An unexpected visit

It was a warm summer morning in Sweet Berry Valley. Peter and Peace were getting ready to go to the beach when they heard a knock on the door. When Peter opened it, he couldn´t believe his eyes.

"Good morning, my dear, grandma is here!" Mrs. Babblebrook exclaimed in delight when she saw her grandson. 

What a great surprise, Grandma! Peter and Peace greeted her enthusiastically with a hug.

"Aww, look at the two of you!You make such an adorable couple!I´m so happy to see you, my dear!"

"We´re glad to see you too! You haven´t aged a day, Granny"

Aww,come on! You´re such a charmer!Just like your grandfather. She giggled.

Peter and Peace have a soft spot for grandma Babblebrook. They really enjoy her company ,but this month they have plans for a short vacation before the end of August and considering the size of her suitcase it seemed she had the intention to spend a long time at their place.

" By the way, Grandma, you brought a lot of luggage! Are you going to move to Sweet Berry Valley? Peter asked with a tinge of irony.

Mrs.Babblebrook laughed and said "No, my dear! I´m only here for a short visit!I missed you Peter.I just wanted to see if you and Peace were doing well"

"Didn´t cousins Boyd and Amanda tell you that we were going to travel to Carrot Field Hollow in a few weeks´time?" Peter asked out of curiosity. "We´re going to the Summer of Love Festival.Some of our friends from other parts of Sylvanian are going too and ,of course,we had the intention to visit you, Grandma".

( Banner for the festival made by Florence Holiday from the Sylvanian Forum. She´s organizing a big event!)

"Oh sure!The Festival! Your cousins told me you were coming! The village is getting crowded with campervans,tents and young critters.

"Anyway,I just wanted to pay you a visit just in case the music, the love and your friends kept you too busy to spend time with this old lady. "By the way, I brought you something from Carrot Field Hollow. Mrs.Bablebrook leaned over to open the lid of her picnic basket.

"Ta-dah!Look at this!" She proudly showed them a carrot and said "the best carrots in Sylvania are grown in Carrot Field Hollow!

Peter and Peace were amazed at the size of the carrot and also a bit concerned when recalling the taste and texture of some of Mrs. Babblebrook´s dishes.(In case you don´t know, she has the reputation of being a terrible cook)

"I´m going to cook a proper meal for you.You choose:carrot casserole, carrot soup, roasted carrots, carrot cake, carrot pancakes, carrot pie, carrot muffins, carrot...

Mrs.Babblebrrok went on naming her endless list of carrot recipes until Peter kindly interrupted her.

"Mmm, my mouth is watering, Grandma! That´s very kind of you but you don´t have to cook for us.You´re our guest! Besides,it´s getting late. We were about to go work when you arrived".

Mrs. Babblebrrok looked at Peter and Peace from top to bottom and asked suspiciously.

" Going to work? Half naked? What kind of job have you got? 

If don´t mind me asking, my dear." 

"We run a beach bar, Grandma, and it gets quite busy at this time of the year. Hot days call for cold drinks ,you know?It´s a small business but it´s going well.

"Oh,I see...It sounds good to me!" I´m so proud of you, my dear! Your own business!That´s very nice!

"Would you like to come with us, Mrs. Babblebrook?" Peace asked.

"Oh,are you sure? Don´t you mind? I´d love to!  I haven´t been at the beach since my honeymoon and that was ages ago! Mrs. Babblebrook was thrilled with the idea of spending a day at the seaside.

"That´s great!" Peter exclaimed and then he asked: wouldn´t you have something more casual for wearing at the beach?You´d be more comfortable".

Mrs. Babblebrook named every single item she had packed in her luggage but, apart from a pair of sandals, she didn´t have any other sort of beachwear in her suitcase.

"No problem at all! I´ll make an outfit for you in next to no time, you´ll see. I have some fabric left to make something more summery " Peace said.

"Aww!Thanks a million.You´re such a sweetheart!

"Meanwhile,I´ll prepare some food to take to the beach. That´s the least I can do to make up for all the trouble I´m causing you".

Peter and Peace tried to talk her out of cooking but Mrs.Babblebrook turned a deaf ear,put on the apron she had in her picnic basket and started chopping carrots right away.

