Chapter 14. Progress
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MONDAY, 12:13 P.M.
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Already, I didn’t like this house. It looked just like every other house in this neighborhood.
“Hi Mom, thanks for coming.”
“No problem honey. I love stuff like this.” She grinned.
I wrestled with the realtor lock for a few minutes before managing to get the key out. New house smell wafted out of the open doorway.
“I don’t like this house.”
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“Eddie, you haven’t even seen it yet, really.” my mother chided.
“It’s brand-spanking new. It has no character. It’s boring.”
“It’s less likely to have plumbing problems or termites.” she countered. “Plus, didn’t the realtor say that community dues also included the payment of a lawn service?”
“Yeah. Because the yard is the size of a postage stamp.” I said in monotone.
“You can make this house your own—paint, redo the floors, whatever you want. It doesn’t have to stay this….this…”
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“Generic?”
“Oh, Eddie. You’re going to end up in some old Victorian that’s falling down around your ears and that will take fifty-thousand dollars to renovate.”
“That would be preferable, yes.” I nodded.
“You’re impossible. When will you find time to date and marry and give me grandchildren if you’re stuck working on a nasty, moth-eaten house?”
At least in this area, I could please her. Somewhat. Marriage and children were a long way off.
“Actually, I uh…Sean and I are dating.” I said, trying not to sound smug.
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She spun around and peered at me for a few moments. “You’re serious.” Her smile was radiant and…relieved.
“Yes. So can you please cut me a little slack?”
“Of course, dear. After all, you’ll have Sean to help you on whatever wreck of a house you get. And the frequent sight of that man all hot and sweaty and using power tools efficiently is sure to lead to grandchildren. I’m not picky about whether they occur before or after marriage. You have to roll with the times.”
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“How very forward-thinking of you.” I rolled my eyes.
“All kidding aside, honey? I am so happy for you. He’s handsome and exciting, and he seems like a good man. Life is so short—too short to skimp on chances to find fulfillment, pleasure, and happiness. Too short to be afraid of those things.”
“I’m…learning that. Slowly but surely. Now let’s leave this boring house and go get some food.”
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Hours later, I left my session with Dr. Garrison practically skipping.
He’d suggested we cut down our visits to twice a month. He felt I was making important progress.
Amazingly, I felt I was, too.
I sailed into Rocca Investigations and smiled brightly at Belinda in greeting.
“Hmm. It doesn’t take spidey-sense to see that someone had a great weekend.” she said.
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“I will neither confirm nor deny that assertion.”
“I’ve already seen Sean, dear. He’s wearing the same sappy grin you are.”
Before I could answer her, the door to Nick’s office swung open and Sean walked out.
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“I thought I heard you come in.” he said, taking my hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Belinda smirking. And over Sean’s shoulder, I could see Nick standing in the doorway, watching us. His look was difficult to decipher, but it definitely wasn’t an approving or pleased look. I chewed on my lip and must have looked worried because Sean added, “I told him, and it’s going to be fine. He’s cool with it.”
I relaxed slightly and gave him a small smile. “Good.”
“I have to go run some errands, but I’ll be back later. I can bring back some food.”
We agreed on pizza, and he took everyone’s order before leaving.
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“Ed, can I see you in my office?” Nick asked as soon as the door had closed behind Sean.
Once we were in his office, he came right to the point.
“Sean told me about your relationship. I’ll admit that this is new territory for me. I’ve never had employees involved with each other before and I don’t have any set policies or procedures for dealing with it. I’m not at all trying to discourage it, but I just want to make sure that we agree on some basic things—safeguards, really.”
“Um…sure. What do you have in mind?”
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“If it becomes too…distracting for you two to work together, then you’ll have to start working primarily with me.” Nick said. “If it happens, and that is a big if, I don’t want you to regard it as a punishment or a rebuke. As an intern at my firm, your safety is my responsibility. Sean admits that he has never worked in the field with someone he’s ever been romantically involved with, and he’s well aware of the possibility that doing so will impact his judgment in ways he can’t really anticipate. He’s agreed to my condition. Now I want your impression—does this sound reasonable to you?”
“Yes, that sounds reasonable.”
