Monday morning came quickly. Too quickly. My goal was to wake up early to make something fresh and special for Ali’s first day of work. But the baby had another plan. I slept so hard; I didn’t realize I was even alive until I felt Ali stirring and realized I was so late. I started to run downstairs while he was in the shower, but I had to pee soooooooo bad! Like, I wondered if I would have wet myself if I didn’t wake up. The child wasn’t even born yet and was already bossing me around! The nerve.
Since all my plans were ruined, I gave up and showered. At least he had leftover spinach frittatas to eat. On top of still being sad about his mentor’s passing, he was nervous about his first day and I did my best to pump him up. I told him it didn’t matter that this was a different industry than he worked previously. They hired him because he had a great work ethic, learned quickly, and was adaptable. The way I saw it, they were the lucky ones. I don’t think my pep talk helped, though. He gave me a very distressed “thank you” and slinked out the door. I’d have to find some way to cheer him up when he got home. Until then, I felt energized and wanted to play with the dogs outside. It was the second day of spring, and the weather was turning, although it was still chilly.
But as soon as I stepped outside, something changed. I wish I could explain what, but I didn’t know. I wasn’t nauseous or upset. It was almost like something disgusted me, but what? I didn’t step in dog poop or anything. I just didn’t feel like playing or being outside anymore, so I went back in to eat my breakfast. Maybe the baby used some kind of baby magic to make me do what I should have done in the first place.
As soon as I opened the fridge, I heard Shiloh whimpering behind me.
“I’m sorry, girl. We can play later. I just need to eat first.”
But when I turned around, she gave me the sad puppy face. And not the “please pretty please” face but an actual sad puppy face.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
She turned around, looking at something on the other side of the island.
It was Hunter! He looked like he was napping, just like that time I found him in the snow. He was old and napped a lot, and I wanted to believe he was just snoozing, but dogs knew things. They sensed them before us sims knew anything was wrong, and my dear Shiloh confirmed what I would not accept. Our friend was gone.
(you better believe I’m ‘bout to eulogize this dog!)
Hunter was the luckiest dog in the entire game. Emmy made many dog friends in her attempts to complete the Friend of the Animal aspiration, but Hunter was special. I, as the player, liked him, but Emmy, the sim, liked him too. We all met that day in the dog park the first time she and Laurant hung out. Shiloh was trying to get laid, so I was looking for cute partners just in case she ended up getting pregnant. I’d never played with that aspect of pets before and didn’t know how it worked. I learned the dogs needed to be friendly to each other and not be strangers, so I had Emmy introduce herself to Hunter so she could direct Shiloh to “be nice to” him. When I tell you Shiloh was NOT interested… To this day, Shiloh ignored every single “be nice to” command with Hunter.
I thought Hunter was cute, and he seemed interested in Emmy. Most dogs ran away after she introduced herself, even though they became friends. Hunter stuck around and let her roughhouse with him, brush his hair, and pet him before running off. It didn’t take long for them to become companions. I wish I would have thought to have her adopt him sooner, but it worked out great the way it did. I liked the idea of her searching for Hunter, and we really did spend all day searching and could not find him! It was my personal goal to find him before it got dark and blizzard started, but he was nowhere to be found. To save the story, I had her invite him over. The girl braved a whole storm to find her special friend and bring him into her home, making his final days the best days of his life. GAAAH! NOW I’m crying!
Rest in peace, Hunter! I hope there are plenty ghost girls for you to charm. 😏
