Author’s Notes:
| The Chapters: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Special Edition |
| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 Today! | Chapter 14 08/24/24 | Chapter 15 08/31/24 |
| The Characters: | |
|---|---|
| Vera Lindor (née Cullen, Rose) (mama) | Erin Rose ↫ (19-year-old, daughter, and oldest sister) |
| Charlie Rose ↫ (16-year-old, daughter, and middle sister) | Kyree Rose (12-year-old, daughter, and youngest sister) |
| Tobin Lindor (Vera’s 2nd husband) | Andrew Lindor ↫ (18-year-old, and Tobin’s son) |
| Wade Rose (daddy; deceased, seen in flashbacks) | Donita Holt (Mildred Donita née Cushing, Lindor) (Andrew’s mother; Tobin’s ex) |
| Karissa Craig ↫ (friend of Andy and Erin) | Grady Jewell (friend of Andy and Erin) |
| Jaron Green ↫ (friend of Andy and Erin) | Nicolle Noland (friend of Andy and Erin) |
| Louis Cushing (Donita’s Uncle, Andy’s Great-Uncle) |
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Erin Rose’s POV
If I could take a drone up in the sky over the park I’ve fallen in love with, then you would see how beautiful it is. It’s also where I get off and on the subway to go to school or where our friends meet. Lately, I’ve been using it to meet Donita in the city to help with her political campaign.
I usually get to the park earlier than I need to so I can mingle with the flowers that are planted there. Donita calls me a “romantic,” but I’ve never thought of myself as such. Back on the farm, people had a habit of comparing me to Mama, which was not meant as a compliment. For one thing, Mama has a reputation of prickliness. She pulls her graying hair tight into a bun on the back of her head. And with her, nothing ever changes.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my mama and since growing up a little and getting to know her better, I’ve realized how hard her life has been. I’m mortified by the way I treated her when I was a teenager. When I told her how sorry I was for being a difficult teen, she brushed me off and said she always loved my spirit and that I’d grown up real well.
I don’t know if that is true or not, after everything I’d done to give her a hard time, but it felt good that she said that to me.
On this particular day, when I came up from the train, I ran right into Jaron! (Boy is he cute!)
He looked different.
“Hi,” I said. “Got a train to catch?”
“Yeah, football practice.”
I observed his flushed cheeks and the corners of his mouth turning downward.
“You don’t seem too happy.”
Sighing loudly, he kicked a pebble as his head bobbed with a slight nod.
“It’s my dad. We got in a fight.”
“What about?” I asked.
“It was over a dumb haircut. I’m old enough to make my own decisions, but there he stood, yelling at me to get my haircut. He said it was too long and messy.”
I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. They fought over his hair? My mama hadn’t even seen my hair in ages. but that’s not something we would’ve fought about anyway.
The last time Mama and I got in a fight over something, it was because I wore my dress of the shoulders which she thought looked trampy. She was clearly wrong.
“Well, it does look nice.”
“Whose side are you on?” he demanded.
I took a step backward, surprised by his tone.
“Well, I’m on your side, of course.”
“Can we take a walk?”
“What about football?”
“Screw it,” he said with a scowl.
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me along for a walk in the park.
An uncomfortableness settled in my gut as I struggled to keep up with his long strides. When he was mad, he walked fast, that was for sure.
I loved taking walks, but I’d never gone for one like this before.
He didn’t expect it when I stopped in my tracks, so the force of that against him pulling me, made me stumble and fall forward onto thee ground on my knees.
Horror filled his eyes as he bent next to me and embraced me, then helped me back onto my feet.
“I’m so sorry, Erin. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. Are you okay?”
“Y-yes,” I stammered. Even thought my skinned knees were burning, I ignored that. Obviously, Jaron was way more upset than I’d realized and he needed my support.
“It won’t happen again,” he promised.
“I know,” I said with a reassurance I was forcing myself to feel.
We continued on at a much slower pace, and I pointed some flowers out for him. His anger seemed to have dissipated, so I made an attempt not to bring it up again.
