Between the Light and the Darkness - Chapter 21 - Fond Remembrance

>> Saturday, December 20, 2008


Tim gazed over at Ileeya, sleeping soundly, and felt envious. He wished he could claim sleep, as well. But as seemed the norm lately, he tossed and turned restlessly in bed until finally throwing in the towel and getting up. It was still and quiet, and once again his thoughts were rampaging out of control.


He was so weary of thinking of the situation with Shirra, and in an effort to avoid those thoughts, he concentrated on Gertie, instead. His heart ached with her loss. She had been like a grandmother to him. A best friend, a person he shared many things with. He shared more with her than he did his own mother.

He let his thoughts wander back in time, to when life was so much simpler and the only major decision he had to make each day was what fast food delivery he was going to order for dinner.


"Sigh. How can you stand this place, Tim? It's such a pig sty."


He cast an eye over the apartment. At the takeout boxes lying on the counter, the dirty counter, the pile of dirty laundry in the living room, the mess of trash Bones drug in that he hadn't gotten around to picking up.

"It's not that bad...,"


"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be surprised if a monster snuck out from under your bed and kidnapped you. At least then I would understand why you didn't call more often."


"I'm sorry, time slipped away and I got busy...,"


"Busy doing what? Not cleaning, that's for sure." Her face suddenly lit up. "I know, a girlfriend! That's why you never call. You have a girlfriend and you've been busy - maybe thinking about popping the question. Of course I would hope you would have told me about something so important."

"Mom...,"


"So when do I get to meet her? When's the wedding? Do you have rings picked out, yet?"


"I'm not getting married."


"What! You've gotten a woman pregnant with my grandchild and you don't intend to marry her? I raised you better than that! If I were dead I'd be rolling in my grave right now."


"Mom! Nobody is pregnant. I don't even have a girlfriend."


"Sigh. I truly don't understand it, Timmy. You're a gorgeous boy. You have a," she cast a furtive look around, "decent place. You're fun loving and caring, a little too predictable, but you have a lot to offer."

"I just haven't found anyone I like."


"Well try not to take forever. I would like grandchildren someday, you know. Before I rot."


Tim rolled his eyes mentally, but said nothing. "So, how's Dad?" he said, desperately trying to change the topic.


"Great. I think. I hardly ever get to see him. Ever since the pond was dug he's been fishing nonstop. You should see all the fish he has mounted up on the walls. And when he's not having them mounted, he's cooking them on the fancy grill he bought. You've seen the grill, have you? Oh, that's right, you haven't been to visit since we got it three months ago. We have fish for dinner nearly every night. And for lunch. Sometimes he's even up at the crack of dawn grilling fish for breakfast! There's nothing quite like the smell of charred salmon at six in the morning! My whole house smells like fish. He cooks it outside, but the smell always comes in the house and clings to everything. Fishy blankets, fishy furniture, fishy clothes, fishy carpet, even Mr. Peaches smells like fish, although he probably doesn't mind, being a cat and all. I swear if your father feeds me fish one more time I'm going to grow fins and jump in the nearest ocean! What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy you came for a visit."


"So. Whatever have you been doing with yourself if you're not dating or cleaning up this wreck you call a house? I'm telling you, you need to hire a maid or something. Maybe a cook, too," she eyed the takeout containers suspisciously. "It's not healthy to be eating that garbage all the time."

"I'll think about it."


"You'll think about it. You told me that the last time I was here and that was several months ago. How do you live in this mess? No wonder you don't have a girlfriend. I was thinking of attending a Social next weekend, and inviting you, hoping you would meet a nice girl. But what am I supposed to say? 'This is my son, Trashy Tim'? That wouldn't go over well there, that's for sure."


"I don't want to meet any girl that goes to a Country Club, Mom I can't stand those women. They're so fake and...plastic. It would be like dating a mannequin."


His mother looked at him incredulously. "I go to the country club! I'm not like that."

