Food for Thought

Although the Kane family was now expecting another member to its ranks, not much had changed for them. Jebidiah was working extra hard, and even Meredith was wading through the morning sickness in order to try to inspire Twinbrook to embrace the world of art. Travis was making plenty of friends at school, and Bradley was... still a toddler. He didn't quite understand yet that he was going to be a big brother.

For Meredith, pregnancy didn't really change much. There were mood swings, sure, but they were practically indistinguishable from her normal ones -- no, the only thing that changed about Meredith while she was with child was the sudden increase on the intake of food.




And man, was it delicious.

However, for the first time, she had hit an impressive streak of inspiration with a baby growing in her tummy. When she wasn't chugging ice cream or laying on the couch rubbing her nauseous belly, something was driving her to sit behind the easel and crank out painting after painting.



They still weren't selling too often at the consignment store, but she figured, if she varied her artwork and was persistent... Someone would notice her hard work, and it'd finally help make ends meet with the family.

She was ready to have more than 20 Simoleans in the family savings.



Jebidiah was, as well. But, for him, all that hard work was beginning to pay off... somewhat. He'd begun to make a name for himself among the town, and after various promotions and recommendations from the police department, he'd found himself a rather reputable niche in the investigation market.

It still paid next to nothing, but at least the cases were getting more interesting.



Mary Baker, an up-and-coming chef in Twinbrook's populus, had a morsel of news for him that she wanted him to scout out. For once, Jebidiah felt like the request was more than a joke or a waste of time: she was confident that there was something wrong with the food at the bistro she worked at, and she felt obligated to have someone search for the source in order to present proof to her boss and get him fired.

While Jeb and Mary didn't see eye to eye on some things, he did feel it was something worth investigating... "As long as the price is right."



First, to investigate if the claims were true. Jebidiah had had his strings pulled enough times in this town to know that he should get a few solid testimonies before running around and snooping for fish to fry. The cops didn't seem to mind him doing anything a little shady as long as they didn't get any formal complaints, and so far, it'd worked to his advantage. It was a beautiful partnership -- perhaps Tana, who'd taken up a lower position at the police department, was easing them into the transition of having a rogue detective in their town... But perhaps, they were all a little shady to begin with.

He was starting to like this town. And for once, he was finally enjoying his job.

But, back to the case. The first stop: the Red Rendevous. Anyone who was anyone in this town was going to be there, and maybe they'd have some answers.



And that they did. "The bistro? Yeah, lately, I've gotten sick every time I've eaten there. I bet it's bad for their business." "Haven't eaten there since I got a plate of seafood that had me locked up in the bathroom for like two days." "Yeah, something's fishy over there... And it's not just the fish."

They were a strange bunch of people, but at least they were willing to dish the dirt.



Jebidiah wanted proof for himself, though. After throwing on some less suspicious clothes, he decided to grab a meal there...

And he got just the results he wanted. He could barely contain his grumbling stomach. "Ugh, that was awful," he moaned to himself, holding his stomach. "Well... I guess I better start from the bottom up."



Holly Greenwood. He'd remember that, when she'd told him about her family 'going green', that she'd mentioned a good deal of her produce went to the town bistro. "I swear, Mr. Kane, I only bring them the best supply. The plants haven't been tampered with one bit. If you don't believe me, look for yourself."

And he did. And found nothing. After even sampling the food, he realized that he'd have to go somewhere else... But where?



"Harwood Clay's no good. I bet he's up to somethin' rotten," Jeb remembered Mary Baker saying. But it seemed a little odd. Why would she openly try to point fingers at the bistro's owner, who had almost no contact with the food? Unless...

There was only one other thing to do: Mary Baker had to be checked out. Luckily for him, his years working for the Company had served him well learning how to break into houses. It was certainly handy having a lockpicking kit, too. It looked like someone might be home, but.. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Mary he was searching her house, and then have her clean up the evidence before he got to it!




"It's weird, playing the good guy," he chuckled to himself as he entered the kitchen, breaking out his magnifying glass and dusting kit to try and find anything suspicious.

Chemicals. Non-lethal, in appropriate doses, but just the sort of thing you'd want to add to someone's food if you wanted them to get sick! She hadn't even bothered to hide them. "These people," Jebidiah muttered under his breath... Before hearing the sound of steps down the staircase.

Time to go!



The next day, he searched Mr. Clay out. "So, essentially, Mary Baker's been trying to frame you." Jebidiah finished, shrugging. "I don't know about you, but I'd considering letting her go. That's not the sort of behavior you want at your Bistro."

