When Shiloh and I arrived back home, I found Ali fuming on the porch. He was furious to find our children home alone and looked like he wanted to douse me in kerosene and strike a match. Knowing he thought I was irresponsible and was probably waiting for a chance to chew me out, I didn’t give him the opportunity and explained. I’d only been gone 10 minutes, and I never left our block. Besides, he knows how those tablets mesmerize them. They probably never knew I left the house.
“Wait,” I said. “Why are you home so early?”
He glared at me in disbelief. “For the party.”
My face wrinkled in attempts to force some memory to the surface.
“Our son’s birthday? Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“N-n-no! Of course not! I-It’s been a difficult day, and I’m…”
His expression hadn’t changed at all. Not even the slightest bit of empathy slipped from his intimidating snarl.
“Ali… I didn’t forget! It just slipped my mind for a second. I’m really struggling, and-”
“So there’s no cake?”
“I can make a cake! It won’t take long.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just…keep them occupied for an hour.”
I hope to the Watcher there is a way out of this, but I think I’ve lost Ali forever. Don’t get me wrong. I knew I lost him last night. But he’s a really good sim and always does the right thing. I guess part of me had hoped the right thing was sticking around for the kids’ sake. And who knows? Maybe with him still being around, we could get counseling and work toward reconciliation. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful story? But there is so much hurt and anger in his eyes. I’m not even sure if he loves me anymore. Will I ever be able to show him how sorry I am? What does that even look like?