"That's because you're already married. You don't need to scout for an eligible man."


For a miraculous minute, his mother was speechless, and the only sound that could be heard was the buzzing of flies circling the takeout containers. But it wasn't long before his mother broke the silence. It never was.


"Have I told you about Gertie, yet?"

"No...I'm not interested in a blind date, Mom."

"Not for a date, to clean up your abyss of an apartment."

Tim rolled his eyes mentally again and kept his mouth shut while his mother continued.


"She was my neighbor's nanny for many years, but their youngest just went off to college and now she's looking for another job. In addition to taking care of the children, she also cooked and cleaned. That would be perfect for you."

"I don't have any kids..."

"Maybe you will, someday, after we find you a girlfriend."


"I'll think about it."

"Pfaw! I'm sending her over tomorrow for an interview."

Once again he rolled his eyes inwardly. Arguing with her did no good.


The following morning, Tim woke up to an unusal smell. It was...pancakes! With real maple syrup. The smell had crept up the stairs and was luring him its source. His mother must have come back and made breakfast for him. She was naggy, but she was a good mom.


He quickly showered and dressed and went downstairs, where a steaming plate was sitting on the table. But the woman standing at the stove was not his mother.

"Good morning. You must be Tim. Breakfast is ready"

"And you are..."


"I'm Gertie. Oh, I hope you don't mind me letting myself in. Your mother gave me a key. Said you could use some help, and boy was she right! Never in all my years of caring for kids have I seen such a mess! And I thought children were messy."

Tim looked around. He would hardly have recognized the place. Everything was clean. No garbage laying around, the windows gleamed, the floor was visible. He had to admit to himself the place looked great. He looked over at Bones who was watching Gertie with a hopeful eye, wagging his tail.

"Some watchdog you turned out to be," he grumbled. Bones glanced his way before returning his gaze to the lady with the food.


"Sit down and we'll talk about my terms of employment."

Tim tried to keep an amused smile from creeping onto his face. She was a lot like his mother.


"I work from six a.m. to seven p.m. with a two hour break from twelve to two. I cook, clean, and shop for groceries. I'll also take care of your lovely dog. Bathing is a necessity, you know. Poor dog was so filthy he was drawing flies, just like the rest of this apartment. I'll provide breakfast and dinner, five days a week. I assume you can heat up leftovers the other two days? I have Tuesdays and Saturdays off."


Tim took a bite of the pancakes. They were homemade buttermilk. The rich texture melted in his mouth, sheer perfection. His mother was a pretty good cook, but these were the best he'd ever had.


"If you like those, wait until you taste the steak I'm making for dinner."

"Steak?" Tim echoed hollowly.

"I charge $300 per week. Do we have a deal?"


Kind of pricey, but it was worth it. Tim couldn't remember the last time he had steak. And if it was anything like these pancakes, he wouldn't be paying her enough. "Definitely," Tim mumbled through a mouthful of food.


Tears stung his eyes. He would never see Gertie again. And his parents. Would he ever get to see them again? He cursed this place. Why? Why was he here? If it's true that Ileeya brought him here, then why did she do it? Something big is going to happen, Timmy.


Tim resisted the urge to punch the stone wall with his fist. Instead, he crawled into bed, willing his brain to quiet so he could try to salvage the rest of the night.

18 comments:

thewynd December 20, 2008 at 12:38 PM  

Well I don't know what happened to my first comment. Blogger seems to be blowing up regularly on me. I'll try again although I doubt I can recapture the first attempt. If this ends up a duplicate, feel free to remove it.

I feel so much for Tim. This chapter was both endearing and heart wrenching at the same time. His relationship with his mother as well as his introduction to Gertie were so real and true. She truly was a blessing for Tim in so many ways. I can picture everything in my mind thanks to the way you write.

For some reason the shots are not loading. However they sure were not needed, as wonderful as I know they must be, because your writing really does the job of painting a clear picture here.

