Ch. 12- Changes on the Island

I had such a good time at the salon with Wendi and the girls that I called up Trenton and asked him for a makeover.  He was delighted to hear from me and didn't mind at all that I'd called him after hours.

"Any man that does not come running when Aphrodite calls is a fool," he had said.  "We can go to the salon and have someone come unlock it for us but I've got my own personal styling booth at my place.   Its right around the corner and to be perfectly honest it would be a dream come true to undress you in my room."

I laughed flirtatiously as I looked him over in his everyday wear.  It was nothing like the conservative uniform he wore while working at the salon.

"Bold words for a bold man I see," I replied giving him my best come-hither smile.

"You've got to be bold in the fashion career if you want to make a name for yourself and I want be a phenomenon."

"I'm sure I can help you out with that if I'm happy with your work but I must warn you I'm a demanding goddess, this could take hours."

Trenton flashed a wicked grin that made his eyes light up.  "I was counting it.  Follow me my divine beauty and I'll give you all you want and more."

Trenton did not disappoint, he gave me all I wanted and I would get more once the birthday and wedding parties were done.  After a final make out session we got around to the makeover session.  I let my hair down and Trenton put me in pants that he said would have given me the legs of a goddess if I wasn't already one.

He gave me new work out clothes to show off my soccer skills at the summer festivals.

And I couldn't wait to hit the waves and sunbathe at the beach in the new swimsuit Trenton designed.  The formal gown he gave me proved beyond a doubt that he was passionate about his work and would become a fashion legend one day.

It was simple, it was sexy, it was sleek it was just the type of dress a goddess would wear.  It would be the perfect mother of the groom dress for the wedding.  I decided to help Trenton get some exposure by inviting him to the wedding.  The paparazzi would be covering the wedding, getting his name out in the media as the stylist who dressed the Divine women would give his career a large boost.

The next day while still admiring Trenton's designing skills I got a call from the new mayor that was quite taken with what Drew and I had done with the park Wedding Meadows.

His name was Kai Kahale and his election to office was rumored to have been financed by parties that were not exactly law abiding citizens.  Mayor Kahale had big plans to change the island from top to bottom.  His first order of business as mayor was to change the island's name from Cornucopia to Sunlit Tides.  That didn't cause too much of a fuss with the locals who liked the name and believed it would attract more permanent residents.  

What caused a huge ruckus was his decision to demolish and rebuild the entire town as an island paradise.  When threatened with violent opposition he quickly hired a group of fairies and witches to magically alter the buildings and landscape instead.  The solution greatly improved the town and no one was displaced but the witches and fairies services had not come cheap.  Again the mayor's financial ties had come under fire when he paid the small fortune demanded from the magical contractors from his own personal account when the city council refused to foot the bill.

Mayor Kahale loved that I had turned an empty lot into a stunning wedding venue over night and at no cost at all to the local government.  He had become a true believer in the goddess of love and beauty and offered to me enough money to buy homes and cars for all one hundred of my children.  It was Mayor Kahale's wish that I become Sunlit Tides patron goddess and return the island to its former glory.

After such a lovely offering and the happy news that I would soon be a grandmother I could hardly ignore his wish so I called in an old favor to make it happen.  I had Demeter persuade Poseidon to draw back the sea around the island so families would have plenty of room to grow. 

I have to admit that I let becoming the patron goddess of a newly revamped island got to my head and I gloated a little more than was polite to Demeter.  She said nothing at the time and did as I asked but her displeasure was conveyed in the freezing temperatures that over came the island when the waters receded.

Luckily Trenton had made an offering of his own and had a walk-in closet complete with styling station built for me.

It was so cold out that the first thing I did with my new stying station was put together a cute winter outfit.

"That Demeter takes some things too seriously some times," I grumbled to myself as I lit the fireplace.

All I did was joke a little about how funny it was that I'd only come down to the mortal world for a bit of fun and wound up a patron goddess in the modern world, and she had given the mortals the gift of grain and they barely remembered her and made crop circles in corn fields to signal green space men.

She must be laughing it up right now that I was literally shaking in my boots from the cold.  It was only a few days ago that I was telling her what a shame it would be that I wouldn't get to use the wonderful fire place Davin had made for me because weather on the island was always so warm.

The children didn't mind the snow at all.  They thought it was wonderful.  Alesia went out first thing in the morning to build an igloo with JC.

Alcander and Blasius went to the new festival grounds park to build snowmen.

And Alesia thought it was great fun to make snow angels out on the beach.

I had actual work to do so the snow was an inconvenience for me.  I was consulting on the on the designs of some of the new builds going up all over Sunlit Tides.  The roads were too icy so I had to borrow one of Alcander's trick riding brooms to get around.  Zooming around on the silly thing was fun though.  As I zipped past others trudging through the snow I began to understand why Alcander and Alena liked broom riding so much.

Davin had started to make a name for himself as a sculptor and had been recruited by the mayor to build decks and gazebos for some of the new pocket beaches.

"The new decks look wonderful Davin!  You still managed to finish on time despite the crazy weather."

"Yeah, with all this snow I thought my time table was ruined but the mayor knows someone at the science facility with a weather control machine.  The equipment looked like something out of a space movie and cost almost double what it was to put this place together to run for a day.  Kahale must have a bottomless bank account to have financed all these changes."

"He is quite a character," I replied.  "His belief in me and what I could do was so strong that it took hardly any convincing at all to get Demeter and Poseidon to do as I asked.  Though Demeter is a little cross with me at the moment."

