At the time Shep and Madeleine first moved to Pleasantview, Gillian, Margo and Nicky were teenagers. Harvey and Holly were not yet born. Not long after, Shep’s younger brother, Scott, came to visit them and stayed a couple days. He was in the military service at the time and soon to be finishing his “hitch”. When Scott was out of the marines and looking for a job in law enforcement; Shep convinced him to consider moving to Pleasantview. He did so and ended up buying a nice house in the Professional Row part of town. By now the twins were toddlers.
When he was introduced to beautiful Heather Simmons, Scott was immediately smitten even though she was some years his senior. Heather was a beautiful enigma in Pleasantview. She had shown up years ago at the age of nineteen toting her two-year old daughter, Jenna. No one in town knew if she was single, divorced or widowed and she never provided the information. Since everyone liked her right away not one of them asked. She seemed to have quite adequate funds although her only apparent income was the money she made giving ballet lessons and
piano lessons in her home.
Heather managed to take in a foster teen, Tosha Go, and raise her right along with her daughter, Jenna. When the girls were in high school Heather went to work at Goth Industries. If you asked anyone in Pleasantview at the time who the three most beautiful women in Pleasantview were, most would answer Olivia Flynn, Madeleine Ferguson and Heather Simmons. Many men in Pleasantview were most eager to get to know her, yet Heather never dated anyone.
Jenna the ballerina and gardener:
Tosha when Heather "adopted" her.
Jenna and Tosha considered themselves “career girls”; Jenna became a lawyer and Tosha decided on a career in politics. That was when Scott met Heather and it was magic for both of them. They only dated a few months and decided to tie the knot. Heather moved into Scott’s home and left the girls to stay on their own at the old house. Both were engaged to be married; Jenna to Jesse Blackford, her high school sweetheart, and Tosha to Benjamin Long.
Jenna and Jesse Blackford, newlyweds
Scott loved gardening but his real avocation was cooking. Since Heather also loved to garden and cook they took turns making meals and Heather often assisted Scott with gardening since he was a newbie at this.
Once the girls were both married Heather sold the home they’d known for over nearly twenty years. It had more room than Scott’s place at the moment and many memories but Heather felt she was making new memories now. Instead of moving to the old house, Scott and Heather added another story to his home because Heather was already pregnant and they definitely needed more room. It had a definite “the-house-that-Jack-built” look to it, but it was home to Scott and Heather. They were very happy together and this pregnancy was an additional joy. It was late in her life to give birth, but Heather had been bound to give Scott a child. In about the normal amount of time their daughter was born and named after her father; Scotti Lynn.
Scott and Heather's home:
Third floor addition
Scott was so happy with his new daughter that he was a very hands-on father and helped with her care and training.
Not surprisingly Scotti Lynn had a close relationship with both of her parents but especially Scott. She emulated him in any way she could. She was an active toddler and her parents built a little area for her to play up on the third floor because they were both frequently up there as Heather sewed and Scott painted or worked at his drafting table.
It was deep winter when Scotti Lynn had her birthday. There was a fresh snowfall and she hurried out to make a snowman.
Not surprisingly she had artistic talent like her mother and when she came back indoors she immediately went to paint a portrait of her snowman.
She made friends easily, like Dennene McMillan and Debbie Ferguson. She also showed early on a propensity for the culinary arts, using her “Flame On Play Oven” to make muffins.This was always a good toy for kids since they could not make their own breakfast, not even cereal, and their parents frequently slept late.
When spring came Scott and Heather decided to go on a vacation with Scotti Lynn to Twikkii Island. They made reservations at Castaways Bungalows, which had been recommended to them by Dylan and Elaine Ottomas.
“You two will love it and so will Scotti Lynn; you’ll have your own little patch of beach, and it’s very quiet,” Elaine had assured them, “Not as glamorous as some of the other places, but glorious views of the ocean from every room and it’s kid-friendly.”
Upon their arrival Scott checked in to Castaways. He was wearing his lightweight spring trench coat that he'd had on since they left from home. Now it felt like a winter parka and he realized this was definitely a tropical island. Fantastic!
As soon as the family unpacked they headed for the boardwalk to check it out and pick up some native apparel. Scotti Lynn and Heather were fascinated by the fire-dancer. In a while, Heather sat down on the warm beach to watch waves and get acclimated while Scott took their daughter out to swim. Scotti Lynn was fearless in the ocean and her parents knew they’d have to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get overtired or go too far out. Heather watched Scotti Lynn’s natural curls droopo and straighten as tey were soaked in the salt water. No matter. They would pop back up as he her hair dried, curlier than ever and slightly frizzy. When she couldn’t resist any longer Heather joined her husband and daughter in the surf.
Then it was time for Heather and Scott to take their turns at fire-dancing lessons while Scotti Lynn watched and cheered (or booed) them on. She wished she could learn, but obviously they did not teach fire dancing to children.
There were hammocks on one side of the beach to rest up in when you were tired from your swimming or gadding about on the boardwalk. The balmy breeze that was redolent of sea and salt was so relaxing. The family had a nice dinner at the boardwalk as it became evening. When they got back to Castaways they tried out the hot springs that graced the front of the lobby.