“Good. I’m glad.” he paused before adding, “Maybe I can have you two over sometime for dinner, with Erica. Make it a double date.”
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“Sounds like fun.” I said. “You know—you say you have no experience with this situation, but you and Erica….isn’t that similar?”
“No, it’s even worse, ethically speaking—Erica is technically a client.” Nick said, amused. “ It’s true that she often does research alongside me and we question people together, but she doesn’t go out to do surveillance with me, and if she’s searching a home it’s because she has a search warrant and a team of police with her. She certainly doesn’t pull some of the masquerading acts that you and Sean do. That’s why she hires us.”
“I guess that is a significant difference.”
“So, Sean brought me up to speed on what you found in Chestnut Park. Are you ready to start running down those people in the picture with your brother?” Nick asked, smiling.
“Definitely.” I said, smiling back.
Authorial Interjection: I installed Late Night, which means that I’m having to do without the excellent Chaos Mod Painting right now. It’s so much harder to take pictures without it! I had to resort to some of my old tricks, so I hope the pictures aren’t too disappointing. I”m hoping the Chaos Mod Painting or a suitable substitute will be available soon.
The Edith Prescott Mystery Series 
“And the frequent sight of that man all hot and sweaty and using power tools efficiently is sure to lead to grandchildren.” … OMG I laughed so hard I had to stop reading.
I’m so glad this came out before I went to work so I didn’t have to wait all day to read it! I can completely understand Ed’s reluctance with the house, those modern cookie-cutter houses have no soul. This was certainly a happy instalment for Ed, with the reduction in her therapy sessions, being able to relax that Nick now knows about her and Sean – and a very interesting double date to look forward to! Not only that, but she is about to ramp up the investigation into her brother’s disappearance.
Progress indeed!
PS – Twallan’s debug enabler can do pretty much everything the chaos painting did. Took a bit of experimenting, but I got the same results as I used to with the painting.
Illandrya: Judith Prescott gets some of the best lines in my story, LOL. I’m glad you found it amusing. 🙂
I understand some of the appeal of the modern cookie-cutter houses, but I can’t get that excited about the prospect of living in one. Repairs are expensive and no fun, it’s true, but you’re going to have to repair the cookie-cutter house eventually. Besides, some of the cookie-cutter houses are so badly built that if there’s a big storm or any weather-related incident, the house is absolutely ruined. Owning a house is such a chore that if I did, I’d want one that really made me happy–that met or was very close to my ideal house criteria, etc.. I love looking at old houses, so I guess I let that bleed into Ed’s character as well.
This is definitely a happy time for Ed, especially compared to what it has been like for the past few years. Happy characters are sometimes boring characters, but I’m hoping to keep things interesting, even if Ed is….well, happy.
I keep meaning to look into that. After today’s update, I’m getting pretty desperate…
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Liked this chapter quite a bit. I also love that Ed is so much like me. Esp. our taste in houses. I could never see her in a home like that one. I also have a feeling I am going to be cracking up when this double date comes along. Awkward much? haha
Amy: Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. I’m not a fan of the “little boxes” houses, myself. The double date should be interesting, if Erica ever lets Nick arrange it, LOL.
Oh Nick, why are you so damn sexy even when I think you’re being semi-sneaky in a subconscious way? It’s the simplest shots too. Like the one of his hands where he’s fiddling with his sleeves. Loved that one for the simple atmosphere it adds, a semi-nervousness that’s done without thinking.
And Ed’s mom, lol! I love her. So Ed wants a house with character, but at least she’s dating.
Love this. And that cover, omg, how do you keep that up every update? Adorable.
Yeah, give the debug enabler a try. It wasn’t too hard to use, and it does do just about everything. Just takes some play and getting used to.
LunarFox: See, that’s how I feel whenever I read one of your chapters! I’m thinking, “Jimmy, why are you such a sexy beast when you are obviously so freaking scary?!” Nick is rather tame by comparison, lol. I will only say that I was thrilled when he did that autonomously, because I needed him to do something just like that.
