Vacation Thyme!
Life had settled down into a dull routine. Get up, eat, work, play, sleep, etc. etc. Summer was doing well in school making friends and keeping her grades up by diligent attention to homework. Winter, as usual, spent most of her thyme in her garden which now had nothing but perfect plants in it, well, all except for the Omni plants which she watched carefully lest they die. No matter how many times she ordered seeds they never arrived in the mail. Justine couldn't be parted from his easels and sculpting table and seemed to never want to do anything fun with the family. Aurora retired from her job so she could work in the garden and write but even this enthusiastic worker seemed to be bored and dull. One evening as the family was gathered around the table, Summer threw a wish to see some of the famous art galleries of the world.
Of course,this was right down Justin's alley and he began to think of ways to fulfill that wish. He'd had a wish to travel to China, and Aurora had long wanted to go back and do some more sight seeing and maybe do a challenge or two. After they talked things over with Winter, and found she too wanted to travel, they all decided it was vacation thyme! The paparazzi had been hounding their heels the minute they stepped out of their compound, (they had had to really enclose everything and lock it all up to keep them out!), and they hoped that maybe they would be able to get away from all that in Shang Simla. It was in a pretty remote, mountainous area and kind of backward so maybe they would be free to just be themselves there.
Winter was sitting down to a fine meal of Ambrosia when she realized they had to pack a bit more carefully than usual. What if they ran out of ingredients in Shang Simla and couldn't get more?
Of course, she could always fish for death fish there somewhere, surely, but what about Life Fruit? (She was really looking forward to some Fishing Thyme!) The first thing she and Aurora did was head out to the garden to make sure they would be well supplied for cooking and ambrosia making.
Meanwhile, Justin continued to work on three portraits of Summer. He just wasn't happy with his chances of getting a masterpiece first try. The sculpture was already in the museum and he wanted the best portrait he could paint for her, his only child. Summer, on the other hand, did her school work, practiced her guitar and made sure her various outfits were perfect for the trip!
The day finally arrived and off they went. Winter had brought her favorite vehicle and Justin, deciding to be bold, made sure a fine motorcycle would be waiting there for him. No more of this running around getting exhausted. He wanted to feel the wind in his hair! The first day there Justin tried taking several photos of the area. He wanted family photos of them arriving at base camp but he just couldn't seem to get them all together for a good shot. Aurora immediately ran off into town to buy supplies and Summer whipped out her guitar and began to perform for.....no one at all! The adventurers were all off sight seeing. They spent the first night there in base camp while Justin completed a left over challenge. He only needed a few more visa points before they could buy their first vacation home. Everyone was pretty excited about the whole thing.
Later that evening as her parents were out busy doing small adventures, Summer confided to her grandmother that she was really seriously thinking about a career in Law Enforcement. This was a huge puzzlement to Winter as none of Summer's obvious traits led to that kind of career! Whatever was she thinking?
"Really? You really want to be in Law Enforcement? Well, that is certainly an honorable profession and full of adventure to be sure."
"Yes, it's really quite an exciting career path! We had an officer come to school today to give a lecture on the field. You know how different people come to talk to us about different jobs so we have an idea what to choose when we age up, right?"
"Oh, yes. I remember that from my school days. Don't you need quite a bit of logical thinking and athletic abilities for that career though? You are so slender I'm not sure the physical part would be good for you."
"I can build up my strength and stamina here in Shang Simla and I can also take martial arts. I don't think the athletic part will be a problem. And you know my logic skills are fairly good at the moment and I can certainly build them up as well."
"Hmmm, well, you're right about that for sure. I thought the pay scale was pretty poor though?"
"Yes, it's not great pay, but just think, we have more than enough money for the entire dynasty to live on forever with more coming in every week just from places we've bought and will buy in the future. Besides, it's a really great community service. I'd go around making sure people were safe, make catch a burglar or two. Those kleptos better watch out with me on the job!"
(Winter gulps and hides her face in her food. Summer doesn't know she in one of those kleptos!)
"Very admirable of you darling. You do understand though that vacations are few and far between? You would have to be on the job at least 5 days a week, every week. This could very well be your one and only and last trip to Shang Simla! As for me, I find my adventure in my garden! The challenge of getting each plant to perfection! The joy in watching them grow and produce fruit and veggies for our family! Even some of the stranger plants in my private plot are exciting to me!"
"Ewwww! Dirt under my fingernails?!!! I'd have to get a manicure daily! Not to mention I'd get my clothes all nasty! Ewwww. I'm sure there are also BUGS! YUCK! But, you did raise some good points about the police department. I do love to travel. I guess I'll just have to think more about it. There's plenty of thyme before I have to decide anyway."
The next morning they heard the good news! Justin had found the perfect place for a vacation home for them. A PALACE! He figured, why not? They certainly could afford it and it would keep the gals busy decorating and such! He showed them a photo he took of the place. It was magnificent! Better yet, it needed SO MUCH WORK! The girls immediately sat down to plot and plan what they would do with and Justin, with a rather smug look on his face, toddled off to do some touring.
Unfortunately no one thought to take photos of the work in progress or the places they saw and the adventures they had. Oh, Justin took a few photos in the various tombs and such but he can't figure out how to post those. So the family headed home, happy and satisfied and much more relaxed than they had been in a long time.