Peace took Peter into the living room and said in a very low voice :

"I´m sorry, Pete. I love your grandma as much as you do but there´s no way I´m going to eat her food. Last time I did, I had an upset stomach for two weeks. I don´t want anything to ruin our trip to Carrot Field Hollow.I don´t want to miss the Festival".

"No worries! We´ll manage not to eat her food without hurting  her feelings. Right?" Peter whispered .

"It´s a deal!" Peace said with a wink.

"And now let´s put this "gigant mammouth" in a place that doesn´t get in the way."

Although a little later than usual, Peter and Peace  made it to the beach. 

Mrs. Babblebrook went with them , of course!

"Is everything OK,Grandma?" Peter asked.

"Oh, yes!It´s great to be here, my dear!"

"Can I get you a drink? A smoothie?, fruit juice? Some lemonade?"

Mrs. Babblebrook thought about it for a moment and said:

"Mmm,a glass of sangria would be lovely!.

"Sangria?" Peace asked in surprise. 

"Relax, it´s OK! I´ll just put a dash of red wine, the rest will be grenadine and cranberry juice to give red colour.

"Here you are! Enjoy your drink!"

"Oh, thank you ,my dear" By the way,you look very pretty in that bikini! Lovely colour! It reminds me of carrots .That´s why I like it so much.

Peace also liked the colour of her new bikini. Even though pastel colours is the new trend in Sylvanian, she stayed true to her style.

Amanda Splashy, however, is wearing a mint green swimsuit,  a very trendy pastel colour this season. The Splashy are spending the day at the beach.Their baby must be due very soon!Amanda´s belly looks bigger than ever!

It was sunny and warm but there was a nice breeze.After a long walk along the seashore, Amanda and Glenn went to the beach bar for a refreshing drink.

"Good to see you"! Peter and Peace greeted them.

"Make yourselves comfortable and we´ll get you a drink"

"Lean back on this pillow ,my dear". Mrs.Babblebrook did her best to make Amanda feel comfortable.

"Thank you,Mrs. Babblebrook! You´re so kind!. My back has been hurting lately".This is one of the drawbacks of pregnancy".

Peter brought them a big pitcher of iced-cold lemonade. The Splashy enjoyed a cool drink and a lively conversation with Mrs.Babblebrook.

She was a thoughtful, friendly and talkative woman so Amanda and Glenn took a liking to her the moment they met her.

Shortly after the Splashy left,the Spotter grandparents approched 

the beach bar to buy a soft drink to cool themselves down.

I

Their youngest grandchildren were also with them.

"Oh,my! You little rascals!" Mrs. Babblebrook stood up from her deck chair to prevent one of the little kids from falling.

"Pearl Babblebrook!Long time no see!"Clarise and Cliff exclaimed at the same time.

"Good to see you!How are you doing? It seems the family has grown since last we met. 

"Oh, yes! The triplets!It was a great surprise!"

"They can be a bit of a handful sometimes but they keep us young at heart". They´re very lively and playful kids." The Spotters said.

"Enjoy spending time with them.I remember when my grandchildren were like yours and now they are all grown up.I already have great-grandchildren,you know?.Time flies by, my friends!" 

They kept talking and catching up with their lives while Penelope, Peregrine and Prudence had fun playing around. 

After saying goodbye,Clarisa and Cliff promised their grandchildren to buy them an ice cream if they behaved themselves and of course they did.

Mrs.Babblebrook stared at them as they walked away holding hands.

"Is everything all right, Grandma? You look a bit pensive". 

"It´s okay, don´t you worry.I felt a bit nostalgic all of a sudden. You were a little bunny not so long ago and look at you now!"

By the way,just out of curiosity,have you thought about starting a family? If you know what I mean?".

Peter and Peace exchanged a knowing look.It was time to take the conversation in another direction. 

"Who´s hungry?. My stomach is rumbling. It´s past lunch time" Peter said.

Mrs. Bablebrook went to get her picnic basket.

"Let´s see what grandma has here... I made some sandwiches with carrot mayonnaise and creamy carrot salad. It´s a shame I didn´t have time to bake some carrot muffins. I´ll do it when we get home so you can have them for breakfast tomorrow." 