Ed once wanted a fixer-upper so it would take her mind off of Sean for a while…now she wants one because she truly likes houses with character. Her mother can certainly find a bright side in that. 😉
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you like the cover. I’m finding that I have so many ideas for them that I have to just take the first one that pops into my head, or I sit there and play with the set and costumes for ages. I play around with it long enough even when I do settle on one idea.
I’ll definitely be giving it a try. It was kinda fun to try stuff the old way, but it sure made it a pain after the initial nostalgia wore off! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
“And the frequent sight of that man all hot and sweaty and using power tools efficiently is sure to lead to grandchildren. I’m not picky about whether they occur before or after marriage. You have to roll with the times.”
Ha, I love Ed’s mother – awesome and hilarious. Classic.
I’m glad Nick isn’t forbidding Sean and Ed from seeing each other. Although, I’m betting that this isn’t the last we’ll hear about that. I still wonder if Nick has feelings for Ed.
Carla: Parts of Ed’s mother are based on my own mother. My mother is such a free spirit, especially in comparison to me. She’s the type of mother who’d take you to get a tattoo before you’re legally able to do so yourself, or who is perfectly fine handing out birth control at the first sign of sexual interest. She remembers that she was a woman before she was a mother, if that makes any sense. Ed’s mother is not quite a free-spirited as my own, but she’s so relieved that Ed is doing something so normal as dating that she’s hoping it portends even greater things. 🙂
This is definitely not the last we’ll hear about Nick’s reaction and feelings toward Sean and Ed’s relationship, though….Nick is such a cool customer. He’s so rational and level-headed about most things…it really bothers him when his feelings aren’t in accordance with reason (though his actions almost always are). I’m very much reminded of your Connor here…especially in his most recent update.
I was just about to say Nick sounds kind of like Connor. 🙂 Connor values his rationality above all else.
And Nick and Connor actually wear the same glasses too (I have a TS2 conversion of those)!
Carla: Exactly–and Connor has trouble when his feelings aren’t quite in line with his rational thoughts. That’s so funny that they wear the same glasses!
Your mother is like mine! 🙂
*off to leave a real reply*
Stacy: Ha! I knew there had to be a few more like her out there! I really didn’t deserve such a fun mother, as much of a stick-in-the-mud as I was (and am). 🙂
YAY! I was way to happy over this update. DOUBLE DATE?! WITH HIM AND ERICA!? Sounds…so…painful…I was hoping for more smouldering glances from Nick but hey, that’s how the cookie crumbles. It’s really heart-breaking about the Chaos Mod eh? I only just found it, then got Late Night three days later. Cover was amazing! Ed looked so… I don’t really know how to describe it but good! I like her with long hair.
E: Thank you! I’m delighted that you liked it.
It does sound painful, doesn’t it? But it’s definitely something that he thought he should do, and it’s something that would be expected, given his close friendship with Sean.
Smoldering glances from Nick? Hmmm…..he’d be very careful with those, if he felt the impulse to give any. 😉
It is heart-breaking, but as you can see from some of the comments there is an alternative from the amazing Twallan! I’m definitely going to check it out.
I’m so glad you liked the cover! I was trying to go for a sultry look for Ed. Some hairstyles work on her and some don’t…..as slowly as I write the story, any hair growth would take quite a while, lol. 🙂
(still reading on the sly here, so sorry for not commenting more)
Loved the update, great work as always. I could not fault the pictures in any way, you have a knack for capturing the mood of the scene perfectly as it is – mod or no mod.
Nick was not happy about the latest development, that much was clear, though he knows there is nothing he can do about it. Perhaps he merely cares about Ed the way a big brother perhaps would, but I doubt it. Oh the tensions!
Wooh! I am SO looking forward to that double date. Erica had better not stop Nick from arranging it.
Belinda is the kind of character that really tickles my funny bone, I am pleased we see her at regular intervals in the story.
Reading your reply to Carla, I think your mum sounds like a wonderful person. I bet she is the kind of parent that embarrassed you quite a lot when you were younger. 😛
I too am loving your front covers, I find myself really looking forward to see what you’ve come up with for each chapter.
Shadey: Oh! *hugs* I miss you, thank you for commenting. I know you are short on time!
Aww, thank you! On VSS, Illandrya expressed dismay at how much she’d come to depend on the Chaos Painting mod without even realizing it, and I’m suffering the same fate myself! I’m relieved the pictures still work.
