Changing Seasons. Summer II, part 3

Summer II, part 3 I looked in through the window at the empty room (living room 10’ by 15’) and a broken chair. I could stay here? That was a bit mind-blowing, even for my highly flexible adapt-to-anything-and-survive mind. I could stay here? Maybe…I think I need to sound a few other people out first. Can’t see me staying in a ghost town with only a ghost for company. What were the other inhabitants of this bustling metropolis planning to do? Intel is everything! I thought about “I could stay” for a good couple of weeks before I did anything about it. But finally I reckoned what had I got to lose? Just by asking around? I figured I’d start with Marcus and Annette. I had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to do. But what you want isn’t always what you get.
“Hey! What’s this? And why is Blake looking so pie-eyed?” “This is the road for our tractor. When we can afford it…And Blake’s looking pie-eyed because we’ve worked his socks off getting this built. D’you like the bunting? I thought we should celebrate the achievement. Come and see what else we’ve started.” “Come and help,” Blake said as I looked at a large hole in the ground. “Come and grow some muscles shovelling dirt.”
“No thank you,” I said firmly. “Annette, what is this? Have you decided you need a swimming pool?” “It’s the wine cellar, silly! Or it will be by next year. We’re keeping Blake on over the winter, despite his dreadful jokes…”
“What do you mean? I agreed to stay on, despite Marcus’s dreadful cooking! You’d better be making the Christmas dinner, Annette.” Okay, they’re staying. I don’t need to ask anything. You don’t dig a hole the size of that one, or lay a tractor road if you’re planning to move away. Patience next then – and I’d have to ask carefully, run into her casually. She’s smart. Nearly as perceptive as Addie, and that’s saying something. A lot less abrasive though… I finally “bumped” into her at the laundry – that and the library are our two neighbourhood hangouts. Says it all really.
“So how long do you think you and Euan will stay here then?” Oh so casual, and I’d led up to the question so carefully. I’ve learnt a thing or two from Addie about asking questions. And I knew I was about to get an honest answer from Patience.
“I like it here. I know that sounds a bit odd, but I don’t actually want to move. Not now. And there’s my three and Marianna’s four and I know Annette wants to have children one day. That’s enough for a small elementary school, and they can get the bus into Newborough for high school later…Every time I make plans for the future, they all seem to revolve round staying!” “I love the covers you made for the seats in here. And the library.” Change the subject now. Don’t pursue it. Act like it was an idle question. But Patience carried on.
“That’s what I mean! And you and Lachlan did a great job on those riders. I’m bringing the children here as soon as they’re old enough. When you showed up, actually I was planning what colour to repaint the outside here. In my non-existent spare time, of course!” Patience invited me for lunch. Actually, she invited me to come and make lunch – she’s teaching me how to cook. Sewing comes next, when she’s got the time. Euan’s teaching me too – he’s a really good cook as well. “These are great. You’ve got them just right, Clara.”
“I do my humble best. Plus, I’m going to be eating them too, so it pays to take care.”
“Tell that to Marcus,” Euan said dryly, and it was a good job I hadn’t taken a bite yet, because that really made me laugh. “Thanks,” Patience said, as I washed the dishes.
“Not a problem. All part of our smiling friendly teenage helper service,” I said lightly. “What are you sewing now? Oh, and I like the new kitchen units by the way.”
“Minnie told us about an upcoming sale and Marcus drove Euan over very first thing and he snaffled these at a bargain price. It’s not my dream kitchen yet, but it’s so much better than when we arrived.”
“Tell me about it!” Actually, I remembered their kitchen very well. I’d “borrowed” some stuff from it before they moved in. Needs must, when you’re desperate… I admired Patience’s piles of sewing (“Look at the pretty dresses your clever mummy has made for you!”), asked Patience what she was planning to make next (Something for myself!”) and headed home. I’d go and see Marianna next, ask her what their plans were. No point in asking Lachlan – he’d probably go all dithery on me.
I was going to have to think how to ask her though. She and I, we’ve got a lot in common in some ways, and she can read me a bit too well sometimes. I didn’t want one of her sharp-eyed “Why are you asking?” moments. I parked my bike round the back of the forge – I didn’t want Lachlan taking it to pieces for spares! – and found a very un-sharp-eyed Marianna.
“Okay, the hairstyle still looks great, but the face under it says vague panic. What’s up?” “I got a letter! From these girl friends of mine from way back when in our art college days, and a couple of friends of Lachlan’s too – we used to hang out all six of us, though they were sort of hobby arts types then until they took it more seriously…”
“Marianna. Cut to the chase.”
“They want to come and stay. They’re all sort of heading this way and could they make a detour and could they call and where can they sleep? And how can I say yes, but I’d love to see them again and…” I cut right across her. “Take your problems to Great Aunt Clara. She will solve them for you from her years of wisdom and experience. Tell them to bring tents and be prepared to camp. They’re not old are they?
“No. But this place…”
