh Edward you've just made me the happiest gal in Roaring Heights!"Florence exclaimed and they kissed.
***
Her bliss didn't last long though and not long after they moved in together, Edward started making late-night phone calls, putting long hours in at work and didn't spend as much time with Florence as he had been. It was as if they were no more than roommates.
Two things brought Florence happiness throughout the ordeal: anticipation for the arrival of their child and man named Thomas Frasier who moved in next door. The house next door had always been a loud one, whoever owned it tended to throw parties whenever he got the chance.
Neither Florence nor Edward were ever invited to their neighbor's get-togethers, so Florence thought little about him. One day however an old beat-up automobile pulled into the house's drive. At first, she thought the car belonged to just another guest, but when about a week past and the car was still there she grew curious about the newcomer. One night, mere weeks before her due date, Edward was gone so she decided to knock on the door.
Florence heard music and barking dogs coming from inside. No one answered for a good few minutes so, she didn't expect anyone to answer. She was about to go back home but Thomas opened the door a little hesitantly.
"Welcome to the party, who is calling?" he asked in a thick accent of some sort.
"I'm sorry, I'm not a guest. I just saw that someone new moved in and I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Florence Nolan and my...beau and I live next door," It was only then that she thought about her current condition and what Thomas might think since she and Edward weren't yet married.
Thomas didn't seem to notice her hesitation "My name is Thomas Frasier. I'm from Champs Les Sims, there is... trouble brewing back home so I moved in with a cousin of mine here in Roaring Heights. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Nolan."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Frasier." Guilt welled up in Florence's chest when she realized that she didn't want to leave and return home to her empty house, but Edward would be returning home soon, so she turned away from the front door. "I have to go, but I hope to see you around."
"Me too," Thomas said.
***
During the last few weeks of her pregnancy, Edward went on a business trip to the city of Bridgeport, and Florence was left all by herself. She and Thomas talked off and on throughout, but both of them were careful not to do more than that. Edward didn't make it home until a couple of days after Florence went into labor, so she had to swallow her pride and call her mother so she had someone to take her to the hospital and just be there with her. After almost twenty hours of labor, Florence gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Maxine Thelma Nolan. She was so overwhelmed by emotions, both good and bad, that she burst into tears and her mother held her until she settled.
When Edward did finally meet his daughter, Florence saw him in an entirely different light and resented him for missing his daughter's birth, but she didn't say anything, at least not at the time, it was supposed to be a happy occasion, but still, her priorities were shifting.
This was only made worse by the fact that Edward still wasn't home often, so they started fighting constantly, over every little thing, some reasonable like Edward's late nights, others not so much, like what they wanted for dinner.
To stay sane sought solace in visits with her mother so she could get to know her granddaughter (things were still tense with her step-father) and long, late-night phone calls with Thomas, both agreed it would feel like cheating if they did more than that.
Although her and Thomas's relationship remained platonic, Edward would yell at her when he caught her talking to him on the phone.
"Who are you talking to now!? " he'd yell. "A lover perhaps?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Where do you spend all your late nights? Who do you talk to late at night?"
After that, they'd drop the argument and spend a few days not speaking to one another. At the time it felt like they were trapped together because of Maxine.
Those feelings completed evaporated the following fall, shortly after they received an invitation from Thomas to a house party a few days before Spooky Day. Florence was making some final adjustments to her outfit when she got a call from her mother. She sounded like she was the verge of tears.
"What wrong?! Are you all right?" Florence asked
"We're all fine, but Abraham and I were taking a walk in the park when we saw Edward with a tall, dark-haired woman. I'm sorry, Florence they were quite...intimate," her mother said.
"Thank you for letting me know mother, I'll talk to him about it," Florence said, keeping her voice and level as her angry would allow.
"I just want you to know that no matter what Abraham and I love you very much and although we may be a little mad at your choices at times we will always be here for you." her mother said.
"Thank you,I'll keep that in mind. I love you too," Florence said.
After that, she hung up. Based on her mother's description the woman must have been Virginia Black, she should have known they were together the moment she saw them back at the warehouse. They probably broke up and Florence became Edward's back-up gal until she came back into his life and if he wanted his first choice back so be it, but she'd humiliate him for the pain he caused her first.
So, that night, when he returned home to take her and Maxine to the party. When Thomas answered the door she couldn't help but notice how nice he looked and her conversation with him made waiting for the other guests and her moment of vengeance bearable.
Finally, all the guests were in place she passed Maxine to Thomas and drew the guests' attention to her. After that, she turned to Edward and blurted out all his sins for everyone to hear. At the end of her outburst, she broke off the relationship and stared with triumph at Edward's bright, red face.
She was about to leave when Edward stomped towards her and forced her back into the house. "How dare you! After all, I've done it for you! This is how you repay me?"
"What have you done for me? All you've done is neglect me and cheat on me. Plum, You weren't even present for your daughter's birth!"
"What about recently, huh? I've been the only one working and paying for our child."
"That's because I've been on leave to raise her!"
It was at that point that Thomas walked towards them. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave and I will call the police if you go anywhere near this lovely lady's house. "
Edward started to walk away before turning one last time toward Florence. "You'll regret this Florence Nolan I can promise you that!" he exclaimed before leaving the premises.
Thomas gave Maxine back to Florence. "If you like I can walk you home, even sleep on your couch for tonight if that would make you feel safer. I won't bother you or the baby, I promise.
"I would like that very much, thank you," she said.
Thomas wrapped his arm around Florence's and walked her next door. For the first time in a long time life felt perfectly right.
Author's Note: I've been looking forward to this juicy reveal for a long. Basically what happened Gameplay-wise was that when I moved Edward in with Florence I checked his relationships and realized he had another girlfriend, so naturally, that doomed their relationship cause they had been going steady for a while when I found that out. I don't remember her actual name, but she wasn't that important, so her name became Virginia Black. Finally, I have a question for my readers: Do you prefer longer posts like this or the shorter ones I've been posting? Please let me know in the comments below.
Edward followed up on his threat about making Florence regret breaking up with him almost by firing from her job with the syndicate. At first, she was sad she lost the job she thought she wanted, but a few weeks went by and as she watched Maxine grow she was relieved that her daughter didn't have a criminal for a mother. Several weeks passed after that and before Florence knew it her daughter had become a toddler. Her mother even sent Maxine a doll for the occasion which touched Florence more than she could ever admit allowed.
Unfortunately, those weeks also involved unemployment since no one would hire Florence due to her status as a woman with a child out of wedlock and no man in sight. Most potential employers assumed she was a loose and immoral woman. Her parents helped by lending her money and Thomas was always willing to fix anything broken in her house for free, even though most people paid for his services. She couldn't depend on others forever though, nor did she want to.
As fall was fading into winter she still had no idea how to make money and wood was not cheap. To make matters even worse the pipes in her kitchen sink froze over right as she was getting to make dinner. As always she walked next door and knocked on Thomas's door. He answered almost immediately.
"Are you busy tonight?" Florence asked.
"Nope, I just got off work. Is everything all right, Miss Nolan ?" he asked.
All at once, her emotional baggage collapsed in on Florence and her voice cracked, " No, my pipes froze over." the cracked voice then turned into tears.
Thomas rested his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll have your pipes replaced as soon as possible. I have some extra pipe leftover from a job I had today. " Much to her relief, he didn't press her further.
***
A few hours later Florence's pipes were fixed and Maxine was in bed after she ate some leftovers from dinner the night before. For a moment silence hung between, yet she didn't want to leave his side and walked with him to his door.
"Are you really okay, Miss Nolan?" Thomas asked once they reached it.
"Now that my pipes are fixed I'm great." her response didn't sound honest, even as Florence gave it.
"I mean about everything else. Are you doing okay financially I could give you a loan if you like..."
Florence cut him off. "Please don't offer me charity Mr. Frasier, my parents give me plenty of that; what I really need is a job, but no one is willing to give me a chance because of my current...status. Besides you aren't exactly wealthy yourself."
"My life is not terrible, I get by and..." before he could finish his response he suddenly winced.
"Are you all right?"
"Long day, I guess my back is a little sore," he said.
"Turn around and I'll see if I can ease your pain a little by rubbing your back. It's the least I could do. Let's go inside as well it's getting a little cold out here. "
Thomas hesitated but eventually walked inside with Florence close behind him. Once fully inside Thomas turned his back towards Florence so she could access his back. Florence rubbed his shoulders surprised at how toned they felt despite his slightly robust appearance.
He moaned a little with pleasure and Florence was stricken by the intimacy, almost domestic scene they were engaging in. Edward wouldn't have ever allowed himself to be vulnerable like this, his male pride would allow it or he'd expect such actions to lead to the bedroom. Tears welled up in her eyes again and she slowly released Thomas.
"Thanks if I had a wife..." Thomas started when he noticed the emotion welling up in her face. "What's wrong?"
Florence quickly brushed her tears away, she was acting like a child. "Nothing, it's just gotten warm in here that's all."
She doubted Thomas believed her for a moment, cause she didn't even believe herself, but he indulged her anyway. "I agree, it is quite stuffy in here and the stars are lovely tonight. How about we look at them a moment and then I'll walk you home."
Florence wasn't sure how watching stars would help, but since Thomas indulged her she indulged him in return and sat on the sidewalk in front of his house. He sat down next to her and stared up at the sky. She pretended to the same, but all she could think about was the cold cement beneath her.
They were silent for just a moment before Thomas broke it. " Do you remember when we met I told you I left Champs Les Sims because of troubles brewing back there?"
"Yes. As I recall you never told me what those were, do you want to specify what kind of troubles you faced?" Florence said.
"Yes. The war ripped through my home country when I was a boy. It felt as if just about everything was going to be destroyed, even now I get letters from my family saying how much poorer everyone has become." Thomas said.
"I'm so sorry. It can't compare, but my birth father died fighting in the war and I never met him. I was lucky that I lived in Salmon Woods at the time and had my mother and my step-father." It was a realization that hit her all the sudden, but instead of wanting to cry or runaway she felt relieved to get it off her chest, this was swiftly followed by guilt. " I should have listened to them. If I did perhaps I wouldn't have screwed up my life as much as I have."
"You didn't let me finish," Thomas said before shifting into a more comfortable position. "Despite all that I found comfort in the stars, there is something so vast and endless about them. It reminds me that every bad thing is temporary even though it doesn't feel like it at time. There is always hope for change, as long as you're willing to do so."
