Nothing special

Round 12: Days 56-60

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Brandon started this round with a bit of bad luck. He was late one too many times and was fired from his job in Counter Intelligence. His workplace was pretty far from the farm but the higher-ups did not accept that as an excuse. At least the farm was still profitable and Leontine was still employed.



Being unemployed did at least leave lots of time for Brandon's true joy - his two sons, Tate and Trent. They were growing up fast - already walking - and he was glad to be able to spend more time with them. Brandon missed having a baby in the house and he and Leontine were trying for another but had been unsuccessful so far.

It didn't take long for Brandon to start hating the housework that came along with staying at home. He thought hiring a maid might be a good idea, before Leontine reminded him that maids were not willing to travel out this far just to load the dishwasher and clean the toilets.

Brandon had been planning to put Tate and Trent in his old clothes but on the night of their birthdays, it was discovered that they were moth-eaten and not really in any sort of wearable condition. So it was off to the Frippery Frock for some brand new clothes.

Tate and Trent both came along for the ride. It was a long trip and they had school the next day but Leontine was at work and there was no way of getting a babysitter on such short notice! They enjoyed their first adventure off the farm anyway.

Despite the late night, the boys managed to drag themselves out of bed the next morning, bright and early and ready for their first day at school.

After a couple of days, both the boys were doing really well at school but it seemed to have taken its toll on Tate - he was a very stressed little boy after school every afternoon.

Trent was a bit more relaxed. Tinkering was more his thing but he seemed to have picked up a bit of an affinity for music from his mother too. The piano helped keep him calm.

With the boys at school, Brandon was able to spend more time at the market. The business was up to Level 9 now, with not far to go until Level 10. Jonah was working out well as a cashier and Brandon hoped to promote him to manager soon.

Jonah seemed to be boosting the business too, just with members of his own family! His children Arianna and Filippo stopped by, as did his brother Isaac.

Not that they didn't get plenty of other customers without Draper blood. Business was absolutely booming!

Letting Jonah try his hand at sales turned out well too. He was a natural and soon earned a bronze badge.

That was all the proof Brandon needed to promote him to manager. Jonah's kids were all grown, so he'd be able to spend a lot more time at the market than Brandon could.

Speaking of Brandon's kids, it appeared that Tate and Trent were already taking an interest in girls. They might want to choose someone a bit younger - Magdalena was due to start high school soon!

Notes:

• I love having Jonah as manager of the farmer's market. It works out really well, because he can stock the store with his own produce as well as the Kirbies' stuff. It was very tedious having him give it to Brandon as a gift and is much simpler this way. It does mean that Simona and Arianna can't help him harvest on his lot, but that's a small price to pay for the convenience.
• Brandon rolled an ROS this round - get fired! I rolled for how many days he'd remain fired and got 5. He might get a new job at the beginning of Round 13. I'm not sure what because not having gone to college has shut a lot of doors to him. I think he'd make a great teacher but you need a degree for that, at least in Sullivan. Leontine's pay and the farmer's market can support the family for now anyway.