8.10 Part Two: Wrecked Resort, Wrecked Relationship

NOTE: One, language-blah-blah-disclaimer and stuff. PG-13 rating. You know. Two, the resort is built by the wonderful pixiegamer, not me. ALL CREDIT GOES TO HER.

   "We're here, we're here!" Marlo exclaimed, once I parked the car and we all climbed out.
   "Calm down, Marlo." Maya  said. She loved both our children equally, but I could tell that she was starting to lean towards the youngest the most. Phoebe looked just like her, but she started developing her own taste in interior design and fashion; she wasn't letting Maya play dolls with her. Marlo, on the other hand, hadn't developed her own opinion so she gladly wore and liked whatever Maya bought for her. It was like because she looked like me and her name didn't end in W, she had to work extra hard to earn her mother's approval. Maya usually babied Phoebe more and generally paid more attention to the eldest daughter and I was worried that, because her comments to Marlo were either critiques or about what she was going to buy for her, the youngest was going to have some maternal issues.
   "Okay, mommy." Marlo said, pinching her wrist.
   "Look at the sign!" Phoebe exclaimed.
   "Landscape classes- learn to paint the scenery around you." I read.
   "Can I go, dad? Please?"
   "Sure." I sighed, handing her some cash.
   "What about me, mommy?" Marlo asked. "Can I go paint?"
   "No, no. Phoebe's older, she's in fourth grade, sweetie." Giving an excuse to a child who didn't ask for one was her specialty.
   "Can I go to the dancing thingie?"
   "Dancing seminar- learn the basics of tap, ballet, and classic popular dances, such as the chicken dance." I read the sign off to my wife. "It sounds great; sure."
   "Fine." Maya huffed. "Whatever, I said she's too young, but sure. Dancing. Like Dirty Dancing. As in, the innocent girl who didn't know any better-"
   "Maya, stop. She's seven and going to complete the first grade in two weeks. I doubt she'll end up like Baby."
    "What's Dirty Dancing? I took a bath last night. I'm clean." Marlo glanced down, then she sniffed her hand, just to confirm that she was indeed clean.
   "A movie you're too young to see." I said. "Now, go have fun. Go dancing or painting." I gave her some cash as well and in the blink of an eye she was gone, following Phoebe.
   "Why do you have to undermine me so much?" Maya snapped.
   "I'm not. Look, let her have fun."
   "They're grounded! They deserve no fun."
   "They get no sweets for two months. I don't think I sent them to a candy shop."
   "Ugh. Think you're so smart?" She muttered under her breath. To me she said: "Let's begin the tour. It's self guided." We walked up the stairs and turned right, into the pool room.

   Bright orange cones and yellow police tape were strew about the place and a suspicious red stain was on the bottom of the pool. Definitely not a major selling point. I glanced at Maya and she shrugged, then turned and walked into the room across from here, the lobby.
   "Welcome... are you here for directions?" A bored looking clerk asked us.
   "No." I said. "Um, interested in buying-"
   "We heard that the city is giving this place away, all you have to do is fill out an application and use your money to get it up to code." Maya quickly corrected me. "And from what I saw, they mean health department, building codes, pretty much every regulation that should apply here doesn't and we are going to fix it."
   "Ha. Right. That would take thousands to do."
   "Ugh. You suck the energy out of the place. It's bad customer service." Maya glared at them. "Well, when I'm owner you're F-I-R-E-D."
   "Maya!" I exclaimed. "You cannot fire the- just...stop acting like we already signed the paperwork. Be nice."
   "I'm always nice, you're the over exaggerating one who makes me seem bitchy."
   "Do you have any questions?" The clerk said. "About this place? Any at all?"
   "Yeah, the red pool stains..." I trailed off. "And the water and buckets and barriers in this room?"

   "Oh, the lawyers convinced the jury that the person was just clumsy and it had nothing to do with the ladder being rusty and part of the pool wall that hit them in the head, causing them to hit the floor. Don't worry, the autopsy wasn't incriminating. As for here, the roof's been leaking causes puddles and the floor partial collapsed with all the water weight."