Florence mirrored his position and immediately felt a bit more relaxed. "I guess, but I'm not sure how to fix my situation. Not that I'd want him to, but Edward is not coming back and I'm still a woman who had a child out of wedlock.
"Do you really regret having Maxine that much?" Thomas asked.
"No, of course not I wouldn't trade her for anything."
"Then why dwell on things you can't change? All you have to do is find a way to move forward. Perhaps you can start by making a wish on that shooting star. " He said and pointed towards the sky.
She was caught off guard by his statement but moved her eyes and indeed there was a falling star and as silly as it was at the time she made a wish for her to be pointed in the right direction moving forwards. As it faded from the sky the wind picked up and chilled Florence a little taking her out of the moment.
"Perhaps you should walk me home now," she said.
"You're probably right," Thomas said and they stood up.
However, the two of them didn't move towards her door immediately. They stood looking at one another as if expecting the other to take some sort of action. Before Florence could stop herself she leaned in, pulled Thomas closer, and kissed him.
The potential consequences of her actions didn't fully hit her until Thomas kissed her back and she immediately broke away from him as heat flooded her cheeks.
"Just consider that a thank-you kiss," she blurted out before she ran into her house and slammed the door behind her.
As she climbed into bed she wondered if perhaps she deserved her current situation. Only a woman of easy virtue was as forward as she was, especially when she already knew the consequences of such behavior. If she couldn't keep her hands to herself then she needed to end her and Thomas's friendship. Of course, that would prove a lot harder to do than she initially thought.
Author's Note: Because of the fact that I didn't write down any plot ideas I had while playing this part of the challenge to remind myself why I took the screenshots I did, this was a hard chapter to write, hints the shortness(the 1900s and 1910s parts were easier cause they were fresher in my mind when I was writing them). I hope that didn't stop this chapter from being enjoyable to read despite that. I can also assure my readers that the rest of the Decades going forward have more notes attached to them and should be better because of that.
The days that followed the impulsive kiss she gave Thomas she tried her best to cut him out of her life many times, but she could never quite bring herself to end their friendship. Eventually, she decided that she needed some advice so she went to visit her parents, it would give them a chance to see Maxine anyways.
For the first hour or so of the visit, they caught up. One of the first things she found out was that Ruth and Clifford were teens now, in fact, Clifford was about to become a young adult who had already been considered for the police force. In exchange, Florence told her parents all about Maxine's milestones, but eventually, they ran out of the small talk and silence filled the house besides Maxine's babbling. Her mother made an excuse to take Maxine outside and Florence was left alone with her step-father, although it was getting easier to ignore the step part altogether, although she wasn't entirely ready to do so just yet.
"Abraham, I need some advice," Florence said.
"Edward isn't causing you any trouble, is he? If needed I could send a task force to follow him and get him for something. I know many people on the force who would love any excuse to lock him and his gang firmly behind lock and key. " her father said.
Florence shook her head. "No, I haven't seen Edward since he fired me. This is about my neighbor, Thomas Frasier."
"Is Mr. Frasier causing trouble for you and Maxine?" he asked.
"Not at all in fact he's been helping me out a lot with issues around the house for free. The issue is with me, I kissed him and the last thing I need to do is get involved with another man. Is there an easy way to cut a friend out of your life?"
Florence's step-father suddenly needed to dust off his pants and straighten his suit jacket. " If he wants to help you, I say let him, as for the other part of that, I think that's a question you should ask your mother."
As if right on cue her mother returned to the kitchen and passed Maxine to Abraham. He happily took her and left the room in a hurry.
"How odd." her mother said, "he almost looked uncomfortable. Do you have an explanation for that Florence?" her mother asked
It was obvious to Florence that it was a rhetorical question, so she didn't bother dancing around the subject. "I need advice and Abraham didn't have any to give me."
"What advice do you need?" her mother asked.
Unlike with her step-father, she'd mentioned Thomas to her mother more than a few times since their relationship started to recover, so she cut right to her issue. "I kissed Thomas, and now I need to know how to cut him out of my life."
"Why do you want him out of your life, I thought the two of you were friends?"
"We are and that's the problem," Florence said. "It just seems like I can't keep it that way, so he for his sake and mine, I shouldn't keep him in my life."
"That's a little extreme, don't you think? Besides do you really just want to stay friends or are you simply afraid to lose your heart again?" Florence didn't have a response, and so she remained silent. Her mother seemed to realize this and continued. "Just go home and think about it. I'll tell Abraham that you had a headache and needed to go home."
***
For the next couple says Florence avoided Thomas and focused all her attention on Maxine. All the while her mother's advice lingered in the back of her mind.
Maxine grew a lot during those few days, but she also realized her mother was right, she missed Thomas horribly. Eventually, she shoved her fears to the side, walked next door, and invited him over for dinner later that evening.
"We need to talk about what happened a few days ago when I kissed you," she told him.
He agreed and promised to be over as soon as he got off of work. Preparing for his visit proved to be a monumental task though as that same day Maxine got a few more teeth and was fussy the entire day. Florence barely managed to tidy up her house and prepare a salad to serve Thomas.
When he knocked on the door, Florence's hair was still a mess and she wore the same outfit she wore the day before.
"You look like you've had a rough day, is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, in the background, Maxine was crying.
"Probably not. Maxine is teething and has been in pain all day. Unless you can help that I don't think there's anything you can do. "
"I have a spare bottle of bootleg juice back home, perhaps that would help."
" I'm really not sure that would..."
Thomas cut her off with a laugh. "I'm just kidding, but perhaps it would help us get through the evening."
At that Florence smiled and oddly enough Maxine's crying stopped and she toddled toward the door. She turned her wide, purple eyes towards Thomas. Apparently, the strange man her mother was talking too was interesting enough that she forgot about her pain. Thomas leaned down to pick her up but briefly glanced over to Florence as if to ask if he could. She nodded.
Maxine cried at first, but then Thomas bounced her up and down just a little and she stopped. She was once more interested in her mother's visitor enough that she forgot her aching gums. He tickled her and she actually giggled. From that moment until Thomas put her to bed she was completely content. It warmed Florence's heart to see her feeling so much better, even if it was only for an hour or so.
Once she was asleep though turned their attention back to the purpose of Thomas's visit. Florence walked into the kitchen and placed two plates of salad on the table. Thomas sat in front of one of the plates and Florence sat across from him.
For a moment only the clinks of forks were heard before Florence broke the silence. "Mr. Frasier, where do you see our relationship going?"
"I'm comfortable with wherever you see our relationship going," Thomas said.
"I appreciate that but I really need to know where you would it to go,"
"If you really want to know, Miss Nolan, I think you're the Bee's knees. You're beautiful and smart and I want you in my life more than anything. However, I can also understand why, that despite what happened a few days ago, you aren't wanting to rush into a new relationship. Where do you see this relationship going?"
Florence felt her cheeks getting red again, but this time it didn't bother her. "Thank you for those wonderful compliments," she said. "I also want to see where this relationship goes, but for Maxine's sake I want to take things slow."
"As you wish," he said just as he finished his salad. "Would it be too much to ask you to watch the stars with me again?"
Florence finished her salad as well and sat her fork aside. "Not at all. The view from my backyard by the ocean is pretty great if you don't mind the smell of fish."
"If I was sitting next to you I wouldn't even notice. Although, I recommend grabbing out coats."
After that, the two of them stepped outside, found a comfortable place in the sand, and looked up toward the stars.
The winter night was brisk, but after Florence moved a little closer to Thomas she didn't even notice. Their hands interlocked and she realized she couldn't imagine her life without him, even if she couldn't admit it allowed it allowed at the time. Author's Note: Would you readers prefer I move this to another website like WordPress or something? It's a little extra effort, but I would do that if you all preferred to read this that way. Also if I moved this story, should I cut the 1890s part? I know it's part of The Decades Challenge, but at the start of this challenge, I didn't intend to record it as a story and as a result, the 1890s part is quite boring and rushed. Please leave all your thoughts and feelings in the thread. Thank you.
No story update today, mostly because I spent several hours setting up this blog, which I think is a better location for this story. From now on, this thread will be purely for summarizing/teasing and linking each new chapter instead of putting the whole thing on here. The next story update will be Friday or Saturday and I look forward to seeing all my readers on my WordPress site.
Author's Note: Moving all my chapters over to WordPress is taking a little longer than I thought it would(I'm only up to the first two 1910s chapters), but I still owe you guys a new chapter, so I'm gonna type it here. I'm also writing it in first person instead of third because the edited versions of my chapters are all in the first person. Hopefully, by next week all the edits and such will be done.
About a week after Thomas and I officially began our relationship, Maxine's birthday rolled around again and she became a child.
It wouldn't be long until she noticed what was going on between Thomas and me and she'd have an opinion on it. Rather than let her bring up those opinions on her own I decided that I may as well hear them now, so I grabbed a piece of cake, sat on the couch, and crossed my ankles.
"Maxine, there are some things we need to talk about. Would you join me over here on the couch?"
Maxine grabbed a piece of cake as well and sat next to me. "This is about Mr. Frasier, isn't it?" she said as she crossed her own ankles as if to mimic me.
"Yes," I said genuinely shocked. How old was Maxine again? "How did you know?"
"One would have to be blind not to notice how much time the two of you spend together," Maxine said in the most precocious tone possible.
I held back a laugh. " Well, do you like him?"
"He's very nice."
"I'm glad you feel that way because I'm thinking about seeing even more of him, possibly making him my beau," I said.
" Is he gonna be my new dad? " she asked, almost dropping the remnants of her cake on the floor in her excitement.
Suddenly the room felt a lot warmer."If things go well enough I suppose, but that may..." I started.
Maxine cut me off. " I hope so, cause I don't know where the other one went and I really would like a new one."
My heart broke for my little Maxine. What could I possibly tell her, that I broke up with him because he loved someone else a little more than the two of us? No, she wasn't ready for that yet, so I opted for a distraction.
"I'm glad you approve," I said before standing up and moving towards the kitchen with my empty cake dish. "Enough of this heavy talk, Grandma and Grandpa sent you a gift in the mail yesterday. If you'll wait in the kitchen I'll get it for you."
I didn't have to tell Maxine twice, she placed her own cake dish on the coffee table and in front of and headed towards the kitchen. She made about halfway there when she realized she left her dish behind. She paused and pivoted back around to where the dish set.
