Changing Seasons. Autumn III, part 3

Autumn III, part 3 It looked easy. But it wasn’t! Marcus and Annette needed help and were willing to pay, so this made a lot of sense.
“We had a guy coming, but he broke his arm the day before he was due to arrive. And of course getting last-minute help at this time of year is almost impossible,” Marcus had explained. “Another coffee? It won’t take a moment to boil up the kettle again.”
“I can’t believe you found a yellow kettle,” Clara said. “She’s got a bit of a thing about yellow, in case you hadn’t noticed. She doesn’t actually like that breakfast cereal, but the packet matches…”
“Oh, hush, you. How’s Honey doing?” “It’s going nicely, thank you. They do PE outside in the yard. That hopscotch grid’s a hit.” “I repainted that. And the dolls’ house. And quite a lot of other bits of the school, now that I think about it.”
“You can’t frighten Clara with paint,” Annette said, smiling affectionately at her. Were they sisters? Frank didn’t like to ask, but they did look alike. “So how was your day toiling in the vineyard yesterday?” The kitchen had stopped smelling of paint, but would be again pretty soon – Honey was planning to paint the table and chairs as well. They still wouldn’t match for style, but if they were all the same colour, that would be something. “Marcus showed me their cellar and their wine racks – he says they’re steadily producing more and more. When Blake moves into his own farm, they’re going to need some more help on a semi-permanent basis. But I can have as much piecework as I want at the moment, so that’ll help our finances. We can paint our bedroom, as well as putting that new door on it!” “And I really enjoyed it, though I can feel in my muscles! How was your day yesterday? Do you still feel like you’re finding your feet?” “It’s very different from my teacher training! But we’re improvising some good PE lessons. And when Patience isn’t in with her three, then we use the kindergarten room as well. We’re doing lots of maths by playing shop with the nice grocery stand that Leo made for the school. Play is so the best way to learn at that age: much better than sitting at a desk.” “These kitchen colours suit you. They make your eyes look very blue.”
“Thank you!” Honey was enchanted by the compliment.
I should say nice things to her more often, Frank thought. I should tell her what I really think more than I do. “Well, I better get going. Time and tide wait for no man, and Marcus is pretty impatient too at times.”
“Cross impatient? He’s never struck me as that kind of guy.”
“No, just let’s-get-going impatient. That sort of keen and enthusiastic rush-at-things impatience.”
“Ah, now that I can believe. Which probably explains his cooking – I’ve heard about that…” Frank headed off to Marcus and Annette’s, and Honey took the breakfast dishes over to wash them up. They’d found the old-fashioned china still on the shelves where Frank’s grandparents had kept it – dusty and cobwebby and unappealing until they’d washed it and Honey had been delighted by its charm.
“Vintage, Frank! Vintage is really in. And I love it anyway, fashionable or not.”
She held her hands under the tap, waiting for the water to run hot enough. School started at ten and finished at half-past two – that was long enough for a class of four! Sometimes Patience came with her three: it wasn’t too far to walk – and then she got to chat with her, ask her for ideas or advice. “They’re nearly out of those summer dresses. I need to make some more clothes for them!”
“That play table’s been a good birthday present.”
“Two years old now! Time goes so fast! Euan, we’re going to have to extend the house though. They’re a bit young to be in bunk beds yet. Maybe we could fit one more cot in upstairs, but what if it’s twins?” (What if it’s triplets again? they both thought. But didn’t say).
“I’d been thinking that too. Let’s take Barnabas outside with us, and I’ll show you what I thought.” “If we built out over the kitchen – that would give us space for a big bedroom and maybe another bathroom as well. What do you think?”
“I’m guessing you’ve also costed this up,” Patience said with a smile in her voice.
“I have,” Euan said cheerfully. “We can afford it. I’ve asked around for free labour as well and all the lads are up for it.”
“Lads? You mean you didn’t ask Clara? You’ll be hearing about that!” Euan laughed. “Actually, Rafe and Leo told her she’d be more of a liability that an asset.”
“And they’re still alive?”
“Yes, because they explained exactly why, showed her the difference height and strength makes. Give the girl good reasons and she gets them. She’s offered to come and paint though. Are you happy with the plan?”
“Sounds good to me,” Patience said.
“We’re starting at the weekend then. Rafe and Leo will pick up the wood for us. Tom and Artie are coming to help too, but not Marcus or Blake or Frank: they’re too busy.” “How’s all the school stuff going? I haven’t heard about that for a while.” Bedtime was a bit of a rodeo, and Patience was going to bed pretty early herself as well. It was nice to have time to catch up with each other.
“Nicely,” Patience said. “That kindergarten room works really well.” “Hope was playing with the dolls’ house the other day. She was being so cute! Picking up the daddy doll and saying, ‘Daddy go work. It getting dark now. Daddy go work.’ And then picking up one of the baby dolls and saying ‘Nabus, no. Nabus, no. Nabus be good!’” Patience laughed a bit ruefully at the memory. “And while she was saying that, Barnabas was shouting ‘Appu! Appu! Shop! Appu! Buy appu!’ at the top of his well-developed lungs.”
“So what about Joy?” “Well, she was sitting there with a book, trying to look at the pictures. But she did look a little shell-shocked.”
