Dear Diary, the sunrise in the tropics is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. The sky is a swirl of color that shines upon the sand, kissing it in a golden orange. The palm trees stretch toward the sky as black silhouettes. Their branches sway in the light breeze as if waving good morning.
This morning, Ellie and I were hungry for omelets. We could have ordered some but decided instead to make use of our little kitchen. Once upon a time, we enjoyed cooking breakfast together and this would give us a chance to rekindle some of the fun.
To our surprise, Bea wanted to go with us to the grocery store. It made me happy that she recalled our Saturday breakfasts.
On our way into the store, we bumped into an older lady that Bea seemed to know.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. Forelli,” Bea said with a wide grin on her face. “Mom, Dad, this is Mrs. Forelli. She lives here.”
“Hello,” Ellie and I both greeted.
Mrs. Forelli laughed as she shook our hands, pumping our arms with a firm grip.
“Well, hello there. Please, call me Perla.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Perla,” Ellie said. “I’m Ellie and this is my husband Holden.”
“Oh, yes, you’re the Spragues staying at the Hidden Beach Resort… Bea’s parents.”
“Yes, that’s right,” I said.
Perla Forelli looked like the active, always busy type in her clam-diggers and sandals. Her lipstick was bright red and, I noticed, she didn’t exactly color inside the lines. I tried not to stare, although it was distracting.
“Mrs. Forelli… uh… Perla is a school teacher,” Bea said.
Perla’s smile was a bit wistful as if she was remembering something fond she wished she could return to. “I’m retired now. From teaching school, that is. But not from life! I can run circles around most of these young kids nowadays.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I said with a laugh as I pictured what she said in a literal sense.
“Holden works for the Royal Ballet Company in Fortress Rock and I’m the Chief of Staff to Rosetta Sprague,” Ellie said.
Perla’s eyes widened. “Oh, goodness, you’re those Spragues! I should have realized. That means, Holden, that you’re Rosetta’s brother, am I right?”
Watching her speak, I couldn’t quite tell if being Rosetta’s sibling was a good thing or bad. Still, I couldn’t deny the truth so, I nodded.
“Uh, yeah, we’re twins, actually.”
Perla giggled and ribbed Bea with her elbow, making Bea laugh, too. “I guess you really need this vacation!”
I could have taken offense to this, I suppose. Instead, her quirky comment had me laughing as well.
Back at the resort, Bea and Ellie chopped veggies as I made the egg mixture. We were going to eat outside because, face it, we had the best view ever.
“So, I was hoping to talk to you guys,” Bea said as she pulled some cheese out of the refrigerator.
Ellie and I exchanged a glance as we waited for our daughter to continue.
“It’s like this,” she began, “well, when I graduate from high school, I want to move here.”
“Move here?” I echoed.
She nodded as she began grating the cheese. “Yeah.”
“What about university?” Ellie asked.
Bea shrugged and stared at what she was doing. “I don’t want to go to university. I want to move here.”
“And do what?” I asked.
Ellie nodded. “Yes, what will you do here?”
“I was thinking about going into realty. I’ve met a whole lot of people here and I like it well enough to come back and live.”
“Is this about a boy?” Ellie asked.
Bea responded with a wounded look on her face. “No! It’s about living somewhere beautiful and warm. Where the people are nice and the sky is blue, not gray with long winters.”
“But – but where will you live? How will you make a living?” Ellie asked.
“I talked to the local realty office already and they project a healthy future. People are buying vacation homes like crazy.”
It took a minute, but I realized my mouth was hanging open. Ellie seemed to be getting worked up fast, so I cleared my throat.
“Look, let’s have our breakfast. We can talk about this later after we’ve absorbed what you’ve said.”
For the time being, we left the discussion at that.
After we cleaned up the breakfast mess, Bea took off to explore the island some more.
Almost as soon as the door closed, Ellie let it out.
“This is insane!”
“What’s insane about it?”
“She doesn’t know anything about the world or being so far away from home. This is plain crazy!”
I took a deep breath, my heart breaking at the thought of Bea leaving us. “Let’s be reasonable – “
” – Reasonable? No! Her living here is out of the question! She is going to college and that’s that!”