"Sorry, I almost forgot the dish," Maxine said.
"Thank you, but don't worry about it too much, it is your birthday after all, " I said and resumed my course towards the mailbox.
Outside was a large box, soaked through by snow, thankfully it had only been there since this morning when Clifford dropped it off, so the gift inside was still fine.
I brought it into the kitchen and sat it at Maxine's feet. Her eyes immediately lit up. Unlike most children, though she didn't tear into the box, she gently opened it as if we intended to save it. I brushed off the oddness though, too eager to see her reaction to the gift inside.
When she finally did get the box open her already bright purple eyes, grew even brighter as they fell on the dollhouse inside. At that moment all her gentleness of the past few moments was forgotten as she grabbed the dollhouse from the box, set it on the floor in front of her, and dumped the remaining contents next to it.
For a moment it seemed like she was simply going to play with it throughout the rest of the day with another word, but then paused and turned back to me.
"I can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa again so I can tell them that this is the greatest gift ever!" She said and then really did turn all her attention to the toy for the rest of the day.
I was more than happy to while away the last few hours before bedtime with a comfy spot on the couch and a book.
***
The next couple of months after Maxine's birthday were busy. The most important development was that Thomas helped me get a job at a bookstore as a cashier. I wasn't exactly rolling in dough and since Snowflake Day was fast approaching my hours were quite long, but it paid the bills and made me feel a little more human. My dates with Thomas were the highlights of each week. However, I may have been enjoying them too much, since, between that and the bookstore job, I had little time left for Maxine. She spent most days with her Aunt Ruth or the grandparents, not me. However, I didn't even think about how little time we spent together until Florence created an imaginary friend. It all started when I came home one day and she was building a snowman outside. She was by herself but talking to someone unseen. At first, I brushed it off since I'd watched her play pretend games even when she was quite small.
That day I'd left her with her Aunt Ruth. When I went inside to chat with my teenage sister, I noticed there was a rather grim expression on her face.
"Ruth, is something the matter?" I asked.
"I'm concerned that Maxine might be a little lonely."
"Why would you say that?" I asked, but the guilt was already welling up in the pit of my stomach. I was well aware of how wrapped up in myself I had been at that time.
"She keeps talking to an imaginary something she calls Peanut. I think it's her imaginary friend."
From there Ruth described a couple of moments she caught Maxine talking to this Peanut person and how at one point she even pretended to have a pillow fight with it.
"I'm sure it's nothing to be alarmed about," I said as much for myself as for Ruth, "but I'll cut back on my dates with Thomas a little. I'm sure he'll understand.
***
As promised I did my best to spend a bit more time with Maxine. We played with her dollhouse, we talked, we read books together and spent hours playing in the snow.
All of it was quite fun, but still, she played with Peanut as often as she played with me.
Full of panic and guilt I told Thomas all about my concerns.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," he said," Odds are she'll just grow out of it on her own."
He would eventually be proven right of course, but at the time I was so wrapped up in my own guilt that his assurances just washed over me like air and I continued to fret and worry over Maxine's imaginary friend. At one point I even considered straight-up telling Maxine that she wasn't allowed to play with Peanut, but thankfully Thomas stopped me before I made that particularly bad mistake.
Instead, I decided to host a Gift-Giving party on Snowflake Day, one of the few days I'd been given off since I started the bookstore job. I invited the whole family and cooked as much of a feast as I could manage on the budget I had. It wasn't impressive or huge, but my family made up the difference with food of their own. Despite my small budget, everyone seemed to have a good time, much to my relief.
The night concluded with an exchange of gifts and Maxine only mentioned Peanut a couple of times throughout the entire party. Those who she did mention him too, didn't seem bothered by it and the conversation moved onto something else fairly quickly.
Not long after that everybody went home, except Thomas. Long after the others had left and I'd sent Maxine to bed with the promise that Father Winter would pay her a visit Thomas lingered.
"Do you want to walk me home?"
"Sure," I said, but my chest was filled with palpitations, if he was about to do, what I thought he was about to do, I wasn't sure what my answer would be.
At first, the only sound heard between us snow crunching below our feet, despite the fact that at the time I swore all I could hear was the racing of my heart.
When I was almost certain my chest was just about to burst, Thomas took my hands in his and looked me directly in my eyes. "I love you, Florence Nolan." The words came out in a rush, but I caught every single one of them.
What surprised me even more though, was how I responded without a moment of hesitation. "I love you too Thomas Frasier." Just like that we'd exchanged our first I-love-yous.
Thomas pulled me a little closer and suddenly my joy shifted to anxiety. At that moment I knew, despite how I felt about Thomas, I still wasn't ready to take the next step and my stomach twisted with guilt, because I would have to tell him no.
I rehearsed exactly how I was going to reject him in my head, as much as I knew it would hurt him.
However, his next question threw me for a loop. " Would you and Maxine like to move in? My roommates have started a family of their own and moved into their own house. I have two dogs, but their nice and I think Maxine would love them and there's plenty of space for all of us. I can even get you your own room..."
Before he could ramble on any longer I cut him off with a kiss.
He kissed me back and just for a little while we hung there at that moment, not even feeling the cold wind that blew around us. Reluctantly I broke the spell and pulled away.
"I'll have to talk to Maxine about, but if she agrees I'll be more than happy to move in with you. I love you."
"I love you too," he said.
After that, we shared one more kiss before we went to our separate houses. The entire way to my house it was as if my feet weren't touching the ground and I was floating in my own love-filled bubble. We'd fully committed to each other and that should have been the only thing that mattered. However, to the sims of Roaring Heights, the way Thomas and I were doing things was simply not the proper way to do it and that's what mattered to them.
"As soon as Thomas and I got back home we immediately got the nectar making machine all set up. Maxine's birthday was about a year away and I wanted to both throw her a big party and serve our nectar to a select group of friends and family. "
"The next few weeks passed in a blissful blur as Robert and I got to know one another a little better. Before I knew it the first snow of winter blew into Roaring Heights practically overnight, blanketing the bustling town in white."
Comments
Florence always felt like a bit of an outsider in her own family, not because they didn't love her or give her the attention she needed, but because she never felt like she quite belonged. Her mother was a woman of a different time, a bygone era of long, uncomfortable-looking dresses with little flair and long hair always pulled up into a bun that gave them a severe, unattractive look. While her mother meant well she constantly scolded Florence for her short skirt and hair.
It made little sense to the teen since the woman of her mother's generation that started it all with their protests and "New Woman" lifestyle. Her grandmother, Maggie-May told her all about it when she was alive, although tragically the bold woman passed before Florence's 12th birthday. The teen still had many of the books her grandmother wrote. She just didn't understand how her mother and her step-father for that matter could be raised by such a woman and then become boring people who seemed far more interested in raising children than seeing what the world had to offer. These feelings only grew stronger starting in about 1920 when her younger, half-brother Clifford became a child.
The only guest in attendance was her Aunt Thelma. The only person to truly take after her beloved grandmother. When no one else was listening her aunt would tell her tales of rebellious juice runners and honor among thieves that would make the scandalous pulp stories she read cower in fear. To make matter worse not long after Clifford's birthday her mother got pregnant once more. After that, it almost felt like Florence was being pushed away as her parents put all their energy into to raising the younger kids, in fact, Clifford found out about the new addition long before Florence. She saw her mother tell him when she walked home from school one day. For extra precious points that almost made Florence hurl, he asked to feel their mother's tummy.
It was childish to be jealous of younger kids that needed far more attention, but as silly as it was, it almost felt like Florence didn't matter anymore. Her father died in the war long before she was born and it seemed like her mother and step-father were finally getting to start their real family. Thankfully her Aunt Thelma was always a letter or a phone call away, and her life was far more interesting than the one Florence led. Unfortunately, Her parents considered Aunt Thelma a bad influence and rarely let Florence visit her. That didn't stop her from trying though. She started making excuses explaining that she had to stay late at school for one reason or another. Florence would then use that extra time to stop by Aunt Thelma's house where there was always a fun garden party or something similar, full of interesting people from all over the Roaring Heights and other, more exotic, parts of the world.
One party in particular changed the course of Florence's life forever. It was the height of summer and Florence hadn't visited Aunt Thelma for some time. She used her usual excuse and walked to her aunt's place. There she has approached a young man on the edge of his teen years named Edward Jones. He was much older than Florence but still charismatic and incredibly attractive.
The adults paid them no mind and they talked for hours about nothing in particular and everything at the same time.
Florence had such a fun time, that she lost track of time and had to practically run home to avoid an interrogation from her mother. Florence just narrowly avoided being grounded for life but thought the evening was completely worth it and more than anything else she wanted to see Edward again.
The fact that their exchanges were mostly through letter made the relationship all the more enticing. It was exactly the type of brief escape Florence needed after her mother gave birth to her third child, a little girl named Ruth Maggie Nolan. From there, her parents dove more into their little family, which still felt separate from Florence. As a result, she increased the number of letters she sent to Edward until she couldn't stand just communicating through paper and ink. That night she wrote one more letter that she was going to personally hand him after school, an incredibly forward invitation to meet-up later that night. It was the only way to meet up with him without having to tell her parents all about her meet-ups with Aunt Thelma at parties with very illegal alcohol, something her parents were strongly against since her step-father was a cop and her parents were sticks in the mud.
Soon, night fell and Florence pretended to fall asleep, fully clothed, but it wasn't as if her parents would notice.
Once she was sure her parents, Clifford and the baby were all asleep she climbed out of bed and crept downstairs. She was almost out the door when Ruth awoke with a wail. Florence should have run right out that door and to Edward's waiting arms just a few miles down the road, but instead, she froze and her mother spotted her the moment she reached the bottom of the stairs, Ruth in her arms waiting to be fed.
Her mother took one look at Florence, fully dressed and mere feet from the stairs, and then white-hot rage filled her face. "Were you about to sneak out?"
It was pointless to lie, so Florence confessed everything, although she avoided dropping Edward's name so as not to get him in trouble.
She sat the baby in the buggy in the hallways and turned her attention to Florence. "Do you know how dangerous Roaring Heights is at night?! You and this boy of yours could have been killed by juice runners or kidnapped and held for ransom!"
"Oh please A... Juice runners don't want to hurt anyone, they just want the freedom to enjoy a drink every now and then. Most of the police are paid off anyways!" Florence yelled back.
