flatbstanley - Tumblr blog

[flatbstanley]

Saturday, 11:06 am — Willow Creek Hospital

Officer: Mr. Santoro? I’m Sergeant Birch. Why don’t you take a seat and tell me a little about what’s going on here.

Justin: I’m so sorry, officer. It’s just that my wife and kids left home without telling me, and I’m desperate to know where they are.

Officer: Hmmm…when was the last time you saw them?

Justin: My wife and I had a little bit of a disagreement last night—maybe 9 pm? I went to a motel to give her some space to cool off, and when I came back this morning, she and the kids were gone. I’ve tried calling and texting her, but nothing’s going through.

Officer: And what brought you to the hospital? Did you think someone was hurt?

Justin: No, nothing like that. My wife’s best friend just had a baby, and I thought she'd come by to visit today. Look, I know this looks pretty bad—I shouldn’t have shown up here, especially not the way I did. But I just wanted to get hold of my wife and make sure my kids were okay.

Officer: Just to be clear, your wife is the biological mother of all the children?

Justin: She is.

Officer: And you’re married, not separated? No custody orders or anything like that?

Justin: Yes, we’re happily married. We just had a silly argument that got overheated.

Officer: All right. Well, since she’s the children’s mother, she does have the right to take them out of the house. If she’s gone for a long period of time, or if you have a reason to think the children are in danger, there are steps we can take to locate them. But for now, my advice is to let this whole thing blow over. Based on my experience, she’ll be crawling back pretty soon.

Justin: I understand.

Officer: I’m not going to book you for trespassing or anything like that. But the guy who called was pretty upset, so it’s probably best for everyone if you leave.

Justin: I will. But I can call you guys again if they don't come back, right?

Officer: Sure, sure. But I bet your wife'll be back soon enough. Women, am I right?

Justin: You're telling me. Have a nice day, officer.

[A good officer might have dug a little deeper into this situation. Unfortunately, Alan got the slimebag who's more interested in getting back to his coffee break.]

[flatbstanley]

Saturday, 10:47 am - Granite Falls

Zelie: Do the people whose house this is have a doggie? They have a food bowl and lots of toys.

Taylor: I guess they do, sweetie. Lots of people like to bring their dogs when they go camping.

Zelie: Can we get a dog, Mom? Please?

Taylor: Well...now isn't a good time. But someday we will. I promise.

Ambrose: Really? But Dad doesn't like dogs. You always said he wouldn't let us have one in the house.

Taylor: I know, sweetheart. But sometimes these things change.

Max: Hey, Mom, they have a foosball table upstairs! I've been wanting to try one out for forever!

Zelie: I wanna play too!

Taylor: Well, this is our place for a few days! Go try it out if you want! Ambrose, do you want to play too?

Ambrose: ...No thank you.

Ambrose: M-mom? What's going on?

Taylor: What do you mean? One of my sponsors offered me a vacation, and I wanted to share it with my five favorite people. There's nothing wrong with that.

Ambrose: But Dad left last night, and then we came here without him. And now you're saying we can get a dog even though I've asked a million times and you always said no before. I-I want to ask something, but...

Taylor: You can ask me anything, baby. I promise I won't get mad.

Ambrose: ...Are you and Dad getting a divorce?

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Saturday, 10:22 am - Willow Creek Hospital

Ayla: Hey, guys! How are you liking your new baby sister?

Brielle: She’s so cute! I can’t wait to hold her and feed her and pick out all of her little outfits.

Isaiah: Yeah, I guess she’s cute. I’m not changing her diapers, though. That’s gross.

Ayla (laughing): Poppy said the same thing when Emily was born. I was planning to pop in and see your mom and the baby this morning. Is that okay with you three?

Jonah: Of course, Miss Ayla. Let me show you where her room—

[sound of door bursting open]

Justin: Where the hell is my wife?

Ayla: What are you doing here, Justin?

