Gen 1.16 Fra-mily Togetherness

With so much of the previous day taken up with travel, the Estes family woke up on their first day in the French countryside filled with hope. Lupe cooked them up a big breakfast of their favorite apple pancakes on the hostel's indifferent stove and sat down to plan the day over plates of syrupy goodness. Lupe laid out the options, “There's a fantastic art museum just outside of town, with some water gardens we could go to, or there are world class vineyards and cider orchards, and there's a barrow we can explore... It says here there's an archaeology experience geared towards kids! You get to go to a real dig-site and uncover artifacts! Oh and historic house tours, would you look at those gardens?”

Juniper lobbied hard for the art museum, “Mom, I need to see the art museum! It has the best collection of impressionists outside the Louvre! Come on, Ash, Haze?”

Hazel could not care less and Ash was happy to go wherever there were people. So they went to the museum. Hazel and Ash dutifully looked at the paintings and the statues and then got heartily bored trying to go as slowly as Juniper wanted to go. Ash ran up to Hazel with a mischievous look in his eyes, about to tag her when Lupe intercepted him, “Hey there, buddy, I can see you're getting antsy. Do you wanna check out the gardens with me?”

Hazel turned around, “Mom, can I come too? I love art as much as the next person, but if I don't get out of this room...”

Lupe nodded and went to Juniper, “Junie, honey, the other kids have had about as much as they can take so I'm gonna take them out to the garden, but you keep going through the museum at your own pace. I'll text you if we decide to go before you find us.”

Juniper nodded absently. She was absorbed in Van Gogh's bold brushstrokes. Every day that week while her mother, brother, and sister checked out other sights, she came back to the art museum to slowly go through each room. She brought her sketch book and sat in front of artifacts brought back from even more foreign lands and sketched them out, she sketched marble busts and even some furniture that had lines that appealed to her. By the end of the week, she had grown familiar with all the security guards and felt comfortable enough to speak haltingly in French with them. She'd eat a sandwich by herself in the garden watching the birds, the water, and the koi thinking deeply about composition.

Lupe, Hazel, and Ash fell into an easy schedule of an educational morning outing, lunch on the hoof, and then an active afternoon activity. It worked well for a few days until they toured Le Vigne Pont de Pierre winery and vineyard and the whole wine making process peaked Hazel's interest. She loved the smell of the vineyard as they walked it with the tour guide, the dust on her shoes and the dew on her hands. She loved the contrast of the cool stone wine cellar and the physicality of crushing the grapes and making the wine. The tour guide, noticing the girl's enthusiasm, helpfully told them at the end of the tour and tasting that they had a Junior Apprenticeship program that ran three days with a new session beginning the following morning. Would mademoiselle be interested?

Hazel turned huge brown eyes on Lupe and asked beseechingly, “Mom, please? I want it more than anything in the world!” Lupe was just pleased to see her daughter take an interest in something that didn't involve a ball that she agreed.

Lupe turned to Ash, “Looks like it will just be you and me, kiddo! What would you like to do tomorrow? Wanna explore the barrow? Go fishing?”

“Do they have kids here? I wanna go to the park and play.”

Suddenly, gloom descended on Lupe and she felt like the worst mother in the world. How could she have neglected Ash's unstructured play time? She'd promised Lewis that he would have the childhood that Lewis had never had and now here they were in Europe and she was trying to drag him to another historical house neither of them would remember!

When they got back to the hostel, Lupe asked the bored girl at the desk about local playgrounds. The girl pretended to not know what she meant so Lupe tried again. The girl had looked at her but went back to her cuticles. Ash walked up to the desk and said in his most polite, appealing way, “See voo play, oo ay lay park?” Oddly, this charmed the girl in a way that Lupe's much better worded, oddly accented French had not and she defrosted enough to direct them to the town square.

Lupe remembered the square as being completely paved over with benches, trees, and a few stone chess tables and not as a place that children would play. Still it was better than nothing and maybe someone there would be able to tell her where a playground would be and how to say that in French.