"No, it's not..." The man considered. "I'll have a talking-to with her. Perhaps we can work something out. She's been trying to get promoted for ages, that's probably what this is all about. She's been a thorn in my side for some time, but... Damn, if she's not a good cook."

As long as she's not mixing anything into the food, at least.



In celebration of solving the case, the family decided to take a trip to the pool. Meredith wanted to get some water aerobics in -- and Jebidiah couldn't help himself trying to find the growing baby in her still rather flat tummy. "You're so beautiful when you'r pregnant, Mere," he said, more to her stomach than anything else.

"You're just saying that to try and get back on my good side," she replied, but with a hint of laughter.



She couldn't help and smile when she saw him with Bradley, either. He may not be the best example of a father... But he managed. "I could've done worse," she mused.

"Why don't you guys head on over to the library?" Jebidiah called as Meredith pulled herself out of the pool. "I suppose Travis will be over there as soon as he's out of school. I've got something I need to go take care of though... I'll meet you there in a few, okay?"



Meredith was still doing her best to teach Bradley as much as she could before his birthday. It seemed like only yesterday he'd been born, but time had passed so quickly... Now, she was having another child she wasn't sure she was ready for, and Travis was close to entering high school. "I'm getting old," she mentioned to Bradley as they read. "You better ignore mommy's wrinkles."



Jebidiah was taking longer than she'd expected. "Where is he?" She got so lost on the time that she even got caught up playing with toys with Bradley... but Jeb had a surprise for her when she finally looked up to see he'd arrived.

"Farah!"



"Oh, sweetie, it's so good to see you. I'm sorry I'm so late, it took ages to get everything settled back in Riverview, what with the whole town in an uproar over my dear son disappearing... But, luckily for me, no one there believes I'm close enough with him to have any idea where he may've gone." She smiled, before looking at Meredith's stomach.

"Good gracious me!" she said. "You`re pregnant! Girl. Absolutely a girl." The strange doctor voodoo does it again.

"How are you always able to tell, Farah?" Meredith asked, so confused about her mother-in-law's strange abilities.

"The nose knows!" she responded with a laugh. "You don't think the Kanes all have this abnormally large nose for no reason, do you?" She chuckled again, as she turned to look down at Bradley. "See, he's got it, too. Gonna be a genius someday, that one."



Things finally felt like they were falling into place. With a little bit of luck, Meredith's newly inspired works had caused quite the stir in the consignment store ("Looks liyke some talent has moved inter our town here, boys!") and people were willing to pay top dollar for her beautiful paintings. Where things had always flopped in the more mainstream Riverview, Twinbrook had finally embraced Meredith's talents... And there was finally a little jingle in their banks.

She even received an award from City Hall for her fantastic artistry. Observing it hanging on her wall, she quietly thought to herself,  "I wonder if Tana ever expected our family's talent to be noticed... I guess I knew it would happen, someday."



Perhaps it was just the pregnancy hormones making Meredith more accepting, but as she and her husband prepared to climb in bed that night, she found herself happy to be laying into his arms. Maybe it was because she believed he was turning over a new leaf... or that they no longer had to worry about money for now. Maybe it was Farah's proclamation they were having a girl... But maybe it was that things had finally seemed peaceful the last few days, and she`d been spooked by neither nightmare nor poltergeist.

But whatever the case, she embraced it, for while it lasted: it was better to remember the man she had thought she had married, than the man she really knew him to be.

---

Kind of a rather uneventful update, but I managed to squeeze three album's worth of screenshots to give me enough story for one post. Not a lot happened in Twinbrook when I first showed up, so I may continue to skip things to speed up getting to the more interesting stuff. I do love showing  baby shots and tummy squeezes and smoochy smoochy and family outings and all Jeb's mundane cases, but it doesn't add much for story. :) I'd like to get to the meat of the issue a bit quicker so that you don't have to wait a whole month to hear what happened to Chandra! ... Because that's how long it would take me to get to that point, if I went one album at a time. I have taken way, way too many screenshots! (Close to 2000 since Ambitions came out. Woo.)

Anyways, may not be another update until after this weekend is over. According to the calendar, tomorrow... today... whatever... Is my birthday, and I shall be celebrating it in any way possible. Most likely, taking advantage of the fact that it is now legal for me to drink in the States... Even though I'm now living in Canada.

Who cares. Bring me the margaritas!