Justin: Looking for my goddamn wife! She kicked me out of the house last night, and today I go back and see that she’s run off with the kids!

Ayla: I don’t know what to tell you. She picked up Ambrose and Zelie from my house yesterday evening, and I haven’t seen or talked to her since.

Brielle: Yeah, and she hasn’t been to visit Mom since—

Ayla: Brie, how about you go get your dad.

Justin: That snake turned off the location tracker on her phone, but I know she was planning to come here. So cut the crap and let me give her a piece of my mind.

Ayla: Justin, I don't know where Taylor is, but it definitely isn’t here. You really need to leave—

Alan: Yes, I’m calling from Willow Creek Hospital. A guy I've had some trouble with is harassing my children and one of our visitors. I need an officer immediately.

[flatbstanley]

Would you consider adding the text from the image only posts below the images? I don't personally use a screen reader but it could make it more accessible for those who do, as screen readers can't read text in images. :) Hope you're having a great day!

Done! For some reason Tumblr really hated me typing underneath the photo when I first wrote and posted this, but it's working now!

[flatbstanley]

Transcript below the cut.

Taylor: I told Justin last night. Not sure how well it went.

Taylor: He said something about taking the kids to Chestnut Ridge and then left

Will: Has he come back to the house?

Taylor: No not yet. But he will at some point. He didn't take much with him.

Will: I recommend going somewhere for a few days. A place he doesn't know.

Will: Always good to take precautions while the dust settles.

Will: My wife has offered a place you can use and she's not taking no for an answer!!!!

Taylor: She really really does not have to do that

Will: She wants to. My kid has a 9 am basketball game out your way so I'll be by soon with the keys.

[flatbstanley]

Friday, 11:56 pm

From Taylor's prayer journal:

God, God, what have I done? When Justin left I thought he'd walk back in a few minutes later and we'd just keep arguing. But he hasn't. Alan texted me that the baby was born, and that's amazing, but I don't really know what to say back. How do you tell your friend that your life is over when he's so excited about one that's just now starting?

And now I'm scared about what will happen if Justin does come back. Because even if he's going to Chestnut Ridge, he'll want his clothes and things, won't he? And even if he doesn't want to come back for good, he's going to be furious at me for telling him to leave.

Lord, I know you tell us not to be afraid, and I'm trying to do that now. But it hasn't stopped me from staying up to pack for me and the kids. Just enough so we can get away if we need to.

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[flatbstanley]

Friday, 10:29 pm

Katie: I'm sorry I never told you before about any of this stuff with FACTS. It’s just so...well, embarrassing. I was on my way to being a bigshot lawyer, and I was stupid enough to get sucked in by Justin Santoro.

Will: You're not stupid, honey. You just wanted a little break from law school and some friends who shared your faith, and somebody took advantage of that. It wasn't your fault.

Katie: You know something, Will? When you first told me you wanted to do family law, I wasn't thrilled. I thought, "Great, so he's going to sit there and line his pockets while his clients duke it out in court." But it's not like that, not really. Instead you get to help people like Taylor. People who got sucked in by somebody awful.

Will: That’s exactly why I do it. Although I'm guessing you wouldn't object if I lined our pockets a little more.

Katie: No, that's my job. I'm the one who sold my soul to the corporate devil.

Will: I think your soul's still in pretty good shape.

[A few minutes later.]

Katie: Honey? I was just thinking...my parents have offered me their place in Granite Falls for the next couple weeks. Would you tell Taylor she can stay there if she needs to? Maybe this is silly of me, but I feel like she should have a place where Justin won't know where to find her. Just in case.

Will (sleepily): That’s a good idea. Smart of you to think of that. One of the many reasons I married you.

Katie: I love you so much, Will Dalton.

Will: Love you more, Katie-cat.

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Friday, 8:47 pm

Taylor: Welcome home. Finally.

Justin: What’s your problem? I was just at a business meeting.

