Generation 8 - Chapter 29

"Are you happy with Daric?"

Cherish nearly choked on her pancakes.

"You've changed since you met him. I can see some of the joy I used to see in your father when you come home from a date."

All Cherish could do was stare at her GG. Over the last 2 months Wind had become more and more distant and distracted and Cherish didn't think it was because of Fatima. She'd started reading the newspaper the second the paper boy brought it to the door where as before it usually got recycled without even being opened. She'd cut back on her hours with clients and was on the phone more. She had also stopped discouraging her from being with Daric.

"Well....yeah. He makes me happy. We have a lot in common and I-"

"You realize he's mortal right? That he doesn't have much time left? I worry for you."

Again, she was speechless. She knew Daric was old and for a human that meant death was coming closer and closer. But she had never really though about that. She saw the young man in his heart when she looked at him. He may be old on the outside but he was youthful and lively inside.

"You've lost so many people." Wind continued. "I know we're no longer in Hidden Springs, but what about an arraignment with a fairy man? You could be together for centuries. Have lots of children...."

She trailed off, eyes out of focus. What was going on with her?

"I love Daric, GG. I know he won't live long like we do, but that's not going to stop us from being together. I want to enjoy every second I can with him. Human medicine has come a long way. He could have many years still. Besides, do we even know any other fairies?"

"Hmmm? Oh. I don't know. Maybe. If they're lucky."

GG was not making any sense. Cherish sat there staring at her until she suddenly drifted aimlessly from the room.

She grabbed her phone and texted Fatima. Her bFF had just finished her exams and was waiting on grades. After that it was off to some exciting place to start her 15 minutes of fame. Cherish wasn't expecting a response, at least not any time soon. The popular were always hard to get a hold of and slow to get back to you.

Cherish spent her morning working her plants as usual and contemplated Wind's odd behavior. Her comments hadn't made any sense and pointing out Daric's age, what was the point of that? Was it one last attempt at breaking them up? Cherish was aware of her reality. She had been to too many funerals to NOT be aware of such things. She had spent the majority of her life trying to avoid any kind of heart ache. It's a very lonely way to live for sure. But then Daric came and it didn't matter. Even if he was dead by the end of the week it was all worth it.

She stood with pruning shears in one hand staring off into the distance just as Wind had done earlier. 

Her phone vibrated, shocking her back into the here and now.

"Daric! I was just thinking about you!"

"Good things I hope! I'm calling to see if you want to get together tonight instead of tomorrow? I was just given 2 free tickets to the ren fair at the Duke's!"

After making plans to meet there, Cherished finished her gardening and went upstairs to clean up for her date.

As always, they embraced as soon as they met up. They walked hand in hand through the fair. Watching archery demonstrations and dropping money into the violinist's case. It was a perfect late spring evening and as the crickets began to sing Daric pulled her over to a quite corner and looked deep into her eyes.

"I want to talk to you about my house."

 All the warmth she felt inside faded. He wants to talk real estate now? Did he decide he didn't want to sell anymore? Did he decide to sell her his house finally? Did that mean he was moving away? Was he about to break up with her?? She felt a bubble of panic begin to rise. Daric was oblivious the the sudden fluctuation in Cherish's emotions.  He brushed a stray hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Instead of selling you my house, I'd like to share it with you."

It seemed to Cherish that his words no longer made sense. Share the house? How to you share a house? Was he going to sell half of it to her? They'd take turns harvesting potatoes? What was....

"You want me to move in with you??!"

Cherish grabbed him and kissed him hard in her excitement. She had been thinking along similar lines just earlier that day.

"I take that as a yes?" Daric said a little breathlessly when she released him.

"I can move in tonight!"

Generation 8 - Chapter 28

Fatima had tried to plan a dinner for the three of them at the local restaurant to explain to Wind why she was taking a break from school. Cherish wanted to be on the other side of town when Fatima dropped that news. She knew her friend wanted her there for support, but considering how herself and GG were getting along at the moment she left Fatima on her own.

Going dancing with her boyfriend was much more fun! She told Daric all about Fatima's wish to be on The One and how she was, at that very minute, telling her mother about it.

"That Fatima must be awfully brave to be telling Ms. Wind that she's leaving college to go on a reality show! I almost wish we were there!"

