In Shadow - Ch 1 - In the News

 "... and Commissioner Jameson renewed his commitment to maintaining a strong National Police force, while insisting that police statistics show that the crime rate is actually down," anchorwoman Lynda Cho said. "This in stark contrast to public concerns about rising crime."

"Crime is also a growing concern in idyllic Tartosa, where last night celebrity Miranda Goth, daughter of renowned singer and actress Cassie Goth, was rushed to Santa Maria Hospital following a violent assault," anchorman Walter Daniels said in his signature deep, confident voice. "While hospital staff refused to make an official statement, an anonymous source close to Miranda's medical team revealed that she is in critical condition, suffering severe blood loss after the attack.

"Tartosan police say the investigation is ongoing, and that they are seeking to question several persons of interest. However, they refuse to comment on a potential motive behind the attack."

"This is not the first time Miranda, and the Goth family, have been involved in violent incidents and speculation is rampant about a possible organized crime connection to last night's attack," Lynda picked up the story with a hint of excitement. "From the dramatic Mill Lane Incident five years ago - and the subsequent arrest of criminal matriarch Nancy Landgraab and her son Malcolm by Miranda's grandmother, Agency operative Bella Goth - to Miranda Goth's kidnapping by unknown gangsters a year later, the sinister shadow of the Syndicates looms heavily over the Goth family.

"Adding fuel to the fire is Miranda's marriage, mere days ago, to Mariah Huntley, the adopted daughter of actress and producer Londyn Huntley," Lynda continued brightly. "A troubled young woman, Mariah is known to have numerous brushes with the law and is even suspected of having close ties to the Alto crime family. Is Miranda Goth paying the price for marrying the Mob?"

"In a joint statement," Walter Daniels said in his measured tones, "the Goth and Huntley families have asked for privacy during this difficult time. Our hopes and prayers go out to Miranda Goth for her safe and speedy recovery."

"After the break," Daniels concluded, "we will be speaking with Representative Elias Friend, leader of the conservative Axis party, about his calls for a stronger national commitment to law and order. Stay tuned."

--------------------------

Author's Note: If I do this right, you shouldn't need to have read my earlier stories to understand and enjoy In Shadow. However, if you want to get a quick introduction to our main characters, I recommend my short story - A Tartosan Wedding. It's only six chapters long and should fill you in on the highlights. 

(Content Note: Chapters 5 and 6 of A Tartosan Wedding do include some mild nudity.)

Flowers Are Good - Floral Story Challenge (March 2025)

Author's Note: The Sims Creatives forum has started monthly story prompt challenges. This month the challenge is a story inspired by, or featuring, flowers. This is my story.

While this story does take place in the 'Wyrd'verse' it does not directly follow A Tartosan Wedding.

Flowers are Good - A Clay and Missy Adventure

"Missy, if you were out with another guy, just tell me," Clay said, struggling to sound calm.

It was his own fault really, Clay thought. After all, Missy was a beautiful, passionate young woman and he was just an ordinary middle-aged guy, working an ordinary office job. Honestly, he had no idea why she was with him, of all people. It didn't really surprise him that maybe she wanted a little excitement on the side. Still, she always came home to him. So, when she hadn't come home last night, it had hurt.

"I wasn't!" Missy insisted.

"I told you; I was coming home from the bar last night and suddenly there was this weird light," Missy said firmly. "They took me up in their spaceship and did all this... stuff!"

"Stuff? Really," Clay rolled his eyes.

"Not like that!" Missy cried. "They didn't... I mean, they did... but, like, in a doctor way not a sexy way." 

"Missy," Clay started.

"Clay, I'm not lying!" Missy insisted.

"Missy just tell me who you were with," Clay demanded.

"I wasn't with anyone!" Missy cried.

"Like you weren't with Austin from next door?" Clay snapped. "Like you weren't with that weirdo Beardy Bill?" 

"OK, yes! I did it with those guys and I lied to you about it," Missy cried, "but I stopped! I broke it off with Austin. You're the only guy for me now, Clay! And you don't believe me! You think I'm still lying!"

"Missy," Clay said, taking a deep breath. "Just..."

"No!" Missy shouted. "Forget it!"

OK... that went well, Clay thought after she'd stormed off.