You are exactly right about that insight into Nick–even if he’s unhappy about it, he knows there’s nothing he can do. Not if he wants to be a good guy.
I’m looking forward to that double date myself…I think it will be an interesting illustration of characters in ways we don’t get to see them all that often. We’ve never seen Nick anywhere except public places or Sean or Ed’s house. Seeing him in his own house should be interesting (and I’ve had the damn thing built for ages now, just waiting and waiting….).
I love Belinda myself. She sees so much…it makes me wonder if she knows more about what Nick is feeling than anyone else?
My mother did indeed embarrass me a lot when I was younger, but probably not as much as some other mothers do–after all, she was the cool mom, the one many of my friends wanted because of her fairly liberal attitudes. It had the opposite effect on me–I didn’t take advantage of many of the freedoms I probably could have had. I’m too much like my father, lol. Boring, staid, straitlaced.
Yay! I’m so happy with the reactions to the covers. I like it because not only is it great practice for posing and photoshopping, but it’s fun for breaking my characters out of their usual molds too. I’m just a kid who still loves playing with her dollies, apparently.
Thank you so much for visiting! We all miss you very much, but I know you’re working very hard!
On the second look, I could tell it was Nick in the cover. Which I love it! Where did you get Ed’s hair?
I think you did a great job on the pics – I LOVE the one of Nick’s hands and his sleeves!
I totally agree with Ed on the houses – my job for the last five years has been taking pics and tours of rental properties, and there are some floor plans that I know really really well.
Which actually our company was selling our house and our salesperson wanted me to take a tour of it. And I jumped on it because it’s 50+ years old and has character and all that.
I loved this chapter. Yes, it was happy, but sometimes happy can be interesting. Especially with you writing it. 🙂
Stacy: Thank you! When I changed Nick’s hair, the first thing I thought was, “Hmm….maybe I should use another hairstyle, because he looks a lot like Seth.” and then I thought, “And that a ….. bad thing?” And I kept it. Ed’s hair probably came from the TS3 store. It’s very Veronica Lake. 🙂
I’m so glad the pics turned out to be decent. I was actually really happy with that very picture myself, and so relieved he did that. I wanted to convey a bit of unease or nervousness, and I’m glad it worked!
See? Old houses are great. It’s an objective fact now. (Just kidding–I know there are great modern houses that aren’t cut from the same cloth as many other houses, but still…something about an old house!)
Thank you for saying that…I do worry it will get boring if Ed is happy too long, but it does seem like everyone’s picking up on some of the tension that will likely stay around for a while. 🙂
Double date! Yay! I wonder if Nick will cook or have it catered? Erica doesn’t seem the kitchenly type.
LOL Judith! I’m glad Ed’s making enough emotional progress that she can be amused by her mother when she runs way off ahead on her mind’s road toward her idea of bliss for her daughter. Now please excuse me while I refrain from making any workbench and power tool related comments… hey, who turned up the heat in here?
Maybe Ed could buy a “haunted” house! Much better than that bland little beige-on-ivory thing, although it did have pretty flowers out front.
Judith and Belinda would have a field day talking about Ed and Sean!
LOVE the shot of Nick fidgeting with his cuffs. And I love the fact that Ed is now confident enough to bring up Nick’s own little work relationship and its potential hazards. I like the forthright look on her face in the last photo.
And WOOO! Nice “Fabulous Baker Boys” style shot! Chaos Mod Painting? You don’ need no stinkin’ Chaos Mod Painting! 🙂
DB: lol….that’s an interesting observation, especially since I never, ever considered the possibility of Erica cooking. Nick will cook. 😉
Judith is definitely getting ahead of herself, but Ed is used to this aspect of her mother–and since her mother hasn’t been this hopeful with regard to Ed in a while, I’m sure it’s actually quite welcome. Oh wow…you could really let the innuendo fly with the workbenches and powertools, huh? 🙂
Ed would probably love a haunted house!
You know, you’re right–Judith and Belinda would get along great. Maybe I can find a way to introduce them?
