The Art of Diplomacy (Part II)

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So anyway, I set out in search of the fabled poodle Pumpernickel. He turned out to be a very well-behaved little dog. I didn’t even need a leash to take him for his walk.

Franchesca Diaries

The countryside around the Gallego house was beautiful. Hills, farmland, lots of gnarled old trees and autumn leaves fluttering around. I thought about Joel and wondered if he was feverishly packing for his tour. Sigh.

When I got back to the house, I went to fill the dog’s food dish, but…I couldn’t find the kibble. I looked all around the kitchen, the two living rooms, the foyer, the main floor bathrooms…nothing. I thought about asking Thatcher, but I couldn’t find him, either.

My second to last resort was Mr. Hoity Toity, but he wasn’t at his desk. Reluctant to bother Ms. Ambassador, I crept into her office and said, “Excuse me, but…”

Franchesca Diaries

I had interrupted what was clearly some kind of tender moment. Woops.

David Alphonse-Rubio scowled at me and backed away from Ms. Ambassador, who smiled impatiently. “Yes?”

“Never mind,” I said. “Have a good night.”

Ack! Talk about embarrassing. I raced out of the room, closing the door behind me. As I turned around, I nearly tripped over Thatcher.

“Hey!” he said brightly. “Did my mom remember to pay you? She forgets sometimes. Busy lady, you know.”

I glanced nervously back towards Della’s office to see if they were watching me talk to The Boy, but they had disappeared from sight. Probably examining a painting on the wall or something.

Franchesca Diaries

“Actually,” I said, “I need to find the dog food. Do you know where it is?”

Thatcher looked overjoyed that I was speaking to him. He waved his hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll feed the dog. Do you wanna go swimming?”

“Swimming? Here? In Riverblossom?”

“No, in a land far far away, where turtles swim upside down and the stars fall from the sky like rain.”

Franchesca Diaries

“Uh…what??”

“Of course I mean here in Riverblossom. We have a pool out back.”

“You do?” I asked, getting all excited for a second. I love to swim, but I haven’t gone since I was a kid and Granny Mortinez took us to the Pigeondale Community Pool. “But…it’s in the middle of autumn. It’s too cold.”

“The water’s heated. It’s awesome. We have a slide and everything. Come on, you’ll love it!”

His enthusiasm was contagious, but I hesitated. “I…I can’t. I don’t have my suit here. Come to think of it, I don’t even HAVE a suit. Well, not one that fits me. Um.”

“Just go in your undies. No one cares. I do it all the time.”

I raised an eyebrow at The Boy, wondering if he was getting a little “fresh”, as my mom might say, but there was nothing like that in his expression. It was totally innocent.

“Come on, let’s play Rock, Paper, Scissors over it,” he suggested. “If I win, we go swimming. If you win, I’ll leave you alone and never pester you again. But you’ll still be welcome to swim here anytime. Deal?”

“OK,” I said, not sure whether I wanted to win or lose. Going for a swim DID sound nice. But in my undies? With a strange boy? Hrm. Why do I think my mom would FLIP OUT if I did something like that? (My dad would just chuckle and offer to buy me an ugly swimsuit.)

So we counted to 3…I chose rock, he chose paper. FRAMMIT!

Franchesca Diaries

Why do I always lose at Rock, Paper, Scissors? I must be cursed.

“Moonlight swimming, here we come!” Thatcher cheered. “How about I swim in my undies, too, so you don’t feel weird?”

“I’m not so sure about this…”

“Aw come on…you said it was a deal.” He looked severely disappointed. “I was going to show you my belly flop.”

“Um…how about I bring a suit next time, and then we’ll go? I promise.”

I felt like I was talking to a little kid. His eyes lit up. “Yeah? Awesome! That means you’re coming back.”

He reached out to hug me, and I was so surprised by it that I held my hands up to push him away. “Um, whoa.”

Franchesca Diaries

He backed off, turning a little red. “Sorry,” he said. “Bad habit.”

“No, no…it’s OK.”

We had a hugely awkward moment after that. I felt horrible, like I had kicked a puppy. I mean, when Joel hugged me, I didn’t push him away. But…that was JOEL. This kid…well, he was weird. Nice, but weird, like pretty much everyone in Riverblossom.

Thankfully the door opened behind me, and Ms. Ambassador stepped out.

“Time for your piano practice, Thatcher,” she said. “Good night, Franchesca.”

I got the hint and motored out of there, not daring to wave at The Boy with The Mom standing right there, watching me.

Back at home, I wrote in this here blog for awhile, then went down to dinner. Dad was holding Weezy for once (she wasn’t on the floor! AMAZING!), but I don’t think she likes him very much. Either that, or she and I are in agreement about the hideousness of the sweater.

Franchesca Diaries

And then at dinner…poor Uncle Elvis. He was so exhausted from taking care of the baby and the garden and the house that he collapsed face first into his chef salad.

