"A snitch? That's what they call me?" Salvatore Gaddis turned his nose up at the term.Blair Wainwright gave a little giggle. "That's what they call the entry-level position here at the police force. Snitch. I have the same job title. I'll be evaluating you. You'll be partnered with Hank Goddard. He is a traffic cop. Patrol Officer Keaton is on maternity leave at the moment. I'm sure you'll meet her soon."They continued their tour of the Sunset Valley Police Station."I do like that it's next door to the library," Salvatore said. "Around the corner is City Hall. You'll want to make sure you go and get registered as a citizen of Sunset Valley. What brings you here, if you don't mind me asking.""I'm hoping to start a family. Get married. Have lots of kids."Blair nodded. "I grew up here. My parents work at the Landgraab Industries Science Facility. They were surprised I wanted to become a cop. I'd like to go on and become an International Super Spy."Salvatore looked at her. "Do you know why the peanut called the cops?""No...?""Because it had been a salted."Blair giggled despite herself. "Oh, that was horrible.""But you laughed." Salvatore smiled. "If I may ask, are you dating anyone?"Blair looked out the window. "I'm hoping to fall in love one day. But," she turned back to him "I don't think it would be a good idea to date a fellow cop."Salvatore nodded. "I understand.""There are quite a few single women in Sunset Valley. I'm roommates with a couple of them. I'm sure you will find a good wife for you here.""I'm a cop. That means I can arrest one of them for being too pretty.""STAHP!"

"Monika, oh my Gawd, you're not going to believe this!" Madison VanWatson giggled as she spoke. "Hank Goddard and Pauline Wan broke up. And she's pregnant!""What?" Monika gasped and shook her head. "He dumped her when she was pregnant?""No, not actually. They mutually agreed they wanted to date other people."Tori Kimura stopped and listened to the gossip as well. The three were friends but, sometimes, Tori felt like a third wheel in the friendship. She wouldn't admit it publicly but she was jealous of the friendship between Monika and Madison.the three women lived together. They had a fourth roommate, Ayesha Ansari, but none of them paid her much attention. She was off, as usual, doing her own thing. Tori worked at City Hall while Monika had a job at the stadium. Madison, however, had quit her last job and needed a new one. "You're too childish," she had been told be her last employer before they let her go."I don't think I will be going after Hank," Monika said. "Sounds like he's just a player.""What about you, Tori?" Madison said with a giggle.Tori's facial expression stayed neutral. "I'm too busy with work.""Lighten up, Tori. You're too serious all the time.""I better get back to working on this ballot counting program." Tori walked back into the townhouse, ignoring their laughter.

"I forgot my number. Can I put yours?"Tori's expression remained neutral as she replied "leave it blank if you don't have a number.""Oof." Salvatore winced. Either she was that offended by his comical attempt at a pickup line or..."Oh Sweet Nancy, Tori!" Tamara Donner chuckled in amusement. Both women were listed as Ballot Counters at City Hall, although Tamara was Tori's immediate supervisor. They both worked under Local Representative Vita Alto. "He was trying to hit on you and it went right over your head." Tamara shook her head and took the completed paperwork from Salvatore Gaddis. "Thank you, sir, and welcome to Sunset Valley." It's too bad you're not rich, she thought. I'd give you my number if you were.Salvatore walked towards the exit, stopping long enough to drop a few simoleons in a jar for charity., then headed around the corner to the library.A few hours later, after he had finished reading Game of Thorns, he noticed the woman in green from City Hall working at the computer. He put the book away and then approached her."Ma'am, about earlier, I'd like to apologize if my joke was inappropriate."Tori shook her head. "Don't worry, sometimes I just don't get jokes. My friends tell me I don't have a sense of humor."Salvatore nodded. "I see." He started to turn away but then he stopped. "Is that for your job?" he asked, noticing what she was doing on the computer."Yes, I take my work home. Or, to the library, in this case.""A spreadsheet." Salvatore glanced at it then began to take some notes."Sir, you can't....""Look." He reached across and entered a few codes and the data started to compile faster."Oh, wow! How did you...?""I'm somewhat of a computer whiz," he explained. "It's just something I am good at.""I see!" She began to feed more data into the new spreadsheet Salvatore had created. "Thank you!"Salvatore smiled. "You're an incredibly hard worker. I bet City Hall is happy to have you."Tori's face lit up. "That's the kind of compliment that could get you my phone number."

"What does that even mean? You're out of the Doo Peas Corporation?" Vita yelled at her husband Nick Alto. "You're unemployed? I thought you would...."Shut up!" Nick yelled back. "I'm not out of a job. I got hooked up down at the warehouse...""Warehouse? You mean...""They had already decided it. When Gunther Goth retires, they are going to make Nancy Landgraab the next CEO. Imagine that! A woman CEO.""Oh, that's a real vote of confidence for me," Vita fired back. "I guess you don't think women can be politicians....""Oh, so now you are taking her side...""Oh, for crying out loud! Of course not! I'm just telling you; you can't assault a woman at work. You should have let me...""You can't even control your own daughter, Vita! Not only is she giving away money to charity, she's also a vegetarian! She **bleep** sure ain't my kid! Did you know she got a peasant job at the bookstore? Yeah, that despicable Hart girl's mom works there and got her that job. Imagine, an Alto working a minimum wage job like that.""Sometimes I want to choke her myself. She's also been seeing that Bachelor boy. And Parker Langerak is available and rich!""And his mom was one of the ones who was supporting Nancy Landgraab at the corporation. Move out of my way. I'm going to go run the treadmill until I pass out!"