"I don't even know how you know that, but those police officers are an insult to the badge your father wears!" It was then that Ruth started crying and her mother picked her up and bounced her until she stopped crying. "Look what you did now."
Florence ignored her mother fussing over the baby."Abraham is my step-father. Don't even pretend like the two of you care where I'm at anyways! The two of you have your own family to worry about, I'm just the daughter of the husband you lost a long time ago. "
Her mother's rage-filled face mellowed into one full of hurt and at that moment Florence realized she'd taken the argument too far. "Just go to bed, we'll revisit this in the morning." the fight had faded from her mother's face and all that was left was pain.
Without another word, Florence went to bed feeling like a monster, which was exactly what she deserved. Years later though when she was much older this would be the moment she looked back at the beginning of her and mother's reconciliation and the start of her feeling like a member of the family again. The road to full reconciliation though would be a long and painful one full of steep hills and pot-holes all along the way.
Link
Her mother also gave her and Clifford permission to invite at least one guest of their own. For Florence the decision was an easy one, she'd, of course, invite Edward. They'd been secretly seeing one another for some time and wanted to make their relationship officially public at the party.
The family changed into their party clothes and soon the guests started to arrive.
Twenty minutes after the party began Florence introduced her parents to Edward. Their response was silence at first until her mother broke it.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones. How long have you and my daughter been seeing each other?" Her mother asked.
"A few weeks Mrs. Nolan, but I promise you I'm a gentleman and nothing untoward has happened between me and your daughter," Edward said.
It was a lie, they had already kissed several times, but there were far worse things than a kiss between a guy and his gal. She also appreciated how smoothly he told the lie and hoped it was enough to fool her mother.
"I suppose that's fine then, just be sure to keep it that way until the two of you our on your way to a church," her mother said.
Florence immediately blushed, "Mother, we've only been dating a couple of weeks there is no need to talk about marriage yet," Florence said.
Her mother just hmphed and Florence's hackles began to rise, what she did or did not do with her beau was no one's business but her own.
Before their conflict could escalate any further her step-father drew everyone's attention elsewhere. " I just bought a brand a brand new device called a radio and it would be a shame for it to go to waste at this party," he said and walked over to the machine.
At that point, her mother moved Ruth to her nursery so she was out of the way and everyone else grabbed a partner and began to dance. Edward asked Florence to dance and she obliged, while her brother Clifford found a girl his age to dance with as well. A few moments later her mother returned and her step-father grabbed her hand and delicately pulled her out of the dance floor as if she were a princess or something. It was enough to make her mother to forget about her and Florence's disagreement and the teen had to admit her parents really were quite cute together even if they annoyed her sometimes.
Eventually, dinner was served and the guests slowly began to file out of the house towards their automobiles, Clifford went to bed and her mother disappeared into the nursery to lay Ruth down for the night with her own bedtime sure to follow.
As a result, Edward and Florence were left alone on the dance floor to have one more private dance, the moon, and stars fading as the late-night crept upon them.
"Doll, you look like a choice bit of calico tonight," Edward said, his voice low and seductive.
"Thank you," Florence said.
"One of these nights I want to take you out somewhere truly spectacular, especially now that our relationship is out in the open," Edward said.
"What kind of spectacular place?" she asked
"There's this great hotel I know where we could truly express our love, and maybe even get married," Edward said.
"That sounds wonderful. You can take me there anytime you like, we could even go tonight," Florence said.
Edward chuckled, "I wish we could, but it's an expensive place," he said. Before Florence could respond he continued, "I was thinking about maybe joining the juice runners. I wouldn't get to see you as often, but I could save up for a night at that hotel or even an engagement ring."
"Oh Edward, both of those things would simply be the Bee's knees," she leaned into to kiss him only to hear her mother fake a cough behind her before their lips could touch.
She was already in her pajamas, a frown filling her entire face. "It is getting quite late, I believe it is time for your beau to go."
Florence sighed and settled for a long embrace instead and walked Edward to the door. He left and she started towards her room to change, but her mother stopped her with her voice.
"Florence May Nolan did I really just hear that boy say he wanted to sell alcohol?! That business is illegal and the people involved in it are bad news. If your beau gets involved in that I don't think I want you to see him anymore."
Florence took a deep breath before she spoke to stop herself from yelling. "Mother, Juice runners , and nectar makers shouldn't even be considered criminals, Prohibition is pointless since everybody whose anybody still drinks. Only Bluenoses like you and Abraham are against it."
"Abraham is your father, have some respect, and call him as such."
"No, he's my stepfather and was my uncle, in case you've forgotten that." Florence knowing it would hurt her mother and sure enough hurt filled her face. However, it did end the argument which allowed Florence to go to bed without even a small remark from her mother.
Link
Based on what she witnessed, the little girl was learning new words every day and picking up walking pretty quickly as well. From the doorway to her half-brother's room she even watched her take her true first steps, her mother didn't even seem to notice that Florence was watching. Before too long Ruth would be a mover and a talker, perfect for the modern era.
Before Florence knew it, it was Ruth's birthday and a huge party was thrown in her honor. Edward, Florence noticed, was not invited. Otherwise, the party went on without a hitch and after lunch, Ruth blew out her candles and aged into a child.
Several more dull, uneventful days followed Ruth's birthday party. The only thing that shook up the doldrums that followed was when Florence's parents put together Ruth's "Big girl" room as her half-sister called it.
All the while Florence didn't talk much with her parents, she had secret visits to make with Edward and tea and cookies with her Aunt Thelma. Her parents seemed to be fine with her silence until one morning she went to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Her step-father was sitting at the kitchen table as if expecting her. Knots filled her stomach for she just knew the moment she sat down her step-father would lecture her, probably about Edward. However, she was hungry and the conversation was going to happen eventually, so she took some leftovers from the fridge and sat across from him.
Sure enough, as soon as she was seated her step-father put down his fork and turned his attention to her. "Florence, your mother, and I are worried about you."
"What could you possibly be worried about?" she asked with more ice in her voice than she intended.
"For whatever reason, you've be lashing out a lot lately and making poor decisions. Your mother suggested that you may have been feeling a little left out lately, and we both had to admit that we've been focusing a lot on Clifford and Ruth lately. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you? Perhaps we could go out to dinner, just you, your Mom, and me. "
It was as if her parents read her mind and when she'd remember this conversation, years later she'd wish she'd accepted her step-father's olive branch and left Edward and all her other poor decisions behind her. She could have avoided a lot of heartache that way, but when the offer was made she was seventeen-years-old and full of bitterness and rebellion.
Instead of accepting the branch, she grew defensive. "What poor decisions are you talking about out? The people I choose to associate with? The man I choose to love? I think the decisions I've made are perfectly fine!"
"Florence you don't understand, The Jones' are involved with some dangerous people, many I've personally arrested. I don't want you to be pulled into their lifestyle, you could get hurt, like many of the witnessed we've spoken to that led to the capture of those dangerous people." her stepfather said, his voice entirely level and calm.
"What so dangerous about juice running?" Florence asked.
"The juice runners and nectar makers have practically created a criminal empire of the stuff, of course they're dangerous."
"Those you call dangerous, I call rebels. Prohibition is a dumb law."
"Clearly I can't get through to you, so your mother and I will have to go to plan B. Starting in January you will be enrolled in a finishing school until you graduate. Hopefully, they can help you see reason." her stepfather said and the argument was over.
A few weeks after the argument the bus that would take Florence to Madame's Finishing School For Girls arrived early in the morning before the rest of her family woke-up. It gave her the opportunity to say goodbye to Edward. He met her on her porch and they started a conversation about the weather.
It felt silly and pointless with Florence's departure hanging over their heads. When she couldn't take it anymore Florence pulled Edward towards her and gave him the best goodbye kiss she could give.
They broke apart and for a moment Edward just stood on her porch, shocked.
However, just as Florence began to feel guilty about kissing him without asking he broke the silence. "I'll miss you too, Doll. Promise to write?"
"Of course," Florence said.
They kissed one more time before Florence climbed on the bus, away from Edward and life as she knew it.
Author's Note: I never actually sent Florence to boarding school in my playthrough, but there really was a large gap of Gameplay in Florence's "teenage years" where she didn't really go on a date with Edward or do anything interesting until she aged up into a Young adult. I figured sending her to finishing school would be a good way to explain that gap storywise.
Link
Still, even after she aged up and gained all the powers being a young adult granted her she still didn't hear from Edward. He didn't even call her even though many of her letters contained her graduation date and telephones were being used more frequently. Once more she convinced herself that he was just busy, although some annoying doubts did start to creep in, like fears that he was cheating on her. She tried to brush the doubts off as ridiculous, but the none-the-less they lingered. The best she could do was distract herself long enough to stop dwelling on her doubts. Edward would call she just had to be patient.
Three days passed since her return home and still, she hadn't heard anything from Edward. She was almost ready to admit that her doubts were true until she went to the beach near her house and spotted a very familiar man. Like her, he'd matured and grown, but it was Edward, without thinking she ran over and embraced him. He stiffened at first, most likely because Florence had grabbed him so suddenly, but eventually he hugged her back and for a long time they just stood there in front of all of Roaring Heights just holding one another.
Edward broke away first and asked, "Doll, what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come to the beach and unwind and then I saw you which made my day even better!" Florence said.
"Mine too," he said, a little distantly, but Florence didn't think too deeply about it since it had been a couple of years since they'd seen each other last. Naturally, things were going to be a little awkward at first.
" I missed you so much! Where have you been and why did you stop writing to me? You aren't in trouble are you?" She was only half kidding about the last part.
He took a small step back from her. "Because Juice running is still illegal, I have to move around the operation a lot. There were some days the police got real close, your dad included. It would have simply been unwise and unsafe for me to disclose my location to you."
"Abraham is just my step-dad. I'm so sorry he gave you so much trouble," Florence said.
"Don't worry about it most pigs are stupid," Edward said, Florence laughed and there was a pause where they just gazed into one another's eyes before Edward spoke again. "I do have money now and there's a real nice speakeasy around here that I would love to take you too, so we can celebrate being reunited."
Florence hesitated for a moment because speakeasies were still illegal, but only a moment. "I'd love too, but let me go home and change and change first, I'll meet you back here in about an hour."
"I'll see you in a few," Edward said.
At their date following their reunion on the beach both Florence and Edward agreed that for the time being they needed to keep their relationship a secret, even from Aunt Thelma, but they still saw plenty of one another. Even when life made it so they couldn't go on actual fates, Edward called her on the phone and they would talk long into the night, although they had to keep their voices low so no one in Florence's family would catch on.
