glassdreamsims

Much to Emily’s dismay, Remington continued his cleaning of her meager belongings.  He would frequently come over while she was at work, making the bed that she had left unmade and scrubbing her toilet to a frightening shine.  Emily still hadn’t paid him a single cent, despite the fact that he had told her only the first visit was free.

Things only got creepier when he started leaving bouquets of roses next to her bed.  The first time it happened, Emily had hoped the roses were from someone else.  Perhaps from a secret admirer.  Of course, she was not to be so lucky.  She threw the roses in the garbage immediately, only to find a new bouquet next to her bed the next day.  If there had been any question in Emily’s mind about Remington’s intentions, they were washed away with the mysteriously reappearing roses.

After the tenth bouquet of roses, Emily began to realize just how lonely she was.  She found the roses next to her bed as always, but instead of feeling the disgust and creepiness in the gesture, she found a warm feeling in her stomach.  She was all alone in this new town.  It had been just over three weeks now, and she had no one.  Except Remington.  The minute those thoughts entered her mind, Emily knew something was wrong.  She should not be happy to have the affection of some crazy stalker!  With this realization, Emily did something she never thought she would do—she entered an internet chatroom, looking for some sort of companionship.

It was in this chat room that Emily met Ravi.  Over the next few weeks, Emily chatted with Ravi on a daily basis.  He was the sweetest, most sensitive soul she had ever met.  His sense of humor was unmatched, and he always found a way to make her feel better.  So it was no surprise, that when Emily found herself laid off from her job, she sought out Ravi.

Ravi, of course, made Emily feel better immediately.  He told her that being laid off could be a blessing in disguise.  Perhaps a little time off would allow her to focus on herself again, to let her really discover who she was and what she wanted.  More importantly, maybe some time off would give her time to meet him.

Emily was thrilled when Ravi suggested that they meet.  It was finally clear that he felt the same way about her as she did about him.  Was it love?  She wasn’t sure, but it definitely had potential.  So it was that Emily and Ravi arranged to meet at a local bakery that was half way between both of their homes.  Emily sat at the small table in the dining area of the bakery, nervously awaiting her first glimpse of the man who could be exactly what she’d been looking for all along.

When a teenager approached the table where Emily sat, she tried to look away, unsure about why a kid would be approaching her.  Even as she tried to avoid his gaze, however, a knot formed in her stomach.  This couldn’t be happening.  It was a mistake.  This boy could not be Ravi.  Of course, no matter how much she told herself these things, she couldn’t make it true.  Ravi was, in fact, the teenager standing before her.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, as she stood to shake the hand of the teenager.  “I expected…well, I expected someone a little older.”

“What is age?”  Ravi countered.  “It is only a number.  I’m still the same person you met, and chatted with.  Does it matter what my age is?”

Emily didn’t know what to say.  Of course it mattered!  How could she tell this boy though?  As she struggled with words, a presence washed over her.  Emily looked behind her slightly, and spotted the one person who seemed to be a constant in her life:  Remington.

Without thinking, Emily turned to Remington, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him deeply.  Perhaps it was the coward’s way out: a way to reject Ravi without having to say it out loud.  Or maybe it was a way for her to deny to herself that she had fallen for a man who wasn’t a man at all.  Whatever the reason, Emily’s plan worked.  Ravi walked out of the bakery.  Emily never saw the crushed expression of the teenager or the tears that filled his eyes as he pushed through the glass doors of their meeting place.

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Emily had been in Sellwood for nearly two weeks.  Nothing was quite as she thought it would be.  When she had come to this place, she thought things would be better.  She thought she would feel whole.  She had imagined her life clicking into place, as if Sellwood had been the missing jigsaw piece in the puzzle of her life.  Those thoughts though were nothing more than fantasy.  Life did not simply fall into place.  Emily realized this now.  Two weeks after having depleted the money she had saved in her past life, she had nothing more than a large plot of land, a mattress held up on empty cardboard boxes, a mini fridge, and a toilet.  At least she had managed to put up four walls to form a tiny enclosure that shielded the toilet from public view.  Emily was trying to focus on the good things, no matter how small.