At the square, Ash amused himself by balancing on the low wall surrounding the flower beds and then pretending that the wall around the fountain was very treacherous and that he might slip in. Then he produced a ball from goodness knows where and started throwing it and catching it and then throwing it at the corner where the wall met the cobbles and bouncing it off to hit it with his hand and try again. After the ball went AWOL and took off one of the old men playing chess's hat, Lupe asked him to put the ball away. Then he began a game of balancing on the wall, but this time with pratfalls!

A woman came out of the green grocer carrying a basket of vegetables and holding a little girl's hand. They were talking with each other, their lilting voices sounding like bird calls. Lupe approached them and asked in her best French if the mother could tell her where the nearest playground was. The woman looked at her blankly. Lupe decided to try again, “Do you speak English?” she asked. The woman nodded, “A little”

Through a combination of going slowly and gestures, Lupe was able to convey the concept of “playground.” The mother's face lit up and she explained to the little girl what it was the stranger wanted. In a piping voice, the little girl said to her mother, “The one with the football field and the basketball hoop is the best!” The mother smiled at Lupe and said in English, “We go now, you come with us?” Lupe agreed and called Ash over. Putting her hand over her heart, Lupe said, “Je m'appelle Lupe et il est appelé Ash" and tapped his head. The mother introduced herself as Estelle and her daughter as Eveline. The little girl gestured to Ash to follow her and went running off towards a residential area. The mothers followed behind at a more sedate pace, shouting directions to the kids at intervals to do things like wait at the corner.

They eventually came to a reasonable sized park with a few shade trees, a soccer field, an asphalt basketball court, picnic pavilions, and a playground. Two little boys were already playing tag by themselves and a blond boy about Ash's age was reading a book under a tree with an air of resignation. Estelle spoke to Eveline for a moment and then came to Lupe, "I go" she indicated her groceries, "I be back soon."

Lupe got out a book keeping half an eye on the children. When she began reading all five children had been engaged in their own things. She looked up at the end of a chapter to see that the boy who had been reading had put down his book to join in the two brothers' game of tag. Ash was at the top of the jungle gym with Estelle. She went back to her book and looked up when she heard a lot of feet go by. All the children were now playing tag. Eventually Estelle came back and got out her knitting. She and Lupe sat in companionable silence until the church bells rang out that it was five o'clock. Then Estelle packed up her knitting and called Eveline over. The two conversed quickly in French before Estelle turned to go. Lupe stopped her, slowly and haltingly she tried to ask Estelle about children playing alone in this country. Estelle shrugged and said, "They are children, they play. It is nice to watch, sometimes. I have to make food now, au revoir!"

Lupe looked at the kids playing. The oldest one was about ten and the youngest was six, Ash's age. They were there by themselves. By the gate to the park, there was a tangle of bikes and scooters and a pile of helmets like so many strange melons. She checked her watch, almost time to meet up with the girls for dinner at the cafe. She called out to Ash and let him know that he had five minutes before they were to go.

After dinner that night, Juniper asked Lupe if they could talk. Lupe followed the chubby young woman out to the garden and wondered what was on her mind. Juniper seemed to be struggling for words. They came to a widening of the garden path where an ancient firepit was set up. Juniper stooped over it stirring the ashes with a stick before speaking, "I just keep going over this in my head... Why did Nina do it? Why couldn't she just be a mom? Why wasn't I enough for her? I see how you are and how you were with Ash and Hazel and I feel so jealous. I try not to, because I know you love me too, but I'm not yours, not in the same way. You loved Shane and Lewis so much! It made me love them too in a way. I mean, I didn't get it, but I tried to see what you saw. You were so hurt and sad when Lewis died and now you're coming out of it and I'm just piling on! I'm sorry!"

Lupe crossed to be beside Juniper and put her arm around her, "Oh honey! You are enough. You have always been enough and you always will be enough. Nina had a hole in her heart and she tried to fill it in all the wrong ways. It was never about you." Juniper laughed bitterly and muttered, "Story of my life." Lupe winced, "That came out wrong. You are not the reason that your birth mom drank and did drugs. She is the one with something wrong with her. She wanted to feel better about the corner she put herself in so she drank and did drugs. Her beauty and her sex appeal made her feel powerful and she used that to get what she wanted from men. Unfortunately, she never learned what made her the most important person in the world to one person.