The secrecy felt a little ridiculous at times, but somehow it still made Florence's relationship with Edward all the more thrilling. However, within a few months, even that thrill started to wane weeks later when they still had to keep their relationship a secret. Florence wanted to be able to talk about her relationship with someone. Not to mention if she and Edward ever wanted to marry her parents would eventually find out. This desire to be open about her relationship came to a head the morning of Edward's graduation from a local community college. He'd explained to her shortly after they reunited that he took classes so he could appear as normal as everyone else, despite his main job being a juice runner. Not to mention college was also a great place to find new customers. Florence thought his plan was brilliant and more than anything she wanted to watch him graduate and it felt wrong to simply lie to her family about where she wanted to go that morning, graduating any sort of college was a huge accomplishment that shouldn't be hidden.
That morning she woke up determined to tell her family about her and Edward's relationship at breakfast.
As always everyone was already grabbing food and setting around the dining room table, at least everyone except her step-dad.
"Mom, is dad sleeping in today?" Florence asked.
"No, he had some business to attend to at the station," her mother said.
That made things a little more difficult, but her mother could always pass the information to her father when he returned home. However, wanting to confess and confessing were two different things and Florence simply couldn’t bring herself to reveal her relationship with Edward because she knew it would lead to an argument and that was something neither Clifford nor Ruth needed to see.
Eventually, though her mother offered her the perfect moment to confess. " I've noticed that you've been speaking on the phone an awful lot lately. Did you meet someone special while you were away at school?"
It was meant to be casual, light breakfast conversation, but her mother's simple question made it impossible for Florence to hide her relationship. "Yes, actually ran into Edward a few weeks back and we started seeing each other again."
Her mother immediately set her plate down on the table before briefly turning her attention to Clifford and Ruth. "You know, it is a lovely day outside, why don't you two go play out there for a little while."
Her half-siblings immediately got up from the table and headed towards the door.
"Oooh, Florence is in big trouble," Ruth said just before she and Clifford were out the door and out of earshot.
"Why that boy of all people?" her mother said, but she didn't sound angry, just worried which made the whole situation worse. "He didn't speak to you for years and now he suddenly wants you in his life again. I don't like it, Florence."
"He was just busy with college," Florence said, no need to remind her mother that he was involved with juice running. "In fact, I'm going to his graduation today whether you like it or not."
She expected her mother to yell, plant her feet in the ground and tell her she couldn't go, but that's not what her mother did. "As long as that's all he's been busy with that's fine, just be careful I don't want you to get hurt," her mother said. The yelling would have been easier to deal with and she'd feel less guilty and immature.
"Fine. I'll see you tonight," Florence said and headed towards her room to change. Her mother didn't stop her.
After the graduation ceremony, Florence waited for Edward and the other graduates to exit the courthouse. She quickly spotted Edward and immediately ran over to him. His family was nowhere in sight.
She moved to hug him he pushed her back. "Careful people might start to suspect that we're together."
"Don't worry about that," Florence said and moved a little closer to her beau. "I told my mother about us this morning, we don't have to hide out love any longer."
Assuming he'd agree with her, Florence broke the distance between them completely and kissed him full on lips.
Instead of kissing her back though he pushed her away again. "You don't understand. Your father is still a pig and last night some of his fellow coppers picked up some of my friends from work. Odds are they interrogated them and know all our identities by now. People can't know we're dating, for both your safety and mine. "
Suddenly Florence knew just what kind of "business" her father had at the station and her mother would soon know that her daughter's beau was still a juice runner.
"I'm so sorry, Edward," Florence said.
For a brief moment, she swore Edward's face may have turned red with anger, but it quickly faded. "It's all right, Doll you didn't know any better. However, it would be best if perhaps we took a break, just long enough to let everything die down.
"Okay, I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
They parted ways and Florence's heart ached. In hindsight, she should have listened to it a little closer, if she had she would have ended her relationship with Edward right then and there.
Link
Thanks. There is a way to calculate time if you read the original Decades Challenge rules by ZombieCleo, but I really don’t bother with all that, personally I just change the decade when the next heir is in their last four days as a teenager or even as old a a Young adult. However, If you want to calculate time here’s a link to the latest version of the rules(originally for the Sims 4): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BlzYMuvOyaCRZTV0nB2YCnw60WzfogThkKhaZ75x0Zk/mobilebasic#
Link
A few hours later the two of them met up in a nearby park.
After exchanging greetings and gossip Aunt Thelma turned the conversation toward a more serious topic. "This catching up has been wonderful, but I get the feeling you have something in particular on your mind."
"Yes I do actually, " Florence said. "You see I met this boy and we've been together a long time, but there are times I feel like he's avoiding me or something."
The light mood of their earlier conversation vanished. " I assume this boy you're talking about is Edward Jones " Aunt Thelma said.
"Yes. How did you know?" Florence asked.
"There were a lot of people at that college graduation when you kissed him, right there in broad daylight. Now, stop dodging the question; what is it that you really want to ask me?"
Florence lowered her voice to a whisper and moved closer to her aunt. " I don't get to see him very often because he is a juice runner and as you know my father works for the police, so we can't exactly meet for normal dates and such. I also know that you are a juice runner yourself and I was hoping that perhaps your organization needed another member."
Aunt Thelma smiled then but quickly changed her expression back to something more serious. "Are you absolutely sure you want to join us? You could get in serious trouble."
"I'm sure," Florence said and Aunt Thelma's smile returned.
"All right then, come to the old warehouse in North Roaring Heights late tonight and we'll find you a job. The combination on the lock is 6642." Florence nodded and was about to walk away before Aunt Thelma stopped her with her voice. "One more thing before you go," Aunt Thelma said.
"What?"
Her aunt crossed her arms and appeared a little smug before she winked. "I'm a nectar maker, not a juice runner. I am an artist."
"I'll keep that in mind," Florence said before the two of them parted ways.
Night fell and long after Florence's family was asleep she left the house and caught a cab and asked the driver to take her to North Roaring Heights, without giving away the exact location of the warehouse.
When she got out the cabby stopped her for a moment. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss? This isn't exactly the most lady friendly part of Roaring Heights."
"Trust me, I'll be fine," she said after giving the cabby a generous tip.
When the cab driver disappeared from sight though and the dark of the late hour engulfed her, it did feel like there were several eyes watching her from somewhere within the darkness. She picked up her pace and eventually broke into a run, at least until she was within a few feet of the warehouse. At that moment she slowed down to keep her dignity intact and approached the warehouse door.
It was an enormous structure of cement and metal and surrounded by garbage and old crates. It was a far cry from the Art Deco fair throughout the rest of Roaring Heights and the lock looked ancient and somewhat rusted, but the combination worked and the door opened with a loud creak. Florence stepped through the doors and closed them behind her. After that, she entered a hallway dimly lit by torches. Coming from inside were muted bits of conversation far ahead of her. Her heels clicked on the cement floor and echoed throughout the hallway. For a moment she wanted to turn around and forget about the job, but she ignored those impulses and kept moving forward. When she reached the overstuffed, but comfortably sitting room full of her future co-workers her fears turned into thrill and rebellion. She walked further into the room still and her heartfelt light as a feather when she spotted Edward for the first time in a long time. He was talking to an amazonian woman with dark hair. She wore one of the shortest flapper dresses Florence had ever seen, or so it seemed at the time.
At first, they didn't seem to notice her and the woman moved a little closer to him.
"Edward Jones, who is this lovely lady you're talking to?" Florence asked as politely as her jealously would allow.
Edward immediately backed away from the other woman. "This is my co-worker, Virginia Black. What are you doing here?"
"After missing you terribly and talking to Aunt Thelma about it, I decided to become a juice runner too," Florence said.
"This young lady must be your girlfriend, Florence. She's awfully young." Virginia said.
"I'm not much younger than Edward," she said. It was a poor defense that sounded childish, but it was the only response Florence could come up with at the time.
"May I have a moment with my girl?" Edward asked Virginia.
"No problem," she said before she moved over to a table with a champagne fountain surrounded by wine glasses on top of it.
"If your father ever found out you were working for us..." Edward started.
"He's not going to find out I'm working for you guys. Besides I'm an adult, he can't tell me what I can and cannot do." Florence said, looking back she never sounded less like an adult in her entire life.
"I'm not sure we have any openings," Edward said
Before Florence could correct him, an older man, possibly in his mid-forties approached the two of them. "Who is this lovely young lady who has graced our presence?" he asked.
"Florence, this is Clyde Reeves, my boss," Edward said and then turned away from Florence to Clyde. "Mr. Reeves this is my girl, Florence Nolan. She would like a job, but I was just saying that we have no positions available."
"It is true that we have no positions available in the warehouse, but the leggy doll who used to serve drinks at the Palm Tree Bar just up a married, and that position is now open." Mr. Reeves said.
"I thought all bars in Roaring Heights were closed," Florence said.
"We run them.... unofficially, but we get large crowds every night. That place could definitely use a gal like you. " Mr. Reeves said.
"Working at a speakeasy just sounds like the Bee's Knees! When can I start?" Florence asked.
"Tomorrow night," Mr. Reeves said. "I'd also recommend working on your Athletic skill, just in case are juice runners are injured or arrested. Not to mention our customers at the Palm Tree Bar like a well-shaped lady."
Florence wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Mr. Reeves' comment, but at the time she really wanted the job, so she agreed to his terms. After that, she signed her work contract, kissed Edward, and headed home.
The next morning Florence rose fairly early and set-out to work out a little as Mr. Reeves advised.
As always though, her step-father was also up early and was just about to leave for work when he noticed Florence and approached her.
"Well this is new." her step-father said. "I've never seen you work-out before."
"We ladies have to watch our figure and mine hasn't been the best lately," Florence said, it was a poor lie since it wasn't something she cared about until she met Clyde Reeves.
Her step-father's face grew serious. " Some of my neighborhood watch saw you talking with your Aunt Thelma in the park yesterday and another was doing his North Roaring Heights rounds and he saw you get out of the cab and head towards some old warehouses. Let's step inside and have a little breakfast and a chat."
In a last-ditch effort to avoid an unpleasant conversation, Florence said, "Won't you be late for work?"
"Yesterday I was promoted to Cheif of Police, I can be a little late to work." her step-father said.
