September 23, 2014
Chapter One-d: Erik’s Folly
Tristan was born at the hospital this time. Mother and child both were fine. Maddie was in a mood. Braylon was busy playing with his laboratory table and Erik prayed the child wouldn’t start a fire, or worse, blow something up, himself included. But, Erik didn’t hover. He checked in on him from time to time. Braylon seemed to have it under control. He was a bit of a Whiz Kid, Erik decided. His uncle Joe was a genius. Maybe Braylon was gifted, too.
Waiting for Sawyer was difficult. Erik tried to talk to Maddie, but she was really annoyed. He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong. He kept losing, dutifully, at cards. Kept trying to balance his time between Maddie, his children and Sawyer (not necessarily in that order). He really was trying to be a good husband. Happily, Sawyer and little Tristan made it home and gave Erik an excuse to leave the dining room, where he and Maddie sat playing endless games of Canasta at the picnic table.
After a time, they all went to bed. Maddie to the study, Braylon to what was supposed to be a sun room, and Sawyer, Tristan and Erik to the master bedroom. Erik was having trouble sleeping. Work had become strenuous, he was having a tough time keeping up. He’d also forgotten how much a new baby disrupted a night’s sleep. Several times that first night Erik was just drifting off to sleep only to be startled awake with the elongated sounds of a cat being stepped on!
The next morning, Erik stumbled out of bed, dragged himself to the kitchen for something to eat. He never did get his daily task done. Maddie complained all morning long. Nothing was right. She seemed intent on picking a fight.
“Maddie, Maddie, Maddie,” he pleaded, trying to calm her down. “I have an idea. Why don’t you go for a jog. You used to love that. When was the last time you stepped outdoors? Come on, it will do you good,” he urged.
“Shut-up! Did I ask for your advice?” she barked. Erik leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek, nonetheless.
“I have to go to work, I’ll see all of you when I get home. Maddie, try to have a nice day.
The day was long. Erik was perpetually hungry, weary, tired and sleep-deprived. Grueling, he thought the clock was stuck and would never reach the five o’clock mark. When it did, he got held over for a bit of a chat with his boss. Erik confessed that he was having ‘problems at home’ which satisfied his boss. “Next time, Erik, please just come to me. We can be very understanding here at Sims Music, Inc. Just don’t get lost. You have real talent and are quite the asset. But don’t get lazy on us. We still view you as a Serious Musician, so don’t blow it.”
“No, sir and thank you, sir.” Erik said. He grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door.
Crossing the lawn, he made it up the few steps to his front door. He came in quietly, so as not to disturb little Tristan. The kid could really wail, when he wanted to. He found Sawyer, Braylon and Maddie in the large dining room, seated at the picnic table that sufficed for a dining table, for now. Maddie was still antsy. Without thinking, Erik leaned over to peck Sawyer on the cheek. He whispered into her ear, “She been this way all day?”
Sawyer nodded. “Uh-huh. Braylon, finish your dinner and get your bath. You have your first day of school tomorrow. Hurry up, please don’t dawdle.”
Braylon took his plate to the kitchen and went to wash up. Tristan let it be known he was hungry, too. Sawyer and Erik both got up to tend to their newborn. Maddie followed closely on Erik’s heels. “So, I see how it is, mister!” Maddie began her tirade, pointing her skinny old finger at his face. “I give you everything you want, I even look away when you bring your little tart into my home. And this is what I get as a thank you?”
“Your home? It’s our home, Maddie. I am your husband.”
“You treat me more like a worn out slipper! Kissing her on the cheek when you first get home, as if she were your wife. I’m your wife! Your kisses belong to me. How dare you. How dare you flaunt it in my face. As if I don’t exist. As if I don’t have feelings. I loved you, Erik. Why or how I just don’t know anymore. I just know I’m sick to death of you and your…your… fat hussy!” Maddie, still pretty quick, grabbed up a cup and threw the contents in Erik’s face, drenching him. “This is what I think of you, mister so-called, Husband. Cheater, liar, deadbeat. Two children and another one on the way when you can’t even take care of the first one! Get out,” she seethed. “I want you out.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Maddie. I know you don’t mean what you’re saying. You are understandably upset. I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel this way. Forgive me. This isn’t what I wanted, either. I wanted to do things the right way. Believe me.”
