Talk you down

Round 5: 1996-2000

Denise Whitfield decides to spend Sunday in the Central Park. Lately the home life has been extremely boring. All her dad seems to talk about is the upcoming Mayoral Election and her mom spends hours in front of the mirror worrying about wrinkles! Denise is glad to notice many of her friends have come to the park too.

Denise loves the park and all the activities. She plays games with her friends and tests her skills on the basket ball court. She's not a very sporty person though so she quickly changes back to her normal clothes.

Denise's favorite place in the park is the pond. She knows that fishing isn't a very girly hobby but she doesn't care. It's so much fun!

Ryland on the other hand spends the last few days smooching up to the habitants of Wellington and the surrounding areas. He knows that Patrick Marlowe is a chess enthusiast so he invites him over for a match.

Denise has finally some gardening to do. Her parents haven't hired a gardener so Denise gets to take care of the few shrubs and flowers they have. She'd love to have a small vegetable garden or some orchard trees but there's just no room for that on their lot.

Jackie has been hoping for a promotion but instead she was demoted to Internet Movie Critic. She feels so humiliated that she cries quietly in the bathroom before she can face her family and tell them the news.

Ryland tries to cheer Jackie up. They have dinner together and he tells her that he loves her no matter what. They even talk about going on a second honeymoon in the summer.

The morning of the Mayoral Election Jackie looks at herself in the mirror. When did she get this old? It feels like there's a new wrinkle on her face every morning!

Luckily the voters don't care about Jackie's wrinkles. Ryland wins the election and will become the first Mayor of Wellington.

Ryland throws a small informal party for his closest supporters like Olivia Robinson. He will have a big formal party in the summer but he wants to thank all his friends for their help with the campaign.

Even heavily pregnant Regan comes to the party with her husband Max. She's very proud of her brother's success.

Ryland doesn't have to take the carpool anymore - he goes to work on a helicopter!

Deacon Burrows happens to walk by just as Jackie comes home from work. The attention of a much younger man really flatters her.

Jackie knows she shouldn't do this but she just can't stop herself. It's been such a long time since she was with someone else than Ryland and she can't resist the excitement. She might feel a bit differently if she knew that Deacon has been wooing her daughter Rianna as well.

Unfortunately for Jackie, Ryland's meeting was cancelled and he comes home a bit early. He can't believe what he sees: his wife in their bed with another man! It's like a dagger through his heart.

Jackie has never seen Ryland this furious. She tries to apologize but the words die on her lips when she sees the resentment and hurt in his eyes.

Luckily Denise is completely unaware of what is happening as she's downstairs gossiping with her friend on the phone.

Ryland tells Jackie to get out of his sight. He can't stop the tears from falling and he doesn't want her to see.

Notes:

• Title from "Talk you down" by The Script
• Oh. My. God! I thought I had set all my married non-romance sims' ACR autonomy to "Spouse only" but obviously I hadn't. That Deacon is a real rat!
• I don't know yet what will happen to Ryland and Jackie. They're in separate bedrooms now and they'll stay that way until their furiousness has faded... Yeah, Jackie is furious with Ryland because he slapped her *insert eye rolling smilie here*