After a time, he bowed his head and said, “Erin, I’m really so sorry. Please forgive me.”
My heart flooded with the love I had for him, and I smiled now. “Of course, I forgive you. We’re good.”
Relief filled his eyes. “Okay, good.”
“So, lets not bring it up again, all right? It’s already in the past.” And I meant it with all my heart.
“You really like my hair?”
I smiled wider. “Yes, you are very handsome.”
We walked some more until Jaron finally walked me home. The first and only thing I wanted to do was to take a bath and forget about all the unpleasantness. I meant it when I said I would never bring it up again. He was under a lot of strain with school, football, and now his father. I didn’t need to add to those problems.
From now on, I would be understanding and quick to help him. Everything would go fine then.
There would never be a reason for him to get defensive or angry at me again.
By the time I got home, the skin on my knees was red, hot and felt like it was stretched too far. Since leaving the farm, I guess I’d gotten unused to dealing with things like skinned knees and the like.
You need to toughen up, girl, I said to myself.
Instead of being able to get straight into a bath, Andy and Karissa were there to greet me. I wasn’t feeling all that talkative, but I couldn’t be rude.
They greeted me unanimously, and I said hi back.
“What happened to your knees?” Karissa wanted to know.
I shrugged as if nothing at all had happened and acted as if I was noticing them for the first time.
“Oh! I’d forgotten. I tripped getting off the subway and skinned ’em, that’s all. I’m fine.”
“They look like they hurt,” Karissa said.
Shaking my head, I said, “No, not really. “It was more embarrassing than anything. I was going to take a bath and put some Bag Balm1 on them.”
Bag Balm was Mama’s cure for everything. Have a burn? Bag Balm it. Have eczema? Bag Balm it. There was nothing in Mama’s book it would not help with any skin malady.
“What is that?”
I smiled sweetly at Karissa. “You’re not farm people, you wouldn’t understand.”
Instead of making her mad, she laughed. “You are right about that! Your speech is so much better with those ‘Rain in Spain’2 lessons.”
“Thank you. I’ve been working hard. Donita still doesn’t want me speaking in public, though, so I have a long ways to go.”
“Mom’s too picky,” Andy said with a shake of his head. “You shouldn’t have to change your accent or anything.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” I said with a smile. I was proud of how far I’d come. “Donita needs people working on her campaign that the crowd can understand. All I have to do is remember how people here talk and stop with all the little stories.”
Karissa frowned. “But your stories are hilarious!”
“Not on the campaign trail, they’re not.”
“Well, I agree with Andy in that you should be yourself.”
I smiled at my best friend, who would have accepted me no matter what. “I appreciate you, Karissa Craig, but I want to learn and fit in. I won’t ever do it with this farm girl still living in me.”
“Well, just remember, Erin Rose,” Karissa began, “that farm girl inside of you got you this far. Never forget who she is.”
Tears filled my eyes as I embraced her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Charlie Rose’s POV
It was about 9:30 or so when I finally stepped out of the taxi and stood in front of the house where my sister, Erin, my step-brother, Andy, and Andy’s mom lived. There was a little chill in the air but I’d noticed that as soon as I’d stepped off the plane. Wish I’d worn a sweater, but that wasn’t my biggest concern at the moment.
What would she say? Worse yet, what would she do?
The porch light came on and I braced myself for a confrontation. Erin and I had always gotten along all right, but I knew this wouldn’t be one of those times.
As soon as she came outside to greet me, she stopped in her tracks on the porch.
“H-hi, Sis,” I stammered, putting my hand up to give her a little wave.
A whole gamut of emotions crossed her stunned face… recognition, confusion, and a lotta shock.
Because of this.
“OMG, Charlie,” Erin finally said, her voice shaking. “You’re pregnant?”
Since it sounded like a question, I answered her with a, “Yep.”
That was not the answer she wanted!
Grab the Old Stone Button!