“Believe you? Never!” Maddie stormed off and slammed the bathroom door behind her. Erik startled. He was at a loss. Of course Maddie was correct, he should have refrained from kissing Sawyer right in her presence. It was a stupid error. One he regretted instantly, even before Maddie went off on him. He deserved the chewing out he got, the entire rant. He felt like dirt. Erik waited until he heard the water flowing into the bathtub. He was genuinely worried for Maddie. She was really old, and much slower these days than she had been. He wondered if she’d gone jogging at all after he left for work. She had always been active. Always jogged in the early mornings. Always. Lately, not so much and she complained at how she ached. A twinge here a twinge there. She was looking old, frail and tired. He wanted to make her last days happy ones. But tonight, he’d royally screwed that up. She was angrier than he’d ever seen her. Hot-headed, she’d get in a snit from time to time, but never like tonight. There was no soothing her, no calming her down. She was red-in-the-face angry.
He went and checked on Braylon. The boy was busy at his lab table again. Erik shook his head, smiling. He was a lot like his uncle Joe. A bit later on, Erik decided to crawl into bed. Sawyer tended to the baby and joined Erik, shortly thereafter. As exhausted as he was, however, Erik just couldn’t sleep. He got up and headed for the bathroom. He found Braylon, whom he thought he’d put to bed, dancing in front of the bathroom door. “Braylon? Why aren’t you in bed? You have school tomorrow.”
“I gotta go pee! Aunt Maddie’s in there. She’s sure taking a long time. Oh, oh, oh, I gotta go!”
Erik, gently moved the boy aside and opened the door. “Maddie, it’s Erik, I’m coming in,” he warned. “Maddie? Oh, my God, Maddie! Maddie, oh no, Maddie. Oh, no, Maddie,” he wept. Maddie was splayed out on the cold cement floor of the bathroom.
“Mommie, Mommie, Mommie!” Braylon’s cries filled the entire house. Being so barren of furniture, his plaintive calls echoed throughout the dwelling. Sawyer jumped out of bed and followed her son. “Something’s wrong with Aunt Maddie. I think she must have slipped and broke her neck or something!”
“Wait, what?”
“Daddy found her on the bathroom floor!”
By the time Sawyer reached him, Erik was kneeling on the floor, gently rocking Madalyn. Tears streaked down his handsome face. Sawyer gulped back her own tears. She knelt down beside him, and putting her hands on his broad shoulders, she rested her head against his back. “Erik, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Is she … gone?”
“I think so.”
“Did she fall?”
“There’s no blood, I don’t see any bruising. I think she just … left.”
Sawyer got to her feet. “We should call someone,” she said, taking out her cell phone. Several minutes later the ambulance arrived, along with the police. A few minutes after that the coroner arrived to take Maddie’s body to the mortuary. Sawyer put Braylon back to bed, tucking him in nice and tight and kissing his forehead.
“Will Aunt Maddie be okay in the morning?” he asked.
Sawyer sat on the edge of his bed. “No, Sweetheart, not this time. Maddie was very, very old and it was her time to go,” she said, grasping for words. How do you make a child so young as him understand about life and death?
“Go? Go where? You mean she’s moving out? I’m going to miss her. Even if she was mean sometimes. I don’t think she liked me much.”
“She liked you fine,” Sawyer corrected. “She just had a hot temper, is all.”
“So, if she liked us so much, why did she go?” Braylon sobbed. “She made Daddy sad. That wasn’t nice of her.”
“Braylon, that isn’t nice of you to say. Yes, Daddy is sad at her passing. We’re all sad and we will miss her, too. But she’s gone now, and we’re not going to say anything mean about her, all right? Do you understand me? It’s not nice to say bad things when a Sim … goes away.”
“But where’d she go?” Braylon insisted. Erik entered the room. He gazed at his little son, far too young to understand what his mother was trying to tell him.
“Bray-bray, you know how a flower gets all limp after you pick it?” he said.
“Yeah, Aunt Maddie said it died.”
“Yes, Maddie was correct. All things die after a time. Even Sims. Maddie is like that flower that wilted and died.”
Braylon’s big blue eyes filled with tears again. “And no amount of water will make it live again,” he said, resolutely. “Maddie’s gone?”
“Yes, son, she’s gone.” With that Erik walked out of the room. Sawyer got up, re-tucked the bed and kissed her son again.
“You get some sleep, you have school in the morning.”
Sawyer worried for Erik. He was so sad, he seemed so lost. She wished there was something she could do for him, realizing that all of this time, he did still feel something for Madalyn.
