The Seed of Doubt

No matter how much you think you know someone, it never ceases to amaze how it can only take an instant for perspectives to be life-alteringly changed. One lie can destroy a marriage, an entire family... But Meredith Kane wasn't going to let that happen.

It takes a strong person to confront the person they love about a dirty secret that they've just discovered -- but it takes an even stronger one to willingly stow it away and vow to not let it affect their future. Though to the outside observer Meredith may not have been the prime candidate for "forgive and forget", this was one basket-case scenario she wasn't going to succumb to. Though she realized the trust between herself and her husband had been blatantly ignored, there was a silly, illogical, and naive force that gave Meredith the strength to handle the fact that Jebidiah was a criminal: Love.

It's a shame that Jebidiah's idea of reciprocation was painfully pale in comparison.

But... Life goes on. Attempting to follow Farah's advice of 'stop stressing yourself to death', Meredith instead focused on the minor things in her life. Well. Actually, I wouldn't call her son's impending birth minor, but it had taken a backseat when she learned of Jebidiah's secret life -- it was allowed back into the spotlight, now.

And it was simply amazing how much time had passed. In our world, perhaps not long, but the Sim-equivalent of months lapsed by, and Meredith was close to popping out her second kid. The first one wasn't forgotten, though -- Travis was toddling along wonderfully, and with Tana's daughter June so close in age, the family decided to go on over to the Larson home for a 'playdate' for the two kids.

Though, knowing that Jebidiah didn't really seem to 'get on' well with Tana's husband -- Howard -- Meredith gave her husband strict orders not to cause any drama. I don't blame her for asking.

After bringing Travis indoors and getting him settled in the nursery,  Tana proceeded to bore Meredith's (metaphorical) socks off with endless jabber about her law enforcement training. Yay, discussion about weight training at the gym. ... Not. As much as Meredith 'loved' her sister, she had to steer the topic back onto something they both sort of care about: the next Kane Kid. Well... At least, Tana pretended to care. She wasn't much on kids herself, but I guess after having one of her own, she was a bit softer on the idea.

After a nice meal --that Meredith cooked-- and sitting down to watch a movie --which Tana hated, since she's a certifiable technophobe-- the Kanes began to head home... But not before Tana slipped Jeb some 'sensitive information' that he'd been waiting for. Perfect... A perfect cover for why Jebidiah and Tana actually put up with these little get-togethers. Neither believed that either of their spouses suspected a thing...

Oh, if only they knew how wrong they were.


It had been ages since Trista Dow had been by to see Meredith -- in fact, Meredith couldn't recall seeing her since Trista had her own baby. It's not surprising, for someone in the music business, and someone going through a rather rough patch in their marriage. It was about time she dropped by, so she was invited over -- and she even performed a song for her friend's unborn baby! It was cheesy, but... Meredith was sympathetic. Jebidiah, on the other hand...

Was not.

This was something that greatly upset Meredith. While she did not expect her husband to change overnight -- especially when she hadn't talked to him at all about what she'd learned -- she childishly expected that he would at least put up a good show at home in order to appease her conscience for deciding that he was worth staying with. This lead to heated chat over dinner, which lead to arguing, which lead to...

Uh oh.

Well, long story short: their argument was forgotten. Once their son was on the way, the babysitter was called, the taxi was phoned, and several hours later, Bradley Kane was the newest resident of Riverview County.

The "discussion" could wait for another day.

 The information that Tana had passed on could not.

Jebidiah had tracked him down. Who "him" was isn't particularly important. He was... the gardener. Maid? No... He'd been in for repairwork. Or the security installation. Well... Jebidiah didn't feel the detail was important -- just the information that he knew. And he had a meeting that was going to completely alter the timetables for The Big Job. Yeah, Jebidiah couldn't help but be a little 'excited'.

Tana had picked up a lead from the police department: a guy was going to go to jail for making suspicious nectar for Underage Drinkers (you know how kids love the taste of life fruit juice!) but Tana would get him off the hook if he spilled everything he knew about the recent upgrades to Carl Strummer's security systems. Well, Carl wasn't too cautious, and Mr. Guy knew all the weak points on the grounds, in the house, and all the numbers (but not the order) needed to disable the case surrounding the gem. ... Or something to that effect. Ah! It was perfect.

Jebidiah even generously offered some monetary compensation to the fellow as a 'Thank you'. How thoughtful.

However, when Jebidiah arrived home that night, with Bradley tucked neatly into his cradle and fast asleep, and Travis snoring away happily in his own crib, there was one member of the Kane family that was waiting up for her husband.

Oooooh, and they exchanged words. While Meredith was careful not to divulge that she knew what he was doing, she made a point to voice that she disapproved of how much he was working lately, and that for the kids' sake -- especially Travis -- he needed to start spending more time with the kids.

That's not really why she was mad, of course... It was a sorry excuse, really, and even Jebidiah could tell that that's not really what she was upset about. But, she wouldn't tell, and he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted her to. It was safe just to leave it alone... If he did what she asked, maybe whatever was bothering her would just 'go away'.

But in the meantime, it meant that he had to spend some time with the babies. Kids, he didn't mind. But babies? ... Well, as long as he can have their candy.

A few days later, though, Meredith was still feeling nervous about everything. Though she no longer had to worry about over-stressing a baby in  her tummy, she was trying very hard to follow Farah's advice... And it just wasn't sticking. It's not that she was having doubts about her feelings for Jeb -- in fact, she was never more sure in her life, now that this had come up -- she was having doubts about his feelings for her. ...  On top of being upset that any day, he could end up in prison for the rest of his life.

In a moment of "weakness", Meredith decided that it wouldn't hurt to bring her sister into the mixture of her situation -- at least, partially. After a long, exhasperated phone call, Tana finally decided to just come over and see what the matter was... Meredith was being awfully sketchy on the phone.

This made Tana a bit nervous, too. Had she discovered her involvement with Jebidiah's Company? Had she discovered what Jeb was, and what he was planning? This was dangerous, because even if Meredith didn't plan on doing anything with what she knew... There would be people at The Company that would take 'measures' to prevent it getting out, and Sim-God forbid that anything happen to her little sister.

Tana was justifiably worried, but after some brief chat with her sister, she no longer was. "You're worried that he doesn't love you?" Tana asked her hopelessly neurotic sister. "Meredith, he would do anything for you." Even rob the world's most secure bank to make sure that his wife was the most pampered woman on the face of SimPlanet.

As Meredith trotted off to go make them dinner, Jebidiah decided to pull Tana aside, too. Her sister wasn't the only one considering that she might know something. "She's been acting so suspicious lately, keeps asking too many questions about work, keeps eavesdropping and--" "You don't have anything to worry about, Jeb," Tana adamantly explained to him. "She's just being paranoid about general stuff as usual, I've settled her down."

But while Meredith mislead Tana, the white lie had seeded into Tana's mind... And now, she was misleading Jeb.

Oh, what a complex web we spin... The wife knows the truth, but spins a fib of her own. But now, with what she has been led to believe, the sister-in-law lies to her sister -- she doesn't really know how much Jeb loves her -- in order to protect her, and now lies to the husband... Because now she's suspicious... And wants to know if he's really being the husband he should be for her sister.

Because, now that Meredith has seeded the doubt, Tana really wonders...

Is he?