A very excited Andy tracked down the newly engaged mayor in the pantry, where he’d been putting away jam for his lady-mayoress-to-be.“Names! You wanted names! To scare off those bad guys! Well, my boss has just seen those lakes.” Andy was almost stammering. “And you might know about some funding we were going to apply for? B-but we didn’t think we’d get the big grants from that particular pot. But these lakes! They c-could have been made for the funding proposals! We m-might get as much as ten million: that’s for a long-term project – but we can’t miss getting either three or five. My boss is talking to Rafe and Leo now about which b-building we can have over there. That university name has g-got to be worth something.”
Quite a lot, and they both knew it.
“And even better, it’s a Fence Foundation project.” At the blank look on Mayor Tench’s face, Andy explained.
“Paul Fence. Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Made a massive fortune and is now busy giving it away. Particularly interested in environmental issues, cleaning up post-industrial wastelands…and we’ve got this brilliant example of what nature can do on her own right here. Trust me, this is another big name.”
“That’s new,” Sal said, round for a sleepover and a 'wait until you hear my latest news…’ catch-up.“Only on loan,” I said, a bit regretfully. “Lucie said she wasn’t using it at the moment. Don’t know why not…”
“Aha!” Sal said triumphantly, with the air of one who has had a theory confirmed. “I was wondering, when I met her in Minnie’s the other day.”
“Wondering what?” I asked.
“If she was pregnant or not. There’s a certain look…Horses have it too.”
Honestly, the things that girl says!
“I know you don’t believe me, but it really is true. This is really nice chocolate, by the way. And it’s good to get away.”“From your overbearing big brother?” If Chas had tried to boss me around the way he’d been doing with Sal…
“He’s got an excuse to be even worse now – but actually, I had a really good talk to him. And I got him to see reason in the end.”
“Tell me, tell me! I want a blow by blow account.” She obliged.
“But once he’d realised Byron wasn’t interested in me, that helped a lot. In fact, Byron’s actually doing the same as Bea now – helping round the stables in exchange for rides. Only I’m not teaching him, of course.” Sal paused. “Why didn’t you tell me about Byron liking you? I thought we were friends. And he’s a nice guy.”Oh no. Not her as well! I’ve had everyone telling me what a nice guy Byron is. With an add-on from Georgie pointing out that Byron likes me for who I am. Only Lachlan’s said anything different: he said it wasn’t good to want to be totally independent and self-sufficient. He just doesn’t get it: that’s been the goal all my life. Me, Clara Hayes, managing on my own.
“That’s what I can’t stand about him,” I said. “He’s ‘such a nice guy’. Him and his happy, secure childhood…” I was doing it again, letting my emotions show far too clearly. Sal went very still.
“I had a happy childhood too,” she said quietly. “Even after Mum died. And I really value all that Dad did to make it happy. I don’t think I want you sneering at that. I won’t stop for that sleepover after all. Thanks for the hot chocolate, though.”
What was wrong with me? Why was I behaving like this? I’d been fine until Mr Nice Guy arrived. I needed to talk to Addie – and, late night or not, she’d be there for me.
I threw some clothes on and cycled through the dark streets, past the sleeping shops, heading for Addie, who’d seen through me, known me and cared about me since I’d arrived here. She could help me make sense of the chaos in my head and in my feelings.
And Addie wasn’t there. The building was quiet and peaceful, as always, but there was no Addie. There was a total absence of her presence.Clara Hayes, you’re on your own again.
There. All six children in the playroom, each of the older ones either playing with one of the younger ones or keeping an eye on them for the next twenty minutes. That was the deal, and Patience had set the timer. Which meant that she could write a little bit more of her fortnightly letter to her mother.“I d-don’t know why you write,” Euan had said once. “She n-never writes back.”
“I’m not writing to get an answer,” Patience had said calmly. “I’m not writing to get something back. I’m writing to give. To tell her about her grandchildren. What she does with the gift is up to her.”
Now, what had she written so far, and what was still to be told? Of course! The latest news in the town: Chas and Sal Woodside’s bombshell news. She opened the folder to take out a new sheet of paper – Minnie didn’t stock writing paper, so it was this or nothing.
Where should she start? Probably with a bit of background, or this would sound confusing.“Remember the story I told you about that English brother and sister who came over to rebuild the stables that had been founded by one Sir Charles Woodside, back at the turn of the last century? How Sir Charles had been forcibly separated from his (secretly married) wife, because his family didn’t want him to marry her? Only he already had, so they were a bit behind the fair! And then she died in childbirth and her family told Sir Charles that the child had died with her?” Honestly, it was like something out of a novel.
“But the child hadn’t, his son hadn’t died. And Chas and Sal inherited the documents that proved this. So Chas is Sir Charles Woodside’s legitimate descendent. And he inherits the title. He doesn’t have to go to England to take up his seat in the House of Lords, or anything like that – it’s a very minor title, though it goes back quite a long way. And there’s no property to inherit either – apart from Woodside Barns, which is where they already are anyway.”