“Let Great Aunt Clara cast her eye over it for you.” I’d been dying to ask this for ages (but you don’t mess with Marianna) and now seemed the perfect time.
“There’s a great book called How to Restore Old Stonework, but failing that is there any reason why you’ve not opened the shutters on these windows once in nine months? I’m positive Lachlan could unstick the hinges if that’s the problem. That would improve things no end for starters.”
By the time I left. Marianna was calmer by miles – calm enough to remember that she’d found a teeshirt she didn’t wear any more but I might like, and would I help her with a bit of cleaning up before their friends came, and yes of course Lachlan could fix the shutters, and he’d so enjoy seeing the guys again, of course they must come and stay…Job done! I tried the teeshirt on as soon as I got home. I loved it! I was going to keep it for best. Predictably, Addie commented on it, though she can’t have thought I’d stolen it! I mean like, where from?
“It was a present from Marianna – she says it’s a bit short for her now. Listen to their latest dilemma…” She got really fired up!
“You need to do this, to help Marianna make this happen. Even if it means neglecting your studies a little.”
What? I can’t believe I just heard that!
“Lachlan needs to be with people who respect him, admire his abilities, are his friends. He’s been too much alone with his thoughts…” By the time she’d finished, I could see this was going to be a whole-neighbourhood-rescue-Lachlan-McGowan project. Just as I was heading off to change my beautiful new teeshirt for something more suitable for gardening, Addie called after me.
“Why were you painting those lovely oak library bookshelves? Surely polishing them would have been better?”
“Old Tench said paint would be best.”
“Hmph! Barbarian!” She sniffed audibly. And didn’t even pick me up on saying Old Tench for once. So when the McGowans’ friends arrived (early for once: Lachlan actually made a joke about it!) the old forge looked “Better’n it had in years,” as Old Tench said (guess who got stuck with sanding and painting those shutters?)
There was Amber, who looked ridiculously like Marianna, except she needed an appointment at Patience’s Home Hairdressing Salon, and Lucie who was blonder than me, and that’s saying something, and the two blokes teasing Lachlan and being teased by him. I sloped off smartish – I hadn’t meant to be there when they arrived – but Marianna said come round tomorrow please. And she meant it, so I did.
When I arrived, the female half of the contingent was in the garden with Marianna. They were all talking nineteen to the dozen, which is totally what I expected, as they weeded, watered and picked stuff. The big surprise was finding the male half of the contingent in the barn. Well, no, that wasn’t a surprise. Blokes and tools? Just goes together like ketchup and chips. The surprise was Lachlan – Lachlan! – talking nineteen to the dozen.
“So we’ve got an outlet – Newborough’s got quite a reputation for art galleries, new talent and so on – and my stuff’s selling. And Marianna’s working again. If it goes on like this, give us a couple of years – and the children older – and I think we’ll be getting back onto track like we originally planned…”
He went on for some time. And Rafe and Leo were listening really respectfully too. “Show us what you’ve made there. What does this one do? Wow, that’s cool. I think you’ve got better, McGowan. More inventive. What do you think, Rafe?”
“Is it lunchtime yet? I’m hungry.” I know what you’re thinking – where are the children? Well, Patience brought round a gorgeous pie and took two children away, and Marcus and Annette just took two children away. Probably best that way round.
“Have a day with your friends,” Annette had said. “We can take care of two children between the three of us.”
“And we can do five between the two of us,” Patience added serenely. Lachlan had made the bigger table – they’re going to need it anyway – and we scrounged the stools from the old school. No-one was using them there…
“Can we go and look round the neighbourhood next?” Lucie asked. “We’d all fit in the wagon.”
“Hasn’t that fallen to bits yet? I swear it’s only held together by your paint job.”
I didn’t recognise this joking, talking Lachlan! Addie is amazingly perceptive. “Wow, this place is wild,” Leo said. “Can we get in?”
“Round the back,” I said. I’d been in here before (half a bottle of washing up liquid, a bar of very dry soap and some almost new tea towels) but most of what was here wouldn’t fit into the bike basket. “D’you know, it almost looks like someone’s been here recently,” Leo said. “This ground looks freshly turned.”
“Like someone’s dug up the bricks and taken them away in the back of their old blue truck to make paths between their vine rows?” I said, as I headed into the building. Lachlan laughed again! “This building is amazing,” Rafe said. “We’d pay a fortune for something this size back in town. I bet it’s going for a song, too. Can we get into any more of them?” Don’t know why he looked at me when he asked that question. As if I would have checked them all out for security breaches… There! I didn’t have to ask anything at all. Lachlan, of all people, told me their plans. It’s settled. I’m staying. Now I need to find out how to get hold of some scaffolding. And a hard hat too, maybe…

The amazing derelict factory is by Cyclone Sue, at TSR.

If you want to try Clara for yourself, she's an AlphaFen creation, and can be found here:
Not Quite A Runaway Success
A renovacy made for MamaDragon by AlphaFen as part of the Amayzing Gift Exchange
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9310815
Back story here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17074021/#Comment_17074021