Emily had finally found a job she felt would give her enough time to really reflect on her life and figure out what her true calling was—what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing—when she got an unexpected surprise.  A housecleaning van pulled up to her lot, and out stepped a man, dressed in what Emily could only describe as atypical cleaning attire.  His shirt was unbuttoned half way down his chest and his pants fit just a bit too snugly. 

Emily watched, her mouth gaping, as the man approached her, giving a friendly wave.  Surely he had made some mistake.  Emily didn’t even have a roof over her head.  Naturally, she didn’t need help keeping her meager belongings clean.  Much to Emily’s surprise though, the man-maid simply flashed a blinding smile when she told him there must be a mistake with whatever address he received on the housecleaning order. 

It turns out, Mr. Maid (Remington, he said his name was) owns a fledgling housecleaning service and his promotion to grow his business is to offer one free cleaning to all new residents of Sellwood.   Now Emily didn’t need her “home” cleaned, but it seemed quite rude to refuse a free cleaning.  After all, what reason would there even be to say no?

Emily had to admit that Remington seemed a bit odd.  She had no reason to mistrust him, but something about the situation just seemed off.  His cleaning attire definitely didn’t fit what Emily envisioned housekeepers wearing, not to mention the fact that he just showed up on a stranger’s door without so much as a phone call, and assumed he’d be allowed to come in and touch their belongings.  Feeling slightly nervous, Emily decided to take her mind off things with a trip downtown.  So Emily left, leaving Remington to touch her bed sheets and clean her toilet without her watching over his shoulder.  Had she had anything of value, she never would have left him there alone.  As it was though, what was he going to do?  Steal her empty boxes?

Emily found herself at Lucky Shack Cards and Drinks, enjoying a game of poker and winning rather largely.  Everything was going fine and Emily was even able to forget about the strange man she’d left at her home.  That is, until he suddenly claimed a seat next to her at the poker table.  Emily tried to play it cool, pretending like she wasn’t freaking out inside (which she most certainly was).  She could only make it through one more hand of cards though before she hurriedly pushed her chair away from the table and made a beeline for the bar. 

Emily’s heart was pounding in her chest as she nervously eyed the poker table.  Something was definitely wrong.  First, Remington just magically appears at her property to clean a house that isn’t even built, and then he just happens to appear at the same downtown spot that she’s at not more than an hour after he shows up to clean the non-existent house?  No, that didn’t seem right.  Emily grabbed the mixed drink the bartender offered her, feeling the satisfying burn of the liquid as it slid down her throat and settled in her stomach. 

Two drinks in and Emily felt someone watching her. Discreetly glancing to her side, she saw what she feared:  Remington.  He was standing just behind her, a small smirk playing on his lips, and his eyes focused intently in her direction.  If things weren’t odd before, they certainly were now.

Three more drinks, and finally Emily forgot all about her personal stalker maid.  The only question was, would he forget about her?

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Next Time:  Emily finds herself a love interest...but what will Remington do?

There has to be more out there than this.

Those are the words that started me on the path I now travel.  I felt so lost and alone, even surrounded by people who supposedly cared about me, even loved me.  I didn’t have a bad life.  That wasn’t it at all.  In fact, an outside observer would probably have called my life pretty good.  I worked as a high school English teacher; I rented a pretty nice apartment in a decent part of the city; I had friends I went out with every weekend; I even had a pretty serious boyfriend.  So yeah, from the outside, my life seemed pretty damn good.  I should have been happy.  Hell, I was luckier than most of my friends, all things considered. 

But I wasn’t happy.  In fact, I felt like there was a huge gaping hole inside of me.  I was empty.  I couldn’t explain it then, and I certainly can’t explain it now.  There was no reason for the feeling emptiness.  There was no logical reason for why I felt so alone, so incomplete, so uneasy.  So I kept the feelings to myself.  I never told anyone how miserable I really was.  Then one day, I just left.  Just like that.  Gone.  I didn’t tell anyone—not my friends, not my boyfriend.  I just packed up the bare necessities and turned my keys into the apartment manager.  Then I disappeared.

So here I am.  Trying to find the “more” that I know is out there somewhere.  I can’t tell you why I chose Sellwood to start my life over.  I don’t even know the answer to that question.  I was just driving, and this is where I happened to stop.  There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to my choice.  It just…is.  I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.  I guess it depends on if I find whatever it is I’m looking for, or if history repeats itself.