They all slept very well after their busy day and Scotti Lynn woke early. She was dismayed to see it was drizzling rain outside but she played with the dollhouse in her room and when her parents woke and it was time for breakfast the sun was back out and the beach already drying. Scotti Lynn thought eating breakfast al fresco with the ocean pounding the beach was just the greatest thing since Coke. Heather and Scott had to agree.
They had one of the medium bungalows with a swing set right next to it. So this second day at the island they took advantage of the beach at Castaways. Heather and Scotti Lynn were in a contest to see who could swing the highest.
Heather was very fair—a natural blonde—but she still insisted she could tan a little if she was careful. Scott never burned and Scotti Lynn had Scott’s darker complexion.
While her parents dozed on their beach towels Scotti Lynn was very busy making a sandcastle. She was digging for anything—shells, driftwood or stones—that she could use to decorate her castle when a crab latched on to her finger. It really hurt and she slung it off whereupon it scuttled back into the sand. She didn’t give up looking for shells and play-pretties, though, and was finally rewarded with a small token from the ocean; she had found a beautiful pearly shell, a tiny Triton's Trumpet. She would put it on the castle right now, but take it into the bungalow later. She kept scavenging to see what else she could find.
Finally Scott and Heather woke from their beach naps. They had not intended to fall asleep for so long. A trip to the nearby ruins was already planned. In the meantime, Heather was a lovely shade of lobster red. She smeared burn cream all over herself. She couldn’t bear to have anything much touching her skin so she put on a little jumper with loose straps.
“You’re going to get a worse burn if you don’t wear something on your shoulders,” Scott warned as he shook his head.
“I’ll just stay out of the sun as much as possible and I put sunblock on this time, right over the burn cream,” Heather assured him.
When they got to the ruins there was a lovely island maiden taking photos and selling them for a price. She seemed rather taken by Scott and finally Heather told her she could lay off the Kodak moment business and hit the road. The girl got the obvious message and went after other prey. It was simply that she found if she flattered the men they wanted more photos taken.
It wasn’t easy being the ten years older wife of a handsome man, even if you were one of the prettiest women in Pleasantview.
The Fergusons were enjoying their stay at Castaways so much it was a shame what happened that second night. Heather wanted some photos of her and Scott to be taken in the bungalow. She thought the living room was so indicative of the island with the pastels and she wanted to remember their stay but she wanted Scott and her together. Unfortunately Scotti Lynn was not so good with a camera, except for the one on her cell phone, but they wanted a better quality photo than that. Heather put Scotti Lynn to bed and thought of what to do. went out and Outside Castaways there were always some islanders available for conversation or to learn the native dance. Heather went out and invited one of them in but she did not realize he was so attracted to her. In fact, she did not realize at first that he spoke no English. He understood what she was asking since she handed him the camera, but he seemed to misunderstand that was all they required of him.
When he left Scott and Heather got ready to go to bed and suddenly he walked into their bedroom with a big smile on his face. Scott ordered him out and definitely had no smile on his face. He made sure to lock the door. He certainly thought he had locked it before. Soon the man was back again, smiling and trying to take Heather’s hand. Scott decked him this time and shoved him out the door. The man looked disappointed and sat down on the ground in front of the resort. When he showed up again in the morning as if all were well, the Ferguson’s signed out and headed for the Royal Palm Hotel. They would sorely miss their private beach.
While Scott checked in Heather waited with Scotti Lynn on the veranda. It was difficult explaining to her why they had left Castaways. Luckily she was distracted by the news that today they would visit the pirate ship. They ate lunch at the hotel and then headed to South Beach.
Scotti Lynn was wearing her pirate clothes and having a great time when her mother encountered the famous pirate ghost. While Scotti Lynn and her father practiced her swordsmanship and enjoyed the many aspects of the ship, the pirate captain joked with her mother and eventually taught her the sea chantey.
On the fourth day they enjoyed the many amenities offered by the hotel for their guests' down time between tours and activities. Heather wore her native togs and she and Scotti Lynn played games on the back deck where there was a DWTL game and a Mahjong table. Scott said she had never looked lovelier than in the island attire. He took advantage of the hot stone massage and the sauna. In fact this hotel was almost perfect; if only it had beach access.
When Heather and Scotti Lynn went to use the mineral springs at the hotel they were joined by a gorgeous blond lifeguard. Heather never flirted with other men, but he certainly was nice scenery.
When it was time to leave Twikkii Island, the Fergusons knew they would want to return and soon.
They were back in Pleasantview and the days and years were passing. Scotti Lynn worked hard on her studies and played even harder in her free time.
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Scotti Lynn would soon be having her birthday. Childhood had been so much fun; she wondered what was in store for her teen years.
The day of her birthday her father prepared one of her favorite meals, stuffed rainbow trout, for her birthday supper.
Then she was standing before her beautiful cake and deciding what to wish for. There couldn’t be any better parents or home as far as Scotti Lynn was concerned. She didn’t really need anything; however she was a little worried. Would she be a pretty teenager? Would she still get good grades? But, never mind all that…what was really important? Scotti Lynn knew what to wish then; on this birthday she wished that her family always be together and always stay safe. Her parents barely blinked and where their little daughter with curls had stood there was a lovely teenage girl ready to embark on her next adventure.