With no other choice, Florence followed him back inside the house. Ruth was at the table, but her father sent her away before he took a seat. Nervously, Florence took a seat next to him.
"What are your thinking? " her step-father asked. "Your Aunt Thelma is a person of interest and my crew has been watching that warehouse for a few days now as a suspected juice-runner hide-out. Why on Earth were you over there last night?"
Florence attempted to dodge the question. "I didn't know Aunt Thelma was a person of interest."
"No, but I bet you knew she was a juice-runner."
Florence stood up from her seat. "Aunt Thelma is a nectar-maker, not a juice runner. Besides those people shouldn't be considered criminals anyways. As far as I know, they haven't caused anyone, any harm!"
Her father stood up as well, but more slowly and far less emotionally than she did. "A couple of my officers have been injured by them. Thankfully nothing serious, but who knows what else they are capable of."
"They wouldn't be injured if they just left well-enough alone! Besides being part of the group is the only way I'll ever get to see Edward."
"I knew that beau of yours was trouble! You will break-up with him immediately because no-one under my roof will fraternize with the enemy!
Florence pushed her chair underneath the table as possible. "Fine, I won't live under your roof then. Starting now I'll find a place of my own and I will keep working for the juice-runners whether you like it or not!" With that she walked out of the kitchen and away from her step-father.
It was one of the most reckless, immature decisions Florence would ever make.
Author's Note: Please ignore the horribly anachronistic security cameras around the warehouse and athletic clothes Florence is wearing in this chapter.
Link
The house Florence found was not the best. It was a tiny, old-fashioned eyesore and though she had a view of the ocean, it was a limited view and her yard constantly smelt like dead fish, but it was hers and her parents didn't need to know any of these things.
Conveniently, she was also too busy for her parents to visit, especially her step-father who she feared would only want to come over to interrogate her about the place she worked. Luckily, even if he managed to come over, she wouldn't have anything to tell him; Mr. Reeves and even her own beau made sure she had plausible deniability and told her little about anything beyond what was required for her work as a bartender, which had little to do with the organization's true purpose. Mr. Reeves also mislead her about her position. While other speakeasies in Roaring Heights did get large crowds every night, The Palm Tree was not one of them. The bar had people who would stop by regularly, but it wasn't quite as popular as others. The clientele were mostly male day drinkers who constantly compared her to the girl who worked there previously. Florence found herself relieved that most of the time the bar was quiet and nearly empty and she could drink as many of the bottom shelf drinks for free, which made her time there bearable.
To make matters worse she still didn't see Edward very often. He'd never stop by her house even when she invited him and only stopped by The Palm Tree every now and then before rushing off after a quick kiss and some excuse about how busy he was as a juice-runner. It was during these moments that Florence would wonder if perhaps she'd be better without Edward, but then he'd send her an expensive gift or a beautiful letter and she'd forgive him immediately and believe whatever excuse he made that day.
Her life went on just like that for months and she never expected it to change, until it did. The change began the day before Leisure Day, almost a whole year after she started her job at The Palm Tree Bar. That day she had a bad customer, after bad customer who insulted her looks or touched her without getting her permission first. One customer even brought in a small dog that not only yapped the entire time he was in the bar but chewed on the furniture as well. When Florence confronted the customer he yelled at her and left without tipping her.
The next day Florence called Edward to vent. He actually listened and they talked an hour more after that. He even invited her to a party he was throwing later that night.
"Consider the party an apology for me putting work first lately," Edward said.
"That sounds great! See you there." Florence said and hung up the phone.
She arrived at Edward's house a few hours later. The front door was wedged open and the sound of rich Big Band music drifted from Edward's backyard and filled the house with a festive atmosphere. Florence practically skipped inside her heart light as a feather in anticipation of seeing her beau. Within a few moments, she spotted him chatting with a man she didn't recognize.
Edward immediately turned away from him and walked towards Florence. "You look Beautiful, Doll," he said and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her in a way he hadn't done since they were teenagers.
" This Dame is much prettier than your last one, younger too," his friend said, until that moment Florence had forgotten he was there.
"Edward, what is he talking about?" Florence asked, "As far as I know, I'm the only "dame" you've had."
His friend seemed like he was about to elaborate, but Edward interrupted him, "Don't mind him, he's already zozzled and doesn't know what he's saying," Edward said and moved her outside where a champagne fountain was located. "How about I get you a drink and then perhaps we can find a nice corner to do some more kissing,"
At that point, Florence should have left, but she was enjoying Edward's attention far too much and had been lonely for far too long, so she let him get her a drink and several more after that, they also did quite a bit of kissing. After that, the rest of the night was a blur, but one moment stands out. One where they left their cozy corner and found a bedroom.
The next day she woke up terribly hungover, but Edward was still right next to her in the bed. For just a moment she really thought the two of them could make it work and she didn't regret her actions at all. Even years later she still wouldn't regret her choice because, in the end, it would put her on a much better path.
Link
At the time she and Edward were seeing a great deal of each other, so without hesitation, she invited him to a nearby beach and told him the surprising, but good news.
He seemed thrilled about the idea and asked to feel her stomach. She obliged.
For while Edward spent any time he had with Florence and then three months before her due date they went out to a silent movie. Although it was bold, at the end of the night Florence asked him if he wanted to move in with her. Edward hesitated a little but agreed to her proposal.
"We have a child together after all," Edward said.
"Oh Edward you've just made me the happiest gal in Roaring Heights!"Florence exclaimed and they kissed.
Her bliss didn't last long though and not long after they moved in together, Edward started making late-night phone calls, putting long hours in at work and didn't spend as much time with Florence as he had been. It was as if they were no more than roommates.
Two things brought Florence happiness throughout the ordeal: anticipation for the arrival of their child and man named Thomas Frasier who moved in next door. The house next door had always been a loud one, whoever owned it tended to throw parties whenever he got the chance.
Neither Florence nor Edward were ever invited to their neighbor's get-togethers, so Florence thought little about him. One day however an old beat-up automobile pulled into the house's drive. At first, she thought the car belonged to just another guest, but when about a week past and the car was still there she grew curious about the newcomer. One night, mere weeks before her due date, Edward was gone so she decided to knock on the door.
Florence heard music and barking dogs coming from inside. No one answered for a good few minutes so, she didn't expect anyone to answer. She was about to go back home but Thomas opened the door a little hesitantly.
"Welcome to the party, who is calling?" he asked in a thick accent of some sort.
"I'm sorry, I'm not a guest. I just saw that someone new moved in and I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Florence Nolan and my...beau and I live next door," It was only then that she thought about her current condition and what Thomas might think since she and Edward weren't yet married.
Thomas didn't seem to notice her hesitation "My name is Thomas Frasier. I'm from Champs Les Sims, there is... trouble brewing back home so I moved in with a cousin of mine here in Roaring Heights. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Nolan."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Frasier." Guilt welled up in Florence's chest when she realized that she didn't want to leave and return home to her empty house, but Edward would be returning home soon, so she turned away from the front door. "I have to go, but I hope to see you around."
"Me too," Thomas said.
During the last few weeks of her pregnancy, Edward went on a business trip to the city of Bridgeport, and Florence was left all by herself. She and Thomas talked off and on throughout, but both of them were careful not to do more than that. Edward didn't make it home until a couple of days after Florence went into labor, so she had to swallow her pride and call her mother so she had someone to take her to the hospital and just be there with her. After almost twenty hours of labor, Florence gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Maxine Thelma Nolan. She was so overwhelmed by emotions, both good and bad, that she burst into tears and her mother held her until she settled.
When Edward did finally meet his daughter, Florence saw him in an entirely different light and resented him for missing his daughter's birth, but she didn't say anything, at least not at the time, it was supposed to be a happy occasion, but still, her priorities were shifting.
This was only made worse by the fact that Edward still wasn't home often, so they started fighting constantly, over every little thing, some reasonable like Edward's late nights, others not so much, like what they wanted for dinner.
To stay sane sought solace in visits with her mother so she could get to know her granddaughter (things were still tense with her step-father) and long, late-night phone calls with Thomas, both agreed it would feel like cheating if they did more than that.
Although her and Thomas's relationship remained platonic, Edward would yell at her when he caught her talking to him on the phone.
"Who are you talking to now!? " he'd yell. "A lover perhaps?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Where do you spend all your late nights? Who do you talk to late at night?"
After that, they'd drop the argument and spend a few days not speaking to one another. At the time it felt like they were trapped together because of Maxine.
Those feelings completed evaporated the following fall, shortly after they received an invitation from Thomas to a house party a few days before Spooky Day. Florence was making some final adjustments to her outfit when she got a call from her mother. She sounded like she was the verge of tears.
"What wrong?! Are you all right?" Florence asked
"We're all fine, but Abraham and I were taking a walk in the park when we saw Edward with a tall, dark-haired woman. I'm sorry, Florence they were quite...intimate," her mother said.
"Thank you for letting me know mother, I'll talk to him about it," Florence said, keeping her voice and level as her angry would allow.
"I just want you to know that no matter what Abraham and I love you very much and although we may be a little mad at your choices at times we will always be here for you." her mother said.
"Thank you,I'll keep that in mind. I love you too," Florence said.
After that, she hung up. Based on her mother's description the woman must have been Virginia Black, she should have known they were together the moment she saw them back at the warehouse. They probably broke up and Florence became Edward's back-up gal until she came back into his life and if he wanted his first choice back so be it, but she'd humiliate him for the pain he caused her first.
So, that night, when he returned home to take her and Maxine to the party. When Thomas answered the door she couldn't help but notice how nice he looked and her conversation with him made waiting for the other guests and her moment of vengeance bearable.
Finally, all the guests were in place she passed Maxine to Thomas and drew the guests' attention to her. After that, she turned to Edward and blurted out all his sins for everyone to hear. At the end of her outburst, she broke off the relationship and stared with triumph at Edward's bright, red face.
She was about to leave when Edward stomped towards her and forced her back into the house. "How dare you! After all, I've done it for you! This is how you repay me?"
"What have you done for me? All you've done is neglect me and cheat on me. Plum, You weren't even present for your daughter's birth!"
"What about recently, huh? I've been the only one working and paying for our child."
"That's because I've been on leave to raise her!"
It was at that point that Thomas walked towards them. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave and I will call the police if you go anywhere near this lovely lady's house. "
Edward started to walk away before turning one last time toward Florence. "You'll regret this Florence Nolan I can promise you that!" he exclaimed before leaving the premises.
