Chapter 4.4 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.6

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

A Question & A Windfall

The next morning dawned beautifully, and work went smoothly. I was back at home before you knew it, and decided to do some more painting in the hopes of getting something really good to sell so I could get the house closer to done. Sleeping next to the grey hulk of the first floor was starting to feel very silly.

Chapter 4.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.5

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

(A/N: Something I forgot to mention in the note at the end of the last chapter: Greta really WAS at the thrift store in Copperdale, if you go back, you can see her in the pictures while Charlie and her mom are drinking bubble tea. I noticed it after I’d already played them getting married, and had gone back to edit and write the last chapter. Also: Charlie being gay was not something I had planned. She rolled a whim to break up with Magnus, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why until the fortune at the festival.. that and I couldn’t find any other young men.. but there were a million lovely young ladies. It wasn’t until later that I, like Charlie in this chapter… realized what I’d done.)

What Have I Done?

The next morning dawned with a healthy dose of rain from the sky, and I blinked my eyes, stretched, and then remembered. I was married. I glanced over at the still-sleeping mermaid beside me, and grinned. Married. For better or worse, and all that jazz. As the rain washed down over my face, I contemplated the current turn of events. Wouldn’t Mom be proud of me? I had picked out my lifemate so much faster than she had, and I had started my home-building already. It was going to be gorgeous, too.

Chapter 4.2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.4

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

A Change of Heart

My little beach had been transformed within a couple of days. I was, once again, saving away for the upstairs and roof of my house … and perhaps some doors and stairs to actually get INTO said house. I cavorted in the waves nearby, reveling in the fact that things were moving along so fast.

Magnus had been with the crew that had built the house, and I was glad to see that he appeared to be suffering no after-effects from me breaking up with him. In fact, one of the work days, he had taken off his shirt while working, and I had noted that he looked good without it… and a niggling unease started in my mind. Why was it I had so much trouble finding chemistry with such a good looking island man? He should have been perfect husband material… but somehow, I couldn’t see myself with him.

Chapter 4.1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.3

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

The Lonely Gnome

Morning dawned somewhere beyond the fog, and … somehow… when I waded back to shore, there was a Gnome sitting next to my mailbox. Oh yeah. It’s Harvestfest. Pangs of loneliness assailed me as I realized this was the first time I’d even not been around my family and friends for a holiday. Feelin maudlin, I pulled out my phone and flipped through my contacts. One caught my eye. My biological Father. Sure, I’d always known he hadn’t been a Mermaid, and that my beloved Dad, Kado, wasn’t my actual Father. We just had never really talked about my real Father much. So, on a whim, I tried out the new Social Bunny app on the phone, and sent him a friendly message. I had no idea what would come of it, but at least I’d made the first step.

Chapter 3.13 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.2

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

Day One

I didn’t even make it to my new home before Mom called and insisted I meet with her to go shopping. She insisted that it didn’t count as her helping me out, because it was just clothes, and, quite frankly, she said she should have taken me for a makeover before now. I’m not sure whether I agreed or disagreed, but – it WAS Mom… and I always valued spending time with her, anyway. Plus, I was curious about the Thrift shop.. and whatever the heck bubble tea was…?

Chapter 15 | Chapter 17

The dreary weather outside actually was a boon to me, because it meant that there wasn’t a sun to burn me up. I could see that Mari was getting tired of the constant rain, however, so I made sure she had plenty of things to do inside.

With what was left of our savings, we had bought some curtains (which I can’t believe I had forgotten… Thank you, Mari, for mentioning it to me…) and started cluttering up the house to really make it look lived-in.

Chapter 1.9 | Chapter 1.11

Today was the first day of freedom. It was Monday, and Caizey happily got up and cooked some breakfast (the request had been for Grilled Cheese, and what the hey, that’s breakfast, too!)

Then, Caizey sat with her daughter as she ate and got ready for school. A quick hug, and Kailyn was off on the bus, with the bus driver giving Caizey’s beaming smile and jaunty wave a bemused look.

Chapter 14 | Chapter 16

Things at “Camp Forgotten Hollow” slowly became routine. Mari woke up each afternoon, had a solitary dinner, and did any cleanup the camp needed. I then woke up later (closer to sundown – for obvious reasons..) , went to find my breakfast alone (also for obvious reasons), and came back to camp.

Between the two of us, the camp was always spic-and-span, and the garden was growing weed-free. It wasn’t a huge additional income, but it was welcome none-the-less. I was still making most of our money from painting, because Mari had quit her job so she wouldn’t have to commute to Windenburg every work day. Once we had a house, perhaps she could find a job she could work from home in an office, but I certainly wasn’t going to require it of her. I was making enough money currently that we were still able to save a hefty amount with every paycheck from the gallery.

Chapter 3.12 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.1

Generation Three: Red

Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style
Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover
Aspiration: Serial Romantic
Occupation: Art Critic
House Goal: 30,000 worth

The Beginning of the End

My lovely daughter was growing up. And I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to help her as much as I could by regaling her with stories of when I first started out, but she laughed, waved me off, and said she would figure it out when the time came. To myself, I muttered “And it’s coming!” and headed off to do some household chores.

I had become a real home-body these days. After reaching the top of my career, I had reduced my work hours, and I hardly ever even had to travel to the city anymore. So now, I spent most of my time home with my kids, husband, and Fish.

Chapter 13 | Chapter 15

When Sonia and I pulled up in front of a huge, ugly mansion in a desert town an hour or two later, I sat there for a moment, completely nonplussed. I hadn’t even known there was a desert town anywhere close to where we lived… and I quickly made sure Sonia would let me take care of things by myself. She nodded, and replied that she would remain in the car, then expressed concern about me being in the bright sun.

With a hand on her shoulder, I assured her I had plenty of energy left from my meditation, that I would be just fine as long as he answered his door in a timely matter… and then left the shade of the car with a smile.