#hunter land

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Twenty Eight: Land (Beach)

The solution to Loren's sun aversion was right in the family backyard.

The theory was simple but not without potential consequences for Loren's mortality, so he asked Virginia and Gabriella to help him test it safely. Gabriella was a naturally strong swimmer and had recently done a lifeguard internship, in which she 'saved' a few swimmers feigning floundering about while training, so she volunteered to retrieve Loren if anything went wrong. Virginia had a fully charged phone in her bum bag ready to call for help, too.

Now for Loren's part to play. He sprinted from the beach house to the waves, his skin smoking as he flew across the sand. The waves were coming in gently today but he hit them with a clumsy crash before finally getting shoulder deep. He turned and gave the girls a thumbs up.

"There he goes. I don't see any smoke. Do you, Gab?"

"No." Gabriella was still watching her uncle bob around, determined to be ready for anything, just in case. But the fact remained: the telltale sign of the sun singing Loren's skin was gone. It was the middle of the day, in the full heat of the middle of summer, and he wasn't holed up under the sunlamp in his shed with the blinds drawn. Whether it was the salt of the sea protecting him, or Virginia's half-joking theory that he was a merman, he could now join his family in the sun.

It was the best birthday gift Loren could ask for.

[vladora-sims]

Lana moves in with Junior and Mary, then begins a fling with that handsome Hart boy.  Unfortunately, Rich keeps turning up uninvited like a bad penny.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Interlude: Land (Beach)

Scot stepped away from his political campaign, citing a need to be with his family, but it's a little bit more than that. He's the oldest living Land now, a patriarch - a role he's been preparing for his entire life…

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Twenty Seven: Land (Beach)

And then there were four at the Land family beach house.

Scot cranked up the surf rock station to fill in the silence left behind since Hunter had gone to university. The wavey reverb of guitars was no replacement for the laughter of children, though. It was just their youngest in the house now - Gabriella was much less chatty with both her big brother and sister moved out. Hunter had followed his heart to be with his boyfriend and Quinn was a headstrong sorority leader. They really were moving on with the years.

Virginia took Scot by the hand to walk on the beach one afternoon and propose an idea. They were barefoot in the toasty sand and paused to look back at their trail of footprints, together 'til the tide came in.

"Would River be open to bringing his family to stay, do you think?" Virginia asked, in a way that sounded closer to a statement than a question, as she had a way of doing when she had a goal. She'd been a Land for a long time but you could never take the strong Beech blood out of her! Scot replied almost immediately: "I'll talk to him."

Picking up what one's wife was putting down was a fantastic skill to have (also handy when he was in politics), and Scot knew the intention: for Gabriella to have cousins around her age to spend time with everyday, in the way Scot and his siblings had each other for most of their lives. Maybe it would be good for Scot and Loren to have their brother as part of their home too; the loss of Mary and Dixie still made everyone feel a bit fractured these days, especially with Delta off living large in the city.

The tide coming in and going out was unstoppable. Still, Scot felt newly determined to fill the beach house with laughter again, soon enough.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Twenty Five: Land (Beach)

Mary beckoned her daughter close. "Sweetheart... I know."

Recognition flashed across Eartha's face, but her words feigned ignorance: "Mum," she whispered gently, her eyes darting around the kitchen, "I don't know what you mean." The rest of the family were having a beach swim but Eartha had declined, citing that she'd forgotten to bring her swimsuit, which only confirmed Mary's intuition. Everyone knew to bring their togs to uncle Scot's house, right on the beach! Laughter of the children outside was rising as they ran from the waves to dry off on the deck, so she shared two words of wisdom with Eartha before the topic needed to be dropped for now: "Marry him."

Every morning, Mary woke, stretched, and ruminated on her naked ring finger. Valentine would've been a long-gone husband by now, but he could've been her husband, if only she'd advocated for herself more. She should've been a persistent thorn by his rosey side, working her fingertips into his shoulders and whispering ideas: I'll wear anything you like. Or nothing at all. The kind of ideas that would make Valentine think marrying her was all his idea.

So knowing Eartha was in the very same situation, expecting a child but not a committed partner... Mary could barely stop to wonder if the universe was having a laugh or not, for the future needed to be fixed. Whoever he was, Eartha simply had to marry him; maybe moving in with them to be the all-loving mother-in-law would ensure it.

Scot and Virginia were married and their lives were clearly richer for it, from how Mary saw it. They could make big life decisions, like having a third kid in their older years, or volley back and forth about who was the better yogi (Virginia's one-handed handstand was the winner). All their kids were close, too.

No - Eartha would not repeat her mother's destiny. Not if her mother had anything to do with it!

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Twenty Four: Land (Beach)

"And then I say something like, 'the real treasure is the family I found along the way'. How about that?"

It was a cliché that Scot sincerely believed was true, but also wanted his constituents to hear when he gave speeches during his mayoralty bid. It was an easy and familiar string of words that would hopefully wrap around the minds of others with family aspirations to put a big tick by the name of Land, Scot. Maybe the Land family name would be more important to the clued-up voter who'd heard of Homer and Beulah, the original Mr and Mrs Land, bucking expectations to ride off into the sunset together. Whatever the case, Scot felt confident in his words, because he did have treasured family to back them up.

Around the dining table where Scot was workshopping his speech content were big sister Mary, always taking up the lioness' share of work, whatever roof she was under. Son Hunter, who had just come out as gay in the throes of early teenhood, and given permission for Scot to mention him in support of rainbow communities. Virginia, who by all rights would already be mayor herself were it not for her successful career as a journalist, content to be first lady (for now). And baby brother Loren, who often wore goggles for his light-sensitive eyes, and joked that Scot's aspirations were so bright he needed them in the evening, too.

Eldest daughter Quinn was hanging out with friends at the boardwalk next door, and youngest daughter Gabriella was up in bed. The kiddo needed her sleep before starting big, proper school!

So, in other words, Scot was rich in what he truly valued. The fact that he was sometimes envious of Loren's free loving would just have to stay locked up in a chest, tossed into the darkest depths of the sea... never to wash up in his backyard.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Interlude: Land (Beach)

Scot and Virginia feel like they've nailed this whole family thing. In between sipping tropical drinks on the beach, they've got more success to chase. Time will tell if the world is ready for a chill guy to be mayor!

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Twenty: Land (Beach)

Summer loving tasted even sweeter with Virginia by Scot's side.

Granted, it was still springtime in Desiderata Valley, but the levelled up heat filling up the sandy space in between peaks made everything feel more fun and fancy free. Hunter was the best little guy, toddler wobblies and all. There were weekends spent with Virginia painting on the deck while Scot taught their son all the colours she was using - blue for the sky and the sea and Scot's eyes, green for the wild and waving tresses of the palm tree tops. Black and white mixed to make grey for Brady's senior fur colour coming through. Hunter sounded out every one in his wittle voice and squealed with delight when Scot informed him he was correct. What fun!

Meanwhile, Delta was next door at the boardwalk, enjoying a lunch date with Miranda Capp. The latter had just moved to the beach and wanted to see the hippest spot - Delta wondered if she lacked imagination in selecting the boardwalk present in all the tourist hashtags, but her date seemed to enjoy herself (thank goodness for the liquor license in the eatery to soften the awkward edges that dating could sometimes have).

Care was being taken to ensure tween Quinn wasn't feeling left out with a toddler taking plenty of attention. Scot and Virginia helped her set up the telescope to view even further out to sea - there were sometimes cargo ships in the distance with potential crew to wave to. Again, fun! That's all Scot wanted for his children.