First a warning - this chapter is the longest ever! That said, let's go! This day is packed with events!
There are two major events taking place today, the medical check at the little hospital, and the building of a barn at Greench Farm. But most days do begin with breakfast...
Godrian had slept on the suggestion to replace his dad, Archie, on the local council. And he slept well.
It will be the busiest day ever, Godrian wished he could have focused only on the new barn.
Then Beatrice G. Hedgewall arrived, and they all got seated.
Traditionally, Greench Farm has provided the little community with all kinds of produce, making it an obligation to grow all species. This is no longer a community duty, and because it requires many workers, Godrian is actually planning to tone it down a few levels.
Aunt Beatrice is married to one of the 2nd generation Yea-Low sons, Yoseph, and to avoid many households sharing the same family name, the 2nd generation picked names from their recent family tree. That's why they are now the Hedgewall household. Beatrice has the Green thumb trait, and over time she built up a nice little farm in Sunrise Valley.
Archie was taken by surprise by his sister's sudden accuse.
Boletta could easily see aunt Beatrice's reaction as rather fair. Boletta ain't green-thumbed, but she might still be a better farmer object than her brother, Godrian.
Jamiel Hedgewall is aunt Beatrice's youngest son, and cousin of Boletta and her siblings. He was born with extreme green skin, making him stick out wherever he go, and showing that he hails from Greench Farm. Long ago there was a green skinned plantperson in the Greench family, Astrantia Major.
(Story told here:
SimBasic Week 6 Day 5).
If aunt Beatrice wanted to grow fruits and berries, Godrian could provide the Market with traditional vegetables, and perhaps grow fruits merely for their private consume.
Boletta suddenly stood up, pulling out her cell phone. Yesterday they all got a phone each, but most of them have not yet figured out how it works. The elders are old enough to recall the phones their parents brought to the island, but the modern phones are more complicated with touch screen and way more advanced technology.
Greta Greench, one of the original settlers, had been well known for her Key Lime Pie. She also founded the local Greta's Bistro, and was generally more into cooking than the average resident. Now her daughter, Carie G. Peel (Beatrice's twin sister) had brought on the culinary interest by running the local café, but also Beatrice is a decent cook.
Godrian had to leave. The busy day has started, so much to do!
No wonder he pulled up a distracting face like this...
Visiting the other 3 households of the southern region should basically be quickly done, but they all wanted to chat. Starting with aunt Carie's home across the road, the Peel home at 4 Greench Farm.
So, Godrian decided to help his auntie with the §5.000 she needed for buying the bakery. But they could not help him with the barn, because they would be busy taking over the bakery.
Next was his uncle LaShawn G. Gladiston living at 2 Greench Farm. The Peel house can be seen in the background. Elderly uncle Shawn is married to the much younger Rebecka, she is Godrian's cousin who grew up in the northern region. The Gladistons grow just enough for producing a little nectar, but Godrian never saw their business really kicking off.
Finally he walked over to the Major household. His uncle Cody resides here with his wife Rosanne, who hails from the Redwards, and their 2 kids. Cody grows plants for sale, and Rosanne runs a small canes business.
Having all the neighbours' accept for being the next southern region representative for the council, meant a lot to Godrian. This is how elections work on the island. Elections are done within each region, but are still rather informally handled.
Finally, the new barn was in the making! Lots of trees had been cut, some had been found on the beach over time, and some materials had been bought from the foreigners. The build might look a bit massive for their limited resources, but any readers missing logics can just think of each simday representing a full year :-)
Godrian got much appreciated help from uncle Shawn G. Gladiston, uncle Cody G. Major, cousin Gastor Hamming and brother Bertil Greench. And of course dad Archie was very much involved, also!
Unfortunately it was true. Yvilla's dad, elderly Randal Redward, and his late dad Roger Redward before him, had always seen themselves miles above the farmers. The Greenches never really cared, because the Redwards mostly represented values that the farmers didn't desire, anyway. Nevertheless, in the past, Godrian's uncle Jess had married to Constance Redward, and also uncle Cody had married Rosanne Redward.