“Let’s look at this, though. If she really wants to be a realtor, she can take a licensing course instead of going to uni. It sounds to me like she’s been thinking about this for a while.”
“No, I won’t have it.”
“So, are you going to tell her that?” I asked, trying to be as gentle as I could. “Then what will happen? She’s likely to do it anyway but instead of having our blessing to do as she pleases, she’ll leave on bad terms. I can’t let that happen, Ellie.”
Her expression calmed somewhat and her eyes became misty.
“Look,” I said, “everything will be okay. You left Winchester at a young age and moved the city by yourself back in the day. And Bea’s smart, strong, and capable… just like you.”
She wiped a few stray tears off her cheek. “So, you’re okay with this? Won’t you miss her?”
I felt my own eyes tearing up as I thought about it. “Of course I will. We both will. But when the time comes, she is going to do what makes her happy. And she should.”
“I don’t know if I can bear it,” she said, her tears flowing now.
As I wrapped my arms around her trembling body, my gut wrenched. I knew exactly how Ellie felt. I didn’t want my little girl living so far away from us either. Yet, I also recognized what would happen if we told Bea we weren’t on board with the idea.
“We have to support her and let her make her own mistakes. There was a time we left home, too.”
My heart was still aching when Bea called me, asking me to meet her. She had some reason I should come find her but deep down, I knew it was because she wanted to talk to me alone.
“Isn’t it glorious here, Dad?” she asked as I approached.
“It is.” The sun was warm and the smell of salt on the air was relaxing.
She hesitated a moment. “Do you understand why I want to live here? It isn’t because I want to be so far away from you and mom.”
“Oh… I know that.” I tried to smile. “You’re growing up a little faster than we figured is all.”
She tipped her head back, her face toward the sky and a smile on her lips. “Everything here is so beautiful. Everywhere I look, it’s gorgeous and warm.”
“You might feel a bit different about that if you’re a permanent resident.”
She sighed, looking into my eyes now. “Are you going to try to talk me out of this? It means everything to me, Dad. Aunt Rosetta says I must be independent and make my own way.”
Aunt Rosetta says… I almost became lost in memories of Bea growing up, always saying, “Aunt Rosetta says!”
“Dad, she’s right, you know. I’ve put a lot of thought into it.”
Her voice snapped me back to reality. “Yeah, I can tell.”
“Are you angry?”
“Oh… Chicken, no. I’m not angry. I only wish you were that little girl again so that you might never leave me.”
“That’s the silliest thing I ever heard.”
This brought a chuckle from me despite my melancholy. “I suppose someday you might understand.”
“So, you’re not going to try to stop me?”
“Try and stop you? Are you kidding? I doubt I could.”
All at once, in the same way I had with Ellie earlier, I pulled Bea into my arms and held onto her as tight as I dared.
“I love you, Chicken, and I always will,” I whispered into her ear. “Don’t you ever forget it because I won’t.”
I was about to let go of her when she embraced me harder for a second, then let go.
“I love you, Dad. I know I told you only to call me Chicken in private. I’ve changed my mind again. You can call me that all the time like you used to.”
At least there was that.
“Oh! Look what I found!”
I came closer as she picked a huge seed up from the ground.
“What kind of seed is that?” I asked.
“I don’t know. But the first thing I’m going to do when I move here is to plant this and find out.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I told her.
I found Ellie sitting on the sofa when I got back.
“Where’s Bea?” she asked, her expression glum.
I sat next to her as I answered. “She has new friends here and is off with them.”
“Well, what about Jem? Has she thought about him at all? He’s supposed to be her best friend.”
Shrugging and patting her knee, I said, “I guess it’s not up to Jem what she does. It’s between them anyway.”
Ellie let out a heaving sigh. “I know.”
“We haven’t lost her yet. She doesn’t graduate for a while and we’ll make the time we have left with her good. Okay?”
She nodded, sniffling.
“C’mere,” I said, pulling her close to me.
“I hope she succeeds.”
“Me, too. But if she doesn’t and she decides to come home, we’re never going to tell her we told her so.”
“Oh, no,” Ellie agreed. “We can’t do that.”
It felt good being on the same side again.
“And, hey, someday we’ll have grandkids visiting us, right?”
She laughed, her shoulders bouncing a little. “Oh, I can’t imagine being a grandma! But, yes, I hope we have grandchildren someday.”
