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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50094795681_a70b5100b4_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50094795661_f277c4fd8d_c.jpgHe seemed thrilled about the idea and asked to feel her stomach. She obliged.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50095025572_188074a613_c.jpgFor 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50118826068_a1ab596529_c.jpg***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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119391351_ed9da2d006_c.jpgTwo 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119616077_949c155c3e_c.jpg"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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50118826003_1ec4e0be8f_c.jpgThis 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119619747_b8c8110e60_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119619702_3b18f234a6_c.jpgTo 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119619722_34cb2fd9cb_c.jpgAlthough her and Thomas's relationship remained platonic, Edward would yell at her when he caught her talking to him on the phone.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50118829533_51acf262fd_c.jpg"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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119619652_3125c89f6d_c.jpgThose 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50118829438_7f8ae15917_c.jpgFinally, 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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119613787_a02044aae4_c.jpgShe 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!"
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119814066_409a774f67_c.jpg"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.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50119832466_0c8579dd61_c.jpg"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.
