Changing Seasons. Winter III, part 3

Winter III, part 3 “Well, I reckon it looks better already, what with us paintin’ that ceiling,. What we fixin’ to do today? Them walls?”
“Walls and woodwork too, if you’re up to that at your time of life. I’ve got some quick-drying primer and undercoat all in one, so I think we can really get somewhere.”
“You’re a hard taskmaster, Artie Campbell. You’ll be owin’ me a beer tonight. Over at Leo’s place. And I’ll beat you at table football too.” “So what colours we puttin’ on these walls then?”
“Well, I asked Minnie’s advice, and she asked me what colours I liked. I said I liked red…”
“I can kinda tell that from your paintin’ clothes!”
“…so she said it’s a bit fierce if there’s a lot of it. Mostly white is what we’re doing in here and then some red as an – an accent colour, she called it.” “Well, this is beginnin’ to look a bit better. Say, you heard the latest news from Marcus and Annette?”
“No. Tell me. But don’t stop painting!” “You’d better be getting’ on as well then. Reckon that window’s dry enough for you to paint round it now. Anyways, it’s all change at their place. Blake’s movin’ out to that farm of his at last, and they’ve got two new people comin’ in – brothers, I hear, with an aunt that’s into wine-makin’ and no children of her own. So they’ll be stayin’ and workin’ with Marcus and Annette for a couple of years, learnin’ how to make wine real hands-on. And maybe bringin’ some new ideas into their aunt’s winery too.” Old Tench paused artistically.
“That sounds good. Anything else? You holding out on me, Tom Tench?”
Old Tench snorted with laughter. Artie knew him too well.
“Well, yes…Seems like my little god-daughter’s goin’ to be havin’ a brother or sister. Reckon Blake’s well out of it. Bein’ pregnant don’t suit Annette one little bit.” “Well, I reckon we’ve done a real good day’s work here, the two of us.”
“We sure have. I owe you that beer and then some. Let me get changed and check up on Old Pete, and then I’ll buy it for you.”
“Think I’ll change back into my other clothes too. Don’t want to lower the tone of Leo’s place, do I?” “Try and hit the board! That round bit,” Marianna said, laughing at Lachlan. They were out on a date! A real date! Clara was babysitting and she and Lachlan were out together, with someplace they could go to in the winter. There was a fairly lively game of table football going on in the corner – and a lot of matching shirts! Patience’s Christmas presents from last year were getting a good airing.
“Well, this brushed cotton is so nice and warm,” Lachlan pointed out as he lined up his next shot. “These are good winter shirts.” His shot missed the board again. He was well out of practice!
“Right. I vill show you who iz ze master here. Mr Dart, I sink you haf made ze biiig mistake…”
Lachlan’s terrible joke tickled Marianna’s sense of humour, and she laughed out loud as she hadn’t done in years. And she laughed even more when Lachlan’s carefully aimed dart hit the floor, adding to the collection of small holes that were already there. “This is so kind of Clara, to babysit for us,” Marianna said, squinting down the barrel of her dart. “You know, I’m not really sure how we’d all manage without her.”
“And Annette’s pregnant again. Marcus is really going to need her help!” Lachlan felt a lot of sympathy for Marcus.
“I know. It’s funny, isn’t it? I mean Patience is huge now, she can definitely feel two heads in there, and yet she’s still pretty calm. Though she does appreciate it when Mason or Fletcher go over and play with Barnabas. And Barnabas loves being round the “big boys” as he calls them.”
“Yes. He’s a bit short on male company, isn’t he?”
“Maybe Annette will have a boy this time. I think she’s stopping at two, though. Being pregnant does not suit her!” “Now that’s more like it!” Lachlan said, as he took his final turn.
“Yeah, two out of three ain’t bad,” Marianna said smugly. She’d beaten him hollow and they both knew it.
“Better go and relieve Clara. You know, she came here looking for something for herself. And instead she’s changed so much for the rest of us. She’s amazing. I don’t know how she’s done it.”
Lachlan could have told her, but he wasn’t convinced that Marianna would believe in the ghost of a bossy school teacher. A ghost that only certain people could see. They came home to find Clara sitting by the fire, the children all asleep upstairs.
“How were they?” Marianna asked.
“Fine. They always are, your four.”
“I owe you! We had a lovely evening out. What do you need?”
“I’ll need new T shirts once it’s warmer,” Clara said thoughtfully. “And I like your taste! Surprise me.”
“I’ll cycle back with you,” Lachlan said. “Make sure you get there safely.” Which was a joke in one way, because they all knew that this neighbourhood was as safe as any could be. But the company was welcome on a cold, dark night. “Not much longer now,” Euan said comfortingly.
“Thank goodness!” Patience said. She felt enormous.
“I love those little dresses you made for the girls.”
“They’ve grown since I made them though. Look how short they’re getting.”