Yay! I’m so glad everyone is liking that shot. Sometimes I’m not all that confident about shots of hands or feet, but sometimes they really seem to work. Ed was genuinely curious about how Nick could be all that worried about a relationship between her and Sean, when he is involved with a client that he works very closely with on really dangerous cases. I think she was a bit surprised to find that Nick doesn’t consider Erica to be a…partner of sorts, in the work they do together.
I haven’t really had much chance to play around with the game since I installed Late Night, and when I remembered that I now had a grand piano and a double bass available for props, I immediately envisioned Ed as a kind of torch singer! Thanks to LunarFox’s invisible furniture, I was able to make her sit on the piano while the boys played away! I’m so glad you liked it!
Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read and comment!
There’s plenty of tense elements in your story – I don’t think you have to worry about a few Ed is happy episodes. Not when they’re so hilarious!
Ed’s Mum – should be bottled and sold to the general public! Increase the laughter in the world 😀
Kiri: Oh good! I’m relieved by that, really I am. So many TV series have died once they let romantic interests actually indulge in a relationship–which is crazy, because so much of the hard work and drama has usually only just begun once you finally let a person into your life in such an intimate, close way.
I’m also very relieved that readers seem to find the same sorts of things amusing as I do! Sometimes I wonder if my sense of humor is off. 😉 Ed’s mom is one of my favorites…though really, they’re kinda all my favorites. 🙂 Thank you for reading and commenting!
I love Judith’s lines! So hilarious, and yet realistic. Things a real mother would say. And the fact that she’s not picky about when the grandchildren will occur, shows both her open-mindedness but also hints of … desperation. I mean, in the context of Edith’s former emotional condition, her mother is really worried about whether she’ll manage to find and preserve her happiness.
Now regarding Nick, although I do like him as a character, there seems to be something about him… Like unhappiness perhaps? To me, he seems like a man with no passion (although the mysterious story about his tattoo might suggest otherwise). We haven’t seen him demonstrate a sense of humour either. Especially compared to Sean’s lively temperament who’s still pretty self-controlled and mature but way more spirited, he seems to be lacking something (real love in his relationship?).
I need to stop rambling now 😀
Sfe: Judith gets some of the best lines (in terms of humor) in the story, because you’re right–she is a blend of optimism and desperation all mixed together. She is very concerned that Ed won’t work very hard to maintain her current happy state, because she thinks Ed lets other things get in the way–namely, her seeming inability to move on from her brother’s disappearance.
Nick is definitely not passionless, though I would definitely say that his passions are involved in areas we don’t get to see that often (but we will). We haven’t seen him interact much with Erica yet, and I will readily admit that they have a very different sort of relationship than Sean and Ed, even when they were in the same stage of their own relationship. Whether there is real love there is something we’ll be delving into at some point. They are both much more controlled and…the opposite of impulsive. I am glad that you picked up on his unhappiness though–Nick isn’t exactly happy. Keep in mind that like Ed, he has something he’s been trying to figure out for years–how to prove that Hector Dorantes is as bad as he believes. And his own mother is married to a man he considers the scum of the earth. He’s not in a the happiest place. We’ll definitely be hearing more about his story and why he hates Dorantes so much before too terribly long.
Keep rambling, please! Your thoughts are telling me what I’m doing well at conveying and what I’m missing, so they’re immensely helpful! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Judith does get some great lines! She’s sounding pretty desperate for grandchildren though.
I love Nick’s reaction. Most businesses would have separated the two immediately or told them to cut it out altogether. I thought he was very sympathetic.
The house…since I live in something that is almost 50 years old, with the rotting roof and the foundation problems and the bizarre laundry setup (can’t put the washing machine next to the dryer) and the rooms that are either too hot or too cold, well…it gets old LOL! Have to admit I prefer it to the streets full of identical new homes but it’s not an easy place to live. I can definitely see Ed’s problem with the generic house with the generic kitchen though.
I love these shots. I don’t see a single problem with them.
Beth: Judith should cut Ed some slack….I think Ed is only 24 or 25, LOL. That’s so young. But given that Ed didn’t show any interest in dating at all for about four years, I guess she had some reason to worry.