Wonderful update and I hope you and your family have a joyous holiday!

Anonymous December 20, 2008 at 8:37 PM  

My dear Ari, this was a wonderful chapter! You did a fabulous job messing up Tim’s apt., it looked terrible, lol! I love the pile of clothes on the floor, where did you get them? :D

Oh, I bet seeing his mother and Gertie again was heartbreaking for him! :( I thought the way his mother got on him was very funny and oh so true, lol! ;p

Girl, seeing Gertie again was actually quite sad for me also, I really liked her! I’m going to miss her as much as Tim is. :( That part was quite heart wrenching! She was so good to him from the get go! Damn, there I go again, getting teary eyed! :(

Beautiful writing my friend, your descriptions and dialogue are wonderful! I can picture everything just with your words, but add to it your wonderful pictures and it’s just an added treat! Awesome story my friend!!! :rah: :wub:

Astral Faery December 20, 2008 at 9:39 PM  

Gayl - Dang, girl, you're fast, lol! I just barely got this up today, then I completely borked up all my pictures when I tried to resize them - that's why they weren't showing up. I asked Zayury to help me fix them and hadn't even announced the update yet!

Thank, ever so much, for all the fabulous comments. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it so much without the pictures - but I certainly do hope you come back to see them.

Yes, this was definitely hard for Tim. Seeing his loved ones and not knowing if he will ever see them again - revisiting Gertie and her spunky personality.

Blogger is being a pain in the butt for me, too. Everytime I uploaded my pictures, it jumbled up the order and I had to fix them manually. Thank you for taking the time to type your response again. I really appreciate it!

Astral Faery December 20, 2008 at 9:45 PM  

Zayury - Thank you so much for fixing my pictures! You're a lifesaver. It's hard when you're a blog tard, LOL!!

Ooh - I think I got the clothes from MTS2. I had a blast messing up Tim's apartment. I had to keep freewill turned off because they kept wanting to clean everything.

Gertie's death is sad, but she's a very essential character in this story. You're not done seeing her, yet! But I'm glad that my story has evoked emotion - that's awesome and what every writer aspires to do.

Thanks for reading, my friend, and for making my blogs look so beautiful - and bailing my ass out because I borked my pictures!!

QG December 21, 2008 at 3:29 PM  

awesome update! especially with christmas coming around. the messy appartment was priceless!LMAO as was his mom. : "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be surprised if a monster snuck out from under your bed and kidnapped you. At least then I would understand why you didn't call more often." absolutly hilarious! I need to remember that one! it was a bit sad when i started thinking about how he finally met someone and gertie won't be able to help take care of the kids, nor meet them... *snif*

thewynd December 21, 2008 at 3:41 PM  

Well maybe that is why my first comment disappeared. I probably tried to post it when it was being edited. But I am glad I came back to check out the shots. They are wonderful as always. Perfect compliment to the fabulous story.

Happy holidays Arianna to you and yours.

Astral Faery December 22, 2008 at 8:47 AM  

QG - Welcome! It's always great to get new readers. I'm happy you're enjoying the story so far.

Yeah, Tim is one of those men that really needs someone to take care of him. He has a lot of good qualities, but being neat isn't one of them, lol.

And when I thought of his mom, expressive, loud mouthed Italian came to mind, so that's what I went with.

Thanks for reading - and I hope you stick around for awhile. I hope to get my updates done more regularly (well, that's always the hope, lol.)

Astral Faery December 22, 2008 at 8:48 AM  

Gayl - I'm glad you came back to see the pictures. And even happier that you liked them! Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

I hope you guys all have a nice Christmas, as well.

