Several hours later, I bring home a little girl who is equal parts sleepy and angry. Tambara can barely keep her eyes open as I carry her through the front door, but that doesn’t stop her from being upset about leaving the splash park. My shoulder is wet from her tears, but the crying stops once I put her down on her bed. Tami’s eyes close, and I notice her shoes are still on. It’s not worth disturbing her, so they’ll stay on.
Now that my daddy duties are over, I hurry downstairs, ready to work on my new video, but Maia has again made herself home in my office. Nobody told me I’d lose every chance for privacy once she and I moved in together. I can’t just kick her out of the room. Work will once again have to wait. She tells me about her mishap at the fabricator and I fill her in on me and Tambara’s day at the splash park.
After a few minutes of chatting with Maia, I decide to go outside and harvest the money tree.
I almost can’t believe my eyes when I step out the back door and see our tenant, Tia, chilling in our hot tub as if she owns it. How long has this been going on? Maia and I haven’t even used it yet.
Tia gets out and slips on her dress as soon as she sees me rushing over.
Wade: What are you doing?
Tia: What does it look like? I was soaking in the hot tub.
Her audacity is like a strike to the face.
Wade: Who told you that you can use the hot tub?
Tia: What do you mean? We live here, don’t we?
Wade: No, you live on that side. You have your backyard, and we have ours. Have you noticed the big fence and gate?
Tia: We’re your tenants, and we pay rent. You can’t stop us from using the amenities.
It’s funny she should say that because I have received no rent from them.
Wade: I can when it involves trespassing. I need you to leave immediately!
Tia: Wait until I tell Haru! He won’t be happy.
Wade: Am I supposed to be scared?
Tia leaves in a huff of anger and flowing dress tails.
Not even five minutes later, Haru comes stomping into our backyard.
Haru: My wife just told me you kicked her out of the hot tub!
Wade: Good evening to you, too!
Haru looks at me as if offended by my sarcasm.
Wade: I kicked her out because she didn’t have permission to be there.
I can see Haru grinding his back teeth.
Haru: Nothing in the rental agreement says we need permission to use the hot tub.
Wade: Your rental agreement states that you rent unit 2 on that side of the fence. This side belongs to me and Maia.
Haru: You’re a shitty landlord and person overall—you know that?
Wade: You can call me what you want, but –
An alert on my phone interrupts my line of thought. I ignore it initially, but something tells me I should check it out.
Wade: *to himself* What the hell?
It takes a minute or two to fully comprehend the text. Is this a joke? The message is from an unknown number, stating that they have been watching me from afar and want me to meet them. Haru and his wife have unnerved me enough; the last thing I need is a strange message from someone I probably don’t know. I attempt to type a reply, but my hands shake too much to hit the right keys. I take a deep breath and try again, finally managing a quick message –
Wade’s Text: This is creepy. You are creepy.
Haru clears his throat, reminding me he’s still awaiting a response. My phone sends another alert, but I don’t look at it. I turn my attention back to Haru.
Wade: Listen – let me clarify, the hot tub is off limits. And frankly, my entire backyard is, so I want you to leave.
Haru clenches his shoulders and balls his fist. For the second time since I met him, I feel endangered by his presence.
Haru: If you want trouble, you’ll get it.
And there it is, the threat I’ve been waiting for.
Wade: I don’t want any issues, man. I just want to enjoy the privacy of my backyard.
Haru finally turns on his heels and leaves through the back fence. I know it’s a childish thing to do, but I wave as he walks away.
Wade: Bye-bye!
It has been a strange day, and I stand there on shaking legs, thinking about the weird noises I heard this morning, the creepy message I just received, and the threat from Haru. It might be time for us to get away for a while.
Maia is in the kitchen making a pizza when I step inside to tell her about my encounter with Tia and Haru.
Wade: Our tenants have crossed a line. Do you think it’ll be wrong for me to evict them?
Maia: Evict them? What happened?
Wade: I step outside and see Tia in our hot tub, so I tell her to leave. Then Haru comes over, saying that I’m asking for trouble.
Maia: What? Are you serious?
