April 8, Spring, year 36

Every year this trip gets a little more hectic… Lauren's almost old enough to join in the opening dance, which means I'll need to make her a dress for next year. She absolutely refuses to wear the 'Goddess dress,' so looks like I'll be sewing from scratch.

Oh well, I have the sewing machine so it shouldn't be too hard. And I suppose I can't blame her, the dresses do need something of an update in style.

Heck, maybe I could start a new fashion trend! That would certainly be something to see.

Leaving the farm in Takakura's hands—Claire always felt bad about having to do that, no matter how many times he said he could handle it—the family had left the evening prior to the festival. The horses had been left with Jill, but instead of trying to cram everyone into Jill's farmhouse—possible, but cramped as all get out—they had paid for beds at the Inn.

And everyone had pretty much fallen asleep as quickly as possible. Late night rides did that to people.

The day of the Goddess festival dawned bright and sunny, the golden light falling across Claire's face first, then Skye's. The blonde liked the feel of the warmth on her face, and the sunlight was better than any alarm clock.

And when Claire slipped out of bed, Skye—who had become a relatively light sleeper since he'd married the farmer—stirred as well. It was still too early to expect breakfast, but Claire moved over to the window, bracing her arms against the sill, and let out a quiet, contented sigh.

Dawn, before anyone was awake, was the best time of day. Not that the silence lasted too long, everyone was too used to rising with the sun themselves. Heads of silver and gold started to bestir themselves from the blankets and pillows as the sunlight reached farther into the room.

Meri was the first child to slide from the bed, sleepily looking for her mother, dragging one of her stuffed toys with her. Jamie and Lauren sat up and yawned at almost the same moment.

And in the other rooms Claire could hear sounds of other Valley families waking up. To be fair, it was hard to sleep through a baby—Muffy's youngest, Tabitha—crying for her breakfast. Not even Alan could do it, though he certainly did try, stuffing his head under a pillow.

Mirei just stuffed her fingers in her ears, making an annoyed face. That lasted only until she realized what day it was, then she jumped out of bed and hurried to her mother.

Of her girls, Mirei was the one who liked dressing up the best, and it showed in the way the child was bouncing on her toes. Claire rested a hand on the silver-streaked blonde hair and shook her head with a faint smile.

"Breakfast first," she said calmly, her first words of the day. "Then clean up and getting dressed."

Jamie and Lauren greeted the idea of breakfast with quiet, but enthusiastic cheers, making Skye chuckle. Even Alan was enticed by the word, and wormed his way out of his nest of blankets and pillows.

"I think Ann, Cliff and Doug will need help considering who all are staying," the thief-turned-cook-and-husband commented. "I'm going to go volunteer my services."

Jamie and Lauren exchanged looks, then nodded.

"We'll help!" Laurie proclaimed. "We can carry breakfast tray up to the rooms."

"Sounds like a good idea," Claire chuckled. "I'll get everything ready for when breakfast is over so that it won't take more than twenty minutes to get ready to leave."

It actually took thirty, but Claire had a bit of perfectionist in her, so it wasn't that hard to understand. Everyone was dressed their best, hair was let loose in the case of the girls, and Claire had even allowed Lauren to wear a small amount of make up.

Though it took longer than Claire's initial estimate, they were still one of the first families out the door, joining the tide of people making their way to the Square.

Laughter and chatting abounded as parents and children mingled, separated, and caught up to each other again. The cacophony was warmly familiar, something Claire had always loved. There weren't enough people to make it a city, not with the way everyone knew—and got involved with—everyone else's business, but there was enough people to make the towns bustling and happy places to live.

It made Claire glad that they only got the rare influx of tourists, and the festivals were the biggest draw. Trying to picture large corporations tearing up parts of the island for resort hotels, theme parks, and the like made her cringe.

One thing the crowd did was keep her youngest practically on her heels. Meredith was find with family crowds—which this mostly was—but preferred to stay by her mother at any given time.

"So, who do you think made Goddess this year?" Skye asked.

Claire nodded in the direction of Elli, who seemed to be glowing, and Doctor Trent who appeared a touch uncomfortable.

"Three guesses, and the first two don't count," she replied dryly. "I almost feel bad for Trent."

"Why?"

"Have you seen him dance?"

There was a short pause as Skye tried not to laugh. It was true, Trent wasn't that much of a dancer. He took more time being a doctor, and in truth Elli often had to twist his arm—not literally, but close to it—to get him to come to festivals like this one.

"Momma!" Mirei tugged on Claire's arm, almost tripping over her little sister. "Becky says that Aunt Jill isn't allowed to dance this year!"

