Hidden Springs, Tuesday, 7 a.m.

There is no date that is not met, so the dreaded Tuesday finally arrives. Very early in the morning, Tyron climbs the steps of the Town Hall to attend the hearing.

The deal is done, the judge ruled in his favor, he got custody of Brandi, Candice will be notified right today. Now all that’s left is for both of them to sign the divorce papers. On the one hand, Tyron is relieved because he’ll be able to take Brandi with him to Starlight Shores, but on the other hand, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to live without Candice.

A FEW DAYS LATER…

It’s the day of the divorce signing, Tyron is on his way to Town Hall, wondering if Candice will be there. He hasn’t heard from her since she was notified about Brandi’s custody. Hopefully she’ll be on her best behavior and show up on time.

He, for his part, is a few minutes late, perhaps unconsciously delaying the final separation.

And there’s Candice. Not only did she show up on time, but she arrived ahead of Tyron.

Days ago, she seemed in a hurry to dissolve her marriage, now quite frankly she doesn’t seem so happy about the idea.

Even so, she enters the building with determination. She knows there’s nothing left to do, so she better get this over and done with.

Tyron arrives minutes later. He wanted to talk to Candice before going in, not to fix things up, but because he feels a guilty conscience for taking Brandi away from her.
“It’s for the greater good, and mostly for your daughter’s sake,” Terry had told him. He’s kind of right, cause how would Brandi grow up in the middle of Candice’s chaotic life?

“You have nothing to apologize for, if anything, she owes you,” Kayla had told him. “She should’ve thought of Brandi before making a mess of her life,” his other brother, Dale’s, opinion. All of that is true, Candice is the one who failed, but even so, Ty can’t help but feel guilty.

Anyway, it’s all over.
“Candice leaves the court as a freshly divorced sim. It’s bitter-sweet, especially since she has to pay 500 simoleons in alimony, that’s not to mention the other legal fees. It’s a small price to pay for freedom”. (*)
Is it, though?

She doesn’t look happy at all; she wanted the divorce, and is relieved to be free, but living without Brandi? That’s what she wasn’t prepared for.

She’s also not sure if she can live without Tyron, after all, for a few years they were very close to each other. And she really loved him. She still does. They could have lived happily ever after… if only Jasper Goth hadn’t crossed her path.

Tyron came out a little later, he had to stay longer to sign the papers about Brandi’s parental rights. As he leaves, he looks around, is Candice gone already? Should he say something to her? A few words of farewell? But – what would he say to her?

There she is. It looks like she’s not ready to go home yet and has moved to sit on a bench in the esplanade.

Tyron couldn’t help himself and went to catch up with her.
Tyron: Hey, Candice, can we talk?
Candice: Oh, come on, Tyron…

Candice: What will we talk about? How you conspired with your brother to take Brandi away from me? About the boatload of money Terence, who obviously hates me, probably gave the judge so he’d rule in your favor?

Tyron: Wait, I conspired? It was you who asked for a divorce to run off with your lover Jasper!
Candice: I’m not the only one who had lover, you did your thing with Kayla Remington, too.
Tyron: FYI, I didn’t start dating Kayla until after you asked me for a divorce.
Candice: But you scr*w*d her while still married with me.

Tyron: Hey, don’t talk about Kayla that way, she’s a nice girl, and she’s not to blame in this. You left me for Jasper, but since he cut you off, now you’re taking it out on me!
Candice: Take it out on you? Please, Ty, get it straight for once, not everything in life is about you!
Tyron: Maybe. But none of this is my fault either, or Kayla’s you did this to yourself, it was your choice to f*ck that asshole. And where is he now by the way?

Candice: Will you shut up? This discussion is pointless. We are divorced now. I’m no longer your wife, you’re no longer my husband, there’s no reason to fight or yell at each other. We still have a daughter, though, and if we’re going to share custody of her, we’d do well to keep the party peaceful.
Tyron: Seriously? You care about Brandi now?