Wade: Remember what he said to me when we first met him? I knew there was something off about him then.
Maia: That probably won’t be enough to kick them out legally. Their lease will be up soon. Maybe we should just let them borrow the hot tub to avoid further issues until then.
Wade: If we let them do that, the next thing you know, they’ll be over here ‘borrowing’ our shower, food out of our refrigerator, or money off the money tree.
Maia: Maybe if we were friendlier with them—
I think about my odd conversation with Tia when they moved in and Haru’s response to it the next day.
Wade: You can’t be friends with people like that, and I don’t want them around Tami. They’re out of here as soon as the lease is up!
Maia: That’ll probably be for the best.
I’m glad we agree. I leave Maia to her cooking and go downstairs to my office, hoping to complete a video without interruption.
Haru and Tia stand outside the media room of Dub’s office while he records his video.
Wade: Hello SimTube! It’s your boy Dub. I know it’s been a while since my last video, but adulting has been…problematic since moving to San Sequoia. The weather hasn’t been what I thought it would be, so we spent the first few days here in the house because of storms. My daughter is growing up fast, and the older she gets, the older I get. I’m approaching the age when my friend’s parents are passing away. I received the heartbreaking news from a good friend that he lost his dad. As much as I’d like to avoid thinking about it, I know my parents are getting older, too. One day, I’ll be in the same boat as my friend. Then, on top of those fresh worries and fears, the other parts of adult life continue. I still have bills to pay, so I rented out our second house to tenants and let me tell you – it has been a nightmare. I’m convinced that the lady tenant has a crush on me, and don’t even get me started talking about her crazy, jealous husband –
Dub continues his video while Haru and Tia listen closely outside.
Tia: A crush? Where would he get that idea?
Haru: You must have said or done something to make him think that.
Tia: I didn’t do anything. I swear!
Haru begins to pace back and forth rapidly.
Haru: You’d better not be cheating on me, Tia.
Tia: I’m not! I swear. I never would!
Haru: Are you flirting with our landlord?
Tia: No, of course not.
Haru: Is that why you came over here half-dressed and got in the hot tub without me…so he could see you?
Tia: No, I –
Before Tia can answer, Haru grabs a cup out of nowhere and splashes the drink all over Tia’s face and clothes. Tia cries out in shock, trying vainly to clear the liquid off her face.
Haru: Damn you for always making me look like a fool!
Tia: *begging* Please, Haru! I didn’t do anything. Please believe me!
Haru: Let’s go. We’ll finish this at home!
My video is finally complete, but something felt very off about the entire thing. For the second time in one day, I had a strange sensation of being watched. Am I just being paranoid?
I try to clear my thoughts and focus on the task at hand: warm up some chicken nuggets for Tami’s dinner. Maia’s pizza is on the counter, looking like it’s straight out of Tartosa. I can’t wait to try it.
I give Tami her nuggets and sit down at the table with Maia. She has already finished her dinner and seems to have something on her mind.
Maia: I think I’m ready to open that food stand we discussed a while back.
It’s something Maia mentioned before we were officially a couple. I had no idea that it was still on her mind.
Wade: Yeah?
Maia: The fabrication jobs are fun, but I want to do something that connects directly with more people. I’m going to submit a bid to occupy the stand in the outdoor market.
I take a bite of the pizza and confirm that it tastes as good as it looks. Maia would make a killing.
Wade: I think you should go for it!
Maia: Really?
Wade: Absolutely! Your stand would be the most popular destination in San Sequoia.
I’ve said the right thing to put the smile I love so much on her face.
After dinner, Maia begins cleaning up the kitchen, which leaves me on bedtime duties. But Tami surprises me by not fussing or whining during her bedtime routine. I grab the first book I see on her shelf…it’s called ‘Rex Treks’ and Tami seems to enjoy it. She drifts off to sleep, and I kiss her goodnight.
Maia has taken her cleaning tasks from the kitchen to downstairs, which results in her occupying my office once again when I go down prepared to work. I can only sigh and wait for her to complete her vacuuming.
(Generation 4 Chapter Summaries)
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