Patience put her pen down for a moment. All was still peaceful in the playroom. Twenty minutes shouldn’t be too long for the older ones to be with the younger ones. She thought about that sad story. Sir Charles could have had his son growing up with him. Instead, he’d become one of the fathers to the town, bringing in the racing, the horses, and the prosperity that had come with that.“So Chas is now Sir Charles Woodside, and Sal says he’ll need a bigger hat, though I think he’s a bit embarrassed by it all. However, we put him straight on the Town Council. He says he doesn’t know anything, but we told him that didn’t matter. We need his name. The more ammunition, the better.”
She put the finished letter in the box and flipped up the flag. The weekly mail collection-and-delivery was tomorrow. Early!
Getting everyone sat at the table and fed all at the same time was quite an effort! Which is why they only did it once a day. When all the children were at school of course, they’d eat breakfast together as well, but that was still a good two years away.“Do you think having Sir Charles Woodside, Andy’s university and the promise of the Fence Foundation is going to be enough?” Euan asked Patience. The next meeting was only a week away.
“I don’t know. If it was the guarantee of the Fence Foundation now, that would be worth a lot…but it’ll be six months before that’s official. Though Andy’s boss has had some informal conversations and – off the record – they’ll definitely be getting one of the three big grants, off-the-record isn’t official at all and can’t be used as such. They still have to go through all the processes.”
Most weeks there was mail of some sort or another. Mostly advertising, it was true! But Patience wrote to some old friends – the ones who could cope with the idea of living somewhere with no internet communication! – and a few of them wrote back, saying they actually liked writing a real letter. “Only I’d never do it normally, because email is quicker. But this is good for me in a funny kind of way.” And it looked like there was a proper letter in the box today.
And the next minute, the mail was in a heap on the ground, where she’d dropped it in her amazement. Her mother had written to her! Six years of silence, and her mother had written…
“She said it was when my father heard that I’d worn the rubies he’d given me, to give me confidence in that first meeting…apparently he was really touched by that. She says it’s only been his own stubborn pride that’s kept him from admitting how much he’s missed me, and that he was wrong in the first place…”“So that’s where Barnabas gets it from!”
“I’m afraid so. But now he wants to make up for it big-time, my mother says. No, not by giving us lots of money.” Patience had felt Euan stiffen beside her. “He knows I wouldn’t accept it. But this is what he did say.”
Patience quoted her father’s words to her mother. “We’ve crossed swords with Lee Popeman Enterprises before. They do not have a good reputation. Tell Patience that I am personally instructing Knight, Goodman and Waters to act for the town. I think that you’ll find that Lee Popeman’s attempts to browbeat and intimidate you will be a lot less enthusiastic in the face of that information…”
“I’m happy for us to accept this. It’s for the whole town,” Euan said.
“Me too. For the same reason. We’ve got our final name. And our children will get to know their grandparents.”
“I heard a rumour that you’d picked up a batch of second-hand Dick Francis novels for Chas and me.” Sal smiled her nicest, friendliest smile at Byron: there was such a sadness in his eyes these days. “After all, we can’t use our Kindle until that mast is up and running, and I can’t wait another six weeks to have something to read.”“I did, I have and I haven’t let anyone else see them yet!” There was a pause, and then it was as thought Byron couldn’t help himself.
“Sal – you’re Clara’s friend. What have I done to make her dislike me so? I mean, if she was just indifferent to me, I could understand that. But it’s like she actively dislikes me, no matter how nice I am to her?”How do I tell him this? Sal asked herself. It’s not like he can change his past. And Clara’s so stubborn these days, I don’t know what would change her.
“My happy childhood! Her problem is my happy childhood?” And this was a side of Byron Sal had never seen before. Don’t shoot me, she thought, I’m only the messenger.“I’m sorry, Sal. I know this isn’t your fault. But wait until I find Miss Clara Hayes and tell her just what I think of her.”
This park is looking so lovely now. There are wild flowers growing, and all the planting that we’ve done (mostly under Grandpa Geo’s instruction) has brought this central area back to life. I can see why Mayor Tench would meet his Mary here back when they were courting. And now he’s a-marryin’ of Bess Preston next weekend. Even if people do think I’m heartless, I’m glad for him: he’s had a long, lonely time of it. And that company has run off with its tail between its legs…most things are looking good!
Oh no, not him! Can’t I have any peace anywhere? Now I’m going to have to put up with his niceness again. And feel ashamed because he’s so much nicer than me.
This? This was Byron?“I obviously need to apologise to you. For having the had the bad taste to have ‘a happy childhood’.” Ouch. Things still weren’t right between me and Sal either. And I’d missed out on hearing her news about Chas personally, spoilt her joy in telling me.
“I mean, it was so lovely for me, visiting my cousins…” okay, no need to be quite so sarcastic about that “…a year with this batch, a year with that batch…” Huh?