“Perhaps we should think about adding that second story on our house. It’s been years since we talked about it.”
“We did talk about that once upon a time, didn’t we?” she said, smiling.
“Yep. Wouldn’t it be funny if Bea came home to visit only to find we’d added another floor to the house?”
Now, we were both laughing.
“Imagine her face!” Ellie said.
It was then that I knew no matter where my daughter was in the world, she would always have a place to come home to. And two parents who loved her with all their hearts.
Author’s Note: Okay, I swear I am not ignoring your comments! I know the comments on the last chapter sat around for a couple of days before I could get to them and here is why… 😳🙄
… My daughter – yes, the one who just got married – had an emergency appendectomy and my husband and I were at the emergency room, then the hospital proper with her throughout the ordeal. Thank goodness, she will be fine!
There’s my poor baby being brave 👉
So, what I really want you to know is that I appreciate your input and thoughts on what I write. You won’t believe how many good ideas I’ve gotten from you! 😘😊😂 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: This is the best community ever!
Oh! I also wanted to say that the new theme and bright colors are my way of thumbing my nose at winter since we got our first snow this week! 😂
As always, thank you for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting,
Oh, they grow up so fast! This is really going to be hard for Holden and Ellie since Bea is their only daughter. She needs to live her own life, and sometimes that life is rather far from your parents. It’s best though that they give her their support rather than try to stop her. It avoids the resentment and such, and like Holden said, she has to make her own mistakes. On a side note, I can’t blame her for wanting to move to a warmer climate. I know if I could, I’d be out of Illinois in a heartbeat. LOL!
So glad your daughter is OK. It sounds like she came through it like a trooper.
They sure do grow up fast. I think this will be hard for Ellie and Holden, too. Bea is the only child they have and that empty nest is going to hit them like a freight train.
You’re right that they need to loosen up and let Bea explore her future for herself.
Yes! The way you feel about Illinois weather is very much how I feel about Michigan weather. lol 😀
Thank you. It was shocking, but luckily everything turned out okay. 🙂
That first picture is breathtaking! I always loved watching the vibrant sunsets when playing in Sunlit Tides. I’m excited that Bea’s story will be taking place in this world.
I really dig how confident she is in being independent and thoughtfully making this life decision for herself. It’s quite a big step and I admire her courage! At least Rosetta had a good influence on her in that positive way — although she is definitely following in Ellie’s younger footsteps as well. I’m glad the ever calm Holden managed to make Ellie see reason (I got a bit 😒 at how forceful she was being haha).
Thank you so much, Lila. Sunlit Tides is really pretty, for sure.
I really liked that Bea made this important decision for herself, too. I think you’re right that Rosetta’s influence growing up helped lead her to this point. But you’re also right that Ellie did the same thing. So, I can totally understand why you reacted to Ellie that way. LOL
This is really exciting! I love Sunlit Tides and I can’t tell you how psyched I am to be following Bea’s journey there! <3 I’m very glad Ellie came around eventually (with a bit of help from Holden of course). Holden was right, stopping Bea from chasing her dream would be disastrous – it would only make her bitter and angry towards them, and she would probably leave them anyway.
I’m so glad your daughter is okay! I know I’m super late, but I’m wishing her all the best! <3
I’m psyched to follow Bea’s story in Sunlit Tides, too. I am so looking forward to a change of scenery. Fortress Rock is my all time favorite world, but right now, I need sunshine in my life! LOL So, Bea does, too! haha
Ellie is still having a hard time with this but Holden keeps her grounded. lol Yes, that’s so true that Bea would probably leave anyway. It’s best to support her decision and be there if it doesn’t go the way she planned.
Thank you so much regarding Katy. She’s doing great and is back to work now. 😀
Oh Ellie, I understand why she’s so upset but she can’t force her child into the path that she chooses for Bea. That will never work – and I know Holden will eventually talk her out of it. Or maybe not eventually, maybe quickly haha. This is what I get for live-commenting.
It just hit me that we’re going to move onto Bea soon, aren’t we? I’ve grown really attached to Holden in a way I haven’t with most heirs. I wonder why? Maybe just his pace of life and calming way is so different from many other main characters… Hmm.