“Our poor girls are going to grow up bomb-proof with Barnabas as a brother!” “And how’s Honey shaping?”
“Very well. She’s got the makings of a really good teacher, especially of little ones. She’s so nice. Really sweet and kind and patient – I don’t think there’s a mean bone in her body. She always wants to find the best in everyone, think the best of everyone.”
“Hmm. It’ll be interesting to see how she and Clara get on.”
“They’ll get on fine,” Patience said firmly. “But I’m not sure they’ll understand each other. Respect each other – I reckon so. Understand? That’s a different one.” “Now you can open your eyes.”
“Wow! Where did all this come from?”
“The plates came from Honey and Frank, the glasses from Rafe and Leo, the cutlery’s ours and so is the candle. Dinner will be ready in about another fifteen minutes, so let’s sit down for a bit first. I hope you’ve got some space after your afternoon tea out!” “And a happy birthday to the most amazing woman I know. I can’t take you out to a fancy restaurant, though I’d love to and you deserve it. So this is my best offer in return.”
Patience felt her eyes fill with tears of pure happiness. Not just for the table and the meal, but because Euan was sitting opposite her, happy and comfortable. He hadn’t let coming here to Two Lakes destroy him, as it might well have done, and she was so grateful for that. Bother. She’d been banking on living rent-free for a few months. For the last three months, actually. Now she was going to have to use her income to pay her rent. No little luxuries for her.
Her third marriage had been disappointing. Stephen Hatter had looked so promising – elderly widower with business interests. She’d turned on the charm for him, hooked him nicely, left Fred Enstein with an explanation of how she had recognised Stephen as a soul-mate, and true love couldn’t be denied…And told Stephen in all confidence how Fred had been unkind to her, but she didn’t want to make it public because his son would suffer, so please could he not tell anyone because Frank didn’t deserve that.
And then Stephen’s two sons had come along and made sure that Stephen left them the lion’s share of the business interests. She hadn’t complained, had told Stephen that of course his sons mattered, their futures mattered. He’d told her she was a wonderful woman – but before she could sweet-talk him into leaving her a bigger share of things, he’d died. And now Frank was out of reach as well. Gone to the lakes indeed! Gone to the lakes. Or gone to Two Lakes? He couldn’t have, could he? But he still owned the house there. (She hadn’t minded not getting that house. Who would buy it anyway? It was worth nothing.)
It had been a big house too. She could go and look – visit people she knew in Newborough, get them to put her up. The letter was forming itself in her head already “…just wanted to visit where I grew up one last time…could you put me up for a couple of days...?” She wouldn’t need any longer than that. It was so much milder here. She’d forgotten, almost. Elaine had been willing to put her up for those couple of days, and she’d played her grieving-but-bearing-it-bravely-widow act. Now she was back in Two Lakes for a couple of hours – Elaine had dropped her off on her way through to Hillside, and would pick her up on her way back. Maddie could see the Enstein place from here and it looked as deserted and run-down as the park she was in. Shabby too, apart from a new-looking front door. The Sunday-quiet lay heavy on the place. No-one was around. Round the side of the house she found clear evidence that someone was living here. A newly-painted room, food on the larder shelves. But it didn’t follow that it was Frank and Honey. The place would have been a magnet for squatters or hippies. She went up to the house and peered through a window, cursing the thorns that threatened to snag her clothes. And there, on the mantelpiece, she saw a handful of objects that she recognised. She’d spent a tiring week cleaning, but she wasn’t going to give the landlord reason to withhold any of her deposit. And she wouldn’t have to do any more cleaning – Honey could take care of that. Her suitcases were packed again, with all her clothes.
And now she was going back to Two Lakes. “The home of my youth…I would love to spend my last few days here…The doctor said…” Already she was planning how to get Frank and Honey to let her stay there. Rent-free for the rest of her life, with a bit of luck. “Well, that was exhausting, but great fun!”
Like the Saturday and Sunday before, they’d spent all weekend helping Marcus and Annette – along with nearly everyone else! “First Euan and Patience’s house and now this,” Rafe had groaned, but you could tell he was enjoying it really.
Honey had surprised herself with how much she’d enjoyed it. “I always thought I was a city girl at heart.”
“Do you think you could like living here, then? Stay, I mean?”
Honey looked at the table, with the old but pretty china on it, the fresh strawberries that Annette had given them from her garden – “Go on, it’s the very last of the crop. Have them! You’ve earned them twice over.” – and then at Frank’s face, losing the signs of stress and worry that had been there at their last house.
“Yes. Yes, I do think I could like living here. Very much indeed.” There was a knock at the new front door.
“Okay, which of us left what behind?” Honey asked. “I thought I heard a vehicle. It’ll be Lucie or Amber with whatever-it-is.” But it wasn’t Amber or Lucie. Standing outside on the porch was Maddie. And on the path beside her was a pile of luggage. It looked like she’d invited herself for a long stay.

The house and family were made for me by Hidehi as a lovely gift.
I’ve tweaked them slightly to fit the scenery of Two Lakes, so if you’re going to play them, they won’t look quite like this. I’ve tweaked Maddie’s personality too…
Link here for the house:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9351879
And for the family:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9351878