As Heidi managed her newly improved finances after Harrison’s visit, Teri also did her own budgeting for the year.
She tended to be better off than her sister; Frasier, her husband, owned a successful candy store with good business consistently. Not to mention, her family household was smaller. But Teri almost got a heart attack when she finished tallying up last year’s expenses.
“What?!” she yelled in fright at the table. She almost choked on her previous sip of lemonade.
“What is it, mother? Are you okay?” Freya responded immediately. Her mother was dramatic, but she rarely yelled in surprise. Usually, Teri yelled to make sure statements, not to ask questions. Even Breeze could hear her mother from upstairs. She, known for staying calm and always finishing a music piece no matter what, stumbled on a note, which only added to the unpleasant cacophony.
“I can’t believe we spent so much. Look at it, Freya!” Teri explained. “Can you believe it?”
Freya took the MEMO card from her mother’s hands, not sure what to expect. Whatever she expected was certainly shattered when she looked at the figures. “Are we going to be ok, mother?” Freya was worried.
“Yes, yes, not to worry. Countryside expenses are still cheaper than the town. I’m just so surprised. I thought we spent less last year. How could this happen?”
Freya thought about her mother’s question and quickly realized that they had gone a little overblown last year. “Well, we didn’t need to get takeout from the Delicious Restaurant so often. And you shower like it’s a steam room. And you never reuse leftover parts of vegetables. And your cooking seasoning can go a little overboard. And…”. Memory after memory of Teri’s lavash lifestyle emerged.
“Okay, stop, Freya! I get your point!” Teri said, a little annoyed. “We are going to do something different this year. Now, who do I know who has excellent budgeting skills and a great life?”
Teri and Freya looked at each other for a millisecond of understanding before both yelling out: “Heidi!”
“Yes, yes, Heidi is perfect. She’s always so frugal, but she’s always so happy!” Teri agreed. “I’ll ask for her help this very afternoon.” This afternoon, Teri had already made plans to have some Tea & Treats with Heidi.
“Freya, put on your best party hat and get the babies in the Cherry Cruiser. We wouldn’t want to be late.” Teri ordered. Everyone sat in their proper places in the car. Teri at the steering wheel, Freya riding shotgun, and the babies in the backseat. After a short drive, Teri parked near her sister’s Deluxe Village House. She had been here so many times that she knew the whole place, and Heidi had stopped waiting at the porch to escort her. The door was not even locked when Teri knocked.
“Just open it!” Skip yelled from the living room window.
“It’s not locked, Aunt Teri.”
Once inside, Heidi rushed out from the Country Kitchen, greeting, “Hello, Teri. Sorry for this mess. I just have lost track of time, and now I’m covered in flour. Take a seat outside. I told Bellia to plate everything already. I’ll be ready in 3 minutes, 5 at most.”
“Freya!” Bellia exclaimed to her favorite cousin. “Breeze, Kabe!” she also greeted.
“Come on, we can all go upstairs and play,” Skip said charismatically. Freya, Breeze, and Kabe had also been to this house so many times that they knew exactly where the stairs were.
As promised, Heidi came outside looking spick, span, and flour free.
“So sorry for the delay. Now, let’s eat. I hope you like this carrot tea,” she said.
The sisters ate luxuriously with adorably decorated chocolates and colorful macaroons. Heidi’s carrot tea did the best job quenching any critter’s thirst after such moist macaroons.
“Heidi, may I ask you for help on a more delicate subject?” Teri asked sheepishly.
“Yes, of course, anything! You’re my sister, Teri!” Heidi responded warmly. She valued family above everything.
“Well, I was doing my expenses, and I realize I need to do a better job living frugally. And I need your help in living a frugal lifestyle this year,” Teri confessed.
“Of course, I’ll help you. Living frugally is the country way. We’ll get started immediately!” Heidi replied.
“But how?” her sister asked.
“Well, you just relax and do what you always do when you get home. And I’ll go with you! Let me observe your current life,” Heidi explained.
“And what about your kids? And your husband?” Teri questioned.
“Easy, peasy. They just need to heat up some dishes for dinner. And, Harlin is perfectly capable of making his own coffee, you know. He just gets lazy sometimes,” Heidi joked. The sisters both laughed out loud; Harlin Hopscotch did get a little lazy when he knew someone else could do things for him.
“Alright, if you say so. Thank you, Heidi,” Teri said. “Now, I apologize for ruining the casual mood. We’ll talk no more of this for now. Pass me another macaroon; the pink one, please.”
When the plates, cups, and platters had all been thoroughly washed, Heidi told her kids to be good and expect her back around the same time as Harlin came home from his job at the Toy Shop. Teri drove her kids and sister in the direction back to her house, the Lakeside Lodge.
“Hold on, stop!” Heidi yelled. “Turn this way and drive to the Toy Shop. I need to tell Harlin to pick me up if I’m to have a ride home tonight.”
“Will do,” Teri did as Heidi requested, parking right up in the middle of the pastel-colored storefront.
“Harlin, Harlin,” Heidi shouted.
“Huh? What’s the matter, Heidi?” Harlin said as he emerged from the doorway, toy still in his hand.
“You need to drive to Teri’s house before you drive home today. You need to drive me home, too,” Heidi explained to her confused husband.
“Huh? Why?” Harlin asked, still equally confused.
“Oh, it’s a long story, but I’m staying the day at Teri’s house. The kids will be perfectly fine,” Heidi summed up. The whole story would be discussed over dinner tonight.