"I just love the park," Tori said. "Green is my favorite color and the park is just filled with leaves and grass."Salvatore listened respectfully. She did love to talk about herself. She could also cook, he observed while she rolled the hot dog weenies over on the grill."The color green signifies nature, life, youth, safety, and hope," Tori continued. "Also, green has long been a symbol of fertility and was once the preferred color choice for wedding gowns in the 1400’s."Sometimes, Tori would get on a tangent and begin to ramble along useless facts about things that could cause people to die from boredom. "That is interesting," Salvatore said. "I am hoping to have a large family. I guess I better make sure to eat plenty of green vegetables then.""My favorite dish is Dim Sum," Tori said as she served the hot dogs onto the picnic table."No way! Mine too!" Salvatore tilted his head slightly. "I hear they serve a magnificent Dim Sum at the Little Corsican Bistro. Would you like to go there with me Friday night and have some?"Tori loved to eat at the bistro. The elegant decor and fine china. "That sounds wonderful, Salvatore. I'd be very happy to have dinner with you there."Salvatore smiled at her. "It's a date."

"Mom, what are you doing? I'm just...." River McIrish tried to hope this away as just a bad dream. "You're not serious. Tell me you're not serious."Fiona smiled at her daughter. "I am serious. I've left my job as an Investigative Reporter. And I have now joined the military career. I've met with Erin Kennedy. She needed some help following the departure of Jack Bunch.""This is absurd! You're too old to start a career like that. Mom....""I've never gotten to get my hands on tools and play around with fixing things. It's what I really want to do. I love writing. But...."River was almost in tears. "And if something happens and there's a war...""Oh, honey, there's not going to be a war. I'm there to learn how to repair jets. Not to be fighter pilot. Besides, before I can do any of that, I have to start at the bottom. As a Latrine Cleaner.""A Latrine...." River almost went pale. "That's toilets...urgh." She gagged a couple of times before shivering once. River was a neat freak and the thought of military toilets...."River? You okay?"River held her hand over her mouth, shook her head and went outside to get some air.

SUNSET VALLEY STORIES: THE GADDIS LEGACY

31 Replies

h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
3 months ago
Some relationships grow. Others end.
Xander Clavell dumped Tamara Donner.
Also, Gunther and Cornelia Goth are fighting some more.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
3 months ago
Iqbal Alvi and Erin Kennedy are officially a couple. As are VJ Alvi and Lisa Bunch. Meanwhile, Miraj Alvi had aged up to Teenager and got a job at Divisadero Budget Books.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
3 months ago
Madison VanWatson happily told Tori Gaddis that she had been promoted to Ballot Counter. Madison had also been flirting with Jared Frio. But, Frio was also flirting with her roommate Monika Morris.
Speaking of Jared Frio, he was promoted to Vegetable Slicer while Emma Hatch was promoted to Line Cook.
Over in the Journalism Career, Simis Bachelor was promoted to Anonymous Source Handler while Cycl0n3 Sw0rd was promoted to Freelance Writer.
In the Business Career, Nancy Landgraab was promoted to CEO and Iliana Langerak was promoted to Division Manager.
In the Criminal Career, both Ayesha Ansari and Nick Alto were promoted to Cutpurse.
In the Athletic Career, Marty Keaton was promoted to Rookie while Jack Bunch was promoted to Snack Hawker.
At Divisadero Budget Books, Dorie Hart was promoted to Book Genre Sorter.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
Job recruiters were at the local high school and Ethan Bunch, while walking holding hands with River McIrish, decided to sign up to work at the EverFresh Delights Supermarket. Meanwhile, Sandi French aged up to Child and began going to school.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
Victoria Andrews has been promoted to Professional Blogger. Does she have a best-selling novel coming soon? Will her husband's working relationship with Nick Alto find its way to print?
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
Tamara Donner dropped by the Gaddis residence to mooch a few simoleons off of Tori. She also let Tori know that she and Xander were fighting. Xander's parents always seemed to be fighting as well. It does appear that the toxic relationship between Buster and Bessie Clavell was spilling out into the relationship between Xander Clavell and Tamara Donner.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
It started out as just a chance meeting at one of the Sunset Valley chess tournaments. They met as opponents but, by the end of the evening, they bonded over their love for chess and stargazing.
Soon, Cycl0n3 Sw0rd and Fiona McIrish were dating.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
With the decision made to end their relationship and date other people, Hank Goddard and Pauline Wan decided it was in their best interest to move out and start over each in a different home.
They packed up all their personal belongings and said goodbye to the home they had been living in.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
It was supposed to be a night of celebration. Thornton was promoted to Department Head. Morgana promoted to Paramedic.
So what went wrong?
Morgana suggested now was the time to have a baby.
And Thornton absolutely lost his mind.
Thornton Wolff may be the most incomprehensible male in all of Sunset Valley. All the others, especially the rich ones, want an heir or five to pass down the family name to.
The Wolff family name may very well end with Thornton. All because he dislikes children.
After a heated argument, Thornton stormed out and celebrated his promotion with donner. Alone. Morgana sat on the patio and had a drink. Realizing she would never fulfill her lifetime wish of being surrounded by family.
Because she had married the wrong man.
h7ynnw48suqs
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
Erin Kennedy stood at attention as the board addressed her.
"Kennedy. Congratulations. You are being promoted to Flight Officer."
Erin saluted the board and waited until she was off base before pumping her fist in the air. "YES!"
She knew exactly who she was going to tell.
Her neighbor. The man she had, surprisingly, started to develop feelings for.
Iqbal Alvi.
Erin immediately made reservations at the Little Corsican Bistro. She and Iqbal were going to celebrate her promotion together.