I’m so glad your daughter is okay 🙂
You’re so right with Ellie. Bea has to do her own thing and figure it all out for herself. Just like Ellie did years ago. I’ve grown quite attached to Holden, too, and didn’t really know why but I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. He has been very different from past heirs.
Thank you. Katy is doing really well and is backk to work now. 😀
It’s tough when your only child decides to go their own separate way. But it’s life. Who knows, maybe they can visit her there?
You’re so right! I’m sure they will visit her. She’ll probably go home for visits, too.
I’m shocked that Bea’s made such a big decision. But Holden reacted to that perfectly. He’s grown wise, hasn’t he? Can’t wait to see Bea start her new life!
I hope your daughter is doing much better now!
I agree that it’s a bit shocking that Bea made such a huge decision. It’s mostly my fault because I’m tired of trying to figure out winter clothes for them all. LOL EA doesn’t have a huge selection and I don’t want to use CC clothing.
Holden has grown wise. I think he looks more and more like Xalen as he gets older, and he’s become wiser like his father, too.
Thank you so much! 🙂 My daughter is doing great! 😀
Aw, this is such a sweet little father-daughter moment.
Glad to hear your daughter’s okay, no fun though!
Thank you so much. It was definitely trying, but we’re so grateful she is all right.
I’m so glad you liked this chapter and enjoyed the father-daughter moment. ❌⭕
I have been so behind in all of my reading. I have just finally caught up. Phew!
So, the little Chicken is ready to fly the coop (yes, pun intended). 🙂 I have no doubt that she will be totally prepared for the real world. Bea seems to have more of Rosetta’s way of looking at the world (very black and white and realistic way of seeing things).
On a personal note; congrats to your daughter’s wedding. But I didn’t know they have appendicitis on gift registry. I didn’t see that the time I was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Stephanie, it’s sooooo good to see you! 😀 😀 I’ve missed you. 🙂 Wow, but you did a lot of reading. As you can see from current events in my life, I’ve been way behind on things, too.
I love the pun and actually wrote Holden saying that to himself then I was like, “What are you writing?” LOLOL 😀 I think you’re right about Bea and that she will be fine. Hopefully, she got the best from Rosetta and her parents.
Thank you so much. lol Yeah, I didn’t see it on the registry either, but you know, it must’ve been. 😛 😂
Ooh I can’t wait for Bea to live in such a beautiful place, it’s easy to see why she was so drawn to it… Too cold where I am right now XD So lovely to see Holden and Ellie bonding again and becoming such a nice, accepting family. I hope the relationships continue to be good after Bea moves away.
Very glad your daughter is doing better now!
Thank you so much, Raymond. We are indeed blessed and grateful that our daughter has had such a good recovery. Everyone at the hospital was so nice, too.
I can’t wait for Bea to live there, too. It seemed so right to take her back to where my story began with Memphis. Although, her life won’t be like Memphis’ was. 😀 Like you, I’m glad Holden and Ellie are on the same page again and I think they’ll be fine even after Bea move out.
Oh my goodness! That’s so scary! I’m glad she’s okay!
I had an idea that Bea would move here. I don’t know why… it just seemed to make sense. I can’t wait for the change of scenery!
I just totally curious, since you had only one baby this gen, did you mess around with Bea’s genetics any to get the best mixture of Holden and Ellie? Or did you just luck out with her?
Great chapter!❤️
Thank you so much. She is home now and doing really well. We’re so grateful.
You thought she might move there? Cool! I am really looking forward to the change of scenery, too. I’m so tired of trying to figure out winter clothes for everyone. haha
Okay, since you asked, here’s what happened with Bea. Never have I ever messed with any heirs’ genetics. I’ve only ever changed hair, makeup, etc. But…. in all honesty, I couldn’t deal with Bea’s look. Her mouth was super low on her face and there were major problems with her nose, too. So, I did tweak those areas. I felt kind of weird doing that because I hadn’t done it previously. But she really, really needed some help. LOL :O
I really enjoyed this chapter! Brought me right back to the memory of deciding to move to a beach town for college–and the sweet and tender last year at home with my folks before I moved away. With Holden realizing that the time with the three of them at home is limited, he’ll make sure that it’s the best time for all of them!