Thomas gave Maxine back to Florence. "If you like I can walk you home, even sleep on your couch for tonight if that would make you feel safer. I won't bother you or the baby, I promise.
"I would like that very much, thank you," she said.
Thomas wrapped his arm around Florence's and walked her next door. For the first time in a long time life felt perfectly right.
Author's Note: I've been looking forward to this juicy reveal for a long. Basically what happened Gameplay-wise was that when I moved Edward in with Florence I checked his relationships and realized he had another girlfriend, so naturally, that doomed their relationship cause they had been going steady for a while when I found that out. I don't remember her actual name, but she wasn't that important, so her name became Virginia Black. Finally, I have a question for my readers: Do you prefer longer posts like this or the shorter ones I've been posting? Please let me know in the comments below.
Link
Unfortunately, those weeks also involved unemployment since no one would hire Florence due to her status as a woman with a child out of wedlock and no man in sight. Most potential employers assumed she was a loose and immoral woman. Her parents helped by lending her money and Thomas was always willing to fix anything broken in her house for free, even though most people paid for his services. She couldn't depend on others forever though, nor did she want to.
As fall was fading into winter she still had no idea how to make money and wood was not cheap. To make matters even worse the pipes in her kitchen sink froze over right as she was getting to make dinner. As always she walked next door and knocked on Thomas's door. He answered almost immediately.
"Are you busy tonight?" Florence asked.
"Nope, I just got off work. Is everything all right, Miss Nolan ?" he asked.
All at once, her emotional baggage collapsed in on Florence and her voice cracked, " No, my pipes froze over." the cracked voice then turned into tears.
Thomas rested his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll have your pipes replaced as soon as possible. I have some extra pipe leftover from a job I had today. " Much to her relief, he didn't press her further.
***
A few hours later Florence's pipes were fixed and Maxine was in bed after she ate some leftovers from dinner the night before. For a moment silence hung between, yet she didn't want to leave his side and walked with him to his door.
"Are you really okay, Miss Nolan?" Thomas asked once they reached it.
"Now that my pipes are fixed I'm great." her response didn't sound honest, even as Florence gave it.
"I mean about everything else. Are you doing okay financially I could give you a loan if you like..."
Florence cut him off. "Please don't offer me charity Mr. Frasier, my parents give me plenty of that; what I really need is a job, but no one is willing to give me a chance because of my current...status. Besides you aren't exactly wealthy yourself."
"My life is not terrible, I get by and..." before he could finish his response he suddenly winced.
"Are you all right?"
"Long day, I guess my back is a little sore," he said.
"Turn around and I'll see if I can ease your pain a little by rubbing your back. It's the least I could do. Let's go inside as well it's getting a little cold out here. "
Thomas hesitated but eventually walked inside with Florence close behind him. Once fully inside Thomas turned his back towards Florence so she could access his back. Florence rubbed his shoulders surprised at how toned they felt despite his slightly robust appearance.
He moaned a little with pleasure and Florence was stricken by the intimacy, almost domestic scene they were engaging in. Edward wouldn't have ever allowed himself to be vulnerable like this, his male pride would allow it or he'd expect such actions to lead to the bedroom. Tears welled up in her eyes again and she slowly released Thomas.
"Thanks if I had a wife..." Thomas started when he noticed the emotion welling up in her face. "What's wrong?"
Florence quickly brushed her tears away, she was acting like a child. "Nothing, it's just gotten warm in here that's all."
She doubted Thomas believed her for a moment, cause she didn't even believe herself, but he indulged her anyway. "I agree, it is quite stuffy in here and the stars are lovely tonight. How about we look at them a moment and then I'll walk you home."
Florence wasn't sure how watching stars would help, but since Thomas indulged her she indulged him in return and sat on the sidewalk in front of his house. He sat down next to her and stared up at the sky. She pretended to the same, but all she could think about was the cold cement beneath her.
They were silent for just a moment before Thomas broke it. " Do you remember when we met I told you I left Champs Les Sims because of troubles brewing back there?"
"Yes. As I recall you never told me what those were, do you want to specify what kind of troubles you faced?" Florence said.
"Yes. The war ripped through my home country when I was a boy. It felt as if just about everything was going to be destroyed, even now I get letters from my family saying how much poorer everyone has become." Thomas said.
"I'm so sorry. It can't compare, but my birth father died fighting in the war and I never met him. I was lucky that I lived in Salmon Woods at the time and had my mother and my step-father." It was a realization that hit her all the sudden, but instead of wanting to cry or runaway she felt relieved to get it off her chest, this was swiftly followed by guilt. " I should have listened to them. If I did perhaps I wouldn't have screwed up my life as much as I have."
"You didn't let me finish," Thomas said before shifting into a more comfortable position. "Despite all that I found comfort in the stars, there is something so vast and endless about them. It reminds me that every bad thing is temporary even though it doesn't feel like it at time. There is always hope for change, as long as you're willing to do so."
Florence mirrored his position and immediately felt a bit more relaxed. "I guess, but I'm not sure how to fix my situation. Not that I'd want him to, but Edward is not coming back and I'm still a woman who had a child out of wedlock.
"Do you really regret having Maxine that much?" Thomas asked.
"No, of course not I wouldn't trade her for anything."
"Then why dwell on things you can't change? All you have to do is find a way to move forward. Perhaps you can start by making a wish on that shooting star. " He said and pointed towards the sky.
She was caught off guard by his statement but moved her eyes and indeed there was a falling star and as silly as it was at the time she made a wish for her to be pointed in the right direction moving forwards. As it faded from the sky the wind picked up and chilled Florence a little taking her out of the moment.
"Perhaps you should walk me home now," she said.
"You're probably right," Thomas said and they stood up.
However, the two of them didn't move towards her door immediately. They stood looking at one another as if expecting the other to take some sort of action. Before Florence could stop herself she leaned in, pulled Thomas closer, and kissed him.
The potential consequences of her actions didn't fully hit her until Thomas kissed her back and she immediately broke away from him as heat flooded her cheeks.
"Just consider that a thank-you kiss," she blurted out before she ran into her house and slammed the door behind her.
As she climbed into bed she wondered if perhaps she deserved her current situation. Only a woman of easy virtue was as forward as she was, especially when she already knew the consequences of such behavior. If she couldn't keep her hands to herself then she needed to end her and Thomas's friendship. Of course, that would prove a lot harder to do than she initially thought.
Author's Note: Because of the fact that I didn't write down any plot ideas I had while playing this part of the challenge to remind myself why I took the screenshots I did, this was a hard chapter to write, hints the shortness(the 1900s and 1910s parts were easier cause they were fresher in my mind when I was writing them). I hope that didn't stop this chapter from being enjoyable to read despite that. I can also assure my readers that the rest of the Decades going forward have more notes attached to them and should be better because of that.
Link
For the first hour or so of the visit, they caught up. One of the first things she found out was that Ruth and Clifford were teens now, in fact, Clifford was about to become a young adult who had already been considered for the police force. In exchange, Florence told her parents all about Maxine's milestones, but eventually, they ran out of the small talk and silence filled the house besides Maxine's babbling. Her mother made an excuse to take Maxine outside and Florence was left alone with her step-father, although it was getting easier to ignore the step part altogether, although she wasn't entirely ready to do so just yet.
"Abraham, I need some advice," Florence said.
"Edward isn't causing you any trouble, is he? If needed I could send a task force to follow him and get him for something. I know many people on the force who would love any excuse to lock him and his gang firmly behind lock and key. " her father said.
Florence shook her head. "No, I haven't seen Edward since he fired me. This is about my neighbor, Thomas Frasier."
"Is Mr. Frasier causing trouble for you and Maxine?" he asked.
"Not at all in fact he's been helping me out a lot with issues around the house for free. The issue is with me, I kissed him and the last thing I need to do is get involved with another man. Is there an easy way to cut a friend out of your life?"
Florence's step-father suddenly needed to dust off his pants and straighten his suit jacket. " If he wants to help you, I say let him, as for the other part of that, I think that's a question you should ask your mother."
As if right on cue her mother returned to the kitchen and passed Maxine to Abraham. He happily took her and left the room in a hurry.
"How odd." her mother said, "he almost looked uncomfortable. Do you have an explanation for that Florence?" her mother asked
It was obvious to Florence that it was a rhetorical question, so she didn't bother dancing around the subject. "I need advice and Abraham didn't have any to give me."
"What advice do you need?" her mother asked.
Unlike with her step-father, she'd mentioned Thomas to her mother more than a few times since their relationship started to recover, so she cut right to her issue. "I kissed Thomas, and now I need to know how to cut him out of my life."
"Why do you want him out of your life, I thought the two of you were friends?"
"We are and that's the problem," Florence said. "It just seems like I can't keep it that way, so he for his sake and mine, I shouldn't keep him in my life."
"That's a little extreme, don't you think? Besides do you really just want to stay friends or are you simply afraid to lose your heart again?" Florence didn't have a response, and so she remained silent. Her mother seemed to realize this and continued. "Just go home and think about it. I'll tell Abraham that you had a headache and needed to go home."
For the next couple says Florence avoided Thomas and focused all her attention on Maxine. All the while her mother's advice lingered in the back of her mind.
Maxine grew a lot during those few days, but she also realized her mother was right, she missed Thomas horribly. Eventually, she shoved her fears to the side, walked next door, and invited him over for dinner later that evening.
"We need to talk about what happened a few days ago when I kissed you," she told him.
He agreed and promised to be over as soon as he got off of work. Preparing for his visit proved to be a monumental task though as that same day Maxine got a few more teeth and was fussy the entire day. Florence barely managed to tidy up her house and prepare a salad to serve Thomas.
When he knocked on the door, Florence's hair was still a mess and she wore the same outfit she wore the day before.
"You look like you've had a rough day, is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, in the background, Maxine was crying.
"Probably not. Maxine is teething and has been in pain all day. Unless you can help that I don't think there's anything you can do. "
"I have a spare bottle of bootleg juice back home, perhaps that would help."
" I'm really not sure that would..."
Thomas cut her off with a laugh. "I'm just kidding, but perhaps it would help us get through the evening."
At that Florence smiled and oddly enough Maxine's crying stopped and she toddled toward the door. She turned her wide, purple eyes towards Thomas. Apparently, the strange man her mother was talking too was interesting enough that she forgot about her pain. Thomas leaned down to pick her up but briefly glanced over to Florence as if to ask if he could. She nodded.
