A Clover and a Bee

The eastern sky glows pink, heralding the sunrise. It’s a fresh new day, full of promise and wonder. The previous night’s snowfall hides all of the footprints from the day before, and all of the misdeeds that go along with it.

Luna loves winter. It’s a completely new experience. Sure, it got chilly in Lucky Palms, and Sunset Valley had a light dusting of snow on the mountains a couple of months a year But she’s never seen anything like this: white, glistening snow so deep her boots make a satisfying crunch as she walks. She smiles as she falls backward. Spreading her arms and legs outward, she makes a snow angel. Quentin--less prone to fits of whimsy -- opts to stay inside, in the warmth of their home. Despite his frugal tendencies, Quentin has the heat so high it’s like a sauna inside. After she’s had her fill of the snow, Luna gingerly walks up the front steps. She’s careful to shake all of the snow off of her boots before she enters the house.

"Oh. MY. GAAAWD" Quentin winces. He knows exactly what's going on. Despite all of her complaints about her family, despite her constant worrying about them intruding on their life in Aurora Skies, despite all of that, Luna is on Simstagram, stalking her siblings. "Quen, look!" Luna shoves her phone in his face, "Can you believe it?" He squints at the screen,"Umm, Nova has a boyfriend? That's nice, hon." "Ugh, no! It’s not nice--it's Mercury! MERCURY!" Quentin stares at her until she lets out an exasperated sigh, "You don't get it." "No, I really don't." Luna rolls her eyes as she taps Elysia's number on the screen of her phone. It rings once, then Elysia picks up. "Did you see it?" Elysia's voice is so loud that Quentin can hear it across the room. He retreats to the bedroom in search of peace and quiet.

 The next morning, Quentin practically skips outside to retrieve the morning paper. He then sits at the kitchen table, a pair of scissors in hand, and begins to clip coupons. “Oh, hon, there’s a coupon for bumbleleaf!” “That’s nice dear,” Luna mumbles. Why is this burner so hot? she wonders. “It’s only 17% off, but it could come in handy…” “Uh-oh,” Luna takes a step back as the burner becomes just a tiny bit hotter.

“Wow,” Luna exhales as she squints through the binoculars, “Just…wow.” “Beautiful, right?” Quentin whispers in her ear. Luna can barely hear him over the crash of the waterfalls. “I knew you would love it here.” “I do,” her words are tinged with child-like wonder. Quentin Parker and Luna Bee had landed in Aurora Skies just a few hours before, with only a few possessions in tow and hope for a good future. Their first stop, though, wasn’t to their new home – a small cottage that Quentin had mercilessly negotiated for via many aggressive phone calls to the seller – instead, they took the first cab they could get to the waterfalls. “So I guess this won’t be such a terrible place to live?” Quentin had to use all of his charm to convince Luna to move to Aurora Skies. She initially balked at how small and isolated it was, until Quentin pointed out that “small and isolated” is the perfect combination to escape their respective dysfunctional families. “I can forgive you for making...