Cherish was very glad they weren't! She imagined a raging Wind trying to override any such thing. She loved her GG and knew her to be a wise and loving fairy. But that didn't mean she didn't expect those under her care to do as they were told. As she and Daric rocked back and forth to the slow music she thought again about GG's new state of agitation. Was is because Fatima was a 'grown up' now? No, her behavior started changing before the graduation. Was she having an affair with Ephriam? The fact that that thought even popped into her head was shocking. That and it didn't seem likely at all. Wind maintained a negative attitude about all vampires. They were to be avoided at all costs and were evil in human form. She only seemed to be tolerant toward Ephriam because of how long they'd been in each other's lives and something about Great-great-great grandfather Wilson vouching for his goodness...... Then again, that would be the perfect cover for a secret romance.

She tried to shake those thoughts out of her head and soon found other things to focus on. Like the warm, soft lips of her Daric. He was her knight in earth stained overalls. She felt at peace with the world when she was with him. Like time stopped just for them.

Later, while Daric was in the men's room she texted Fatima to see if she was still getting yelled at or not.

 F-   Not anymore. I think she ran out of steam.

C-   Do u think its possible she had an affair with Ephriam? Could        he be the secret bf?

F-   Ha! No way! U know how she feels about vamps

C-   yeah, but what if thats y shs being 

     Weird? or its a cvoerup

F-   Nah. I cant c it. I dont think vamps 

     can be as bad as she says, do u?

C-   dunno

     hes coming back. gotta go

F-   k. cya

As much as she wanted to spend every second of her free time with Daric, she knew she'd have to go home and face the fallout of her family. It was later than usual when Daric's fixed up old truck rattled up to her house. All the lights were on. Grumbling about what was ahead of her she refused Daric's offer to walk her to the door. She kissed him chastely on the cheek before climbing out and tried not to drag her feet going in.

She was not the least bit surprised when Wind called her into the office to join the conversation with Fatima the second she opened the door. She saw a look of resignation on her dear friends face and tried to give an encouraging smile. Wind didn't turn when she entered the room.

"You knew?"

"yes."

She knew Wind was already coming to terms with things. She was staring thoughtfully at her most recent sketch. If she had been hoping to force info or alliance out of Cherish she would have been staring her down with cold blue eyes.

"Fine"

Cherish and Fatima stared at each other in wide eyed surprise. 

Wind turned to Fatima and pulled her daughter close.

"I only want good things for you. I know my ideas are often different from your ideas in that regard. I'll just have to trust that I taught you to make wise choices...."


Cherish slipped out of the room to let them have their heart to heart. It had been an eventful day and she was ready for bed. Fatima would be leaving very early in the morning to make it back to school before her afternoon classes. Cherish made a mental note to call her after dinner to see how she was doing. 

Looks like she'll be watching The One on TV again after all.

Generation 8 - Chapter 27

The weeks that followed Fatima's graduation party were a horrible mix of sadness and excitement. 

Cherish took comfort where she could. Ephriam was being very stoic about losing his wife. Cherish couldn't remember if Maya had been his 3rd of 4th wife. Fatima left for college the week after the funeral. Promising to text and video chat all the time. Wind was also being distant. She and Maya hadn't been close but they had been around each other for many many years. Plus Cherish still didn't know what she and Ephriam had been fighting about the night Maya had died. 

Daric had begun calling Cherish every night. It was a great comfort to have someone she could talk to. She knew Fatima would text on occasion but her promise to call often was laughable. Cherish really appreciated the new friendship. Plus he was teaching her how to improve her plant's health and keep certain bugs away that she had been having problems with. They talked about everything except his house. Every time the subject came up, Daric had one excuse or another for needing to postpone the sale.

When she wasn't tending her sparse garden or on the phone she was out with Daric. He let her cry on his shoulder and distracted her from her grief. Cherish can't remember the moment their relationship turned from friendship to romance....

But she remembers their first kiss with heart stopping clarity. First of all, she'd never been kissed. Second, she had never realized how strongly she could feel about a man. The rush, the heat, the excitement! Now she felt she understood Fatima a little bit more and forgave her for being so boy crazy. Is this what she's been missing out on all these years?! 

When GG Wind found out about it, she was VERY unhappy. Cherish endured weeks of lectures about how inappropriate it was to date one of her design clients, and being dragged around town to meet 'boys her own age'. Wind was upset enough that whatever had been distracting her was no longer her priority. Getting Cherish a new boyfriend seemed to take up all her time now. The funny thing was, Cherish didn't think Wind REALLY cared if she was dating Daric or not. It was like she was fixing on it, making it bigger, so she didn't have to deal with something else.

