A late evening helping Vincenzo with homework left them both tired, but happier for the end result. Most days Apple and Vincenzo did their homework together, but since Apples teachers had started giving her more advanced work that was becoming a habit of the past. As much as Magda would secretly wish that Vincenzo could be a genius too, he just hadn't grown into his own yet, and he struggled with the most basic of math problems. One time Magda had been tempted to say something, and the memory of her school peers calling her dummy swirled up, and she was suddenly grateful that they lived alone on an island. The smell of lightly burnt muffins woke Magda, a bookworm and a genius with numbers Apple might be but unlike her brother she managed to burn whatever she baked in the early learners oven. No matter how burnt Magda always ate at least one, and thanked Apple for cooking, except for the one time Apple had tossed the whole batch before anyone else could try them. Magda didn't always bother with getting all the way dressed when going out to tend the garden. The crops hadn't been as good this year, mind she had enough stored to get them through winter, but she knew she needed to do something different before the first cold snap. Magda tried to focus, she wasn't really sure this was her style of painting, but the commission for the requested work would pay more than just one of her usual pieces, and they really needed the more. Especially if she was going to put her plan into action. Success, it had taken a full week to put up. The twins had helped to a small degree, for all they were almost teens they weren't quite there yet, and both Apple and Magda had agreed that she was not ideal for handing panes of glass to Magda, that task had fallen to Vincenzo. Magda expanded the garden with seeds found around the island. She hoped that they would fare better than the older plants. Her dreams of more fruit varieties showed up on the canvas as she painted. While she was tempted to keep it, but she'd been hanging Apple's paintings around the house for decor, and knew that one of the ships regular crew loved pears so much that all of his children were named after the different types. Vincen .... no Vince, per his request, and Apple had both started helping Magda with the daily gardening. Their growth spurt had taken Magda by surprise, and she'd bought what ever could be spared from the scientists and ships crew for them in the way of new clothes. Vince's voice tended to wobble, and Magda reassured him that eventually his voice would steady itself, as she stomped on Apples toes for giggling. Not her finest parenting moment, but at least Apple had the grace to look abashed and had apologized. When Vince started asking if he could have one of the wild horses, Magda had been unsure of how to respond. In the end she, agreed that if he was able to befriend and tame a horse he could have one. Apple on the other hand wasn't all of that interested in the horses let alone any other animals. She had learned of a book club and using some her saved money had joined it. Apple unequivocally stated that she wanted to be an illustrated author. Vince just shrugged his shoulders, and admitted that he still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Magda reassured him that he had time to think on it. As much as Magda would have preferred to get Apple an easel of her own, she was saving up for a big surprise that she hoped both twins would like. After double checking that everything was as she wanted, including Apple's painting above the computer, Magda called the twins in. Vince, who was in a stage of not showing emotions, grunted an of acknowledge meant for the chess tables new location and wandered off to feed the racoon as he did every night. Apple was a little more enthusiastic, especially when she spotted a copy's of the non-fiction books she'd written on the bookcase. It had been hard work, they'd lost half of the dining room, which wasn't a huge deal anymore as it was just the three of them, but to Magda the happiness in the twin's eyes had been worth it. Even though they now had a study, the twins still tended to do their homework assignments in the bigger living room. If Magda was inside painting they would talk to her as they worked. Time marched forward for the small family and they quickly settled into familiar routines and patterns. Gardening in the morning, school work for the twins while Magda painted or hunted for gems and metals, depending on the weather a light jog outside or fitness of choice in the little gym. Apple either worked on writing or painting in her spare time, while Vince worked on befriending the wild horses. He told Magda that he wished he knew how to ride horses. Magda did the only thing she could, which was to hug him and tell him that maybe some day he'd get to learn. Magda listened to Apple talking about how many books she'd published, and contemplated the future. Somehow even with the twins becoming teens life hadn't slowed down, and time was moving much faster than Magda cared to admit. The realization that she needed to come up with a plan to give them a chance of a life beyond the island hit her hard. All to soon they would be young adults in their own rights and it would be unfair of her to expect them to stay marooned with her forever. "Mom!" Vince's voice penetrated her mind fog. Shaking herself back to the present, Magda asked Vince what he wanted. He needed money for shipping fee's he'd won something big through the charity auction, but needed some extra money because of how far away they were from any major ports. Magda sighed and said she would help, but he should also ore hunt to come up with some of the money too. When a masonry kit arrived, Magda asked if that had been what Vince was so excited about. He just shook his head and grinned, "nah this is from a different charity auction, the other's a surprise but I think you'll like it." It took a few false starts but over the course of that spring and into the summer, they dismantled the unused chimney's, resurfaced the bricks and stones, and then refinished the entire exterior of the house. The book that had arrived with the kit had also explained the dangers of ivy, and how to refinish and brighten existing stucco plaster. Apple, upon seeing the finished exterior used some of her royalties for decorative plants. When Vince expressed frustration over the delay on his surprise and Apple woke in a snarky mood, Magda decided something needed to be done, and declared a holiday from all work beside gardening. When Apple started to fuss about her grades, Magda put her foot down, and said the teachers would understand but it was past time they had a holiday, even if they couldn't leave the island. Magda was pleased when the sun cleared enough for them to enjoy the day at the beach. As Magda and Apple swam, while Vince tried to get a tan, Magda wondered why she hadn't thought to do this sooner. Sixteen years on the island and this was the first she had taken time to just hangout on the beach.
That looks fun, Roland from the science crew hollered from the ships deck and before Magda knew it several scientists had joined them for their day on the beach. As Magda was drying off from her swim she overheard an elderly scientist comment on how this was such a nice midway point between Aurora Skies and their research station in the Arctic North, that it was to bad they didn't stop more often. A germ of an idea began to form in Magda's mind, just a little idea, something for her to think on further, but planted it was.
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