LWR Chapter 1: Welcome to Mayfield Springs

Author’s Note: Welcome to Chapter 1 of Love’s Winding Road! This was so much fun to put together, I hope you enjoy it!

You may recognize some of the lots I’m using in this story because they made appearances in Noble Doubt. I liked them so much, I decided to use them again.

The Cast for Today:
The Wildes: Zachary, Lauren, and Lauren’s daughter Elodie
The Thatchers: Lilith and her nephew Chris
The Whittingtons: Joanna and her daughter Carla, and Joanna’s brother, Griffin Thatcher

The Wildes’ new house was so small, Elodie felt as if she, her mother, and stepfather were living on top of each other. No matter where they were, they bumped into each other, murmuring apologies and excuse-mes. The kitchen especially could only handle one person at a time and Elodie didn’t even want to think about the single bathroom again. In this house, they had to plan their showers and even time when they each brushed their teeth.

She’d lived in small houses before, and at least that wasn’t new. But this one was notably bad.

The worst of it was her bedroom. There was barely any room to turn around, and they decorated it for a nine-year-old. Her mother and stepfather had rented this house already furnished, so it didn’t matter that she hated the color pink or that her bedside lamp was ridiculously shaped like a rabbit. This was home now, and that was that.

The curtain billowed, catching her attention, the smell of fresh-cut grass wafting in with the hot air. Why was there a crib in her room? Would they let her store it in the garage, or would her mother and stepfather see it and plan on having a baby?

She shuddered at the thought, scratching her arms as her skin crawled. Her real father had died when she was a small child, and her stepfather had been around for years now, even adopting her.

But that had been against her will, happening because her mother wished it to be so. When he first came on the scene, she regarded him politely, all the time resenting his existence. Then they’d decided on the adoption and marriage, and that’s when he’d become enemy number one.

They’d moved a lot over the years because of his job. She missed the house she’d lived in when her father was alive, and she cried into her pillow at night sometimes when she missed her bedroom with the green walls and pretty bedspread.

“Quit walking around here like it’s the end of the world,” her stepfather, Zachary, said.

“Yes,” her mother, Lauren, agreed. “It’s little, but so cute. You’ll meet new friends and it will be lovely.”

And will I make new friends only to move away from them once again? Elodie thought as she ignored them and stared out the windows. Perhaps making friends will only be a waste of time and effort. Maybe I’m better off on my own.

“Are you even listening to me?” Lauren asked, running her fingers through her curly hair to fluff it up.

“Yes, I’m listening,” she moaned, just wanting them to go to work and leave her alone.

“All right, and what are you going to do today?”

Zachary leaned over the breakfast counter, gulping down coffee and toast while he turned his attention to the newspaper.

“Oh, now look at this,” he said, crumbs falling from his mouth onto his tie. “There is a brand new park just down the road, according to this article.”

Rolling her eyes, she wondered if he really expected her to be excited by that. As if she was a small child, clapping her hands because there were swings nearby.

Without another word, she left them, going outside to inspect her new yard. She loved the first thing she saw, which was a white metal bench that wound around a tree. And then, oh look, a swing in her own yard, as rusty on the outside as she felt on the inside having to make friends all over again.

Chris Thatcher made an impressive appearance, and he knew it. As a member of the wealthiest family in town, he had clout everywhere he went, even his high school. Captain of the football team and a wrestler, he was naturally athletic and expected those skills to take him far in life.

“What could possibly be so interesting, it’s got you staring out the window all morning?” his Aunt Lilith asked.

If only she knew what she looked like in front of that wallpaper, he thought. To him, it made a comical sight because his aunt was so proper and strict. In front of that wallpaper, though, her seriousness could only be a joke.

He figured it was the type of wallpaper only a super-rich family would pay someone to put up. Monkeys? For real?

Stifling a laugh by coughing into his fist, he realized she’d asked him another question.

“Oh, um, I saw a couple of moving trucks heading down Old Street.”

Her expression softened a bit, as the thought of making money was wont to do. “Oh, yes, your father finally rented out the cottage. And it’s about time, too. It does us no good to have empty properties.”

As she droned on about the advantages of being landlords, he opened one of the glass doors that led to an expansive balcony.