That sounds like a lovely memory, CT! I’m sure you’re right that Holden will make sure it’s the best time for all of them. He will want Bea to have fond memories to look back on.
I adore Bea .. AND I agree with her I WOULD STAY!
Right? LOL I want to live there myself! I think I need a Caribbean cruise. And to, like, stay there. 😛
Anyway, I am so glad you love Bea.
Love that Holden is such a good dad. He’s absolutely right. The worst thing to do is to forbid your kids from doing something, because that makes them want to do it more. Better to be there for them to catch them if it goes wrong. Holden is wonderful 🙂 But then he IS Xalen’s son, so he would have good genes 😉
Your new layout is lovely and sunny – exactly what we need in the gloom! We don’t have snow yet, but rather an awful lot of rain.
This was a wonderful chapter, as always, Kym 🙂
Winter is coming! 🐉❄🌲 Yes, I just said that. I don’t know if I’d rather have the rain or the snow. Blech. lol
Holden is a good dad and definitely is Xalen’s son in that way. I have a feeling, though, that if the tables had been reversed and Ellie was being calm and accepting, Holden would be having some meltdowns about this. hahaha He’s so not ready to see Bea go.
Wow, Bea sure did grow those wings fast! I know how it is to let a child go, even when you don’t think they are ready! It’s kind of scary because you have always had their well-being wrapped up in your own to a certain extent. I hope Bea can successfully follow her dream, and it’s good she has a sort of “mentor” there, already. I wonder if she will miss the seasons eventually like I do?? Thank you for the “preview” of the next generation and where it might go. =D
Bea did grow those wings fast, I think. It is definitely scary to let them go and I totally agree with what you said about their well-being. I think eventually, she’ll miss the seasons, just like you. 😀
Hmmm. The new theme (which looks beautiful ! ) doesn’t fit on my nook, so I’ll have to return later when I’m on the laptop ! I’ll be back !
Oh, I’m so sorry. I wonder why that is? It’s supposed to be responsive. 🙁
There might be an image with a width set to absolute ? It feels like it’s an image constraining it.
Yes, I’ve been looking at my images and my coding to see what I’ve done. lol I’ve tested it on several different mobile devices and they all look fine, but something somewhere is wonky if you’re still having trouble. Wish me luck in finding it! haha
Okay, I wasn’t using “absolute” in any image but I did remove some coding that was unnecessary along with some header coding. Perhaps it’s the main header logo causing the issue? I wonder if it’s any better for you now?
Still doesn’t fit in my nook. The nook is an android device–I use WordPress Reader, but I can also open it in Chrome on my nook, and it’s wider than the screen in both, with no scroll bar, and I can’t “pinch” to resize. hmmm… I’ll read on my laptop for now! 🙂
Thank you so much for letting me know. 🙂 I will try to figure it out.
This was a lovely chapter, and I like that they’ve resolved to not say “I told you so” if she comes home.
On another note – I’m so sorry about your daughter, that must have been such a scare! Is she home now or still in the hospital? I’m glad the hospital were able to take good care of her and she’s doing okay ♥
Caz xx
Thank you so much, Caz. 🙂 She’s home and doing really well. I’m so proud of how she carried herself throughout the entire ordeal. She is a trooper.
I totally agree about the “I told you so” thing. If she fails, the last thing she needs is for people to remind her of it.
My! Bea has been a busy little bee (ba-dum-tiss). So decisive and confident! She’s a lot like her mom. What about Jem was such an odd question! I’m glad Holden and I are on the same page because sure snorted and said “what ABOUT Jem??” LOL this has nothing to do with him! But it seems like Ellie was expecting something to develop between them or whatever. Don’t start matching making, mama! LOL
That’s right! Let the bee buzz away without romantic commitments. lol I think Ellie was grasping at straws there out of desperation. Good thing Holden was reigning her in.
Yeah, I think you’re right. He’s a great complement to her.
Well, I’m certain if she’d been calm, he would have been the one having a meltdown about it. hahaha 😛
Absolutely.
Yep. lol 😀
The little birdie is ready to fly the coop….I thought it was funny that Ellie lost it when Bea left the house. And Holden was definitely the voice of reason. It is a beautiful world.