“Sure, thing, Heidi. Whatever you say. Happy wife, happy life, right?” Harlin said cheerfully with a grin on his face. “I’ll see you at your sister’s house later tonight.”
“Thanks, Harlin.” Heidi swooped in to give him an affectionate kiss on the left cheek to his content.
The sisters drove off again with no pit stops left. At home, Teri was very uncomfortable being watched by her sister. She paced around, straightened her dress frequently, and constantly asked Heidi if she wanted a glass of lemonade.
“No, no, I’m good, Teri. Just relax. Go about your life as usual. Pretend I’m not here,” Heidi would respond each and every time until Teri finally decided to get a task done as a distraction.
“Alright, if you say so. I need to make a call to the handyman anyway,” she said.
“Hold on, what call? Why do you need a handyman?” Heidi fired back.
“To get my streamers fixed after all. Didn’t you see they were a little crooked outside? They won’t do, and I need to get them fixed right away. What if a dedicated fan shows up to see the house of VERY TERI? And what if he or she ends up disappointed by the look of the streamers?” Teri answered back. “I have a VERY TERI reputation to uphold, which includes straight streamers, Heidi.”
“Yes, but you don’t need a handyman to make the long drive, do the job, and give you a ridiculous bill for something my handy husband can do! Harlin is perfectly capable of straightening your streamers if you just ask. I’ll ask him to do it tonight,” Heidi offered. (From the corner of the Party Table, Freya was listening to the whole drama silently. It was not every day that her mother’s boisterous attitude was met with a mellow countrywomen’s).
“Oh, I didn’t think about that,” Teri admitted. “Very well, I suppose you just saved me a bit of expense there. Thank you to Harlin for his help.”
“You are most welcome, Teri,” Heidi modestly responded.
Then, Teri proceeded to write out her next VERY TERI post. It was to be a piece on her column’s accomplishments since the post was scheduled to be printed in Calico Times on the one-year anniversary of the first VERY TERI. As happy as it was, the post was incredibly hard to write. Teri had so much to say in such a short space. What started out as a little side gig and hobby bloomed into one of the most popular sections of the newspaper.
Teri grew frustrated at her word vomit and writer’s block. She printed a few opener sentences on the MEMO card in her pretty cursive handwriting only to read it over and grumble in frustration.
“Ugh, no, no, no. This is not what I’m looking for!” she yelled. “Restart!” With each demand to restart, Teri crumpled her MEMO card and cast it to the side only to start writing on a fresh sheet again. At first, Heidi turned a blind eye, choosing not to say anything. But after about the sixth time, she could not stand it anymore.
“Teri, what are you doing? That’s a perfectly good piece of paper if not for a few writing errors. Do you always write VERY TERI posts like this?”
“Yes, of course, Heidi. It’s how I get my creative juices flowing,” Teri said as if her writing process was orthodox.
“But it’s wasteful. Why not jot down a flow of sentences on the same MEMO card first? You can write down some starter ideas on the same piece to save MEMO cards,” Heidi proposed to Teri’s agreement.
When Teri finally finished her piece, she celebrated and thanked Heidi. “Thank you for your suggestions, Heidi. I’m getting ever more frugal by the minute!” Her stomach grumbled in hunger, though. “I’m hungry now. The town’s restaurant is only a short drive. You can wait here, Heidi. I’ll get us some dinner takeout,” Teri added.
Heidi was perplexed. She had not had takeout dinner in so many years by her own decision. Heidi believed the key to a meaningful dinner was affordable, home cooked meals in the comfort of loved family members. Teri, on the other hand, believed the food did not matter so long as family members were eating together. Besides, she did not enjoy cooking that much anyway.
“But you know takeout is more expensive. Why not stay home and cook a meal for the kids?” Heidi challenged.
“But, Heidi, it’s so much easier to get a meal. Besides, sometimes cooking so close to the stove gets my dress all damp! That is not VERY TERI! It’s not VERY TERI, I tell you!”
“That’s an easy fix, Teri. I’ll show you how to prepare a hearty meal with the ingredients you have on hand, today,” Heidi assured her loud sister. She sifted through the kitchen contents, including some bread, tomatoes, bell peppers, salt, and pepper.
Heidi knew that those ingredients were more than enough for a perfect meal. “Now, Teri, listen to me, one of the easiest dishes to ever make is sauteed vegetables with bread thrown in. It does not require prior prep, and you just dump everything into the pan at the right time,” Heidi explained. “Now, watch me carefully.”
“I can dump everything into a pan! Now that level of convenience is certainly VERY TERI, Heidi!” Teri commented.
Heidi warmed up the pan as she chopped up the vegetables.
The rhythmic chopping was oddly satisfying to hear. She dumped everything into the heated pan and made way for Teri, who was getting the seasoning ready.
“This needs some salt,” Teri declared before preparing to sprinkle a large amount.
“Teri!” Heidi screamed.
“What?” Teri asked, perplexed.
“That much salt? It’s costly, and you’ll ruin the natural flavor of the vegetables. A little goes a long way.”
“Oh, alright,” Teri said disappointedly while adjusting her salt amount.
Heidi proceeded to chop up some bread and toss that into the pan as well.
She stirred the contents around with a spatula until the entire Lakeside Lodge smelled wonderful. The plating was as simple as the cooking process, but the taste matched any sophisticated dish.
The family ate as they waited for Harlin to stop by and fix the streamers.
“Heidi, you’ve made this day so pleasant!” Teri praised.
“And frugal,” Heidi noted. “Teri, I hope you learned something today: frugality is more than achievable. It’s about the people, not the things.”