This beautiful refurbished barn, available on the gallery, was built by TheKalinotrOn. I highly recommend it! (And so does Sugar.)
The old barn had been refurbished into cottage with private gardens. It stood beside the walking paths near the canyons and hills.
The best part was that the lots beside it had remained vacant, so there was open space all around.
Sugar took one look at it and decided it was right for her.
Living next to the walking paths had advantages, especially since one of her favorite people, Shannon SimsFan, took her daily runs there.
It was also the path that Max Villareal trolled when scouting recruits for one of his gangs. Sugar quickly discovered that Max wasn’t as tough as he pretended. Any kid who gets excited about blue butterflies has got a sweet side, even if it is kept hidden some of the time.
As soon as she got settled in, the first person that Sugar wanted to invite over was Ren. She’d enjoyed the time they’d spent together at Cradle Rock. Back at the family home, though, there had always been someone around and always something to attend to, so Sugar hadn’t yet been alone with Ren.
That was a treat she’d been looking forward to.
“Your new place is lovely,” Ren said. “How do you like it?”
“It’s incredible!” Sugar said. “It’s just the right size, and it’s so comfortable.”
“And I like it even better with you in it,” Sugar continued. “Stay a while?”
So Ren stayed over while Sugar continued making the old barn a home.
The appliances were antique, but Sugar found that charming; it meant she could upgrade everything. Back at the family home, all the appliances had been upgraded through the generations, so aside from maintenance and repairs, there weren’t many home improvement projects to work on.
She loved the challenge and satisfaction of making this old hardware better than new.
Baking in a wood stove posed a challenge.
When her first batch of cookies came out perfectly crisp and tender, she decided it was challenge she was going to relish.
The old barn really felt like hers. And she wanted to share it.
She found that, for the first time in her life, she was able to discover her own dreams: not what the family wanted or needed, but the stirrings within her own heart.
One evening, Sugar gazed out the kitchen window, and there was Ren, a night-time Sylph, swimming in the moonlight.
In the mornings, Ren painted in the courtyard.
Sometimes, they painted together.
With Sugar’s mentoring and her own artistic talent, Ren’s skill with painting increased quickly. Soon , she was creating work that satisfied even her own perfectionism.
“Let’s be a couple,” Sugar said to Ren one morning. “Be my girlfriend!”
Ren didn’t hesitate. “Of course!” she replied. “It’s been predetermined!”
The next evening, Ren surprised Sugar with a ring.
“Let’s make it more than symbolic,” Ren said.
Ren moved in, and Sugar’s home now felt complete. They didn’t set a date for the wedding yet–no need to rush it any further.
“When we’ve got completion, we can take our time,” Sugar said, “face the future, and see where it leads.”
The home sits on the edge of a broad field under the night sky with trees and paths and canyons and hills all around, and Sugar, like a sentinel, circles the perimeter with the chords from her guitar.
Author’s notes: Ren and Sugar are a couple on another hard-drive, so we knew that they were compatible. I didn’t want to rush the relationship here on this computer: but Sugar did! The first time she had Ren over, she autonomously asked Ren to be her girlfriend, then she rolled the whim to marry her. We moved Ren in, and Ren proposed autonomously to Sugar! If they don’t autonomously get married, I’m looking forward to a big family wedding! We’ll see what their plans are!
Cathy Tea's SimLit Anthology 