Franchesca Diaries

Dad ended up helping him to his bed while I distracted Bernie so he wouldn’t tag along and inadvertently see his birthday gift. I asked him how it went with the bullies at school today, and he said when he asked them if they had knocked over his lemonade stand, they laughed and said they were coming for HIM next.

“So,” Bernie said calmly, “I’m going to learn martial arts. Then I’ll be able to defend myself. Do you think Mom will make a cake for my birthday?”

Dear, sweet Bernie. If those bullies beat him up, they are DEAD.

Also, I really really want to go swimming. But not in my undies.

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22 thoughts on “The Art of Diplomacy (Part II)”

  1. Aww, Thatcher even *looks* like a puppy! Even with those pale blue eyes, but they’re all angled in a sad fashion. He looks like he should be in a Victorian setting. Like one of those morbid little boys in an overly fussy satin suit, practically chained indoors so he won’t mess up his hair or god forbid get a tan. I like! :D
    I also really like how you’ve set up the ambassadorial building. All the trinkets really give it this well traveled feel. And Fran’s employers are uber-mysterious to the t!

  2. Cute update Jen! Sounds like one of those crazy chance cards…”Your boss tells you not to talk to her creepy son. Do you go for a skinny-dip with him, or not?” Heehee, I loved it!

  3. Poor Thatcher! I feel bad for him. I’m really looking forward to finding out what the deal is with the ambassador lady. And I hope Bernie likes his present! :-)

  4. Hi!
    Sorry to bug you on here, but I just joined Sim Scribes, and I’m having slight logging in problems. To be specific, the email account I put down isn’t used very much, and it was deactivated, so when I tried to access it to get the verification email… it was gone. I re-made it, but no I have an account with no way to access it. I figured if I contacted you on here you might be able to help me out…

    Anyways, love your site. And great update, as usual.

  6. Man, that kid doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends…and I can understand why, his mom probably thinks no one’s good enough for him, poor boy.

  7. Poor Thatcher, he looked so sad when Franchesca didn’t talk to him. Even though he seems a little strange… That house is beautiful! :)

  8. Aww, i like that thacher boy and the poodle but i’m not allowed to have a pet in my house,so i have lots of dogs in my sims family(they are constantly nagging why they have to get another set of puppies ‘evil grin’). Nice update!

  9. Did you decorate that house? I love it, its so clutterized and huge, coolness. I felt so bad for Thatcher, he was talking and Fran was sad. :( Oh well. The poodle is so cute! And tiny too, LOL.

  10. Thacter is. . . “unique” is what I’ll go with. Nice house (poodle too!) Who wants to go skinny-dipping with someone they just MET? Thankfully Fran has some common sense NOT to go with him. Her dad is STILL wearing that uguly. . ./thing?/ I agree with Weezy.
    By the way I take Takwando (black belt-so proud XD). If Bernie is any good at physical activity, concentrating, and listening he’ll do great. I hope he gets the chance to beat those bullies to a pulp.

  11. Teehee! This was a funny entry. Man, maybe there’s something in Riverblossom’s water or something that makes people freak way-the-hell OUT! *LOL* Franchesca was there for like … what … 30 minutes? And she dismissed for the day! Talk about a cushy job!

    Thatcher is very weird … but in an endearing way. Is he going to work his way into her heart do you suppose? Will they end up going to college together and becoming really close friends that develops into something more?

    Only time will tell!

  12. What a cool job, easy money. Lol it would seem as though everything in Frans life is weird. Shame the poor dude seems so lonely, maybe he just needs a friend.

  13. Strange job Fran has there. Thatcher definitely has a different personality but I wonder how much of that stems from having people ignore him. That can’t help one’s sanity. At least you wouldn’t think so. I wonder what will come from this job. Great job Jenba!

  15. Yay! Another great update. Poor Thatcher, I hope Fran befriends him & his Mom doesn’t get mad.

    This story is one of my favorites!

  16. Fran’s job seems cushy, but something feels off to me. Why doesn’t the Ambassador want anyone to talk to Thatcher? Why’s she canoodling with her assistant?

  18. Wow, talk about a creepy bunch over at the ambassadors place! I do love how you decorated it!!! Thatcher does seem a bit…weird, but I think he just needs some attention. I mean “Don’t talk to the boy,” come on!!!

  19. Jeez, Thatcher reminds me of a boy I used to chum around with when I was about 11 or 12, and I actually felt sorry for him. Right, I’m going back to my novel until the next update!

  20. Hi. Great second part. I kinda feel sorry for Thatcher it sounds like he hasn’t got any friends I mean if he did he would know it not usually a good idea to ask someone they just met to go swimming in their undies. But I don’t think he’s the pervy type though. and why was Fran told not to talk to him?.

    Keep Simming!

    See ya.

  21. hi i just started reading your stories and i LOVE them . I admire your creativity and I cant wait to see what happens next :)

  22. Anna – Were you able to get registered at SimScribes? If not, send me an e-mail! (There’s a link in my sidebar.)

    And thanks for all of the comments, everyone! :-D