--------------------------

Clay slept in the spare room that night. 

The next morning, he got up to an empty apartment. A hastily scrawled note on the fridge read: 

Well, crap, Clay thought. 

I need to think, Clay decided. He considered grabbing his fishing tackle and heading down to the river. Fishing always cleared his head. Then he imagined coming home and Missy being furious because after their big fight... and he wasn't kidding himself, this was a big fight... he'd just gone fishing like it was any other Saturday.

So, no fishing. Guess I'll just go for a walk.

Clay wasn't exactly a deep thinker. He considered himself a simple guy. He liked fishing, watching sports, having a good beer with friends, action movies. Above all, he liked Missy. He was, in fact, soppy, head-over-heels in love with her. 

So, idiot, he thought, how are you going to work this out?

Looking up, he realized that his feet had taken him to the neighborhood community garden. 

OK feet, he thought walking toward the greenhouse, I'm game.

"Hi, I'm Mandy. Can I help you with something?" The nice young woman asked.

"Well... uhhh... I guess," Clay said. "See, I had this big fight with my girl, and I was thinking maybe... flowers?"

"Thinking flowers is good," Mandy smiled. "Giving flowers is better. I could make you up a bouquet if you want." 

"That would be great," Clay smiled.

"So, you want to talk about it?" Mandy asked as she started to arrange flowers. "The big fight?"

"No... no... thanks anyway," Clay said. 

"OK," Mandy smiled.

"It's just she was out all night... and I'm sure she was with another guy," Clay explained.

"Oh," Mandy said.

"I mean, she's been with other guys before," Clay continued, "and I know I should be more upset about that... but I mean... she's younger than me and she's got all this energy and... well, she always comes back. I'm just a pathetic loser I guess."

"I don't think so," Mandy said as the bouquet took shape. "Sounds to me like you're a guy who understands her and trusts her. So, what happened? What makes this time different?" 

"I guess part of it is her not coming home that night," Clay said. "Then there's this crazy story she told... she says she was abducted by aliens. I mean, aliens? Really?"

"You don't think she was?" Mandy asked.

"Come on," Clay scoffed. "Everyone knows there's no such thing as aliens."

"So, you think she's lying to you," Mandy said. "Was she up front about the other guys?"

"Well, no," Clay admitted. "I mean, I found out about it, but she didn't, like, come home and say 'hey honey, I banged our neighbor in the shower this afternoon. How was your day?'"

"Hmmm," Mandy said.

"I guess it's just..." Clay floundered, at a loss to explain his feelings. "I don't know. Like the thing with Austin, the neighbor guy. She told me he'd come over to use the shower 'cause his was broken. She just, didn't mention that she got in the shower with him and they... you know. I mean, I figured it out."

"So, the other times she just left part of the story off and this time you think she's making something up," Mandy offered. "Maybe you think, because she's making up a story, this time is different. More serious somehow."

"Yeah," Clay nodded.

"What if she's not making up a story?" Mandy asked.

"There's no such thing as aliens," Clay insisted.

"OK, maybe not," Mandy said calmly, "but what if it's something else. I mean, it sounds like you trust her. Yeah, you know she doesn't always tell you the whole story, but you trust that she loves you and... like you said... she always comes back. So maybe something weird really happened... maybe not aliens but something else she can't explain any other way."

"... and she just wants me to trust her," Clay said. "Like I always do."

"Flowers are good," Mandy said, looking at the finished bouquet. "Trust is better."

"Thanks," Clay said. "So, what do I owe you... for the flowers?"

"On the house," Mandy said. "I'm new at this. I need the practice."

--------------------------

Walking back to the apartment, Missy wondered what she was going to do. Annie was right, she'd brought this on herself. She hadn't really taken her relationship with Clay seriously at first. He'd been so nice, and she liked hanging out with him, but she'd let herself get swept up with things. 

Like that thing with Bill. That was just... well, crazy... but there had been something so primal about him. It had just pulled her in and, if she was honest with herself, she'd wanted to know what that wild and primal fling would be like.

Austin had been charming, and cute, but it had never been anything serious. Honestly, it had been when he started talking seriously about 'them' as if it was more than just a fling that she'd realized that it was Clay, not Austin, she wanted to be serious about.