Taylor: I go to a lot of business meetings too, Justin. But they’ve never involved going on Simstagram and posting photos that makes it look like I was on a bad first date instead. Which is what your "business contact" just did, by the way.

Taylor: And you know what else I've never done at a business meeting? I've never ignored an emergency text or call from you. And I’ve never forgotten about our children!

Justin: You can't expect me to pay attention to your stupid little whims when I’ve got important work to do. You're just overreacting, like a typical female. And for your information, it was a lunch meeting, and I haven't had dinner yet. I think it's time for you to make me some.

Taylor: You know what I think it's time for, Justin? I think it's time for you to get out of my house.

Justin (offscreen): What the hell do you mean, get out of your house? I made the money for the goddamn down payment while you were playing with your silly little videos!

Taylor (offscreen): And those silly little videos have been paying the mortgage and all the other bills ever since you got yourself fired! Not to mention that I'm the one who cooks and cleans and takes care of the kids!

Justin (offscreen): Oh, you do? Then why is the house such a shitty mess? And why are the kids always parroting some secular liberal crap? I should take them and go someplace where people really believe in the teachings of the Church and they won't get all of this woke nonsense. Like Chestnut Ridge. At least that way I’d have somebody to back me up in raising them right!

Taylor: If you want to go to Chestnut Ridge, fine. You can leave tonight. But if you want to take the kids, my lawyer will have something to say about that.

Justin: Lawyer? You're making the biggest mistake of your life, woman.

Taylor: No, Justin. The biggest mistake of my life was marrying you.

[flatbstanley]

From Claire's Simstagram (@.just.catholic.girl.things):

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Santoro (@.quotidianum) and getting to know him better! Justin's videos have been such an inspiration for my faith and I am so excited to share his insights with my audience. Look for some collabs coming soon on both our channels!!!

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Friday, 6:15 pm - Arts Quarter, San Myshuno

Katie: Will, your work phone’s ringing!

Will: Put it on silent for me, would you? Jax and I are in the middle of a breakthrough here.

A few minutes later…

Katie: Sweetie, come into the bedroom with me. I need to tell you something.

Will: What’s the matter, honey? You look like you’re about to be sick.

Katie: When I went to mute your phone, I couldn’t help seeing the caller’s name—Taylor Santoro. I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember where I know her from. Then I remembered a Taylor McKinney from UBrite. She was in the Catholic student group that I joined for about five seconds, and she married one of the leaders—Justin Santoro— before she even finished undergrad.

Katie: Justin is a nightmare, Will. When I left that group, he harassed and threatened me to the point where I thought about a restraining order. And he somehow got a job at Obscure Logistics, and when he was let go…it wasn’t pretty. We had to put security at every entrance to the building that day. There’s a non-zero chance that Taylor is in danger. You need to call her back, now.

Will: Honey, I—I don't really know what to say. Catholic student group? Restraining order?

Katie: I promise I’ll explain everything later. But for now…just call her back. Please.

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Friday, 5:56 pm

Taylor: Thank you so, so much for getting the kids. Justin said he’d be back from San Myshuno by 2 or so, but I guess he got…tied up.

Zelie: Hi, Mom! Did Aunt Kelly have her baby yet?

Taylor: Not yet, sweetheart. Uncle Alan is with her now. We're not going home just yet - why don’t you go play with Emily for a few more minutes?

Zelie: Okay! We made a fort in the rec room. Will you come see before we leave?

Taylor: You bet, kiddo. I just need to talk to Miss Ayla for a few minutes.

Ayla: How’s Kelly doing?

Taylor: She was okay when I left. It’s early, but she’s far enough along that the baby should be okay. They were thinking of inducing her soon, anyway, since her blood pressure was starting to spike again.

Ayla: I’m glad to hear that. Let me know if you hear anything else from Alan - I don't want to bug him, but of course I'm worried about her. Was that what you wanted to talk about?

Taylor: Well...no. Listen, I need to make an important phone call. Incredibly important. And I need there to be absolutely no chance that Justin or the kids could overhear. Can-can I do it here?

