Amanda is a wreck at the beginning of Chapter 8. She feels extremely guilty for hurting Tony, and she’s heartbroken at the thought of losing him. Another heart is broken because of her. What a track record!

STOP! Watch Chapter 8 and then Join Us for the Spoilers.

You Have Been Warned

The Chapter title yes – is a spoiler in itself. But I just had to do it. It’s too good not to use. And before you say – where’s Nina? You’re right. Chapters 6 & 7 have concentrated on Amanda and Tony – but don’t worry Nina is in this chapter! She also has her own chapters coming up too. Especially one that focuses on her and Carrie specifically. I have to say – it is hilarious. I laughed several times writing it.

Getting back to Chapter 8, Amanda knows she’s hurt Tony, and she feels more broken and shattered than ever. Still, she’s got a daughter to consider, and she forces herself to get herself back into her routine.

On Monday as she’s leaving for work, she’s startled to see Tony come out of the apartment next door! Tony is equally shocked and learns that she lives here too! Tony, unsure of what to do, offers her breakfast. Amanda agrees and he welcomes her inside heading to the kitchen.

As they eat and talk, Amanda tells him she’s missed him in which he responds, “Have you?” When she replies, “yes. Very much,” he stops eating and tells her that his intentions were never to see her again, but when he just saw her, he missed her like hell. Amanda bursts into tears telling him she’s so sorry and he immediately takes her into his arms, kissing her like he hadn’t in a millennium reminding her, “I really like you. So, ready or not – I’m here.“

After they woohoo and are sitting on the couch. Amanda comes clean about her past and what she’s done in detail. It doesn’t faze Tony at all. Instead, he reminds her that everyone is deserving of love even when they feel like they’re poison. He reminds her to pull the pieces back together if she’s shattered and that they’ll do it together because ready or not he’s going to be there for her and is willing to wait as long as it takes for them to be together.

Out of any piece of dialogue I ever wrote, that has to be my all-time favorite. If I had to compare it to something iconic think Han Solo’s last words to Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. It just gets me every time.

While Amanda and Tony are enjoying their time together, he realizes that he has to go to work! I admit – I stole this right out of my own book The Turn of the Dime there’s a scene where the lead character Stu finds out he’s late for work and hilarity ensues. I figured since it’s my own book – why not steal from myself. Plus, it just felt right to use.

Amanda tells Tony to come over later and she’ll have a hot meal waiting for him. He smiles at her offer and then she rushes out of the apartment realizing she’s still in his robe and her clothes are on the floor of his apartment.

When Tony gets off of work, he comes to Amanda’s apartment finding a candlelit dinner consisting of Black Bean Chili and wine. They have a romantic dinner and spend the night together at her apartment.

In the morning while having breakfast, dressed in their robes, Amanda is startled by Nina arriving at her apartment unannounced and uninvited. Keep in mind, Nina doesn’t know about Tony at all. So, when she goes to Amanda’s apartment, she’s hoping to catch her alone. She knows she’s been single for a few months, and she herself is feeling lonely. While she is there to talk about Carrie, it also begs the question is she hoping for something more to happen? Possibly. After all they have been civil to each other except for the occasional “insult.” But she’s really surprised to see Amanda in her robe having breakfast with a strange man! In her jealousy, she blurts out, “is this who you’re doing now?“

Amanda, annoyed at having her privacy invaded, starts an argument. Tony recognizes that Amanda’s ex-wife Nina is actually Nina Gãrbãn: Best-Selling Novelist and Global Super Star. Well, it’s only a little detail Amanda forgot to mention to him. Nina is also the author of the book that inspired Tony’s favorite movie Hot & Heavy in Tartosa.

When Nina sees that he is a fan, she snaps. “What? You want an autograph?”

He immediately says, “Yes! I loved Hot & Heavy in Tartosa! It’s my favorite movie of all time!”

After signing the autograph, Nina quips to Amanda, “Oh, great! You’re dating a fan-boy!”

This leads into an argument between Nina & Amanda that Tony watches from the sidelines with a hilarious commentary from his perspective. In this scene, I wanted to make Amanda and Nina act like typical Sims and do typical Sim antics including “musical chairs” during a conversation, as it happens in game from time to time. So, from Tony’s perspective it’s very silly but fits perfectly.

Some may wonder why I chose to add this part in. Mainly, Tony is getting hot from watching Amanda but the two of them fighting does turn him on! Though he keeps this little thought strictly to himself and only lets the audience know what he’s thinking.

Right before Nina leaves, she turns on Tony viciously warning him that he better not make her daughter cry or lay a finger on her. Tony reassures her that because of what happened with Jack, he won’t come near her unless Amanda says it’s okay, and he will never make her cry.

This makes Nina surprised, but she warns him nonetheless saying, “you just watch yourself!”

After Nina leaves, Tony and Amanda have their first real fight when Amanda chastises him for being such a “fanboy!” Tony simply laughs it off and almost admits that he was aroused by the fight she had with Nina. Luckily, when Amanda almost calls him out for it, he quickly backtracks.

Amanda becomes furious and Tony is able to see how much hurt and pain that Amanda has suffered (as well as caused); he simply holds her and allows her to cry on him. Amanda is embarrassed for breaking down, but he whispers to her, “it’s okay. You can cry if you want to, I’m here.”

And she does.

If you heard a cat during this episode, that’s my cat Callie. She decided to voice the fact that she wanted a treat and wanted it known. I thought about re-recording it and then thought to leave it in. It was believable as a cat outside the window of the apartment. Then she proceeded to sit on my lap as I was recording. I thought she made a convincing portrayal as the neighbor’s cat. She made her debut in Chapter 6 Selvadorada as the stray cat outside of the bar and snuck in a cameo in Chapter 7.

In the upcoming Chapter 9 we’ll steer away from Amanda and go into Nina’s life for a while. Nina pretty much is diving into her work to avoid life, and when she has an argument with her daughter, it’s a major realization for her relationship with her child. Plus, when she sees that Amanda might be in love with someone else – it puts Nina in tailspin!