“Just for your information, Miss Clara Hayes – and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread this all over the town – my parents died when I was five. And so I was passed around among the cousins like a parcel: one school year at a time. It was probably a lot better than being in care, but it wasn’t like having a real home of my own. Want to know how I learned to be so nice? Because then you’re a pleasure to have around and they’re pleased to have you back again instead of resenting it. Then no-one minds sharing a bedroom with you for the year, giving up some of their space to you. And it wasn’t hard: I genuinely do like people. But you have no idea how much I wanted a place of my own, a place where I really belonged.”
“And I was stupid twice over, wasn’t I? Stupid enough to think that I might find it here, in this place, in this community. And stupid enough to think that I might find it with you.”And beneath his – pretty incandescent – rage, I saw the hurt. I had got this so wrong. So unbelievably wrong. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
And then I turned away from him and burst into tears. The real gut-wrenching you-can’t-fake-this sort. Why? Because I’d just realised that I’d ruined any chance of a friendship between us. And that was probably the biggest mistake of my life. And because I had hurt him – and Sal – with my self-protective behaviour.
I told you he was nice. Next thing I knew, his arms were round me and he was hugging me while I said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” over and over again – and made his t-shirt very wet in the process.
Goodness only knows what I must have looked like, but it didn’t seem to put him off. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was so, so wrong about you,” somehow segued into, “Please will you forgive me?” and “I don’t want us not to be friends, I truly don’t.”“I want more than friendship,” he said gently. “I want you to let me into your life, let me look after that feisty-but-lonely girl I see in you. If you don’t want that, then fine. I’ll leave, with no hard feelings between us. Tell me what you want.”
Let someone look after me? For a moment, all my pride and desire for independence flared up in me – and died down again. What had that gained me?
“Please don’t go,” I said.
Oh boy. I think I’m going to have to personally apologise to just about every person in town.
Janet had never been a bridesmaid before, and she was so nervous that her mother had stepped in.“Sit here until it’s time for Bess to walk down the aisle. That’ll keep your dress nice. And I’ll tell you when to go to the back of the church.”
I hope I don’t spoil this, Janet thought. It’s the first wedding here for years.
And the best wedding that there could be. Everyone was in total agreement about that. This was the perfect First Wedding For Years couple.
“Reckon as we’ve come full circle,” Mayor Tench said before he kissed his Lady Mayoress.
Marcus and Euan were standing near the groom. Euan apparently had a pocketful of rice he was determined to throw!I remember when they arrived, the groom thought. Marcus was first of all. ‘N then that Clara, over there with that nice young man of hers, ‘n then Euan. And now look at us, look at the town. Reckon I’m right glad I stayed here after everyone else left. ‘N people coming back too, like May here, ‘n Ludo, people who remember how this place useter be as well. ‘N me? Never thought as things would end up like this. Never expected such a happy endin’. But here it is. ‘N a load of new beginnins’ as well.
The End.
This story wouldn’t have looked half so good without the work of two very talented people: Cyclonesue at TSR and Sandy from ATS3 and I’m so grateful to them for their amazing creations.
I’m also so grateful to all the people who’ve made characters and houses, some specifically for this town and some as gifts to other people. Here they are, in no particular order.
Clara and Miss Adelaide Kirk and the church were made by AlphaFen (now AlphaFFrog) and can be found here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9310815
Marianna, Lachlan and the children and the Old Forge are by AlphaFen (now known as AlphaFFrog) and can be found here:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9310543
Frank, Honey, Maddie and house 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
Blake and his house were made by Jessabeans. Link here for Blake
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9352926
and here for the house
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9352888
which I tweaked slightly to fit in with the landscape and the story.
Bea and Lara’s house was made by Jessabeans for me as part of the Amayzing gift exchange. https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9310215 An Old Jockey’s Nightmare is here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9394756 and that was by LMC6254, for the SummerFest gift exchange. So were Artie and Old Pete https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9394755 I’ve altered the buildings very slightly, to fit in with the town – the telegraph poles are by Cyclone Sue at TSR.
Rusty Wrangler’s was made for me by LMC6255 for the SummerFest gift exchange as part of her Art of Dilapidation series!
And it’s here:
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9395123
Leo’s Place was made for me by LMC6254 for the Summerfest Gift Exchange as part of her Art of Dilapidation series.
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9395270 The Better Days Bakery was also made for me by LMC6254!
https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9394968 The Meithers’ Place was made for me by LMC6254 for the Summerfest Gift Exchange.
Link here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9394596
Caleb and Chris were made by Suzses, for BreeMiles for the Homebound Holiday Gift Exchange 2020 Link here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9432116
Cyclonesue made nearly all of the factory buildings!
I made Patience and Euan – link here: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/the-mcphail-renovacy.html
I also made the Preston Farm and family – link here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=8796816 I don’t think there’s any cc in those two creations, but if you’re really wary of that, then it would be worth custard-checking them first.
No comments:
Post a Comment