"Well Cornu...I mean Sunlit Tides looks amazing now.  The pups have more than enough land for hunting.  With their birthday approaching the full moon will have more of an effect on them this cycle.  Don't hesitate to call me if they get too rough to handle.  I'll come right over if you need me."

Davin gave me a few more pointers on what to expect from Cyrena and Calictus as the full moon approached before I hopped back on my broom to head home as the temperature dropped with the setting sun.  

By the time I reached the temple icicles over five inches long were hanging from the roof.  Blasius braved the bitter cold to do his homework out on the gazebo as was his norm after dinner.

Later that night poor Cyrena started crying from teething discomfort.  Her cries woke up Blasius who was sleeping near by in his fairy house.

I had Blasius move his fairy house further down the hall while I gave Cyrena a cold teething ring and read her favorite book to her.  She went back to sleep within minutes and I sent her father happy dreams as thanks for warning me about the teething.   

The next morning the blanket of snow over the island had only grown thicker and the temperature lower.  The windows had frosted over and schools and businesses had closed for the day due to weather conditions.

Demeter's mood had not improved over night so in the best interest of the children's birthday party and Alcander's wedding I offered up my outstanding vegetable harvest to her in apology.  Demeter didn't immediately warm to the offering but it did stop snowing.

Alena made a big batch of pancakes since everyone would be spending the day indoors.

As we ate we talked about all the new additions to the island.

"It's too bad the grand opening of the new gym was canceled today.  I was really looking forward to getting a hot stone massage after a good workout," said Alesia.

"Alcander and I went to the reopening of the spa to check out the remodel last week," Wendi said remembering fondly their time together in the sauna.

"The new place is absolutely amazing its like one of those luxury resorts now.  I was hoping to get some acupuncture done before the nausea and back aches set in with the baby."

Everyone kept busy with chores around the house since traveling conditions were not quite safe after the snow storm ended.

The only one unfazed by the dramatic change in climate was Rin.  All was well in her world as long as she had her perch, ball, and a full bowl of water and seed.

"I've been so busy with the wedding and birthday plans it has been ages since we just chatted Alena.  How are things at the bistro and how is Armondo doing?" I asked.

Alena's eyes were dazzling as she talked about Armondo.  "Armodo just got a promotion to report processor at work.  He's been working so hard lately and I'm so proud of him.  He really wants to impress you and dad at dinner so please don't let dad be too hard on him."

"You know your father all too well.  I'm make sure he doesn't scare the boys away."

Alena breathed a sigh of relief before releasing a squeal of joy.  "The restaurant is going to expand the menu.  We recently got in a wood fire oven and a teppanyaki grill."

Alena went on for the next hour describing all the delicious new meals that would be available at the restaurant.  When she started talking about the possibility of getting a deep fryer and serving deep fried candy bars and ice cream I felt that I would have to join Alesia in her workout just to lose the calories I was sure I picked up just hearing about them.

It was evening by the time Alesia went to soak in the hot tub after her workout and Alena and Blasius had settled into the study to write love letters and do homework by the time I noticed I hadn't seen Alcander all day.

I was beginning to get worried when he came home with exciting news.

"Mom I found a house that will be perfect for the baby, Wendi, and I," he announced as he came into the kitchen.  "Wendi's already picking out furniture and it will be ready for us to move in right after the wedding."

"That is wonderful news Alcander!  The two of you will have to give me the grand tour when you're all settled in."

After a particularly cold uneventful day things really heated up that night, literally when the fire in the fire place got out of control and burned the living room.  Alesia put the fire out quickly so it didn't spread past the couch.  Luckily the insurance company covered all the damages so after a quick mopping of the floor all was well again.

My home grown high quality produce seemed to mend the fences between Demeter and I as the next day on Sunlit Tides was warm with clear skies and calm waters.

All new construction was completed and city hall had begun releasing ads showcasing the beauty of Sunlit Tides in the hopes of attracting much needed tourist revenue and gaining many wealthy residents.

Pleasant View Park offered a pleasant view with a fresh water pond for fishing and a quite winding river.

Paradise Pools boasted four large pools with plenty of lounging chairs for sunbathing.

The Relaxation Station was the perfect getaway retreat for couples looking for a little romance with their pampering.

And for those that wanted a little danger and excitement along with their fun in the sun there were the caves to explore at The Volcano.

The advertisements were a complete success, it wasn't long before the Sunlit Tides was flooded with new bodies looking not just for witches curses and haunted spirits but love and romance.

Mayor Kahale was praised as the greatest mayor in the island's history and I was Sunlit Tides golden goddess of love, fun, and sun.

At the festival grounds very first spring festival on Love Day Mayor Kahale and I both worked the kissing booths and danced the day away together as Spring King and Queen.

Days later Mayor Kahale met an untimely end at the hands of his estranged wife who tossed him into the mouth of the volcano.  Evidently she was the Empress of the criminal underworld and had been the source of all Kahale's money.  Mrs. Kahale had not taken kindly to the mayor's flirtatious behavior during the spring festival.

I made a metal note on the way home from his funeral service to ask Hades to lay the poor soul to rest somewhere comfortable.  Kahale may not have brought his dream of a glorious island paradise to fruition by completely legal means but I so did love the end result.

A note from Mellowyellow:

I took a ton of pictures my last game play session so the next chapter is already in the works.  I had wanted to do two chapters in a week but I rescued a puppy and got distracted building a fence in the backyard for him.  This chapter was kind of a filler just to tie in the change of town in with the story but there are new pics up on the Divine Family Album for an early peek at Blasius and the twins ageded up.