So, she'd decided to be serious. She wasn't fooling around with other guys anymore. Clay was her guy... and now he didn't trust her.

OK, so the aliens thing was a little unbelievable... but it was true, damn it. Why wouldn't he believe her? Had she ruined everything before it even started?

"Clay, I..." Missy started.

"Missy, I'm sorry," Clay said, holding out a big, wrapped box.

"No, I'm..." Missy tried to interrupt.

"Let me," Clay insisted. "Missy, I'm sorry. I should have believed you. I mean, I really don't believe in aliens... but I believe in you. So, if you say something weird happened, then something weird happened. Are you OK? I mean..."

"I'm OK," Missy said, her eyes welling up. "I'm fantastic."

"I love you," Missy sighed as they kissed. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I love you," Clay smiled.

"The flowers are good, too," Missy grinned.

A Tartosan Wedding - Afterword

Yeah, I'm ending A Tartosan Wedding with a cliffhanger... because I'm me.

Obviously, there is another story to come, though I'm frankly a little behind on it so we'll have a bit of a break. Not sure at this point how long a break, but I'll get there. 

For a simple short story about a wedding, this was surprisingly difficult to write. For one thing, I had some pretty ambitious goals.

A Tartosan Wedding represents a return to my "main" storyline, bringing Miranda and Mariah - along with their friends and family - back onto center stage. The last time we were here was 2023. That was two years ago! So, a big goal of A Tartosan Wedding was to reintroduce these characters... or possibly introduce them for new readers. 

Another challenge was that some idiot decided to make his main character precognitive. Miranda has flawless visions of future Moments, and one of those Moments was her own wedding. So, I had to try to recreate that scene as closely as possible two years, and I don't know how many game updates, later. (Just to add a complication, I started trying to do this while the Wedding Arch was glitched.)

I wanted a much larger wedding party but I just couldn't pull it off. There are hard limits on how many sims can be in one scene and "soft" limits on how many actually behave properly. Getting the screenshots of the wedding and reception took several tries. While there are things I would have liked to be different, it worked out in the end. 

Finally, writing this came at a very challenging time for me personally. As I'm sure many of my readers are aware, my mother passed away in January. I found myself trying to write the one of the happiest moments in Miranda and Mariah's lives during one of the saddest times in my own. I'd like to say it was therapeutic, but in all honesty, I think the best I can manage is that it was a pleasant distraction. Fortunately, I have the unwavering support - in writing and in every other aspect of my life - of my own wonderful spouse. 

Well, our M&M's are married. Gwen and Lucius are talking again. We've reintroduced Aadi (a fan favorite), Genie, and Jenny Poole (who is a personal favorite). Mariah even got to be genuinely and completely happy for a day. 

Trouble is coming. It wouldn't be much of a story without it. 

Our M&M's can face the challenges with the unwavering support of their wonderful spouse. 

Wyrd Tales will return.

A Tartosan Wedding - 6 - Wedded Bliss

Madonna, what did I do? Mariah sat at the edge of the bed and shivered slightly. I got married! To Miranda. Miranda and I are married. Wow, she thought. I can't stop smiling.

She rolled her shoulders, wondering why they felt odd, only to realize a moment later that the unaccustomed sensation was relaxation. For the first time in days, maybe years, she wasn't stressed out. 

Miranda's absence from the bed wasn't unexpected. Her wife... her wife! ... was an early riser, having often commented that she needed less sleep than most people. 

Well, Mariah thought, I should get up and start my day.

Of course, she didn't really have any plans. Everything over the past few months had been related to the wedding somehow. That done, and university behind then, they didn't really have anything they needed to do right now. At some point, she thought, they'd need to figure out the next steps of their life together, but for right now, they had time to relax and enjoy themselves.

I guess, she thought, I should go find my wife. 

"Hey, you're up," Miranda called brightly. "I'm making French Toast."

"... in the nude," Mariah pointed out, a little stunned.

"Well, you were sleeping," Miranda replied. "I didn't want to disturb you, and I didn't want to get dressed in the dark. So..."

"So, you decided to make French Toast... naked," Mariah said, shaking her head. 

"Why not," Miranda laughed, deftly flipping the toast in the pan. "It's not as good as mom's but I make pretty good French Toast."

