Day to day life in Hidden Springs continued, but there was not much for Aud to do but work on her garden. She scoured the farmer’s market and grocery store, trying to see what the people in town were buying and where she could break into the market. There was a high demand in town for rare and hard-to-grow varieties of grapes. The consignment store did a brisk business in bottles of nectar, and the grocery store charged a small fortune for truffles. Sadly, all of these were far too complex for Aud to grow. She needed to learn more about gardening, if this was how she was going to make her name in Hidden Springs, she needed to invest in it. She saw a greenhouse before an actual home in her future.

Instead of getting a traditional job, Aud went back into town early the next morning and visited City Hall. She registered as a self-employed gardener with a young woman who had her fill out page after page of paperwork and then finally declared her a part of the “Green Guild” in Hidden Springs. They would keep track of the crops she grew, and her annual yields and how much she had sold them for. Aud was pleased to find out that they also offered bonuses at several milestones in her gardening career. Before Aud turned to leave, the girl who had processed her paperwork looked around to make sure no one else was in earshot and gestured for Aud to lean in close.

“How long have you been a gardener?” she asked.

“Not long.” Aud admitted. “I’ve been having some good luck with my apples and tomatoes.” she said, not without a touch of pride.

The girl smiled. “If you’ve got the hang of that, you should try some grapes.”

“I’ve been growing grapes. The standard variety and two of the more common types.” Aud said as the girl shook her head.

“You need to find yourself some Avornalino grapes.” She took a sheet from a pad of City Hall stationary and wrote it down. “They’re a dark green grape. They’re not used for many nectar recipes, but they sell for a good price. You should look into them.”

She folded the sheet and passed it over to Aud and winked.

Outside City Hall, Aud’s phone rang, it was Cory from the consignment shop. He had something that she needed to pick up, preferably before they closed at 7:00pm. Aud promised to be right over, but she needed to make another stop first. She would go see what he had for her after she made another visit to the Farmer’s Market to see if she could find any of those dark green and oh-so-profitable grapes.

It was dark when Aud finally made her way to the consignment shop. She had picked up the grapes, as well as some more exotic fruit-bearing trees that one of the members of the Green Guild who was tending a stall at the market promised that she would be able to handle. She planned to expand her orchard from just apples to bananas, plums, pomegranates and limes. She breezed through the doors and was surprised to see that Cory had changed from his uniform to his casual clothes.

“You like to push the envelope don’t you? We’re technically closed, and you’re lucky you caught me before I locked the door.” He opened the register and pulled out a thick envelope and passed it to her.

“It was a good week, all of your produce sold. City Hall let me know you’re registered with them now, so the cut we take from your sales is reduced. Congratulations.”

Aud opened the envelope and it was full of simoleons. It was enough to start putting some walls up on her lot, maybe even a foundation. She was no longer a starving gardener, just a dirt-poor gardener. She was so happy that she kissed Cory right on the mouth! Again, he didn’t seem too startled by her odd manners. Instead he asked her if they could meet sometime, maybe even outside of the consignment shop.

It took some time before Aud and Cory went on their date. Aud was so busy gardening that summer and fall got away from her. She continued to see him at the consignment shop as she sold her harvest of lettuce and tomatoes before the first frost. When the leaves started falling she brought him apples and carrots. Throughout the winter, true to her prediction, she built a greenhouse before she had a true “home” for herself. Finally, when the snow melted and the Spring Festival came to town, Aud and Cory went on their date.

Before they left and the festival closed up for the night, they decided to take a chance and see what the Love tester had to tell them. It didn’t take a machine to tell them that they had chemistry. They had the kind of chemistry that lands you in a hot tub, or a shower, or a bed, making with the woo-hoo.