They were not enough workers to complete the barn in just one simday! Especially not when both Godrian and Archie had to waste hours on the medical check.
Then some unexpected help showed up!
Aunt Beatrice had probably been in the kitchen with Bridgette all along, and the two scientists knew about the barn building because Godrian had requested their left over materials yesterday.
About noon, the family Greench walked into the little hospital.
The main room was pretty packed, as the Peel household had been the first to be checked.
Dr. Frederic Mahagoney was busy at the office desk in the corner, while Dorothy R. Yea-Low talked to the locals. Dorothy is an elder, she was the first to work here, when it was still referred to as the Health Care center. She produced serums from local herbs and gave health advice.
It turned out that Yesador Yea-Low was the one to examine them! The guy that Boletta has growing feelings for. Recently they met at Town Square a few times before going to work, just for a quick chat. He had not shown her any obvious interest though.
There's definitely nothing wrong with Boletta's eyes. In fact they work better than for most of the residents.
(Yup, for this community there is a way to tell whether details such as the need of glasses is passed on to the next generation).
Then Yesador asked her questions about previous diseases, possible allergic reactions, and other pretty easy stuff.
Boletta found it pretty embarrassing, but she actually had no choice...
Now what?
Yesador actually had missed her? And he said that after seeing her in her underwear? Boletta's embarrassment faded...
Eileen, Godrian, Archie and Bridgette were next. Same procedure, same questions, and the same skin sample cutting. They had no idea what modern medicine could or could not make from a skin sample, but could the skin really hold information on the volcanic activity?
Within a few hours the check was done, and while Eileen rushed off to hang out, Godrian and his parents returned to the farm. And, what did they find?
Quite impressive, for sure! It all called for a little celebration...
Why all these questions? Shouldn't the scientist know these things? In fact, father and son Tulitto turned out to be pretty friendly. What the Greenches didn't know, is that Theo and Pahomas Tulitto hated to be with this many people, but made a huge personal offer just because they realized that helping is a great way to make friends and to get respected. They might not stay on the island forever, but inspecting the volcano will certainly not be done overnight.
Archie did like Theo and his son, and was grateful for their help, but he still had a nagging feeling that these scientists were on some sort of a secret mission that involved more than just the volcano.
In the central village, just behind the newly upgraded Greench Market, the teenagers had their hang-out. Mostly the girls do hang out here, while the boys often choose the outdoor gym. Not really a gym, but it's where they exercise, anyway. The girls were discussing the boys, what else...
Was the adventurous Bonita Black planning her escape from Maccaroni Island - again? Carla and Bonita are sisters, living up north. Gabriella (green t-shirt) and Blanca Peel are sisters, too, and Eileen's neighbours. All the 4 girls are cousins.
To be more specific, Eileen can marry Yamir Redward, Amadeus Hawk, Grim Hawk or Yesador Yea-Low. That makes only 4 candidates.
Linda O'Brian, Pahomas Tulitto's fiancée, walked over to their hangout. She had explored the village in order to find a good spot for a business idea she had, and on her way back home she heard the voices behind the grocery store - or market.
It sure was an initiative that caught the girls' interest with passion!
What a cool idea! A school prom! Even if it didn't turn out like she, Linda, promised (she probably thought there are more teens than there actually are), it would be a welcome change to their boredom. They broke up, all excited.
So, what kind of prank they chose is a secret. This chapter gets way too long.
But before it closes, a quick return to Greench Farm.
Pepper hardly managed to navigate into his box stall. But yes, he sure was both happy and proud!
While Boletta was impressed, she also realized it might be time for her to get away from Greench Farm. Every single day something reminded her that she could not have the farm. She had worked pretty hard to help realizing this all. Even if she will have a 4th of the total value when she decides to move out, it might be better to put all those efforts into her own place.
Finally having a barn makes it feel more like a real farm! Now, let's hope they will be allowed to stay, and the efforts were not wasted.
Next chapter will be up in a short week!