   "So there was a- I think my wife need to go outside and have a talk." I grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her outside, to the tables and chairs by the rotting, molding, disgusting smelling buffet.
   "Harbor. What are you doing?"
   "We need to talk. This place..."
   "You haven't seen it all. Once you have, you'll love it. Why don't I go look at the cabins and the classes behind the cabins and you stay here?"
   "Fine. Get the kids, though."
   "Ugh... they're so much work." She wandered off to the cabins, moaning and groaning about her stupid husband and the difficulties of motherhood. Did she honestly believe that this place was good? I certainly didn't. Nevertheless, once she had an idea it was like trying to get hell to freeze over to convince her to change it.

   I stood up, walking to the bathrooms. Might as well see what they look like. I opened up the door to see two gross portable potties and three glaringly large holes in the roof. No way. Not happening. I stared at the mess for a few seconds, before turning away and walking back to the tables. Just as I sat down, Maya sauntered back over to me.
   "Now that we've seen it all, can't you just tell how great it is?" She squealed.

   "Great it is?" I repeated. The place wasn't exactly ready to be opened, it would take a ton of effort, effort that cost money, to prepare the place for the public. "It doesn't seem that great. It's awful."

   "Oh, Harbor. It is obviously a fixer upper. Besides, you know what they say."

   "No I don't." I sighed. I doubted whatever saying she was about to tell me would make me change my mind; eventually her persistence wore me out and caused me to say yes, but I was determined to say no to this.

   "Takes money to make money."

   "Guess what we don't have."

   "Oh... I thought we discussed this last night. Stop the tutor and bam- money."

   "And we also stated that we care abo our daughter's education."

   "Harbor." She said again, as if repeating my name was a decent arguement. "Please?"

   "No. We don't have the money." 

   "Ugh. You suck."

   "I suck? What are we, teenagers?"

   "Please?"

   "I said no."

   "But it will make me happy."

   "And not being homeless will make me happy."

   "But you always say yes to me!" She pouted, leaning forwards to show off what was beneath her expensive top.

   "If you think that is going to change my mind... Maya we're married. I've seen them plenty of times."

   "Yeah. Well, you won't if you don't start complying."

   "You're taking away sex? Because of this? I thought we were adults who could talk about our differences. I mean, aren't you abo-"

   "Obviously I'm not above it." She rolled her eyes. "You just said we were married, you should know that."

   "Look, I want you to be happy-"

    "So yes! Oh Harbor, thank you so much! You know, good behavior is rewarded..." She took a step forward and began whispering in my ear. "Maybe we can do it specially... Maybe we can try that position I read about. Oh! Or the one with the whipped cream and handcuffs and blindfold."

   "You didn't let me finish. I want you to be happy, but I also want to be financially responsible and stable. Right now we wouldn't be either of those things if we went ahead with this."

   "Jerk!" She shouted, taking a step away. "Guess you can forget the whipped cream... Maybe you could try it on yourself? Not like you'll have anyone for the next few months."

   "Calm down. People are beginning to stare."

   "All I want is the perfect family. Don't you? Dammit, don't you? Say you do, say it you son of a bitch."

   "I think that your idea of perfection is getting to you."

   "No, you're son of a bitchy jerkiness is getting to me."

   "Look, the children are close by. They don't need to overhear our spat."

   "Spat? Spat! This is just a spat? What the hell counts as an arguement then? Do I need to slap someone or storm off or getting so drunk that I can't stand? Do I need to proclaim that you're not the man I married? What the hell, dammit. What the fudging hell?"

   "Maya." I whispered. "No need to drop the F bomb."

   "Oh stop it, you... You jerk. I want my damn happiness and you aren't able to see it."

   "Maya I love you, but I need you to calm down. We'll talk about it."

   "You're so repetitive, dammit! You are not sleeping in our bed tonight." she said, arching an eyebrow. Did she believe that the couch was enough for me to make a choice that would essentially be financial suicide? I sighed.
   "Let's go home."
   "Fine, you son of two bitches. Not because I agree with your controlling butt and like how you think you run the family emotionally and financially. Only because the stress might cause breakouts and I need acne pills, though." And with that she turned on her heel and sauntered off to our car. Wasn't this going to be lovely to deal with?

NOTE #2: I know I make the resort seem crappy, but trust me it is an amazing build built by pixiegamer via my request. I appreciate all the effort and time she put into making the resort look like something that truly is a fixer upper. You can download it off the Sims Exchange or throw it a rec if you'd like HERE.