Maxine cried at first, but then Thomas bounced her up and down just a little and she stopped. She was once more interested in her mother's visitor enough that she forgot her aching gums. He tickled her and she actually giggled. From that moment until Thomas put her to bed she was completely content. It warmed Florence's heart to see her feeling so much better, even if it was only for an hour or so.
Once she was asleep though turned their attention back to the purpose of Thomas's visit. Florence walked into the kitchen and placed two plates of salad on the table. Thomas sat in front of one of the plates and Florence sat across from him.
For a moment only the clinks of forks were heard before Florence broke the silence. "Mr. Frasier, where do you see our relationship going?"
"I'm comfortable with wherever you see our relationship going," Thomas said.
"I appreciate that but I really need to know where you would it to go,"
"If you really want to know, Miss Nolan, I think you're the Bee's knees. You're beautiful and smart and I want you in my life more than anything. However, I can also understand why, that despite what happened a few days ago, you aren't wanting to rush into a new relationship. Where do you see this relationship going?"
Florence felt her cheeks getting red again, but this time it didn't bother her. "Thank you for those wonderful compliments," she said. "I also want to see where this relationship goes, but for Maxine's sake I want to take things slow."
"As you wish," he said just as he finished his salad. "Would it be too much to ask you to watch the stars with me again?"
Florence finished her salad as well and sat her fork aside. "Not at all. The view from my backyard by the ocean is pretty great if you don't mind the smell of fish."
"If I was sitting next to you I wouldn't even notice. Although, I recommend grabbing out coats."
After that, the two of them stepped outside, found a comfortable place in the sand, and looked up toward the stars.
The winter night was brisk, but after Florence moved a little closer to Thomas she didn't even notice. Their hands interlocked and she realized she couldn't imagine her life without him, even if she couldn't admit it allowed it allowed at the time.
Author's Note: Would you readers prefer I move this to another website like WordPress or something? It's a little extra effort, but I would do that if you all preferred to read this that way. Also if I moved this story, should I cut the 1890s part? I know it's part of The Decades Challenge, but at the start of this challenge, I didn't intend to record it as a story and as a result, the 1890s part is quite boring and rushed. Please leave all your thoughts and feelings in the thread. Thank you.
Link
Link
About a week after Thomas and I officially began our relationship, Maxine's birthday rolled around again and she became a child.
It wouldn't be long until she noticed what was going on between Thomas and me and she'd have an opinion on it. Rather than let her bring up those opinions on her own I decided that I may as well hear them now, so I grabbed a piece of cake, sat on the couch, and crossed my ankles.
"Maxine, there are some things we need to talk about. Would you join me over here on the couch?"
Maxine grabbed a piece of cake as well and sat next to me. "This is about Mr. Frasier, isn't it?" she said as she crossed her own ankles as if to mimic me.
"Yes," I said genuinely shocked. How old was Maxine again? "How did you know?"
"One would have to be blind not to notice how much time the two of you spend together," Maxine said in the most precocious tone possible.
I held back a laugh. " Well, do you like him?"
"He's very nice."
"I'm glad you feel that way because I'm thinking about seeing even more of him, possibly making him my beau," I said.
" Is he gonna be my new dad? " she asked, almost dropping the remnants of her cake on the floor in her excitement.
Suddenly the room felt a lot warmer."If things go well enough I suppose, but that may..." I started.
Maxine cut me off. " I hope so, cause I don't know where the other one went and I really would like a new one."
My heart broke for my little Maxine. What could I possibly tell her, that I broke up with him because he loved someone else a little more than the two of us? No, she wasn't ready for that yet, so I opted for a distraction.
"I'm glad you approve," I said before standing up and moving towards the kitchen with my empty cake dish. "Enough of this heavy talk, Grandma and Grandpa sent you a gift in the mail yesterday. If you'll wait in the kitchen I'll get it for you."
I didn't have to tell Maxine twice, she placed her own cake dish on the coffee table and in front of and headed towards the kitchen. She made about halfway there when she realized she left her dish behind. She paused and pivoted back around to where the dish set.
"Sorry, I almost forgot the dish," Maxine said.
"Thank you, but don't worry about it too much, it is your birthday after all, " I said and resumed my course towards the mailbox.
Outside was a large box, soaked through by snow, thankfully it had only been there since this morning when Clifford dropped it off, so the gift inside was still fine.
I brought it into the kitchen and sat it at Maxine's feet. Her eyes immediately lit up. Unlike most children, though she didn't tear into the box, she gently opened it as if we intended to save it. I brushed off the oddness though, too eager to see her reaction to the gift inside.
When she finally did get the box open her already bright purple eyes, grew even brighter as they fell on the dollhouse inside. At that moment all her gentleness of the past few moments was forgotten as she grabbed the dollhouse from the box, set it on the floor in front of her, and dumped the remaining contents next to it.
For a moment it seemed like she was simply going to play with it throughout the rest of the day with another word, but then paused and turned back to me.
"I can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa again so I can tell them that this is the greatest gift ever!" She said and then really did turn all her attention to the toy for the rest of the day.
I was more than happy to while away the last few hours before bedtime with a comfy spot on the couch and a book.
The next couple of months after Maxine's birthday were busy. The most important development was that Thomas helped me get a job at a bookstore as a cashier. I wasn't exactly rolling in dough and since Snowflake Day was fast approaching my hours were quite long, but it paid the bills and made me feel a little more human. My dates with Thomas were the highlights of each week. However, I may have been enjoying them too much, since, between that and the bookstore job, I had little time left for Maxine. She spent most days with her Aunt Ruth or the grandparents, not me. However, I didn't even think about how little time we spent together until Florence created an imaginary friend. It all started when I came home one day and she was building a snowman outside. She was by herself but talking to someone unseen. At first, I brushed it off since I'd watched her play pretend games even when she was quite small.
That day I'd left her with her Aunt Ruth. When I went inside to chat with my teenage sister, I noticed there was a rather grim expression on her face.
"Ruth, is something the matter?" I asked.
"I'm concerned that Maxine might be a little lonely."
"Why would you say that?" I asked, but the guilt was already welling up in the pit of my stomach. I was well aware of how wrapped up in myself I had been at that time.
"She keeps talking to an imaginary something she calls Peanut. I think it's her imaginary friend."
From there Ruth described a couple of moments she caught Maxine talking to this Peanut person and how at one point she even pretended to have a pillow fight with it.
"I'm sure it's nothing to be alarmed about," I said as much for myself as for Ruth, "but I'll cut back on my dates with Thomas a little. I'm sure he'll understand.
As promised I did my best to spend a bit more time with Maxine. We played with her dollhouse, we talked, we read books together and spent hours playing in the snow.
All of it was quite fun, but still, she played with Peanut as often as she played with me.
Full of panic and guilt I told Thomas all about my concerns.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," he said," Odds are she'll just grow out of it on her own."
He would eventually be proven right of course, but at the time I was so wrapped up in my own guilt that his assurances just washed over me like air and I continued to fret and worry over Maxine's imaginary friend. At one point I even considered straight-up telling Maxine that she wasn't allowed to play with Peanut, but thankfully Thomas stopped me before I made that particularly bad mistake.
Instead, I decided to host a Gift-Giving party on Snowflake Day, one of the few days I'd been given off since I started the bookstore job. I invited the whole family and cooked as much of a feast as I could manage on the budget I had. It wasn't impressive or huge, but my family made up the difference with food of their own. Despite my small budget, everyone seemed to have a good time, much to my relief.
The night concluded with an exchange of gifts and Maxine only mentioned Peanut a couple of times throughout the entire party. Those who she did mention him too, didn't seem bothered by it and the conversation moved onto something else fairly quickly.
Not long after that everybody went home, except Thomas. Long after the others had left and I'd sent Maxine to bed with the promise that Father Winter would pay her a visit Thomas lingered.
"Do you want to walk me home?"
"Sure," I said, but my chest was filled with palpitations, if he was about to do, what I thought he was about to do, I wasn't sure what my answer would be.
At first, the only sound heard between us snow crunching below our feet, despite the fact that at the time I swore all I could hear was the racing of my heart.
When I was almost certain my chest was just about to burst, Thomas took my hands in his and looked me directly in my eyes. "I love you, Florence Nolan." The words came out in a rush, but I caught every single one of them.
What surprised me even more though, was how I responded without a moment of hesitation. "I love you too Thomas Frasier." Just like that we'd exchanged our first I-love-yous.
Thomas pulled me a little closer and suddenly my joy shifted to anxiety. At that moment I knew, despite how I felt about Thomas, I still wasn't ready to take the next step and my stomach twisted with guilt, because I would have to tell him no.
I rehearsed exactly how I was going to reject him in my head, as much as I knew it would hurt him.
However, his next question threw me for a loop. " Would you and Maxine like to move in? My roommates have started a family of their own and moved into their own house. I have two dogs, but their nice and I think Maxine would love them and there's plenty of space for all of us. I can even get you your own room..."
Before he could ramble on any longer I cut him off with a kiss.
He kissed me back and just for a little while we hung there at that moment, not even feeling the cold wind that blew around us. Reluctantly I broke the spell and pulled away.
"I'll have to talk to Maxine about, but if she agrees I'll be more than happy to move in with you. I love you."
"I love you too," he said.
After that, we shared one more kiss before we went to our separate houses. The entire way to my house it was as if my feet weren't touching the ground and I was floating in my own love-filled bubble. We'd fully committed to each other and that should have been the only thing that mattered. However, to the sims of Roaring Heights, the way Thomas and I were doing things was simply not the proper way to do it and that's what mattered to them.
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/08/18/the-1920s-chapter-eight/amp/
Happy reading!
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/08/25/the-1920s-chapter-nine/amp/
Link
Chapter ten and the rules for the 1960s are now up. Happy reading!
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/the-1920s-chapter-ten/
Link
"The day I became a teenager came with a bad omen."
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/the-1920s-chapter-elevenmaxine/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/09/16/the-1920s-chapter-twelvemaxine/amp/
Link
"The 1920s did not end with a bang, but a painful swan song."
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/09/29/the-1920s-chapter-thirteenflorence/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/the-1930s-chapter-one/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/the-1930s-chapter-two/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/11/03/the-1930s-chapter-three/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/11/17/the-1930s-chapter-four/amp/
Link
https://videogamechallengesbykes.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/the-1930s-chapter-five/amp/
Link