You’re so right about that little chickie. LOL Ellie cannot handle this. hahaha I think if Ellie had handled it better, we would have seen Holden with the meltdown. 😛
That’s how it seems to work, one will support the one that needs it most. ❤️
You’re so right. ❤
That sunrise really is beautiful! I am jealous I’m not on a beach somewhere too. It is 31°F here today which is a lot colder weather than we are used to in Texas! Our town’s annual Syrup Festival is today, so we will have to really bundle up when we go out later.
Bea is a smart young woman, and I think she will thrive in the real world. Of course her parents will miss her, but it’s time to cut the cord and let their daughter live life and make her own mistakes along the way. Look on the bright side! When Holden and Ellie get to visit Bea it will always be like a vacation lol.
Your daughter is gorgeous! So sorry to hear about that, and I hope she is feeling much better. ❤️
I’m jealous not to be on a beach right now, too. It’s 28F here and there is snow everywhere. I can’t believe how cold it is in Texas! Wow! I hope you have fun at the Syrup Festival! That sounds like fun.
I think you’re right about Bea. She will be just fine and she’s even already made some friends there. Cutting the cord is so hard but it needs to be done. I think that’s a nice thing to look forward to for Ellie and Holden – visiting their daughter in a warm, tropical climate. 😀
Thank you so much. She is doing so much better. <3
Kid’s! They never do what you hope or expect of them.
Isn’t that the truth? lol Hopefully, this is Bea making a good decision and she won’t regret it later. 😀
Well, she would still be young enough to change her mind.
That’s very true. 😀
Is this the end of Holden and Ellie? I feel so sad! I mean I am looking forward to what Bea will do, but I will miss their love!
Holden is right is convincing her to let Bea go. She will just go anyway. We have yet to see Bea’s full character, but of that I can be sure. Children need to stretch their wings and make their own mistakes. And mistakes she will…..at least I hope, since they make for such interesting turns in a story! I must say I will enjoy the bright blue sky in the next gen in such a warm place!
What about Jem? I think that was an interesting question indeed. Thick as thieves they always seemed to be, even though we never really saw what they were up to.
Now Perla reaction was so good. You’re those Spragues!! Such really could have been taken both ways….what has Rosetta been up to that we don’t know yet???
Well, there are a couple more chapters with Holden and Ellie. And I was serious about them putting a second story on the house, so I’m sure I’ll have them in the next generation.
It’s true that Holden and Ellie need to let Bea do this. She will definitely be making mistakes. lol I will enjoy the bright blue sky, too! 😀
What about Jem? That is a good question! 😀 I do have a plan.
Perla is going to play a rather large part in Generation 6. 😀 And I think she’ll have plenty opinions on Rosetta. haha
Well that all sounds fun then!
I hope so! haha
Wow, and here I was thinking that Becca had crazy plans for the future. You know what’s funny? I wrote Rosetta here. I mean, they’re totally different but since they both have twin brothers and have similar names, Rebecca and Rosetta, I sometimes mix them up.
I understand Holden and Ellie’s concerns as parents but Bea is growing up and she wants independence. And you want the warm climate, lol, at least in your game. You’ve told me before how you didn’t like the cold where Holden, Ellie, Bea and friends lived.
I’m so glad Amanda is doing better now! ♥
I can see how Becca and Rosetta’s names might be interchangeable. LOL Bea definitely wants some independence. And, you’re so right. I remember telling you that. I’m so tired of trying to find warm clothes in EA’s selection. hahaha On the island, I won’t have to worry so much what she wears. 😛
Thank you – she really is a trooper and getting through this well.
Oh yes, I changed it the other way around. In today’s chapter, I wrote about Ron experiencing snow for the first time. You know how warm it is in Starlight Shores with all the palms! Not Bridgeport, though.
Oh, yes, that’s so true! 😀 I can’t wait to read your chapter. I’m almost there. lol
As for experiencing snow for the first time, that’s cool, but you see today how I feel about snow personally. lol
I hope you enjoy it, although I pretty much made it on the spot. It has some shocking news at the end!
Ha, I hate snow, too, don’t worry. I’m unfortunately acquainted with it. Central Poland is not tropics. Wish it was!
Oh! Shocking news, eh? I’m looking forward to that! 😀 😀
Yes, I suppose you get lots of snow, too. 🙁