A horrible visit

Dear Readers,

today's story is special. It's a story which I and Aranera wrote together. You may know that Belinda Bluetail from Evergreen Village and Lettuce Snow-Warren are cousins. They're often writing each other about their adventures.
This time both Belinda and Lettuce were visited by a mad relative...

Please read Belindas adventure here. The two stories belong together :)

Enjoy ^.^
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Meanwhile at Highfield farm:

Lettuce Snow-Warren stood in the kitchen, preparing the lunch for the day. 

Her husband Clarence was on a farmers course in Pumpkinvilles for a few days, where they were talking about new plants. 

Suddenly the door bell rung. Lettuce cleaned her hands and walked to the door.

Pete Petite stood before her and smiled, "Good morning Mrs. Snow-Warren. I have a letter for you!"

"Oh good morning.", smiling she took the letter - it was from her cousin Belinda Bluetail. 

Belinda lived together with her husband in Evergreen Village, where she owned a boutique. Lettuce and Belinda often wrote each other letters, so they could stay in contact.

The rabbit woman took a seat near the chimney and started to read:

"Dear Lettuce,

Oh, how good! I am so glad Lucky settled in at school. 

Today has been exhausting! Aunt Monica came to stay. I advise you to buy some loose leaf green tea whenever you can, it's the only thing she drinks (or so she says... I got away with peppermint tea!) and she says she is visiting you next! All I can say is good luck - she is in a bad mood because we didn't have a spare bedroom...

Do you remember when we were small, and in the summer holidays our family would come together: Aunt Monica and Uncle Francis and my mother, Charlotte, and all the children? Aunt Monica used to terrify me then! She is not as scary now, just annoying - she kept commenting on how rich she was, and all the beautiful clothes she wore... Ah well! Never mind! Peter and I are off to have some champagne on the roof terrace, so I'll end my letter here. Good luck with Auntie Monica!

Love from,

Belinda xx 

P.S. Peter sends his love." 

At this moment again the door bell rung. 

Lettuce winced. "Oh no!", she whispered, "Please don't let it be aunt Monica!"
While she was praying internal, she opened the door.

"Lettuce!", the shrill voice of her aunt sounded through the house floor, "Darling! You look like such a country bumpkin!" 

"Aunt Monica!", Lettuce hugged her, rolling her eyes, "You are as friendly as ever!"
"Thank you!", Monica rushed into the house and immediately started to inspire it.

Lettuce followed her with a bad feeling.

Her aunt was always exhausting and she had no tactfulness at all. Monica came from the "richt part of the family", she had married an even richer man and lived in a huge villa. She and her husband Herbert hadn't any children - they always exclaimed, that children are too dirty for a pretty household.

"How comes, that you visit us?", asked Lettuce.
"I'm on my way to Pumpkinvilles - there has opened a new shoe boutique. Of course very exquisit.", Monica fetched herself a little mirror and some lipstick, "There is no pair under 600 Sylva."

Lettuce gasped, "600?"

"Yes, yes... Of course I won't buy those cheap ones, I'm looking for some special sandals - I think they will be about 1000 Sylva."
"They will be for sure very nice.", murmured Lettuce, while she looked at the elegant dress of her aunt.

Monica took a seat, "Very soft your armchair... Too soft for my taste, but well, it's your house."
"May I offer you something to drink?", grumbled Lettuce, trying to change the theme.

"Thank you, darling. Yes, of course! Do you have some loose leaf green tea? Can you imagine that Belinda hadn't this tea? I was so shocked."
Lettuce sighed, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm also having no loose leaf green tea."

"Unbelievable!", Monica lifted her brows, "Can't you buy it here?"
"No, we can't."
"Ts... Marigold Creek is as behind as Evergreen Village."
"Well, we are living in a little village, what do you expect? So...", Lettuce walked back into her kitchen, "May I offer you some fennel tea then?"

"Fennel... Am I ill?"
"What about apple tea?"
"That must do.", Monica again checked her look in the mirror, "Where is your husband? And aren't his parents also living here?"