I am so lucky to have you, Junie. You show me a world I'd never know without you. You show me the beauty and artistry in the world. It's a cliche, but I'd seen many sunsets, but watching one through your eyes is amazing. You point out things I never would've noticed. Going to an art museum with you makes me see things in a different way. You are so kind and patient with your brother and sister we are truly blessed to have you in our family. I want you to know that even though as far as the government is concerned my obligation to you has ended, you will always be a part of my family and you will always have a place in my house and at my table." Lupe stumbled backwards a half-step as Juniper hugged her fiercely. "You are my daughter, mija, my oldest daughter and the first to fly the nest. I can't wait to see what you do with your life. Have you figured anything out since we've been here?"

Juniper took a deep breath and wiped some tears she didn't know she'd shed, "Aunt Leah said that since Elijah moved out she'd been using his room for a studio, and offered to let me rent the cabin by the river she had been using as a studio. Do you know it?"

Lupe knew it, of course. Leah used to live there when she'd first moved to Meadow Glen. It was smaller than Eliot's beach side shack, but cozier too. They'd kept it to use as a studio, artist's retreat, and love shack. It was their couple's place and the boys had seldomly been allowed there. Lupe had spent many afternoons and evenings there as a young woman, but she wouldn't feel comfortable crossing the threshold now. She felt so grateful to Leah and Elliot for offering it up to Junie. She tried to imagine the cabin denuded of Leah's sketches and models and Elliot's publisher's copies. It wouldn't be theirs anymore, it would be Juniper's and she guessed that was the point. "Have you been through it? Do you think it will suit you?" asked Lupe.

"I think so, they said they're going to repaint and do some repairs. Leah says that she'll leave the old sculpting table and easel if I'd like. It's just gonna be me, so it's plenty big enough." said Juniper resuming her walk.

Lupe fell in step beside her and asked, "And what will you do for money?"

"I've been selling some paintings and drawings on consignment lately and they're doing pretty well. Mrs Alvarez has been encouraging me to do something with those Trojan War comic strips I drew. I'm thinking about turning them into a web comic along with those Odysseus comics I drew with Lewis. I've got a lot of ideas. Worse comes to worse, I can paint faces at the farmer's market every weekend!" Lupe and Juniper walked around the dusky garden discussing the future until it got too dark and they went in.

For their last day in Champs les Sims, Lupe suggested to each of her children that the others would really enjoy going on a hike and then fishing together. She was really pleased when Hazel presented it as her own idea over breakfast, "Hey, Ash, Junie, would you like to take a hike and go fishing with me and Mom? I'd like to get more of a feel for the land."

Lupe packed a picnic lunch while the girls gathered sunblock and bug spray and Ash spoke to the hostel about the fishing poles that were advertised. There was something about Ash that made people want to be around him and make him happy. When he turned on the charm, people fell over themselves making things happen for him. Ash met them outside laden down with fishing poles, tackle boxes, and directions to the best fishing hole in the area. They piled into the car and headed off into the hills behind town as the rolling hills passed by in a yellow-green blur. At last they pulled up to the gravel parking lot at the trail-head and got out, divvying up gear before checking their maps and heading off into the meadow that gave way to oak and chestnut forest. As they climbed the hill, they laughed and joked together, reminiscing about the good times. A shadow had lifted and Lupe found herself telling a story about Lewis so that Ash would know his "father." It was still too early to tell him about his heritage, but he should know something of Lewis, she thought. The girls then chimed in with their memories of him. Then they saw a sparkle up ahead and they came around a bend to reveal a beaver pond with a grand home off in the distance. The family perched on a convenient boulder and ate their lunch, chattering and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. After, they lined up on the bank and cast their lines hoping for minnows, but enjoying each other's company. Lupe wondered if the beavers found half as much satisfaction from their creation as she did from hers.

They left for home early the next morning and when they got back, Meadow Glen seemed a little smaller than it had before. There was a big, wide world out there, and Lupe wanted to see all of it. But first, there was a daughter to say goodbye to and settle in a new home; another daughter to start high school; and a son to ease into the new school year.

Author's Note: Non, ne je regrette rien. Even terrible puns. As this goes on it's getting harder to write. I have an outline with the world stuff figured out but the little plot points are harder to hit. Story Progression did some really weird things that upset my sims a lot. It's so hard to write about that! Have a lovely long weekend, US readers!