“Well, if we have girls, they’ll come in again. And if not, Annette can have them for Mary.” Patience leant contentedly against her husband.
“You know, we’re doing our best to keep Honey in a job.”
“I like her. I hope she and Frank stay. She’ll be a lovely teacher for our children.”
“She might need to acquire a bit of backbone to cope with Barnabas! I really like her too – all that sweetness is totally genuine. But sometimes you have to set boundaries, take control.” Patience paused. “Still, I learnt how to do that, and she will too.” “Well, we did say we were providing Honey’s job security.” But Euan’s eyes were very soft as he gazed down at his two beautiful new daughters.
“And I’ve got plenty of clothes stashed away for Faith and Mercy. But we’re going to need more storage, come what may!” “And Barnabas has a brother!”
“Yes,” Patience said. “And looking at him, I think Justin might be as determined as Barnabas.”
Surely she couldn’t tell this young? But Euan looked at his new son’s wide-eyed gaze, fixed firmly on him, and thought that she might have a point. “Well, you’d hardly recognise the room now.” Artie was writing to Bess.
“Tom and I, we scrubbed, sanded, painted – you name it, we did it. Even laid some lino and all. And then that Clara-girl I told you about – she came round and helped with the furniture, sanding and painting like a good’un. I’ve got two more chairs and this table that I’m writing at now to do…” “I’m kind of proud of what I’ve done. Wish you could see it. Mind you, you’d probably throw a fit at the state of the rest of the house!” Artie paused, and then went on.
“Bess, I’m kind of worried about Tom. You know how I said Maddie Portland was back? Well, I think she’s got her eye on Tom. He’s been saying things like, he’s surprised by how much she’s changed and time mellows us all. He’s even bought some new overalls before his old ones totally went into holes…” After he’d finished his letter, Artie went into the front room and looked at it with new eyes. It was a bit of a disgrace really. He’d better start on this room next, in between schooling Old Pete. And how was he going to find a rider for Old Pete? Maybe he should advertise…He could offer a half-share in any winnings, But would that attract anyone? Maddie looked at herself in the mirror. Yes, she reckoned she looked as good as she could for her age. The creams and cosmetics were expensive, but she could afford them now she had no living expenses. A new nightdress next, she thought. Hopefully, she would need it. She lay back on the bed and relaxed. The rest of the house still looked awful, but at least she’d been able to create this civilised corner for herself. The rug wasn’t quite right, but when she saw a better one, she’d order it. And offer to pay part out of her tiny pension, as usual…
Her pursuit of Tom Tench was going well, she thought: meeting him just occasionally and as if by chance; talking a bit about how much she’d loved her late husband, and how little time they’d had together…She’d got time to play a long game. There was no competition around, and neither of them was going anywhere. Tomorrow, she’d drop by his house and call on him for the first time. She’d told Frank and Honey that she didn’t have long to live.
“It’s hereditary,” she’d said bravely. “I hoped that I’d escaped it, but the doctor said no…I mustn’t over-exert myself, but as long as I’m careful, eat well and exercise moderately, I should have another year, or maybe two. I should so like to spend my last days here, where all my happy childhood memories are…” She’d wiped away a lone tear.
“Don’t tell anyone else about this. I don’t want their pity, or to upset them…” Maddie woke early as she usually did, dressed and went downstairs and ate a good breakfast. Honey could tidy up after her, she thought, as she decided to go out now and check that she did remember where Tom lived. A little early-morning exercise would do her so much good. As she walked down a familiar road – quite briskly, as there was no-one to see he – Maddie was shocked by the dilapidation she saw all around her. But Tom’s place, she was pleased to see, looked a lot better than the others. Better, but obviously empty. He’d been decorating though, so perhaps he was staying with Artie Campbell or someone else while he was doing it, keeping out of the paint fumes. She’d have to ask Frank – he’d know. “No, Old Tench hasn’t lived there for years. He lives down by the docks in his old fishing hut. It’s Clara who’s decorating it – Old Tench has given her the house.” Clara, Maddie thought, when Frank had left the room. She’d met her before, and hadn’t much liked her, though she’d done her sweet old lady act with her. But if Clara was going to get in the way of her plans, then Clara would have to go. She was a bit of a mystery girl – it might be worth a bit of digging to see what she could find out there.

Artie and his house were a fantastic gift to me from LMC6254, for the Summerfest gift exchange. Link here:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9394755

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