"Clarence is on a farmers course and Edith and Bernard are on a walk over the fields, they're checking our fruit trees." 
"Can't you afford some workers?"
Lettuce tried to calm herself down, "No... We can afford it, we just enjoy working outside!"
Monica laughed loudly, "Dear, really?"

She took the cup, which her niece had brought her, "I will go for a walk after I finished the tea. I want to visit Mr. Tuxedo."
"What do you want from him?", askance Lettuce pinched her eyes.
"I heard he is the new Secretary for Children and Young People?"
"He is..."

Monica sipped at her tea, "I wanted to show him some of my ideas... Children should be learning more to behave than this unnecessary stuff."

"Mason for sure will love your ideas!", Lettuce said sarcastically.

"Of course he will!", Monica finished her tea, jumped from the arm chair and left the house. 

Lettuce looked after her exasperated. Monica really was a horrible rabbit! Thanks god, Clarence wasn't here. He would have already thrown her out of the house.

While Monica was terrorizing poor Mr. Tuxedo, Edith, Bernard and the children returned home and had lunch. 

Nobody was happy about aunt Monicas arrival. Bernard retired fastly into his room to write on his story, while his wife looked after Alice. 

Lucky and Sophie finished their homework at the kitchen table, but then walked over to the Löffel's home to play with their cousins.
Again Lettuce was alone and not very long after Monica returned. 

"Can you imagine that I had to eat a burger in the restaurant?", she shooked her head, "Unbelievable!"
"You also could have eaten here, Auntie..."
"I have survived this fast food, but I must go to bed now.", she waved aside, "I'm exhausted - I need my beauty sleep. Where is your bedroom?"

"My... My bedroom?", Lettuce gasped, "You can sleep here in the living room."

"No, never, darling! Never!", Monica shook her head and lifted her finger, "I'm your aunt, I sleep in your bed! You will survive this night." 

With those words she took her suitcase and walked into Lettuce and Clarence bedroom.

"That's unbelievable..."; Lettuce felt helpless. Of course her aunt was older than her, but she wasn't an old lady! 

"She's so impudent!", Sophie said and hugged her mum, "I don't like her!"

Lettuce sighed loudly, "Me too, little furball, me too." Then she smiled at Lucky and Sophie, "Was it nice with Anton and Luna?"
"Oh yes, it was great! We played hide and seek!", Lucky laughed, "And nobody found me!"

"Because you were hiding in the kitchen cabinet!", Sophie giggled.
Their mother laughed, "What a nice hide-out! Belinda and me also loved hiding, when we were young."

Together they sat down and talked a while, before it was time to go to bed.

Lettuce pushed the two armchairs together and tried to find a comfortable position, which wasn't easy. 

Hopefully Monica wouldn't stay another night!

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Lettuce woke up, because she had falle between the two chairs.

"Damn!", cursing she stood up and reassembled her "bed".

For a few hours Lettuce found some sleep, but at 6 o'clock Monica wake her up.

"You are still sleeping, darling?"
"W... What?", Lettuce opened her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm going. Just wanted to say goodbye my dear!"
Lettuce was suddenly wide awake, "NOW?"

Monica pulled her pink coat tighter around herself, "I'm a morning person! And I have to buy those shoes, you remember?"
"But... What about some breakfast?"
"Darling, I will eat in Pumpkinvilles! There is this exclusive cafe..."
"Oh...", Lettuce got up and yawned, "Even better."
"What was that?"

"I just meant that you will get there a better breakfast than here!", the rabbit woman said fastly.
Monica nodded, "Of course."
"So then... I hope you'll have a good trip to Pumpkinvilles!"
"Thank you.", Monica hugged her shortly, took her suitcase and left the house.

As soon as the door was closed, Lettuce yelled: "Thanks god, she's gone!"

Assuaged she took some paper and immediatly started to write a letter to her cousin Belinda. What a horrible visit!
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I hope you liked our two stories:)

Write you soon,

yours Kyra