Colliegirl December 23, 2008 at 6:48 AM  

I saw you had this update out earlier, but I couldn't get the time to enjoy reading it... but finally, I'm here now! My holiday vacation has begun! Yay for me! :D

That was so very touching and sweet. I loved how you wrote this part. Tim's home was such a mess! His life must have been pretty dull for him, as well. Apparently, he didn't realize it, until Gertie came in and started to work her influences on him. How truly sad it is that she won't be around to help take care of him anymore... or any new family members he might bring home with him.

Everything was so beautifully written. I could picture it all very easily... even the monster under his bed coming out to get him! ...if she only knew! Ha ha! That was very good! His mother has a great sense of humor! And she's very lovely too. I can tell Tim must get his looks from her. It has me wondering what his father must be like. Would he be an Italian too? :D

Great update! I enjoyed it very much! I'm looking forward to hearing more! May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas holiday together!

PS. I'm glad to see that our friend Z is still around. Wish her a Merry Christmas for me if you can! :D

Astral Faery December 23, 2008 at 12:33 PM  

I certainly will!

Thank you so much, Tamara, for all the wonderful comments. I'm glad you found time to read it. As I mentioned before, I'm going to *try* to get my updates done in a more reasonable time frame. The monster under the bed, indeed, lol!

cheripye December 25, 2008 at 12:07 AM  

I feel so badly for Tim,

He's stuck in a new and strange place so far away from his family and friends.
Although the memory of his mother and him talking about girlfriends and grand children was too funny.

Geez that place was a mess, so glad Gertie came to save the day, LOL!

Your writing and your screens are enchanting and beautiful. The descriptions and the emotions so well done. 80)

Astral Faery December 25, 2008 at 10:08 AM  

Thank you so much, Cherie! I'm happy you liked it and it came across the way I was trying to portray it. Yes! Tim really needed Gertie, but I think she probably needed him, too. Thank you for reading.

S.B. December 27, 2008 at 6:26 AM  

I'm sorry I know this had so much heartache in it but Tim's mother is hysterical! I love the dialogue between them -- "Trashy Tim" LOL! And the bit about the country club...poor guy recovered that fast!

Wonderful writing; poignant and sad and funny all at the same time.

Astral Faery December 27, 2008 at 4:12 PM  

Thank you, Beth.

Yes, I love Tim's mom, too. I had a lot of fun with her and her nagginess. The whole scene was to interject some humor and at the same time show that Tim is feeling Gertie's loss. I'm glad you got a laugh and enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!

KDSGS December 28, 2008 at 2:49 PM  

Ariana, glad to see an update, very enjoyable, loved Tim's remembrances and his pig-sty apartment, nicely done!
His mother was a real pistol! Love the little digs she was getting in.

Poor Tim, he is such a sweetie, missing Gertie and his parents...great update!

~Karen

Astral Faery December 29, 2008 at 1:26 PM  

Aw, thanks, Karen. I'm glad to finally get an update done and that's it's doing so well. Thank you for your support and taking time to read!

S@n January 21, 2009 at 7:14 PM  

Wonderful update Ariana!!!

Sorry for my delay, I'm a little behind in reading, but I will catch up tonight with this story I promise!

Poor Tim, seeing the tears in his eyes is really touching... I can sure say I feel his pain... to know that Gertie is gone is just painful... heartbreaking, and to think that he somehow had to do with her dead is just more difficult to deal with...

Wonderful update, I love the background story on his mother and his relationship with her and Gertie!! Great update, lovely pictures!!!

Astral Faery January 25, 2009 at 9:11 AM  

Hi, Sandy! Glad you were able to stop by! This was both a fun and sad chapter to do. I had a blast trashing Tim's apartment and writing the conversation with his somewhat overbearing (but well meaning) mother.

I'm glad you were touched by this chapter. Thanks for reading!

WONDERFUL FREE DOWNLOADS

WONDERFUL FREE DOWNLOADS
SUGAH'S PLACE

GREAT FREE DOWNLOADS

GREAT FREE DOWNLOADS
BASIC FOR SIMS

  © Blogger template Romantico by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP