As spring brought sunny weather and warmer temperatures to Appaloosa Plains again, Adam’s garden was thriving.
So were the puppies.
Scout watched them run. The humans had given them names; Finn and Jake; but to Scout those sounds had no meaning. What these young ones were to him was something more intangible. A concept, or perhaps simply a primal feeling: pack.
But according to Grace, Scout was a proud daddy worried for his rapidly growing children.
Undoubtedly, she was just ascribing her own complex emotions to the animal.
With tears of pride in her eyes, Grace listened to Hazel go on about the various honors and AP courses she had taken on in preparation for college.
She knew that their neighbors, the Brooks, had to be feeling just as proud of their son.
Like Hazel, Aidan was preparing to go to college, he told Grace. Of course it wasn't all work and no play for him - he loved being outdoors, but when the weather was bad like today, he was perfectly content to spend an afternoon helping out around the house.
Grace couldn't have been happier with her daughter's choice of boyfriend.
Over breakfast, she gushed about how amazingly responsible the two teens were.
"Oh, this is so exciting! I'm a Sim State alumna, did you know? I was in their arts program, but science, wow! I always knew you were smart, from the very beginning. Didn't I tell you I thought she was a genius when she learned to talk so quickly, honey?"
"Yes you did, love," Adam smiled. Then, turning to Hazel, he added, "We're very proud."
"And now you're already preparing for college. My little baby, all grown up!"
"It's still a while until then, Mom," Hazel mumbled past a mouthful of French toast.
"Oh I know sweetie, but I'm still so excited for you! Going to college is a great experience. Being around all these brilliant minds all the time is just so stimulating! And it'll give you an incredible head start in your career."
"Sim State also has an excellent music program, as far as I remember," Grace added nonchalantly, glancing over at Hux. "They say it's never too late to--"
Huxley's glare silenced her mother mid-sentence.
"I know, I know," Grace threw up her hands placatingly, "You've got your band, yes. And I'd never dream of telling you to give that up," she sighed. Then, turning back to her food, she added quietly, "I was just thinking that getting a degree couldn't hurt your career, now could it?"
Huxley stood up and retreated upstairs.
A few hours later across town, the students of Crestview High were piling into the school bus to go on a field trip...
... to Wolfson's Research Facility, one block down the street.
Hazel was appalled at this gross waste of resources.
She and Aidan looked forward to checking out the research facility though. Yay, science!
Still, Hazel wished that more people would opt for more eco-friendly modes of transportation. On a beautiful day like this, why would anyone choose to be stuck in a metal cage that spewed poison into the clean air?
Huxley enjoyed the beautiful weather in her own way. She'd hopped on her motorcycle, ignoring her sister's protest, stopped at the first place that caught her attention and had simply started to play. Her mother would be aghast to know that her daughter was busking at the park, Hux thought with a grin.
Onlookers tapped their feet to the rhythm and tossed a few coins into the open guitar case. Some of them would hum parts of the half-forgotten melody as they hurried along their daily lives today, but sooner or later a random advertising jingle or pop song from the radio would push Huxley and her song out of their minds.
Huxley didn't care. Recording her music for posterity was the furthest thing from her mind. She hadn't written down a single note or recorded one song. Each composition was an expression of her soul at the very moment, and thus as fleeting as her feelings themselves. Singing the exact same song twice would have been as impossible as it was meaningless.
In the meantime, Hazel and Aidan went over their problem for the hundredth time.
They'd come to the Appaloosa County Nature Preserve for a date, but as soon as they'd set up their picnic, the conversation returned to the same topic again.
"You know they never listen to students about stuff like this," Aidan cautioned.
"There's a first time for everything. Besides, it's not like we're saying there's something inherently wrong with school buses - it's just the way they're using them that's the problem."
"It's a mindset thing," Aidan reflected, "a symptom of something that's an issue all over this town. It's almost like we're surrounded by so much nature that people never learned to value it as something fragile. It's going to be difficult to change people's minds about something that everyone around them considers a fact."
"We'll just have to start somewhere," Hazel said, "one step at a time."
*
Another day, another audition. Well, to be honest, Ethan Parrot had been the only other sim to show any interest in joining the band since Benni Hennessey. But still, Offbeat Autonomy was happening. Benni with her giant ribbon and bubbly attitude had grown on Huxley, and so Hux didn't even consider replacing the blonde with the arguably more suitable Ethan.
No, there was only one more spot left in the band and Ethan was a great musician, but Huxley had secretly been holding out for someone different to join.
Huxley's old friend Meadow Brooks had recently graduated high school and was now legally able to join a band.
"I'm sorry Hux," Meadow smiled apologetically, "but I've got a real job now."
Hux resisted the urge to scream that yes, she too had a real job, thank you very much. But they'd been friends for a long time, and Hux knew that Meadow had never had a good filter.
"I'm in politics now, like my mom," Meadow continued, "For now they're having me do small stuff, like polishing the podiums and such. But - and that's a huge secret, so don't tell anyone - Mom is going to run for mayor and when she does, I'll get to help out with her campaign as an intern!"
*
Spring frosts were still common during this time of the year, but nothing could warm a heart like the Appaloosa County Spring Fair Love Day festivities.
(At least that's what the flyer said.)
Finally Hux and Theo had gotten together a full band. Like Benni, Ethan had grown on Hux, and so Offbeat Autonomy played their first ever gig at the spring festival. There was no pay, but they were allowed to use the musical instruments the city provided and the free publicity was nothing to sneeze at.
Grace was also at the festival, enjoying some well-earned time off from work.
She'd reached great heights in her career, but once she might have dreamed of flying even higher.
Now she knew that she was happiest closer to the ground.
Besides, Adam had his ways of making Grace feel like she was on cloud nine.
Hazel and Aidan spent their Love Day date doing extracurricular work. Having thoroughly discussed and evaluated their ideas, they were now finalizing a proposal for how to make Crestview School go green.
Their plan included providing bicycles as an alternative to short bus rides, school meals made from locally grown ingredients and, most of all, keeping the principal's office securely locked to save on toilet paper.
They couldn't be sure that the administration would even consider implementing these measures, but they had a great time working together regardless.
In the meanwhile, two more lovebirds had made their way back to the house.
When hunger caused them to leave their cozy nest, they found Hazel and Aidan already at the dining table.
"Come, sit," Hazel invited them, beaming, "We made enough salad for everyone. It'll be like a double date!"
Theo joined in happily, but Hux suddenly felt a tight knot forming in her stomach.
After hastily scarfing down her food, Hux waved a nonchalant goodbye to Theo and fled upstairs.
She just couldn't handle any more of the teenagers' lovey dovey crap.
If Theo had hoped to stay the night, he was disappointed. Huxley crawled into bed alone and quickly fell into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares of binding ropes and clipped wings.
Across town there was another sim who would go to bed alone that night.
Grace watched her father pour the tea, remembering the first time she had visited this house. She'd been bewildered by all the things she seemed to recognize about her absent mother; peculiarities Grace had come to think of as uniquely her own. Finding out that they had been her mother's first had not bothered Grace however, and had instead filled her with a profound sense of belonging.
And now Charity was gone. She'd passed away on Love Day, of all days, and left Freddie to fend for himself once again.
Unwilling to leave her elderly father alone in his bereavement, Grace stayed to cook Freddie dinner instead of spending the evening with her husband. Adam would understand. Love Day was about more than just romance, Grace reflected. It meant showing love to your family too.
***
Hux did not make any plans to meet with Theo the next day, opting to visit an old friend instead. Meadow Brooks had a surprise that made Huxley realize just how long the two young women hadn't seen each other.
The straw blonde hair gave it away: her newborn son's father was Josh Wells.
"It's totally romantic, really," Meadow started off her tale. She'd been dating the son of her mother's political opponent, secretly making big plans for their future together. But once Meadow had officially declared her affiliation with her mother's political party, Josh had decided to break things off. He did not want to jeopardize his inheritance, apparently.
Now Meadow was a single mother, living in her parents' tiny house and sharing a bedroom with her teenage sisters.
"We're like, totally like Romeo and Juliet," Meadow insisted, "For now we have to stay apart because of our parents, but in the end we'll be together again."
Huxley seemed to recall that this particular story did not have a very happy ending. However, her deep frown was not for that, or for the fact that Meadow had been dating Josh - it was because of what had become of her friend.
Meadow had always used to be so zesty, but seeing her now was just sad; sitting at home all day with a baby to raise, waiting for a man to give her life meaning again. Hux could not imagine ever living like that.
That very night, Huxley made a decision.
The tearful goodbye followed just a few days later.
Adam was reluctant to let his baby girl go, but knowing that Aidan was going to be with her was a small comfort. "Watch out for my pretty girl, alright?"
Aidan grinned. "I think Mrs Cardwell can take care of herself, sir."
"Oh, you charmer," Grace giggled.
Hazel, in the meantime, had managed to corner her older sister. "Isn't Theo coming to see you off?"
"Didn't tell him I was leaving," Hux muttered.
Hazel fixed her sister with her big, sad eyes and frowned. Her lower lip jutted forward the way it had used to when she'd still been a toddler, about to cry.
"I'll call him when we're there!" Hux snapped, "Lose the puppy dog eyes, will you? Sheesh. It's not like we're never coming back."
The way their parents acted could have made one suspect otherwise.
But finally, they disentangled themselves from their hugs, grabbed the last of their bags and boarded the moving van.
And after one last glimpse of Hazel and Aidan's beloved nature park, it was off to college for the three of them.
_______________
Not that anyone asked for it (except for Becky. <3U Becky!), but I've put Barney's up for download on SimFileShare! You can get it as a .package or .sims3pack file.
Since I just made this stuff for myself, I didn't pay attention to how much store content I was using, so there's quite a lot. That's why I also created a handy simblr with a nicely organized post and store content list! Check it out.
I'll be gradually uploading more builds and probably poses and other stuff I haven't shared yet over there. If you have a simblr too, please let me know here or on tumblr so I can follow you! :D
Oh yeah, a word of caution if you end up downloading Barney's: there's no bouncer, so anyone can just walk in.
... I think I heard a joke like this once.