Ayla: Absolutely. Go on up to our room - I'll keep everybody downstairs so no one can hear you.

Ayla: And Tay? I don't know who you're calling, but if you're that nervous about Justin hearing, you should probably delete the call from your history. Just in case he decides to go through your phone.

Taylor: Good idea. I'll be back in a few minutes.

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Friday, 4:15 pm - St. Petronella School

Ambrose: Zelie? Will you tell me if you see Dad's car coming?

Zelie: Okay! Are you reading another book he doesn’t like?

Ambrose: Yeah, the last Henry Puffer book.

Ambrose: Dad did a big podcast about how kids should never read Henry Puffer because it has witchcraft. Some people even burned the books when they first came out. I don’t know for sure that Dad would do that, but I don’t want to take chances. Poppy let me borrow this, and she needs it back.

Zelie: But all that stuff is just pretend, right? Nobody really thinks wizards are real. Doesn’t Dad know that?

Ambrose: …I hope he does, but I don’t know.

Ayla: Hey there, guys. What are you still doing here? I thought your mom would have picked you up by now.

Zelie: Mom called the school and said she’s at the hospital with Aunt Kelly. Dad is supposed to pick us up, but he isn’t here yet.

Ayla: Well, it’s getting late. Just about all of the teachers have headed out, and it's not safe for you to be here alone. Let me give your dad a call.

Meanwhile…

Claire: I could talk to an interesting person like you for hours. Wouldn't you like to have another drink?

Justin: Why not? I don’t have anywhere I need to be.

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Friday, 12:42 pm—Old Salt House, San Myshuno

Claire: Thank you so much for treating me to lunch, Justin! I just hope that no one sees us and thinks you're leading me to the near occasion of sin.

Justin: They won't. This is just a business lunch, and it's always right for the gentleman to treat the lady.

Claire: That's so sweet of you. There aren't many gentlemen around these days.

Claire: I really loved being on your podcast and getting to meet your daughter. Do you think she'd be interested in coming on my channel?

Justin: I'm sure she would. And she's also hoping to start her own channel for Catholic girls. Young girls, that is -- nothing that would compete with your target audience.

Claire (giggling): Well, I'm hardly an old lady! But that's wonderful to hear. The way our world is going, we can always use more godly role models. You must be so proud of her -- and of all your children!

Justin: Gia is a wonderful young lady, for sure. I'm sure she'll grow up to be strong in the Faith like you. I just hope that the rest of her siblings turn out okay. It's sad to say, but my wife hasn't been very good about teaching them correctly. My oldest son wants to quit altar serving because he says it gets in the way of soccer. And Gia's younger sister Zelie -- she's very musical, but instead of proper liturgical music, she wants to learn the guitar! Can you believe that?

Claire: Oh no! But with such a great dad and such a great older sister, I'm sure they'll turn out okay.

[Justin's phone buzzing repeatedly]

Claire: Do you need to take that?

Justin: It's nothing important. Anyway, we should go over a few topics for future collaborations...

Transcript of Taylor's texts:

I need you to pick up Ambrose and Zelie today

Kelly's in labor and I can't leave her until Alan gets here

Did you see my message?

Justin?

Hello?

JUSTIN THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!

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Kelly (voiceover): I made the mistake of telling Justin that I wanted to leave FACTS. He lost it — like, really lost it. He told me that I was going to hell, that he’d call every school he could think of and tell them not to hire me, that FACTS would sue me for everything I was worth and then some. It rattled me, but I didn’t take it too seriously at first.

Kelly: He blew up my phone until I almost got to the point of changing my number. Since I hadn’t left yet, he was technically still my coworker, so I was hesitant to block his number. Alan wanted me to, though. I probably should have.

Kelly: Then we got a letter from FACTS headquarters. It said they’d heard I was planning on leaving before my two year commitment was up, and if I did, they’d sue me for breach of contract. I knew Justin must have been behind that letter—other than Alan, he was the only one who knew I was thinking of leaving.

