*phone buzzes*
M: Damn, when did it get so late?
A: What do you mean?
M: That’s a text from the nanny, she’s wondering why I’m so late.
A: Oh, you should get home then.
M: Yeah…hey, Athena? I’m part of a parent group here in Willow Creek, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join?
A: Sure.
They spent a long time talking about nothing in particular, Matais had forgotten why he was there. He just enjoyed talking to Athena, he enjoyed it in a way he hadn’t felt since Luz died.
It had been a few hours when he got a text from Parker’s afterschool nanny asking where he was, and he realized just how late it was.
A: Oh, it was fine. She told me about how her daddy was the new detective in town. I kind of wanted to meet you…I just wish it was under better circumstances.
M: Look, Athena, I know what’s it’s like to lose the person you love. My wife died a few years back and I fell into a really dark place for awhile. When I came out of it, I decided to move Parker and I out here.
A: She mentioned that. [small smile]
M: I really need to teach that girl about oversharing with strangers.
A: [laughs] I thought she was sweet.
A: You have a daughter too? How old is she?
M: She’s seven and quite the rambunctious scamp.
A: [laughs] Wait, did you say her name is Parker? The little cutie with the cherry blossom shirt?
M: How…do you know my daughter?
A: She was walking by one day and knocked on my door.
M: [long exhale]No matter how many times…I swear I’m a better father than that and she knows she’s not allowed to wander around the neighborhood knocking on random people’s doors.
[lying through her teeth]
A: I thought if he was willing to see a counselor, then maybe we could work it out. I agreed all for Bethany, and now her father’s missing. How am I going to raise her without him?
M: You have a daughter?
A: Yes, she’s one and a half. This is going to destroy her. She already asked where Daddy is. What do I tell her?
M: You tell her you don’t know and that you have someone looking for him. That’s what I would tell my daughter Parker.
M: Tell me about the affair.
Athena told Detective Carrera about Zoe, how Gavin started seeing her after a fight that resulted in Athena staying at a “friend’s.” He asked about the fight, she told him she didn’t remember, that it had been something trivial, maybe who had taken out he garbage or done the dishes last. It was all a lie.
She told him about the confrontation at the bar, how she had followed Gavin to Oasis Springs and caught them together. She said that would have been the end of it, that she was about to leave him. She didn’t mention Paolo, and told Matais that it had been Gavin who scheduled the therapist in a desperate attempt to save their marriage. She said she had agreed for Bethany’s sake.
M: Mrs.Craven, were you and your husband having any problems?
A: Wh-what do you mean?
M: Were you and [looks down at dispatch notes] Gavin having any marital problems?
A: You think I would, that I would possibly…?
M: I have to ask, Mrs.Craven. Now answer the question.
A: We had a few problems. They mostly stemmed from Gavin’s affair. But we had scheduled an appointment with a marriage counselor. And then Gavin suggested that before we go to therapy that we spend some time together. That’s why we went on vacation.
A: Yeah, we had gone for a weekend away. We went on a hike in the morning and somehow got separated. I was walking next to him one minute, the next I turned around and he was gone. [starts to cry] I don’t know what happened…he just…vanished.
Athena dissolved into sobs, and Matais could’t quite decide if he believed the tears.
M: And why didn’t you report him missing to the rangers, ma’am? They would have started the search while you were still there.
A: [hiccups] I th-thought he would come back. Call me a fool, but I just hoped if he had gotten lost he would find his way back to the cabin eventually.
A: Hello Detective. Thank you for coming over so quickly.
M: Oh, don’t mention it. I’ve been meaning to get around to meet the neighbors anyway.
A: [sniffles] Well, welcome to the area…
Pretend tears started to glisten in her eyes
M: Oh my God, I’m so sorry, your report. So, uhh…can you tell me what happened? You said to the operator that you were on vacation in Granite Falls?
Detective Carrera has arrived to begin the investigation.
Blue's Sims Stuff 