Trading Places, Hapar 2003

Hapar, spring, 2003
Grex and Ginger are 31, Bryant and Annie are 8 (Giselle Mendenhall is 39)




It didn't take much to convince Grex to pack up the family and move to Apple Plains (which oddly enough, isn't a plain, but a small island). Ginger had been talking with Grex's sister, Giselle, for several simlonic months about the move.


"He needs a little more pushing," Ginger explained.


"Nah, with Grex, you have to shove him. I'll talk him into moving here." she promised.


She didn't have to do much persuading. Grex was practically begging for his sister's help in relocating to the Plains.


Grex brought a house in need of repairs for the sole reason that the property has a mature orchard. Giselle convinced him that specialization in production was the key to reaping in large profits. Grex of course always admired his big sister, so he decided to specialize in fruits. The soil in the Plains is very fertile, even more so than Apple Valley.





Grex wonders if the birds have something to do with that. The birds here in the Plains are different. Perhaps thier waste products enrich the soil better.



Something had to be the cause of the rich soil. Grex's orchard produces large harvests of very juicy fruit. They make your mouth water.



Ginger takes a few of the pieces of fruit to create Spinach Frittata and Fruit Compote for the family. Ginger is in heaven. Making meals for her family always gives her this deep sense of joy and peacefulness. She also loves the new locale where only the sounds of the surrounding sea and the occasional song from a bird, oh...and the roar of the twice daily train.

Dinner is fairly quiet. The twins eat without thier normal chatter, which concerns Ginger.

"Are you two ok?"

Bryant and Annie looked at thier mother.

"We're bored, there's no kids here."

"Nonsense, your cousins are nearby."

"We don't see them."

Grex had to agree with the twins, they didn't see thier cousins since arriving to the Plains.

"After dinner, I'll call Aunt Giselle and ask if they can come over tomorrow. Would you like that?"

Of course they would like that. To show thier appreciation, the twins eagerly grabbed thier books and studied without being asked. After the dishes were cleared, Ginger and Grex joined them for a family study session.

---

"I can't believe that we did this." Grex commented about thier recent move. "I had a top ranked business and even won a Best of the Best award."

"Grex, you always complained about how hard it was to stay in contact with friends because you were so busy with the market. Now you can relax, concentrate on the orchard, spend time with family and friends."

Grex nodded. "You're right, especially with this baby on the way, I need to spend more time at home."

Ginger and Grex were understandably concerned about this pregnancy, thier last pregnancy ended with the death of thier infant son. For this one, Ginger was placed on light duty around the orchard. She did little more than cook meals and some light cleaning. They had plans that as the due date of Givar 2003 approached, Ginger would do even less.

"Do you think it will jeopardize our plans for adopting?" Ginger whispered.

Grex shrugged his shoulders. For the past few SimLonic months the couple had been persuing adopting a little baby infant from Simberry Fields, now they wondered if thier paperwork would be denied based on this pregnancy.

After school, Bryant and Annie entertained thier cousin with games of tag and long chats about school and recess. Honestly, Bryant entertained thier cousin, Annie found someone else to occupy her time.

"So then, grandmother died and we got money from the insurance company. Do you have insurance?"

Poor Latrice, she was walking by the small orchard house to pass time until her train arrived. She never expected to be corralled into a conversation about insurance policies with a nine year old.

Thankfully, Grex shooed Annie away to start her homework, allowing Latrice to escape. Bryant was also called inside to start his homework, just as an old friend arrived.

"Mom, Dectective Tobi is here." Bryant yelled as he entered the house.

Ginger happily greeted her friend. "What brings you to the plains tonight? Not the weather."

Tobi laughed. "No, I missed you, so I decided to hop on the train and come see your face."

Ginger beamed. She always had a crush on Tobi, since they were teens, but nothing came of it, instead the two buried thier attraction and remained good friends. Now they were married with children of thier own. The attraction was still there, but they never acted on it.

"What are the sims like here?" Tobi asked as they settled on the damp grass.

"Sims? What sims? There are only two families here so far. Most sims come here for a day trip, buy some produce, walk around and then leave on the evening train. This is a rural place."

"Don't you get lonely?"

Ginger thought about the question. Was she lonely? She had her children, but they were growing fast and needing hjer less. Her husband seemed a bit distant, but she chalked that up to the recent changes.

"Sometimes." She answered truthfully.

Tobi stared at her with a strange expression that made her insides turn gooey.

"Isn't the cost of living really cheap here?" Tobi asked, changing the subject.

"Very cheap. We got more space for less money. We even had plenty leftover to stash some simoleans in the children's university fund."

Tobi wouldn't mind putting away money for university, but it was hard living paycheck to paycheck trying to feed three (soon to be four) children and live a healthy life. Thier townhome was cramped and there were months that Tobi feared he wouldn't be able to put food on the table. Unfortunately bill collectors didn't seem to care about the family's situation, they just wanted thier simoleans.

"You should think about moving out here." Ginger suggested.

Tobi shook his head. "No way, Li and I are urban sims to the core. The sound of crickets and birds would drive us insane. If we moved, it would be to the metro, but housing prices aren't very cheap there and space is at a premium."

"That's why you should move here. You could afford a larger house with the money you would spend in the metro."

"I'll think about it."

While his wife entertained her friend, Grex was busy on the phone.

"I think I should get at least 70% of the profits from the fruit sales. I am the one putting in the hard labor to ensure perfect fruit for the market." He reasoned with his sister.

"Fine, I'll sell the fruit to you by the crate." He finally agreed. It was late and he was getting tired. "I'll deliver a crate tomorrow morning." He promised before hanging up and going to sleep.

Ginger and Tobi finally made it inside and Ginger convinced Tobi to call home so she could speak to Li.

"Are you ready to deliver the newest Sweeny?" She said. "I bet the baby will be adorable...Yes, we're having another one ourselves...due this Givar...Yes, that's when we had Gregory...I understand...I just wanted to say hello, give the babies a kiss for me."

The hour grew late, but the two friends were reluctent to say thier goodbyes. Instead they sat together in the living room, enjoying the peaceful silence that two friends can share without the need to fill it with mindless chatter.

"We should do this more often." Ginger sighed.

"Yea...I feel like it's been simyears since we've been able to sit and really talk."

"Well, life has been busy..."

"Listen, it's been a lot of fun," Tobi said standing to leave. "I need to head home, it's getting late."

"Ok, I'll see you next time." Ginger said hugging her friend.

----

Tobi and Ginger are very attracted to each other, but in-spite of ACR, they haven't acted on thier feelings...yet.