Kelly: That letter is what intimidated me into staying. I did sign a contract with FACTS, and if they did sue, it would have destroyed us mentally and financially. We asked Will Dalton for help, but he was just a second-year law student—there wasn’t much he could do. And no way we could afford an actual lawyer. So…I toughed it out. And when Justin realized I wasn’t leaving after all, he calmed down. He seemed almost…satisfied.

Taylor: I—I’m so sorry. I never knew you went through all of that. But why are you telling me all of this now?

Kelly: Because I understand what it’s like to think about walking away from a major commitment. And I understand what it’s like to deal with Justin, and how pinned down he can make you feel. But…I also know what it’s like to regret not walking away sooner, and to spend a long time wishing that you’d had more courage. You’re my best friend. I don’t want that for you.

Kelly: Besides, I’ve always felt like I played a part in dragging you into this mess. If I hadn’t done my job as a good little missionary, then maybe…

Taylor: No…it’s not your fault. If it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else. And you’ve always been a good friend to me.

Kelly: [suddenly moaning]

Taylor: Kelly? Oh my God, what’s wrong?

Kelly: C-call the nurse. I wanted to hold on a little longer, but I think I’m g-going into labor!

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Kelly: When I was in my second year as a FACTS missionary, right around the time I met you, I wanted to quit.

Taylor: What? I thought FACTS was your whole life back then!

Kelly: It was—and that’s the problem. I never took religion classes in high school or college, so I barely knew anything about what the Church teaches. And the missionaries I met were so convinced they were right that I believed everything they said was…well, the facts.

Kelly (voiceover): But then I started to read the books Alan had lying around from his theology major days. When he had time he'd read with me, and we'd talk about them. And we realized that most of what FACTS taught wasn’t anywhere in the Church's official teachings. They never said that women can't work after they have kids. Or that you need to drop your non-Catholic friends if you can’t convert them after a certain number of months.

Kelly: The last straw was having to raise my own salary. I’d been reading some stuff from Pope Pius XI about how workers deserve a fair wage. Here I was, working 60 or 70 hours a week for FACTS, and having to beg my family and friends for money because they don't pay their missionaries.

Kelly: I’d spent a long time thinking Alan and I were doing a good thing by living in that crummy apartment—that we were making some great sacrifice for God. But when I found out I was pregnant with Jonah, I knew we couldn’t do it anymore. We knew we’d never be rich with the careers we’d chosen. But if I quit FACTS before my commitment was up and got a teaching job, at least we could have a few necessities while Alan finished school.

Taylor: But…you didn’t walk away. You stayed your whole two years.

Kelly: Yes, I did, even though I didn't want to. And it was because of Justin.

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Friday, 11:18 am

Kelly: Taylor! Oh my gosh, I was wondering why you hadn’t come. Look at those balloons—that’s a nice change from the flowers! I feel like I’m living in a botanical garden. [laughs] Set them by the counter, would you? Then sit down and stay awhile.

Taylor: I...I can't really stay. The kids, you know...

Kelly: Don't pull that one on me now. What's wrong?

Taylor: Nothing. Like I said, I just have to get back to--

Kelly: No. I know you well enough to tell that something's wrong, something big. And in case you weren't aware, it's my blood pressure that's out of whack, not my head.

Taylor: ...I'm pregnant again.

Kelly: ...I see.

Taylor: I've been -- well, I've been talking with Will Dalton. But now I'm not sure that I'll have the courage to go through with the divorce. It was always intimidating to think about, but with six kids, and one of them a baby...

Kelly: Tay, I need to tell you something important. Sit down and listen to me.

Taylor: No, no, I'll go. I don't want to stress you out and make you sicker.

Kelly: What's going to stress me out is knowing that you're in a bad situation and afraid to get yourself out of it. Bed, couch, I don't care--just take a seat.