Who would rent that place? It’d been empty for more than a year and then only rented out to weekenders who wanted to explore Mayfield Springs. The house was so tiny, he wondered about the family moving in.

Behind one of the moving trucks, there’d been a car with the saddest-looking girl he’d ever seen, staring out the window. He couldn’t ever remember seeing anyone so unhappy before. Why were her eyes so blank, as if she wasn’t seeing Mayfield Springs at all when she stared?

Something inside him wanted to know the answer to that question. Without another thought regarding his aunt, he bounded down the stairs, his feet hitting the sidewalk within seconds. He couldn’t see the cottage from his balcony, and he wanted to see it.

The moving trucks were gone, but there was a stack of boxes on the porch. He knew if they didn’t get those taken care of, his father would be all over them like a rash.

Who are you? He asked the mysterious girl, even though he couldn’t see her.

Turning toward his house with a sigh, he began walking back, crossing the road, then slowly climbing up the stairs that would lead him inside. The whole time, his thoughts never left her.

While Chris Thatcher was wondering who had moved into the little cottage, his father was confronting his other aunt at her house.

Joanna Whittington put her hands next to either side of her head as if she had a migraine. It was all she could do not to scream at him as he stood there, regarding her as if she was crazy.

“Why can’t you understand and just help me for once?” Joanna asked, her voice taking on a grating tone.

Griffin Thatcher knew that tone well, however, and was unmoved by his sister’s panic. It wasn’t his fault, after all, that she’d married that loser. How was he responsible? She’d made her decisions and now she had to live with them, plain and simple.

“You need to calm down.”

“Calm down? What? Calm down?” she shrieked. “You have the means to help us. You wouldn’t even miss it! Why can’t you throw me a lifeline here?”

“You’re really telling me you and Alex have gone through your entire inheritance? Already? Do you even understand how much money that is? Besides, I thought Alex was loaded?”

“You know he wasn’t. I’ve been telling you for a while now how dire things are getting. I can’t lose this house! If you can’t help me, think about my children!”

He shook his head, all the while knowing it wouldn’t be long before she threw her kids, Carla, and John, into the mix. It was her classic move since their births.

He loved his family and especially loved his sister Joanna’s children, but this was getting silly now.

“You know your children will never suffer. I love them as if they were my own. But you must admit this day was coming. What did you do to prepare for it? Even if I were to help you financially, you would just go through it all again within months.”

“I can’t believe this is your answer, that you’re doing this to us!”

He scoffed, raising his right eyebrow. “I didn’t do this to you. Your husband did. My offer still stands. If you, Carla, and John want to move back into the manor house, I’ll welcome you with open arms and I will care for you. But I do not invite Alex. That arrangement is only if you cut him out of your lives for good.”

She was about to tell him how unreasonable he was when her daughter Carla appeared in the doorway.

“Is everything okay, Mom?”

Joanna immediately assumed a position she thought would show Carla everything was fine. But her cheeks were still red and her eyes still stung.

“Of course, everything is fine, honey. Look who’s here.”

Joanna forced the fakest smile anyone had ever managed to use as she jerked her thumb toward her stupid, evil brother.

“Hi, Uncle Griffin,” Carla said, her eyes darting between them.

“Hello, Pumpkin,” he said, kissing her forehead before turning back to Joanna. “Think about my offer.”

After he left, Joanna took a few deep breaths. How much had her daughter overheard? She couldn’t be certain, but she didn’t feel as if she could ask either.

“Why don’t you open the garage for your father?” she instructed Carla. “He should be home any time now.”

She waited for Carla to leave the room before slumping in front of the counter, tears coming to her eyes. The truth was, she hadn’t known her husband was using her inheritance to live on. Now the money was gone. How would they live? What would she tell Carla and John?

Special thanks to Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee) for editing this story and making the poses used in this chapter: Convo/Emotion Poses – Set 2, Just Standing – Males, and Adult Argument.

Thank you so much for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting!



Other Credits:
Sims: Sonya Rose (Elodie Wilde) by Bee
World: Mayfield Springs
Lots: Evansdale County Renovations 2 (The Kellers), Evansdale County Renovation 3 (The Menkins), Gracious Green (The Fellowes), Red Oak Lane (The Wildes), Villa Elisa (The Thatchers), Ranch House from Alpine County (The Whittingtons), Hospital for Storytelling