This protector

Round 24: Winter 2019

last update/Nick's last update/Caleb and Cara's next update/Nick's next update

Caleb Moretti is 37, Cara is 30, Nick is 16 and Anthony and Veronica are both 2.
(Josie is 17, Troy is 16 and David is 37)

Narrated by Cara Moretti

I still haven't found a job in medicine but we need money, so I'm working in science instead. It's not all bad. Caleb's days off coincide with mine, so we can spend those days together and with the kids.


I love Anthony and Veronica, and being a mother but it is tough! I relish their nap time, so I can finally do something for myself.

Sitting down to an uninterrupted meal is a rarity these days. The twins are both walking now and one of them usually comes toddling in, needing us for something or other. I can't believe Maria had two sets of twins!

Anthony is pretty good at bedtime. He'll reach out for me but when I step away from the cot, he'll lie down and go to sleep.

Veronica is much fussier. Bedtime is the greatest injustice in the history of the world in her eyes. She's even snuck out of her crib a couple of times. I don't know how she does it, as I've never caught her in the act.

When Nick is here, he's a massive help with his little brother and sister.

Even with the more unpleasant tasks. We don't even have to ask him.

He has Saturdays off work and he hangs around the house. Caleb tells him he should go out but he invites his friends around instead.

Usually Troy. I wish he'd invite over a friend less likely to break my cups.

I don't think there's anything happening for Nick on the dating scene. I saw him outside with his ex-girlfriend Josie the other afternoon.

I felt guilty for watching them but Nick looked angry and I wanted to check he was okay.

Whatever they were talking about, it seemed like it was all smoothed over. Maybe she apologised? Nick's very private about that sort of thing.

Nick's mind seems to be on other things anyway. He came to us the other night and asked if he could have a car. He wants to get an old junker and fix it up himself. Honestly, the amount of money we have, we couldn't even afford a wreck. Every spare cent is going towards our mortgage.

Caleb really wanted to help Nick out though, being that he's such a good kid, so he did a little bit of bartending to make some extra cash.

I was not thrilled with the bartending job, honestly. People are so unpredictable when they're drunk and I didn't want Caleb to be on the receiving end of it if he had to deny some guy another drink or something.

So for me, he stopped working at the bar and started entering cooking competitions again.

He's always so nervous when he enters - not that he should be, when his competition is ham sandwiches.

Besides, he almost always wins! I keep telling Caleb he should try getting into the restaurant business. He's such a great cook but he says I only say that because I'm his wife and I have to. It's not true though. He's up against actual chefs in these competitions sometimes and he's bested them so many times.

But the cooking competitions served their purpose and we were able to get an old car for Nick to work on. A really old car.

It was amazing how quickly he got it running. The colour is fairly...blinding! He wants to sell the car before he goes off to college. Tuition won't be a problem, seeing Nick's earned a free ride, so he can use the money for whatever he wants. I know Caleb is hoping he'll save it for after he graduates.

Work is wearing on me a little bit and I really notice it when I have my days off. Field research is just not what I want to be doing. I want to be in a hospital, working with patients.

Caleb's brother, David, is a well-respected surgeon at the hospital and he's keeping an eye out for any job listings for me. I'm really hoping something opens up soon. Maybe David could put in a good word for me if I manage to get an interview!

Notes:

• Title is from This Protector by The White Stripes.
• Nick rolled up the want to talk to Josie and when I teleported her in, she wanted to talk to him too, so I figured they wanted to smooth things over before she went to college (in roughly 4 months, Sullivan time). They were still friends but borderline. And Nick is still in love with Josie. Sadly for him, it is unrequited as she's not in love with him any more. I have other plans for Nick but it won't happen until at least next year, when I play him at Abigail's house and it might not even happen until college. I'm not sure yet!
• Nick is way too nice. The only reason he has that angry face on is because Josie started a game of Punch You, Punch Me and being Josie, she whacked him pretty hard!
• If a Medicine job hasn't come up for Cara by 2023, I'll cheat her into it. Kendal went straight into Education because she had a perfect 4.0 GPA, so I figured she'd be a targeted graduate (which may be just an Australian teaching term but it means the government offers you a job, rather than you having to search for one).