"Just don't burn yourself," Mariah said earnestly.

"That's why we're not having bacon," Miranda smiled.

"Of course," Mariah laughed. 

"Good?" Miranda asked as they dug into plates of warm battered bread. 

"Fantastico," Mariah replied honestly. "Easily as good as your mom's. You are a marvelous cook, mia amata. This is... magical." 

"Thanks," Miranda smiled. "Though conjured food never tastes as good," she mused, reminding Mariah that her wife could, in fact, call a meal out of thin air with the magic she rarely used. "At least mine doesn't. I'd rather cook anyway."

"So, mia bellissima strega, what shall we do today?" Mariah smiled back.

"I thought we could go into town," Miranda said, "just enjoy the day."

"Si," Mariah nodded. "But first, you need to get dressed."

"Well, if you insist," Miranda laughed.

------------

"Torte! Pasticceria! Fresca e calda!"

"I don't know how you stayed so skinny, living in Tartosa," Miranda commented. "I feel like I'm gaining weight just smelling all these wonderful pastries."

"Jogging, swimming, stress, petty theft," Mariah replied with a sheepish grin. 

Honestly, she felt like she'd never really taken advantage of living here when she did. She'd been too busy being an angry teenager to enjoy it all. Now, with this beautiful woman... her wife... she was finally ready to.

The cake was really good... moist, delicious and decadently sweet without being overwhelming. The silliness of sharing bites of it with each other somehow made it taste even better.

"Fiori! Fiori bellissimi per una bellissima signora!" The flower-seller called.

"For me?" Miranda asked with a pleased smile.

"Well, you know," Mariah blushed. "Like the guy said... beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady."

"When did you get so corny?" Miranda laughed. 

"I know, I suck at this mushy stuff," Mariah muttered. 

"I love it," Miranda smiled. "I love you."

"Amore! Amore!"

So, this was happiness, Mariah thought. After the fear and pain and anger of her teen years. After all the trouble, the nightmares and the pain. After monsters and gangsters. This was happiness. 

Her cynical side whispered that it couldn't last, that there were no Happily Ever Afters. Not really. 

With iron will, she told her cynical side to sit down and shut up. Of course it wouldn't last, but she was going to enjoy this moment. This one bright, shining moment of happiness.

------------

"There she is," Carla G smiled cruelly.

"What about the other one," one of the local toughs asked. 

"Do whatever you want to her," Carla sneered, "but Mariah is mine. Time to give her a little wedding present from the Altos."

A Tartosan Wedding - 5 - Celebrazioni d'Amore

"Let's get our dance on!" Aadi called enthusiastically.

For Mariah, the day had become a blur. The ceremony on the beach had been followed by an almost anticlimactic visit to Tartosa's Government House where the legal paperwork of marriage had been signed, witnessed and filed by a courteously smiling clerk.

After that, the wedding party had gathered for dinner. Mariah had no doubt that the meal, catered by family friend and restaurateur Matteo Rossi, was excellent. Still, she'd barely touched a bite of Matteo's famous risotto. She'd sat, smiling and laughing, as her friends gave speeches and made jokes she didn't really hear through the fog of her own happiness.

Now, the party had moved to Celebrazioni, Tartosa's top club and lounge, where the combined star power of Cassie Goth and Londyn Huntley had secured the entire place for the reception.

It was, as Aadi rightly said, time to get their dance on.

Much later, she and Miranda moved off the dance floor.

"I need to catch my breath," Miranda said.

"Uh oh, don't look now but it looks like Ms. Salty Suds is taking a turn hitting on Lucius," Mariah said, the nickname recalling the series of commercials that had kicked off Jenny Poole's career and another night at Celebrazioni, years ago, when Mariah's insecurities had overcome her better sense.

"Oh, I told her not to do that," Miranda groaned, but smiled as she said it.

"Well, maybe he likes women with big... bubbles," Mariah said.

"You are completely obsessed with Jenny's boobs, aren't you?" Miranda teased. "Maybe I should be jealous."

"I am not obsessed," Mariah said, deliberately pulling her eyes away from the buxom actress's bountiful cleavage. "They're just very..."

"Oh, I know," Miranda smiled. "She's got really beautiful breasts."

