April 2020:
Nathan and Terri Gates are 30, Phoebe is 8
(Kat Gates is 10)
“My date is late and I need a drink,” Terri tells the bartender, stabbing the bar with one finger. “Anything. I don’t care what.”
She sighs as she looks around the lounge again, still not seeing the guy who had asked her out that afternoon. Not that she should technically going on dates, being married and all, but being married has never stopped Terri before and it’s not going to now. She just hopes this guy shows up and that the night isn’t a complete waste of her time.
When he finally gets there, he has some excuse about traffic, but Terri is only barely listening. She’s had two drinks already, nothing to eat, and everything is a little fuzzy.
“You’re cuter than my husband,” she tells him.
“Whoa,” the guy says. “You’re married?”
“Is that a problem?” Terri asks.
Apparently it was, at least for him. Terri ends the night by heading back home to crawl into bed next to the same man she’s slept with a thousand times since college.
Not that Nathan isn’t good at what he does. It’s just the same old thing. They both crave excitement and new adventures. It’s what made them attracted to each other as teens.
Terri had never really thought they’d be together long term. But then, life has a sense of humor and they found themselves forever stuck together.
Terri just opened up her own fashion shop and things are going well. She feels it’s her duty to help all the unfashionable people of the city.
Of course, they don’t always listen to her. Richard Norman insisted on swim trunks instead of the Speedo she tried to talk him into. “You have a great body,” she told him. “You should show it off!”
The work days aren’t always frustrating. She recently hired John and it didn’t take long before he became her latest date.
Older men are different than younger men. More confident in themselves, but also eager for the attentions of a younger woman.
But John isn’t the only one Terri is seeing on the side. She’s started seeing James pretty regularly as well.
He’s romantic, whispering in her ear about how beautiful she is.
It’s been a long time since Nathan has said she’s beautiful. And yeah, maybe she knows she is, but it’s still nice to hear it.
So really, it’s partly Nathan’s fault that she has to go to other men. She knows he’s been trying to be all monogamous and good these days, claiming he’s turned over a new leaf or whatever other crap he’s pretending, but not Terri. No, thank you. She’s happy just the way she is, meeting new people and seeing what else the world has to offer her while she still has her beauty and youth.
Let Nathan waste his time at home pretending to be the good parent, like he doesn’t have the same urges she does.
Terri can be the good parent too. She wakes Phoebe up on Easter morning, telling her there’s a surprise waiting downstairs from the Easter Bunny.
“A stove,” Nathan says, casting a look at Terri. “You got her a stove for Easter.”
“So she can learn to cook,” Terri says. She’s an attentive parent! She’s noticed how Phoebe usually eats cold sandwiches because she can’t reach the big stove to cook something hot. So Terri thought a kid-sized stove was the perfect solution.
“She’s a child,” Nathan says. “She’s not supposed to cook.”
“You’re never happy with anything I do, are you?” Terri snaps. “I need a drink.”
Like Nathan is so perfect. Terri thinks her gift is a great idea, better than some stupid basket of chocolate that wouldn’t last more than a couple of days. At least now Phoebe could learn how to make real food for herself.
“We’re going to meet Kat at the park later today,” Nathan is telling Phoebe as Terri walks into the dining room. “And we’ll have our own little Easter egg hunt.”
Phoebe grins. “I bet I can find more eggs than Kat,” she says.
Terri clears her throat loudly. “Nathan, I’d like to speak to you in the other room.”
“Why are you always trying to belittle me in front of Phoebe?” she demands once they’re alone. “You take every opportunity to make yourself look like the best parent and make me out to be scum.”
“Why would you buy a child a stove to cook her own food?” Nathan asks. “You’re her mother!”
“So?” Terri asks.
“So,” Nathan says in an exasperated tone, “maybe you should try cooking for her instead of expecting her to do it.”
“What am I, her maid?” Terri asks.
Nathan shakes his head. “You know what? Forget it. It was a great gift, Terri. I’m sure every little girl dreams of getting up and cooking her own muffins for breakfast each morning.”
“What do you want me to do?” Terri asks. “Hire someone to cook for her?”
Nathan sighs. “Do whatever you want, Terri. You’re the super mom around here.”
Nathan and Phoebe meet Kat at one of the parks later that day, after Kat is done with Easter celebration with her other family. They intrude on someone else’s picnic, which Kat gets mad about and refuses to eat anything. Phoebe doesn’t mind and eagerly eats her hot dog.
