It’s still warm when Ken arrives home. (Actually about 10°C warmer than it should be in September…)
Kaarna helps him lift the luggage on the porch and Ken says:
- It’s pretty heavy with all the stones you asked me to bring.
- Yay, let’s see them!
Kaarna is super happy with the stones Ken has dragged all across Europe. Ken shows his favorite one:
- It’s exactly the size and shape of my foot!
- Thank you for these, they really are smoother and thinner than anything I could find here! You’re the best friend! Quite the opposite of me…
Kaarna has to confess her sins to Ken:
- I wrecked Herbert…
- No you didn’t!!! You’re joking, right?
- I’m not. I really did crash it.
- No no no no… I spesifically told you not to do that!!!
Ken has a hard time keeping himself together when he sees Herbert. The damage is not as bad as he was afraid of, but bad enough.
- I haven’t got the insurance anymore. I had to cancel it to afford the travelling insurance.
- I’m so sorry Ken. I hate myself.
The weather still continues hot and sunny, like it should in July, not in September!
- I’ve never oiled a porch in September before, Ken wonders.
- Have you raked the yellow leaves in bikini before? Kaarna asks.
- No. This has been the longest summer ever, and I can’t believe I’m not only dreaming. Four months of summer already! The Planet Earth is a mess.
- Shut up and enjoy it! Maybe this all means that the end of the World is near! @queen.felicia.upton might be messing with us.
Kaarna has made plans for the art club and explains to Ken:
- I also want to offer something for those who assume they are not artistic at all. Could you join me and encourage people to color some coloring sheets?
- Sure! That would be nice!
- Good. Coloring should be a relaxing activity.
- So once again we have to drag the sofa along! Ken laughs.
- I’ll need tables and chairs too… maybe even some easels…
Kaarna shows Ken what she has in mind for the stones Ken brought from Spain.
- Dot painting is easy, because the equipment are simple and water is not needed. You just point the stick into paint and then point point point the surface of the rock.
Ken paints his special footprint stone and says:
- Fun! But not as easy as it may look. I hope people will try this with us at the fair!
Kaarna needs to visit Mocambo, because she wants to talk to Taylor. Entering the bar is just as unpleasant as always.
There’s Filia throwing her pension into the jaws of a slot machine.
And that woman with such an amazing voice… she deserves so much better than this so-called audience.
Kaarna asks if Taylor would come to the fair as an art model so people could draw nude studies. Taylor only has one question:
- How much is the salary?
- Sorry, I can’t pay you. It’s a non-profit thing. But the fair is located in the capital area! Some important art people might discover you!
- No thanks. I’m a respectable business woman. I don’t do things for free.
Taylor suggests:
- Why don’t you ask Mari? She likes to show herself off. Oh, damn… I need to clean up that vomit.
Muija seems to be very proud of her own piece of art on the floor:
- Look Taylor! I can see the face of Jesus on it!
- And I can see that you have once again brought your own bottle! I’m throwing you out right now.
When the temperature keeps on staying above 20°C and it’s Mid-September, the Finnish people get confused about what to wear.
Some of them are over dressed and others under dressed.
Ken introduces Mari and Veli to each other, since they’ve never met before.
Suddenly Veli gets all dizzy and weak:
- Is it really hot today? he mumbles and looks like he’s about to faint.
Ken rushes to help him.
- Let’s take that coat off, you have quite a lot of clothes on…
But Veli gets stucked in his sleeves and gets even sweatier when trying to crawl out of the jacket. Kaarna giggles. She knows how Mari can sweep you off your feet with just one look.
Ken runs inside to get some Vichy water for his brother. Veli sits on the swing and Kaarna has to witness how Mari starts to flirt with the poor man, who struggles to talk to the blond:
- Mari… magnificent Mari… tell me about yourself…
Mari strokes Veli’s hand and whispers sweetly:
- This heat really is unbearable. Are you feeling any better now? There now, you’ll be all right, I’m right here with you.
- Maybe you shouldn’t touch him, Kaarna tries to say, but nobody listens to her.
When Ken comes back, he sees what’s going on and gulps:
- Oh, I forgot to mention that Mari is Taylor’s sister. Do you hear me? Taylor’s!
Kaarna grabs Mari and drags her inside and Ken tries to reason with Veli:
- Oh boy, Veli… She’s Taylor’s sister, you’d better not look at her like that anymore! You know it’s the best to stay away from that family. Plus she’s dating Kaarna!
- She was so sweet to me! Stunningly beautiful too! She must be about my age, right? Do you think she liked me?
Mari has agreed to pose as an art model at the Ihmeellinen Pieni Maailma event. Kaarna wants to discuss about the poses, but she’s slightly pissed:
- You really shouldn’t flirt like that! You made a mess out of the poor guy.
But Mari still can’t see the harm in a little flirt:
- I didn’t know Ken’s brother is so cute! Such an adorable face! I enjoyed teasing him.
Kaarna hasn’t drawn a live model in ages and her skills are rusty. She laughs:
- I’ll put all these crappy drawings on the walls at the fair and sign them with false names.
- Are you done already? Can we have sex now? askes the model.
- Are you in the mood? Kaarna asks surprised.
- Well yeah! Sitting here all naked and sexy in front your eyes!
- Sorry, I only see lines and shadows when I draw. Not the person. You might have to warm me up a little! Kaarna says.
In the next morning Ken says:
- My throat doesn’t feel too good. I hope I’m not getting a flue. I might have walked too long barefoot. Have you seen my other sock?
- Right there on the floor. But yeah, never trust September, no matter how warm it seems! Look… Here are the coloring sheets. Do you approve them?
- Perfect! Funny elderly people!
- Perfect for you and your old friends.
Kaarna needs easels for the fair and Ken has an idea. The parts of an old garden swing are the same shape as easels.
All it takes is some sawing, screwing and hammering!
The summer has turned into a really chilly autumn in one night. It feels dreadful. Although this year the summer lasted 4 months (instead of the usual 2 months), Ken can’t stand the sudden coldness. He decides to drive to Lotta’s cafeteria and buy some of her home made honey.
The cafeteria has moved and the new space is a lot smaller than the previous one.
Lotta whispers:
- I had to move to a cheaper place. Without the Russian tourists, I’m in trouble. So many businesses in Melukylä has gone bankrupt already and I’m worried about my future.
Ken feels bad for only buying one jar of honey, but then he hears someone hollering his name. It’s Olga and Selma and they ask Ken to sit with them. Ken says to Lotta:
- I’ll also have a donut and tea, please.
Olga and Selma are celebrating their anniversary. It´s been exactly 10 years since Selma smuggled Olga to Finland from Russia. Olga eventually got an asylum here because of her LGBT activism in her home country.
She sighs to Ken:
- Although I hate many things happening in Russia, I can´t respect Finland either for closing the border from the tourists- Innocent people suffer and the Russophobia has risen here.
Ken agrees. The World has become a giant mad house and it´s really hard to keep up any hope for the better.
Everything is ready for the miniature fair. Kaarna has planned every detail carefully and there’s nothing she could’ve done better. Still she doesn’t want to go.
- What the hell am I doing? This trip will be a disaster. The weather will be horrible and we’ll freeze in Herbert. Nobody wants to paint rocks with me, because I’m not a likeable person. This is just a waste of money and time. I will never ever let Ken trick me to do things like this again.
Ken, however, is thrilled about starting the journey to Espoo and meeting all his friends and hopefully finding something nice for his own doll house. He knows Kaarna will also enjoy the weekend eventually.