Candice: What do you mean, of course I care about her!
Tyron: If you say so. But let me remind you, we aren’t ‘sharing’ anything. I got Brandi’s custody, you will only see her from time to time, if and when I deem it convenient.
Candice: And how will you take care of her, huh? You hypocrite. For months – no, years, you were absent from her life, running around, playing the pop star!
Tyron: I wasn’t ‘playing’, I was working!

Candice: Exactly! All you could think of was work, work, work. Being famous was your only obsession, it still is!
Tyron: Well, excuse me for working long and hard to give you a good life! And what did you do in the meantime? Cheat on me with Jasper Goth, even before our wedding.

Candice: And why do you think I ended up in Jasper’s arms? I felt lonely, Tyron, you were never there, Jasper was!”
Tyron: Okay. If it makes you feel better to blame me, go ahead then.
Candice: I’m not blaming you, Ty. I’m just saying that you weren’t there.
Tyron: Alright, I wasn’t, not for my liking, though. I worked like a dog to give you the life you wanted, remember?

Tyron: How, with your firefighter’s salary?
Candice: Well, that’s a pretty decent salary, it could’ve helped. But it would’ve helped more if I had continued with my acrobat career. I was making good money then, but I gave it all up to take care of you and Brandi.
Tyron: Oh, so that’s what it was all about. You thought you sacrificed your career and dreams for us; thought that was unfair, so you decided to cheat on me to get even.

Candice: It was unfair, yes. But I just told you, Jasp and I wasn’t about getting even, and it wasn’t on purpose either, it just… happened.
Tyron: (Sigh) Still, you should’ve told me how you felt, or that you wanted to perform again. We could’ve worked it out.
Candice: Never mind, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Tyron: Yes, it does. I mean, I couldn’t save our marriage, but maybe I could still save your career…
Candice: Yeah? How?

Tyron: If you have a minute, we can discuss it… Would you like a cigarette?
Candice: Mm, I quit a long time ago, but I could use one now. You, on the other hand, shouldn’t smoke at all.
Tyron: I’ll quit eventually, but this is definitely the wrong week to quit smoking. (**)
Candice: I hate to admit it, but you’re absolutely right.

Candice: So, tell me, how would you help me get back on the scene?
Tyron: Well, I know people in the industry, I could make a few calls.
Candice: As long as you leave Terence out of it.
Tyron: Terry has nothing to do with this, these are my own contacts. And in Starlight Shores, I’ll make a lot more. (Candice is left pondering as they both exhale their smokes).
Candice: My pride says I should turn down your offer. But I’m gonna need more money now that I have to pay you child support.
Tyron: Yeah, about that…

Tyron: You don’t need to give me anything. I’m more than capable of supporting Brandi myself, I could even give you some money while you start getting gigs.
Candice: No, thanks. Helping me with the venue owners is enough.
Tyron: Which venues? You know there aren’t many in Hidden Springs.
Candice: Easy, I’m not moving to Starlight Shores if that’s what you’re worried about. Your life with that spoiled brat Kayla is safe.

Tyron: So is your romance with Jasper.
Candice: Jasper is history now.
Tyron: Yeah, that remains to be seen…
(Tyron seems distracted for a moment).
Candice: (Still smoking) What are you looking at?
Tyron: It’s grandma, she’s walking across the street over here.

Candice: Great, just what I needed, another member of your family who must hate me now.
Tyron: Grams will never hate you. In fact, you were her favorite daughter-in-law.
Candice: After Cynthia, I guess.
Tyron: Cynthia is grandpa’s favorite, but believe me, Granny Tanya adores you, in fact she’s very sad about our divorce…
Candice: Really?
Tyron: Yeah… Anyway, I have sing-a-grams to deliver and a gig at the Coffeehouse.
Candice: So you’ll leave me alone with your grandmother?
Tyron: I tell you; she adores you, you’re gonna be fine.

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Thanks so much to PJSims for their wonderful and super fun mod Take Sims to Court (Available at MTS) 🤗💖

(*) These lines are part of the mod, so the credit for them goes to PJSims’ too.
(**) And these other lines are a reference and a tribute to the movie Airplane! from 1980, one of my favorite comedy films.

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