Madison

 

While I was walking out of the diner, my eyes fell upon this gorgeous woman.  I thought she was Kyra, but apparently she wasn’t.  I decided to walk over and say hello. 

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

“Madison.  Madison Westley.”

“Westley, eh?” I said to myself.  I had never heard the name.

“Are you from here?”

“No, my mom and I are here vacationing.  We’re from Starlight Shores.  You?”

"It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got all day, I can hear it.”

We were then joined by her mother, Shelly Guyton.  I actually thought they could pass for sisters.  Shelly explained that she’d had Madison as a teenager and that Madison’s father, a man named Mitch Westley, was a much older man.  She also explained that as soon as Madison could walk, she’d begun entering her in beauty pageants. 

“I was born and raised in Sunset Valley.  I moved to Bridgeport as a young adult and then I ended up here.”

“What’s your name, young man?”

I debated on whether I should tell them the truth or not.  I’m obviously not a very good liar, so I decided to tell only part of the truth.  “Sebastian,” I croaked.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Sebastian,” Shelly said. 

While I was talking to Shelly, Madison got out her cell phone and took a picture of my dad.  I couldn’t tell her just then that he is actually my dad.  Neither could I tell her who I was.

When Shelly left, Madison whispered that she wanted to check out Lars’ Disco-Tech down the street.  So I figured, okay, why not, sure. 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Madison getting her cell phone out to take pictures.

She was quite the mover out on the dance floor. 

We couldn’t keep our eyes off of each other.  I already know I’m going to be in deeper doo doo. 

Reflections

I went down to Subalpine Square in the middle of Hidden Springs and just sat there, wondering how the heck I got into this mess.  I knew that I had no one to blame but myself for it.  Kyra is pregnant, but I don’t remember ever woohooing with her.  I’m not saying it didn’t happen, I never said it didn’t happen, just that I don’t remember it.  I may have been drunk one night after clubbing, I don’t know.  I hardly remember anything that happened in Bridgeport.  Things occurred so quickly.  Before I knew it I was a celebrity, going to every A-list party.  I tried to stay on the straight and narrow and now look where I am. 

I was teed off at Neil for getting Noelle pregnant, and now I’ve gone and done the same thing.  How self-righteous of me.  Savannah would be proud of me for saying that.  Go ahead, say it.  I’m a sanctimonious SOB.  Kyra is pregnant and I’m going to be a father.  I am so not ready for this.

I was hungry, so I decided to walk to the diner.  Judging by the number of cars parked in front, the place was packed.  Still, I managed to see a familiar face, complete with his guitar.

Dad!?!  What’s he doing here?

I knew it had to be my father because I know no one else with that bright burgundy dress-robe.  It’s his signature. 

“Dad!” I called three times, but it seemed like he was off in another world. 

“Hey, son,” he said, reaching for me.  His eyes told me he had something to say to me, but he couldn’t say it here, in public. 

That’s one thing about dad, he doesn’t really say much.  He pretty much never said much at all.  He communicates using his eyes and his music.  We pretty much knew when he wanted to talk to us. 

Then I looked over and saw a young man who kind of looked familiar.  No, it couldn’t be.  It was.

Imsety back from boarding school.  Boy, he’s tall.  Sprouted like a weed.

Imsety, you remember, was one of the two children my sister Savannah adopted from Egypt.  He began acting out when he was a teenager and then a judge sentenced him to boot camp.  Apparently he forgot to take off his army fatigues.

Bed of Lies

 

I am so sick to death of these crap papers.  And people gobble them up and accept the drivel in them as fact.  Nobody writing for them has any idea what is actually happening. 

And now Kyra says she is pregnant?  Are you serious?  Why didn’t she tell me before she ran off to this foreign country?   I hate to say it, but I don’t even recall having woohoo with her!

One of my neighbors, Madeline Moore, asked me for an autograph.   I was surprised I still even have fans – especially after all the stuff that’s been written in the papers. 

Heck, you read the papers, and I’m the second coming of Lucifer. 

I admit, I did some crappy, dishonest things and I regret all of them.  The papers are making me out to be my father.  Hell, dad screwed around with like 20 women while married to my mom.  I’m nowhere near that, but I am a class A bastard. 