"Grandma, why don´t you take these days as if you were on vacation? Enjoy, relax and forget about cooking. You´re our guest! We´ll cook for you.I have your book of recipes and I´ve already tried some.They´re really good!And now,how about going to the Seaside Restaurant?

We´ll treat you for lunch".

Mrs.Babblebrook gladly accepted the invitation. Peter was proud of his power of persuasion and so was Peace.

Peter and Peace are vey kind and thoughtful.While they´re gone for lunch , they always leave a pitch of free lemonade. They know how to take good care of their customers!

"Hi, Narissa! Hi Caspian! Is there a free table for three? We have a special guest!" Peace asked the Neptunes who were busy cooking.

"You´re in luck!" A table with sea views has just become available"

Mrs,Babblebrook introduced herself to the Neptunes and talked nineteen to the dozen.

"I´m very pleased to meet you!My name is Pear Babblebrook from Carrot Field Hollow.You must have heard about it because it´s very well known for its carrots.They´re the best! Peter is my grandson,he´s such a good grandkid!He and his lovely girlfriend are very thoughtful to me, you know? They want me to rest and take a few days off from cooking. They ´re so kind, aren´t they?

They insisted on treating me for lunch to your restaurant.Sorry for not wearing a more elegant outfit.I like to be well-dressed when eating out but we´re spendig the day at the beach. My grandson and his girlfriend have their own business, you know? A beach bar...

In the end they had no choice but to interrupt her, otherwise it would be dinner time instead of lunch.

Peace drew Mrs. Babblebrook´s attention to the menu board on the wall.

"Would you like to have paella?It´s today´s special and it´s Narissa´s speciality." Peace suggested.

"I´ve never tried paella.I´d love to try it! What a better occasion than this! Mrs. Babblebrook said.

Before sitting down, Mrs. Babblebrook approached the table where Teresa and Robert Seashore where having lunch with their grandchildren.Although she had only met them a couple of times before she came over to greet them and to wish them an enjoyable meal.

Eventually, Peace, Peter and Grandma Babblebrook went for today´s special. They ordered a big paella to share.

"Mmm,this paella is really tasty! Narissa is nearly as good cook as I am . Don´t you think so,Pete?"

"Definitely, Grandma!Her paella is delicious but nothing beats your carrot casserole!"

 

When they finished having lunch, they went out the restaurant through the area facing the sea. Mrs. Babblebrook was very grateful. She had enjoyed the meal and the company of Peter and Peace.

"Thank you so much,my dear.You´re treating me like a queen!I´m having a wonderful day! I don´t remember having so much fun in a long time.!"

"You deserve it, Grandma! I´m a lucky grandson to have you around" 

"Mrs. Babblebrook,can I also call you Grandma? Peace asked.

"Of course, sweetheart! You´re part of the family".

Peter and Peace hugged and kissed her. They loved her to bits.She was a lovable woman with an endearing personality.

Although she wasn´t the best cook in the world, she was certainly the best grandmother they could wish for.

Well, maybe she wasn´t such a bad cook after all!

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This story was my entry for July´s challenge#7:"Seaside fun with grandparents"in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community.

When I think of the beach Peter and Peace are the first Sylvanians that come to my mind. At first,I thought of taking some photos of some of my grandparents with their grandkids going for a cold drink to the beach bar.

This first idea developed into something else.I´ll tell you why.

Florence Holiday, a friend from the SF Forum ,is organizing the "Summer of Love Festival" in Carrot Field Hollow. She´s doing a lot of work for this project. Peter and Peace are looking forward to this big event and so am I!

July´s challenge and Florence´s festival project inspired me to turn a spare old grey rabbit into Mrs.Pearl Babblebrook.I wasn´t aware that I  even had her original dress until I looked for pictures of her on the web.

I'm sure Grandma Babblebrook will be making a few more trips from Carrot Field Hollow to Sweet Berry Valley to visit her grandchildren. Tanya and Marion are also her grand-daughters.

I really had fun with grandparents at the seaside when taking pictures and writing this story.

Hope you enjoyed it too!

See you soon!

Hugs!