<div align="center"><a href="https://booomcha.com/2023/08/old-stone-chapter-1/" title="Old Stone" target="_blank"><img src="https://booomcha.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/old-stone-logo.png" alt="Old Stone" width="145" height="145" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Special thanks to Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee) for editing this story.
Thank you so much for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! You are important!
Chapter 13 Credits:
Poses:
by Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee): Adult Walk and Talk and Convo/Emotion Poses – Set 2
World: The Stoneshields by Quailhogs
Custom Content/Mods: Please click here to see a full list of CC & Mods that I use in every chapter: Credits
If you can’t find something, please send me a WCIF (Where Can I Find?) in the comments. I will try my best.
Graphics/Photos: Copyright © 2024 | KL Hawke & booomcha.com | All Rights Reserved.
Glossary/Citations:
1. (Bag Balm is my mom’s cure for everything, too! lol) Bag Balm is a salve developed in 1899 to soothe irritation on cows’ udders after milking. “Bag Balm Ointment Use for Skin Care Management | Wound Care | WoundSource,” Woundsource.com, 2014. https://www.woundsource.com/blog/controversial-use-bag-balm-in-skin-care-management (accessed Aug. 14, 2024).
2. Wikipedia Contributors, “The Rain in Spain,” Wikipedia, Apr. 12, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rain_in_Spain (accessed Jun. 05, 2024).
↬ The Sims games © EA, created by Maxis. ↫
↬ Copyright © 2024 | KL Hawke & booomcha.com | All Rights Reserved. ↫
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This site and its author are not affiliated with EA or any of their games.
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This post I put to my bookmarks, a quick access to all chapters.
That’s great! Thank you, Jean. I hope you like the story. 🙂
I think I do cause I know your style a little already. Very good that you put all chapters to this post. Can you do it for poems too?
That’s a great idea! I’ll see what I can do. Thank you for the suggestion.
That would be great since I usually read poems many times. I must check out why I do not get your posts’ notifications. I have had this problem a long time with others too. Usually my subscription has been cancelled (not by me) and that is pretty frustrating.
That sounds frustrating. I don’t know why you’re not getting notifications. I wonder if it’s a WordPress glitch? That can be frustrating indeed.
I wish I had an answer for that problem but I’m not savvy enough with tech issues.
I hope it sorts out soon. 🙂
Yes I cannot subscribe you. Really weird!
It sure is! I know other people have this problem, too. I wish I knew what to do about it.
Maybe you should check your settings.
Yes, good idea. I’ve done this many times, but it’s always worth another look.
I think I know the reason.. I try..
I’m sorry it didn’t work.
Didn’t work, but I subscribed your posts on your page, I think now I get your posts😊
That is very good, I’m glad you thought of that. Thank you so much for being patient and kind. 🙂
My pleasure, have a good day😊🌺
You, too, Jean. 🌺
When I subscribe you it unsubscribes right away by itself? I tried 10 times…
Oh my goodness! That’s terrible. That happens to me, too. Thank you for finding me again after that happens. I do appreciate you.
As someone who use to play the sims a lot in the past, I am loving these!
I’m so glad! That means a lot to me. 😀
Uh oh whattttttt??????
I know! Life is about to get crazy in their world! 😀
I’m shocked and can’t wait for more!!!!!
YAY! That’s what I like to hear!
Of course girl, you know you are so good at writing these stories!!! Love them.
I’m so happy! 🙂
I saw some signs here as well (lol) Kymber <3 … You have an amazing way of capturing your readers attention from the get-go! Can’t wait to read the next episode / saga !!!!
Thank you so much! 🌺🩷 Yes, there are some red flags popping up at the moment. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that it engaged you, too. The next episode should be out next Saturday.
Another interesting chapter. Great Writing my friend. You keep us guessing.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂
left us guessing here, Kymber…😋
interesting as it goes … thanks for adding the links to previous chapters 🤍
You’re so welcome, Destiny. I thought since there had been gaps between chapters, it would be good to list them for reference. 🙂
Bag Balm reminds me of Windex in My Greek Wedding movie. Anyway, it was a surprise that Charlie’s is pregnant. It is going to be interesting to see how this develops. I love how the pictures enhances the story.