So when I got into Hidden Springs I fired an email to Kyra to let her know that I was in town, and that I had had a private audience with the queen, who wanted me to locate her daughter Francisca.  I didn’t tell her the queen wanted me to MARRY Francisca.  That would be pouring salt on the wound. 

So I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do when I’m trying to lay low.  I’m spending my off days training my new golden retriever, Honey.  I shut off my cell phone.  I told my agent I was laying low and I wasn’t accepting any calls from anyone except family.  Though that was a proposition in and of itself.

“Honey, fetch.”

“Ruff ruff.”

Good doggie.  Good doggie. 

Sometimes I think Honey doesn’t even deserve me.  I’ve ruined three lives – three lives.  Me.  Sim Nation’s sweetheart.

A Private Audience with the Queen

 

So here I am in lovely Hidden Springs, about to confront my ex-girlfriend Kyra Foster for an exclusive she gave to Kiss and Tell magazine about our relationship. 

But first, I’m about to have a private audience with the Queen, Catarina Vanderburg. 

She has asked me to meet her in this secluded wooded area behind the Hidden Springs Lodge.  She has done this to ensure the utmost privacy. 

When I catch a glimpse of the queen, she is reading a romance novel.  I can’t tell if it’s one of Annabelle Smith’s but it sure looks like it.  Who’d have thunk it, the queen reading Annabelle Smith???

Anyhow, when I catch a glimpse of the queen, she is as regal as I imagined.  She is wearing a long yellow gown. 

I took a deep breath.

“Your Majesty,” I managed to stammer, sinking to my knees as is protocol. “You wanted to see me?”

“No need to bow, dear,” she assured me in the slightest hint of an accent. 

Dear?

“I’ve a proposition for you that might be worth your while.”

“Proposition?” I repeated.  “You have to understand, Your Majesty, that I’m an extremely busy man.”

“I understand, you’re in town to shoot a movie.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  I wasn’t entirely fibbing, but I wasn’t being entirely truthful either. 

"I understand you and your last girlfriend had a particularly nasty breakup in the press, and I’m truly sorry to hear it.  Therefore, I propose a match with my daughter, Francisca.”

“Me, Your Majesty?” I asked.  “But she’s vanished!  No one knows where she is.  I’m an actor, not a private investigator.  I don’t even play one on television.”

“You were Francisca’s favorite actor.  Every time she heard you were in a movie she arranged private screenings at the theater just to see it.  She saw all your movies before they came out.  She had pictures of you all over her wall.”

“Your Majesty, I’m flattered, but –"

“Mr. Plumb, I’m confident that you and Francisca would make a perfect match.  You’re a musician, and she has had piano lessons since she was no bigger than my thumb.”

“Your Majesty –“

“If you can locate Francisca and return her safely to the palace, then – then I have no choice but to give the two of you my blessing to marry.”

“But your Majesty!”

“It is settled.”

Alone

 

Daisy isn’t speaking to me.  Neither is Kyra.  In fact, Kyra, I’ve last heard, has left the country. 

And my sister, Savannah – heck, she’s left the country too, along with her husband and three remaining children, including the youngest, Sierra.  I haven’t spoken to her in two months. 

So here I am… basically alone. 

Heck, I definitely deserve it, given what I’ve done.  Go ahead, pile it on.  You’re a sorry bastard, Sebastian.  You screwed up the one thing that was good for you in your life. 

As for my movie career, I won the role of Dacian Landegraab in the Pirates & Nobles movie.  Dacian is an interesting character and my life is beginning to parallel his.  Dacian defied his father when he fell in love with Misty Darktide, the daughter of a pirate, during the Aarbyville-Tredony wars in the Middle Ages. Since Dacian was super-thin, I’m going to have to go on a serious diet to fit into his chaps.  The fact that I’m playing a Landgraab doesn’t sit that well with me, but I take whatever role suits my fancy.  The Dacian Landegraab role was highly coveted and one of the most interesting roles to come across in quite awhile. 

Daisy

 

Before I left Sunset Valley, I dealt with the other half of the equation – Daisy Ramsey.