"Oh yeah? Have you seen them?" Mariah said, trying to keep her voice light against the bitter rush of old insecurities.

"She sunbathes in the nude," Miranda said with a sly grin. Then she laughed, "Mariah, anyone with an internet connection can see Jenny Poole's boobs if they want to. She's not exactly shy. She'd probably recommend a good website or two, if you asked her." 

"I'm not..." Mariah stammered.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," Miranda smiled. "I'll be right back."

"Sunbathes in the nude," Mariah muttered. "Anyone with an internet connection... well, I have an internet connection," she added to herself, pulling out her phone. "So, if I wanted to I could just... oh... oh my... Umm... wow. "

"What'ch'ya doing?" a bright voice cut through the music. "Looking up something good... or maybe something naughty?"

"Nothing! I wasn't looking at anything," Mariah lied, hastily stashing her phone. 

"Ooo, something naughty then," Jenny smiled. "Special wedding night inspirations maybe."

"Absolutely not," Mariah said. I will not even think about what I was just looking at and wedding night stuff with Miranda, she thought. No, I said don't think about that. 

"So, what's the deal with Lucius and Gwen?" Jenny was asking.

"What?" Mariah said, struggling to put her thoughts back into some sort of order. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they've barely spoken to each other all weekend," Jenny said. "Miranda says he's her father... which is nuts. I mean, he can't be old enough... unless..."

"Yeah, he is... her father, I mean," Mariah said. "They... I guess they haven't really spoken since Gwen's mom was killed. He sent her away... to keep her safe, or something, but..."

"Wow," Jenny sighed. "OK, a) that sucks but b) why does Miranda's life always sound like a movie plot? And is there a part in it for me?"

"Be careful what you wish for," Mariah laughed. 

"Look, look, look," Jenny said excitedly. "He's going over to her."

Turning, she saw that Jenny was right. Lucius had made his quiet way across the dance floor and was now approaching the slender, golden-haired woman who was Miranda's other mother. 

Watching, Mariah felt an odd sense of wonder. Gwen had always struck her as mysterious, a little strange and maybe kind of flakey. She was, to those who knew about such things, the White Witch of Glimmerbrook, a name always spoken with a hint of awe. Lucius, who she'd known only briefly, she had found to be wise and ancient, gentle but a little bit frightening. 

It was strange, to see these two larger-than-life figures standing together, hesitant, uncertain and so very human in their feelings.

Mariah knew that Miranda had brought them together, here at her wedding, in the hopes that they might finally reconnect. She couldn't hear what they said together, across the dance floor, but she could see that Miranda had succeeded, perhaps beyond her wildest expectations.

"Did you see?" Miranda asked later, as they danced slowly in each other's arms.

"Si, I did," Mariah smiled. "You have any other wonders planned for tonight mia amata?"

"Well, I have a few ideas," Miranda teased, a sly gleam in her eye. "But right now, I just want to dance with my wife."

"I can do that," Mariah said happily.

-------------------

Later, after much more dancing and laughter and increasingly silly toasts, the newlyweds finally slipped away, returning to the rented villa on the bluffs above the bay. The rest of the wedding party having made arrangements for other accommodations, the villa was theirs alone tonight.

"You know, it's been a pretty good day," Miranda mused. "Gwen and Lucius are talking again. I had a wonderful meal and a night of dancing under the stars... and, oh yeah, I married the woman of my dreams on the beautiful golden beach where we fell in love."

"I guess it was a pretty good day," Mariah smiled back at her.

"So, what shall we do now?" Miranda said with a teasing smile.

"Whatever you want, mia amata," Mariah said. "Whatever you want."

"Well, I do have one idea," Miranda purred as she turned and walked across the room, "I would like to take advantage of the hot tub."

"Oh," Mariah blinked. "Well, I guess we could go upstairs and get our bathing suits."

"No," Miranda replied, reaching back to undo her dress. "I don't think I'll need a suit," she added as the blue silk slithered to the floor around her feet. 

"Oh," Mariah breathed, drinking in the vision before her. 

No matter how many times she looked at Miranda's lean, strong form, the sight always took her breath away. Tonight, Mariah realized, she was seeing her for the first time as her wife. 

"Care to join me?" Miranda said with a sultry glance over her shoulder.

"Si mia amata," Mariah smiled.