Nathan tries to enjoy the evening with his daughters, but he’s still annoyed by the conversation with Terri. He’s tried so hard these last couple of years to be a good dad and a good person.
He takes care of his kids, spends as much time with them as he can, he goes to work at the grocery store, he hasn’t slept with anyone other than his wife in so long that he can barely remember what it’s like to meet someone new.
But it’s like Terri doesn’t even care or notice anything outside of herself. And it makes Nathan wonder what exactly he’s trying so hard for.
She doesn’t really want him. She’s not trying to be the perfect wife, so why should he be the perfect husband?
And so, when Terri sticks to her word and hires someone to do all the cooking as well as the cleaning and everything else around the house, Nathan decides to give up being perfect and just be himself. That’s what Terri wants, right? Why should he the one who’s miserable while Terri does whatever she wants?
Who is it really going to hurt anyway?
————————————
- I did not plan for Phoebe to walk in on that, but she did and she is now furious with Nathan. She doesn’t know about what Terri has been doing all over town, so she’s not angry with her mom.
- The lady is their new butler and it’s my first time playing a family with a butler. I actually expected a man, but then the woman showed up and Nathan couldn’t resist flirting with her.
- Terri had the ROS “Take a different Sim on a date each night for 3 nights.” That ROS suited her, lol!
- Terri has become such a drunk. She constantly wishes to go to bars and lounges, and she LOVES the bar I put in their house. If I leave her alone for five seconds, she heads to the bar to make some more drinks.
- Their family portrait is fitting, but sad. None of them look very happy.
It just seems to suit that Terri has become a drunk! I can definitely imagine her being the type to enjoy a drink just a little too much.
Poor Phoebe…I can’t imagine growing up in that house with Terri and Nathan as parents. It’s a shame Nathan’s given up on trying to be good, though I can hardly blame him, with the way Terri treats him. He wasn’t really getting any credit for his good behaviour. But then again, he was being good for Phoebe’s sake as well and the poor kid seems to have been forgotten in Nathan’s rush to get it on with the butler!
I thought it was very fitting that Terri was drinking so much. I can see her needing a drink to get through the day.
I hope Phoebe isn’t too damaged by her parents when she grows up!
Wow, Terri is such a …well, I think we all know
Wasn’t there another couple of yours that wasn’t fully committed to each other, but they were both honest about it.
Tucker and Cynthia have a very open relationship, but you’re right, they’re both honest about it. They seem to have a much more stable relationship because they actually like each other and they don’t try to use other people to hurt each other (unlike Nathan and Terri).
Awww, poor Pheobe- walking in on her dad and the butler.
I hope Nathan and Terri will be able to work out their issues, for Pheobe’s sake.
Yes, that wasn’t a good thing for Phoebe to walk in on! Poor kid is probably going to be very traumatized by her parents’ behavior when she gets older.
Oh geez, Kat is definitely the luckier kid! Oh Nathan, being a good parent and spouse isn’t done for any award…..it’s done because it’s the right thing to do. And if your wife can’t get with the program, then maybe she doesn’t need to be your wife anymore. I don’t even want to know the permanent damage this is going to have on little Phoebe.
Kat does have things much better at home! Chelsea made the better decision when she chose Xander over Nathan.
Oh man, with Phoebe walking in on that. Ugh, Nathan!! I’m so disappointed! He’s been doing such a good job, and while Terri didn’t notice, it did benefit Phoebe, it was stability in a pretty unstable home. And Terri as a drunk, I can see that quite easily, it’s unfortunate though. Kat is adorable, I’m glad that Nathan is doing his best to get the girls together, just wish he’d just let Terri go if he didn’t want to be with her, instead of fooling around with the butler.
Nathan did try, but he’s one of those people that needs to see rewards for his actions. And he just wasn’t seeing it from the person he wanted it from, so he forgot how what he does affects Phoebe.
Oh, wow, what a train wreck. I feel bad for Phoebe! Nathan was trying and now, well, it’s kind of out there and in her face. No one thinks the kids get hurt, but they do… I’ll be interested in seeing how this pans out. :b
Also, are you finding the butler to be endlessly annoying? I couldn’t tolerate the incessant cooking. That’s all he would do… drove me nuts!
Nathan and Terri both like to use other people to hurt each other, so poor Phoebe ends up being forgotten in the middle of all their mess.
Actually, I was beginning to think something was wrong with the butler because she wouldn’t do anything except stand in the bathroom for hours! Finally she started cleaning, but she hasn’t cooked at all yet.