Daisy and I have known each other since we were tots.  Literally.  Probably even before.  Her family are great friends of our family.  Her paternal grandfather was David (Dave) Ramsey, who was one of the leading founders of the Sunset Valley Orchestra.  Her maternal grandfather was Gage Briody, who was also among the founders and main supporters of the orchestra.  So they have been involved with the theatrical circles of Sunset Valley for quite awhile.   

Anyway, Daisy and I were BFFs as kids, so it was natural that we started kinda-sorta-dating as teenagers.

I guess the expectation was that with all this history behind us, the natural progression was marriage. 

But of course, things never happen like they’re supposed to.  I left Sunset Valley for Bridgeport right after graduation, and never really said a proper goodbye to Daisy. 

After my arrival in Bridgeport, I met Kyra, and we started dating.

But I didn’t tell Kyra that I had a girlfriend back home.  Neither did I tell Daisy that I had a new girlfriend in Bridgeport.

Looking back, though, it was the wrong thing to do.  Because I’ve probably lost both of them. 

Before I returned to Bridgeport, I drove down to the beach where Daisy lives.

Her house is raised on brick platforms and looks right out over the ocean.  Waking up every morning with those views… it’s practically paradise. 

“Hello, Sebastian,” Daisy greeted me coolly.  I took a deep breath.  “Come in, my mom and dad are just getting my brother ready for school.”

“Look, Daisy,” I took a deep breath.  “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“And I you.” 

“Who wants to begin?”

“I got on at the paper!” Daisy exclaimed.

“Really?” I asked, masking my dread.  “I know you always wanted that, I’m happy for you.”  I reached for her and gave her a hug.

Then, after taking another deep breath, I told her about Kyra in Bridgeport.

Daisy rose up with an anger I had never seen from her before.  “Are you serious?” she asked me with tears in her eyes.  “You cheated on me?”

I nodded.

“How long has this been going on, Bassy?”

“I met her at a party in Bridgeport.  We started dating pretty soon after that.”

Then, she did something I didn’t expect.

She slapped me across my cheek, leaving a mark. 

“Bassy, we’ve known each other since we were kids.  When you left here you didn’t even bother to tell me, I had to hear about it from Savannah and I had to pester her about where you were.”  She turned around.  “I’m not even sure if I can forgive you for this.”

I’m Still Alive, or, Catching up with Ole Bassy

 

Hey guys, sorry it’s been so long since my last update.  Things continue to be crazy on this end.

When I got back to Bridgeport after being in Sunset Valley, I worked up enough courage to tell Kyra about my situation.  I mean, between my parents’ divorce, Neil’s pregnancy, and AJ and Imsety’s legal troubles, I’ve been simply thrown for a loop and I have to admit, I’m really not dealing with any of this well.  And that’s not even counting the fact that Kyra didn’t know about Daisy and Daisy didn’t know about Kyra either.  So I told her everything.  Let’s just say, she wasn’t all that happy about it.

“I can’t believe you, Sebastian.  You lied to me.”

“I swear, Kyra,” I told her, “I didn’t lie to you.  I just – you know, I just didn’t tell you the absolute truth.  I wasn’t ready to come clean.  I wasn’t ready to reveal everything.  I know I haven’t been honest and I’m sorry.”

She stood there, tears streaming down her cheeks.  “You hurt me, Sebastian.  You hurt me really bad!”

I know I did.  “Heck this isn’t easy.  I have to tell Daisy about you and I haven’t even done that yet.”  If telling Kyra about Daisy is bad enough wait till I have to tell Daisy about Kyra.  Sigh.  By the end of all this I could end up with no body.  I suppose I deserve that.

And did I mention that Kyra’s pregnant?  She thinks the baby is mine but I’m not a hundred percent sure about that.  There’s no possible way I am ready to be a father. 

Then she left.  I hadn’t seen her again. 

Now I hear she’s in Hidden Springs, where she sat down with ace reporter Sonia Wicked, who wrote an exclusive for Kiss and Tell gossip rag.  I swear, those are lies she’s telling, absolute lies.  Wait till I see her again.