This lead to Cherish avoiding Wind and meeting Daric in secret. She tried not to let on to him how Wind was reacting, but since he was one of her clients, he had already heard about it. Wind was now refusing to work with him. He joked about how making it forbidden made their relationship that much more exciting. He also told her not to worry too much. He agreed with Cherish's thoughts that it wasn't them dating that had her so upset.

"We'll just wait it out. I'm sure whatever she's wound up about will work out and she'll realize how perfect we are for each other."

Cherish didn't care. All she cared about now was how being around Daric made her feel. She was happy. She was honest to goodness HAPPY! A feeling she was not used to having. Now that she knew what it felt like, she had no intentions of letting it go.

If all the sneaking and fighting with GG wasn't enough, Cherish was woken up early one morning by the sounds of Fatima and Wind yelling at each other. Cherish didn't even know Fatima was home. Was it some school break she didn't know about?

".....How can you possibly believe that dropping out of college is a good idea? That I would support it??"

"I'm not dropping out mom! I'm just taking a break so I-"

"You haven't even finished one semester! How can you possibly need a break already?"

"I was offered an opportunity I can't say 'no' to. It's something I have been working towards for a few years now and I-"

"Fatima! If it requires you to quite school, it can't be a good opportunity."

"I'm not quitting school mother!"

"Cherish! Maybe you can talk some sense into her. She's here because-"

"I heard GG."

Wind stormed out of the room muttering something about not even having had any coffee yet.

"What's up Fatima? Are you really giving up on college? I thought you'd be loving it."

"Oh I'm LOVING it Cher! But I love the idea of being on TV even more. I got cast as the next bachelorette! I only came home so I could tell you guys in person. After I finish this semester, they're sending me to some exotic locale to start filming! Isn't that great!!?"

Cherish pulled Fatima into a tight hug. She knew this was something Fatima had been dreaming about for years. She was going to be excited for her but secretly worried how Wind would react when she learned the full reason Fatima was taking time off school...

Generation 8 - Chapter 26

 The weather had finally turned sunny and warm. Cherish and Fatima had been getting along again. But Wind was still acting odd.

Since the girls gossiped and watched TV together again, and made a point of going out for coffee at least once a week, they were getting along almost like they used to. Cherish figured it would never be exactly like it was before but this was a lot better than not getting along at all. They often discussed the possibility that Wind really did have a secret boyfriend or when Cherish was thinking she'd move out. Fatima especially loved to talk about her reality shows. Cherish figured some things would never change.

Being that it was Fatima's graduation day, Cherish went out of her way to get her a special present and make the whole day all about making Fatima happy. She even admitted that Daric had yet to make a decision about the house and even if he had, Cherish was going to wait until Fatima was off at Uni. She didn't want to miss out on what time she had left with her BFF.

It wouldn't be a Solo Family event without a big party and lots of people.

Fatima graduated at the top of her class and was voted most popular and most likely to become the world leader. Cherish was pretty sure the ENTIRE town was celebrating at their house afterwords.

The house was full and loud! As usual Cherish found a spot off to the side to people watch and dance by herself. Fatima and her friends giggled, hugged, and flitted around. Just like old times.

From her place in the back of the room Cherish noticed GG Wind and Grandpa Ephriam have a very heated discussion. People began to move away and filter outdoors to avoid them because it was becoming so intense. 

She was about to go and see what all the fuss was about when she noticed a familiar and unexpected face. 

"Hey Daric! Over here!"

Cherish forgot all about the fighting family members. She was shocked at how happy she was to see the farmer. A sudden rush of warmth and relief at seeing him.

"Wha- what are you doing here? Did someone you know graduate?"

"Haha. No. Your grandmother invited me. She is the one that remodeled my house for me. Didn't you know?"

"I..well...haha, no I-"

"Cherish! Daric?! What are you two doing??"

Cherish jumped back about 3 feet in shock from Wind's suddenly  loud voice right beside her. She hadn't realized how close she had been standing to Daric. She felt her cheeks heat up intensely with embarrassment. 

Daric stood calming looking at Wind. He open his mouth to respond when a sudden scream from upstairs shook the house. They all went running.

Goodbye Grandma Maya

****

Bonus shots

Really Brenton? Now is not the time.

Uh, Death, Where are your cloths??

(Maya's death really had come by surprise. Being a fairy I was planning on her living through a few more plot lines. Hopefully SP doesn't mess with my plans too much more)