Nick would regard it as a bit ridiculous to tell them they couldn’t date….he may not like it, but he isn’t comfortable with telling his employees how to live their lives. Plus, he’s not in a good position to do that, given his own relationship with Erica. His business also resembles something more like a family–Sean is his cousin, after all. While in some ways he’s his boss, in many other ways they are more like partners. He knows that he doesn’t really control Sean.
For sure, older houses come with their own set of woes. I think it’s important to think about what sorts of things you are willing to deal with when it comes to a home, and when you’re willing to deal with them. For instance, if my husband and I were to buy a house right now, I’d probably go for one that wasn’t too old, because it’s not like we have a ton of money to put into renovations or into replacing faulty plumbing, etc.. If we ever were in a better financial position, then I’d start looking into older houses, but once I hit a certain age I’d probably give it up–I don’t want to be in a crumbling house when I’m close to retirement, because I may not be able to handle the repairs. It’s all dependent on so many individual features and circumstances.
I’m so happy you think the shots are good! I admire your work so much, so it really makes me feel a lot better about them! Thank you!
I absolutely LOVE Ed’s Mother, such a character! She brings out a side of Ed that is just plain fun to see. Also, great cover!
Tipix7: I love Judith, too. 🙂 She’s a lot of fun to write, just like Kendra and Belinda. They all have a great sense of humor, and I think they all bring out those moments in Ed that both make her cringe and laugh at the same time. I’m so glad you like the cover, too! It was a lot of fun to stage! 🙂
So many things to comment on! First off, I loved the cover shot! Late night looks like a bunch of fun, but my poor computer gets angry enough with the EPs I have, so I’m not out rushing to get new ones. Anyway, I digress. I love Ed’s mom and I LOVED her comments about Ed, Sean, and grandchildren! 😉 And it was definitely fun to see Nick’s reaction. I skimmed through other people’s comments, and I agree that (a) Nick doesn’t seem completely happy about Sean and Ed dating (b) Nick would never tell them they couldn’t unless he had a REALLY good reason, like it was interfering with their jobs and (c) perhaps Nick is attracted to Ed in a way but is already with Erica and she’s a big client so there’s no reason for him to change his relationship with Erica. But at the same time, I think it is definitely possible for him to feel jealous of Sean. In a “I am not with her and can’t be, but I don’t really want you to be either.” I love how real you make your characters and how we can relate to their feelings and personalities. Nice chapter, as always!
Juleski: Thank you very much! From what I’ve seen of it, Late Night is fun. I haven’t really had as much playing time with it as I’d like, but I hope to get more in soon.
Judith isn’t shy about expressing her desires, LOL.
Nick’s reaction is very interesting to me, and we’ve definitely not heard the last on this subject. I think we’ll be dealing with this for a while. I think a lot of your observations about him are right on target, too. 🙂 I’m so glad you feel like my characters are realistic! That’s such a compliment to me. Thank you!
lol, Ed’s mum made me laugh, unfortunatly I was drinking my morning tea at the time, very messy…
Natasha: LOL! I hope you were able to clean everything up without too much problem! I’m sad I made you have an accident with your tea, but very happy that you laughed that much. 🙂
Everybody else has already said it, but what the hell, I’ll say it again! “And the frequent sight of that man all hot and sweaty and using power tools efficiently is sure to lead to grandchildren. I’m not picky about whether they occur before or after marriage. You have to roll with the times.” LMAO!!! I love her mom! 🙂
Oh, that shot of Nick’s hands! I was just talking to someone the other day about how sexy TS3 hands are, lol! Or maybe it’s dude hands in general? *pixel swoon* 😀
Laura: I don’t know why, but I’m always able to give the funniest lines to the supporting characters (rather than any of the main characters). Judith, Belinda, and Kendra all get the best lines. I’ve said it before (though I can’t remember where), but my own mother inspires a lot of Judith’s reactions and attitudes. My mother has always been so much more free and laid back than I am. 🙂
The shot of Nick’s hands was so fortuitous in this one, because I was working solely with the game’s decisions about animations since I’d lost the use of my favorite mod. It was like, “Oh good, he’s finally doing something interesting!” and then I snapped it. It really was a lucky shot, and one of my favorites. 🙂