"She's pregnant Mimi," Claire chuckled. "Your auntie gets tired easily, especially since she's carrying a pair instead of a single. It's not going to harm pairings too much, Muffy still isn't up to a lot of dancing either."

Even with two down, there were still the other Valley and Mineral Town mothers to complete the dance, Claire included. Mirei thought about this for a moment, then darted back into the crowd, looking for Rebecca again.

Claire and Skye shared an amused look.

"Are you sure they're friends?" Sea-green eyes glinted with amusement.

"Nope," Claire responded promptly. "But they say they are, so who am I to argue?"

Unlike younger years, Claire couldn't dance the day away. After about an hour she retired for a short break, claiming a seat next to her sister as Skye went for a drink.

"Tired already?" Jill teased.

"You can't talk squirt," Claire panted, lightly poking Jill's protruding stomach. "Four months til your due date and you're waddling like a duck."

The brunette elbowed Claire, but not hard. Her sister had already carried her fair share of twins after all, and knew how much work it entailed.

"So, where's the hovering shadow?" Claire asked idly.

"Gray? Home sick," Jill sighed. "He's over-doing it again, has been ever since Saibara passed away. Trying to be the blacksmith, and a farmer so that I don't have to do all the difficult farm chores. It's sweet, but…"

"But he's doing what he wants you to not, and tiring himself out in the process," the blonde patted her sister's hand sympathetically. "You could do what I did and tell on him."

Jill thought about this for a second, a smile creeping across her face.

"How did Skye like that?"

"Oh," and Claire laughed. "He wasn't pleased to be told that I could do things for myself, even carrying kids, but he got over it."

The younger woman snorted her approval as Skye returned, bearing three cups.

"Do I dare ask the topic under discussion?" he asked, passing a cup to Jill, then to Claire, before taking a seat next to his wife.

"Stubborn husbands," the sisters chorused.

Skye winced a little, smiling sheepishly.

"Gray over-worked himself," Claire continued, "and we're currently trying to figure out how to make him stop. I suggested she do what I did," and here she elbowed Skye gently, "when you were being the overprotective pretty-boy from hell, and go tell the doctor."

"I would have thought he'd've been over that stage by now," Skye refused to rise to the bait, though he had a tell-tale blush across his cheeks. "Three kids and all."

"First set of twins," Jill reminded him tiredly. "He's going overboard."

"Twins are harder than solo," Claire draped a comforting arm over her sister's shoulders. "It's understandable, if annoying."

The trio fell silent for a bit, watching the crowd of dancing kids and parents, each pre-occupied with their own thoughts. Instinctively, Claire sought out her children, and smiled faintly.

Caleb, Samantha and Meredith were all dancing in a circle, and had managed to pull in Timothy and Fred. As she watched, it became clear that they were doing Ring Around the Rosy, and they all sat with abruptness on the stone, laughing.

Mirei was with Michelle, Erica, Elizabeth, Jackie, Ann's two girls Cassidy and Larissa, and Becky. Likewise, Alan was with David, Jasper, Thomas, Albert and Jerry. The boys seemed to be planning something, and within moments of Claire's attention they went to harass their siblings.

Skye chuckled faintly as Claire shook her head, having spotted the same thing. Jill, following their gaze, smiled wryly.

"Well, at least we know that the Tomato Festival will be full of well-deserved revenge," the brunette commented wryly.

Claire snorted.

"Who says we have to wait for the Tomato festival?" she rolled her blue eyes. "My house is going to be plagued with sibling pranks, I just know it. I think perhaps I'll remove the bug net as a preventative measure this time…"

"Weren't there ah… frogs in the house when this happened last year?"

Claire made a face. She didn't mind frogs, as long as they were out of doors… Alan had been grounded for a long time because of that prank. Not to mention Mirei's shriek had woken the whole house, no mean feat.

"Exactly my point," the blonde sighed.

"Your son is more of a trouble maker than mine," Jill laughed.

"Your son is four," Claire pointed out. "My son is nine, and a great deal more mobile."

Skye had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

In truth, the chaos of the Goddess Festival was routine now, since people had started to have children. And after all, what was a festival without a little bit of chaos?

Claire regretted asking that question mentally the minute the 'play' fighting ran into the table of food and drink, making quite the loud crash.

Which started more squabbling. Jill burst into giggles and Claire buried her face in her hands and let out a mother's exasperated sigh. Skye hastily got to his feet and went to help sort out the mess.

Nothing quite so chaotic as a festival with young kids in attendance… Alan has been punished, and his bug net is sitting under my bed. He now has to help Uncle T in the maker shed for the next two weeks… and I'm debating letting him participate in the Egg festival this year.

Mmmm… I think I'll sleep on it. Let the decision rest for a few days. If he's anxious enough about it, he'll be on his best behavior.