GTW: Vignettes- Ep. 4: Model Behavior -Meeting Cathy Tea

The Acevedo’s checked out of the Bed and Breakfast very early the next morning, before the sun had even risen, and headed to the Teahouse to meet up with Cathy Tea and Arabella.

As they entered, Bella ran up to them and hugged them. They looked around in awe at the lovely place, they could see why Bella loved it so much. It was beautiful and peaceful and the rest of Newcrest seemed to think so as well as the place was full of people gardening, playing chess, and hanging out at the fire pit.

Bella led them over to Cathy who was painting by the pond and introduced her parents.

After sitting down at a table near the beautiful pond, the Acevedo’s smiled up at Cathy as she told them about the gardens, “There’s just something about this space that’s so quiet and peaceful. It brings out my creativity, and I also felt it was a great place for our first field trip, since it really inspired all the kids and helped to set a nice tone for the entire camp session,” Cathy gushed. Giovanna smiled and said, “She was very excited when she told us about this place, I can see why. It is very inspiring.”

“Giovanna, you and Leo are doing such an amazing job with Arabella. She’s just been delightful every moment at camp, and I know that she gets so much of her confidence and joy from the lifestyle and opportunities that the two of you are giving her.”

“Thank you Cathy, we are trying to have Arabella experience her childhood and understand that she is fortunate to receive these opportunities because not everyone gets to have the things she has or see the things she gets to. We want to make sure she lives life to the fullest” , Leo said to Cathy as he smiled over to his daughter who was smelling one of the many lush flowers in the garden space.

“I want Arabella to have as much fun as she can as a child, I didn’t get to experience much of my childhood as a kid, I was traveling the world so I had to grow up pretty fast. I am sure you have noticed that Bella is quite mature. We like to speak to her as if she is mature enough and  intelligent enough, because she is,  to be seen as an individual  with her own opinions and capabilities to look at things rationally and analytically.”

Giovanna leaned forward as she continued, “But we also like to encourage her to keep her imagination alive and to experience everything childhood has to offer. This is one of the reasons we chose to send her to your camp, we know that you agree,” confided Giovanna.

“It would be kind of nice to experience being  a kid again and get to do the things Bella has,” she grinned at Cathy.

“Really? I mean–look at you two! With those sparkles in your eyes, it looks like you’ve kept alive all the fun of being a kid inside! I bet you two are so much fun to hang out with!”

Giovanna beamed at the compliment, “Thank you Cathy, we have found that settling down with each other has given us the opportunity to move at our own pace and enjoy life, And Leo is always finding things for us to do together as a couple and as a family to make new memories. I suppose having Bella has allowed us to experience kid-dom through her eyes. It is she who makes our life fun!”

The trio spoke together for a little while longer, as Bella ran around the place, soaking up as much as she could before she had to go. She joined them briefly to tell a story that she has just though of, this space really made her creativity blossom!

She hoped her mom and dad would let her come often. She rode the bus to their jobs and to school, so going to Newcrest was not too far out of the way. She hoped that she would meet her fairy godmother here someday. She had some things she wanted to speak to her about.

Later, as it was getting close for them to leave, Bella caught up with CT and gave her a big hug.

“Thank you so much Miss Cathy. I loved camp. Everyone was s nice. I hope that we all remain friends!” Bella whispered  as she hugged her. She truly was going to miss this place. In just a few days she had grown and learned so much.As  Cathy returned the hug she  said to Bella, “Thanks for being so amazing, Arabella. I hope we get to see each other often!”

“And Miss Cathy, could you tell Dino I will miss him and the way he listened and enjoyed my stories?”

Cathy smiled down at her “Ok! I’ll be sure to pass your message onto Dino! And… don’t be surprised if you receive an email from him now and then! I know he likes to keep in touch!”

“Yay! I will send him new stories because he appeciates them!”

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Before it was time to go, Cathy took the Acevedos out to the wall where the photos and paintings from their time at camp were displayed.

Bella pointed out her new friends to her parents, “…and there is Corey, he is blue! Sorry, my photos aren’t as great as yours dad but I am learning. Thank you for the camera. I will keep practicing.”

Behold my works minions!!! muahahahha

David the Gnome…is that you?

Cathy grinned down at Bella as she showcased her work, ” I think your photos came out great. It’s not every photographer that gets photo-bombed by the gnome!”

Leo laughed at that ” She is right Bella, looks like you made a gnome friend too!”

“I think they are wonderful Bella,” Giovanna beamed down at her daughter with pride in her eyes, “And your new friends look like great fun!”

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Cathy and Giovanna stole a few quick moments to themselves to cloud gaze, Giovanna was really embracing the beauty and peace of the place.
Cathy spoke to Giovanna as she pointed out a formation of clouds, ” You know, everything’s got beginning and endings… right? Even this llama-shaped cloud… watch it long enough, and it, too, will transform into something else. The end of the llama is just the beginning of the freezer bunny.”

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The exhausted parents took their Bella home. On the way home they spoke about all the experiences Bella had and the new experiences they all got to have today visiting Cathy and the Teahouse and Gardens.

Giovanna made a nice dinner of chicken stir-fry, Bella enjoyed it even though it wasn’t cupcakes and spinach frittata, she had still missed her mom’s delicious cooking.

Leo showed off their new hot tub and enjoyed the steamy water with his daughter as they spoke about camera techniques.

Her parents helped her frame and place her new photos and paintings in her room so she could see her new friends everyday and be reminded of the fun they had at camp.

Bella liked camping but she was glad she was home to enjoy a bubble bath in her parents big tub.

And the best part of being home? Her mom reading her a bedtime story before she got to sleep in her big comfortable bed.

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Camp was wonderful and she hoped to experience it and other great moments like it but for now, nothing was better than being home where she was surrounded by her parent’s love.

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Special Thanks To: Cathytea for providing the dialog for CT the camp counselor from Zerxes and Arabella’s time at Animal Hat summer Camp. Thank you for taking such good care of them.

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