Yes! That’s a great comparison. 😀 Thank you so much, Thomas. I’m glad you found the chapter interesting. 🙂
Great share! 😊
Thank you very much! 🙂
My pleasure.
🌺🩷🌺🩷
Thank you so much for sharing!
It’s my pleasure. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words! 🌺🩷
Subtle, yet a smack in the face…RED FLAG GALORE! Run, RUN NOW. Since Erin has such a good support system, I’m hopeful this not go too far.
Also before I forget, is Mama really still keeping her hair like that now? Gosh I hope not! LOL
Can not wait to see Charlie’s back story and find out just what has led up to this. How, why, when, who……..She has got a lot of explaining to do!
LOLOLOL Ruuuun! I agree. This isn’t looking good. Hopefully, Erin doesn’t marry him or anything before she realizes how this might go.
LOL about Mama. Well, you’ll find out very soon, I promise.
Yeah, there will be some explanations in order, that’s for sure.
Thank you, Bee, for editing, making the poses, and also stopping by. xo
This is an interesting way to write a story, Kymber—something like a visual play.
Thank you, Mary. 🙂 I’m part of a community that does this type of writing. I’m glad you stopped by to see it. 🌺🩷
What a beautifully woven narrative, Kymber!
The way you capture the tension between city life and farm roots is so relatable. Erin’s journey from her mama’s prickly expectations to navigating Jaron’s brooding football drama is just spot-on! I love how she balances her ‘romantic’ side with the tough love she’s internalized from home. Plus, the bit about Bag Balm made me chuckle—it’s the ultimate farm cure-all! Erin may be stepping into a new world, but that farm girl grit is clearly still going strong. Can’t wait to see what happens next! 🌸🚶♀️👟
Thank you so much, Mike. 🌺 I really appreciate your thoughts on the chapter. Erin is walking a lot of tightropes right now, trying to figure it all out, but I think she is growing. As for Bag Balm, you made me laugh. We put that on everything when I was a kid. 😀
I’m planning the next chapter for next Saturday. 🌺
Mercurochrome was our closest childhood alternative to a cure-all.
Ooooh I remember that stuff being on hand when I was at Grandma’s. I always had skinned knees and that stuff stung. lol
I don’t remember mercurochrome stinging. Maybe it was tincture of iodine?
Oh, yes, I’m sure you’re right about that, Mike. 🌺
Charlie’s pregnant? Wow! And I’m not sure I like the dynamic that’s developing between Erin and Jaron (rhyming names, aside!). She needs to watch out she doesn’t give up who she is to try to placate someone who’s got anger issues!
Oh, CT, I agree with you on every level! Let’s hope they don’t get married if this behavior continues. As for Charlie, what are we going to do with her? LOL 🌺🩷
Hi Kymber, this is a great episode and the illustrations are super. You certainly ended on a cliff hanger.
LOL Thank you! Cliff hangers are my specialty! 😀 I’m trying to get back in the groove of publishing a new chapter every Saturday. I’m so glad you stopped by and liked it, too.
That’s good to know. I do a lot of blog reading catch ups over the weekend.
That’s a great idea! I’ve really been trying to catch up, that’s for sure. 🌺🩷
Encouraging to hear from you, it’s been a while. Always an enjoyable experience.
Blessings. Peter-James
Thank you so much, Peter-James. It’s good to see you, too! Blessings to you, too.
A lot of interesting stuff in this one. I have to admit, I’d really like some of that Bag Balm.
Thank you, Jacqui! Bag Balm is sold in drugstores here, but sometimes you have to ask the pharmacist for it even though it’s not a prescription. Other times, you can find it right on the shelf.
My daughter burned her hand on my mom’s curling iron once, and mom put bag balm on it. She healed well without a scar. 🌺🩷
A nice share. Thank you for your effort. 🙂
Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it.