A daisy through concrete

Round 26: Winter 2024

last update/Maia's last update/next update/Maia's next update

Jace Novak is 67, Magdalena is 60, Maia is 22 and Tessa is 15.

Narrated by Magdalena Novak

When Maia first came back home, she was quite down on herself. Her tuition fees were a lot of money for us and she felt guilty that we wasted all that money. Jace and I were disappointed that she was expelled but we really just want our daughters to be happy and fulfilled. I don't think Maia is feeling that way right now, which is the main reason I worry about her.

She ended up jumping into a job she's not suited for, because it was offered to her and she couldn't find anything else. She's desperate to find something else but isn't having much luck so far.

On the other hand, Tessa got an after school job this year and she's really enjoying it so far. She mainly brings the staff coffee, does mail runs and a bit of photocopying but she's happy.

It was my nephew James who got her the job and he's taken Tessa under his wing. Tessa keeps saying this is what she wants to do when she finishes school but she should probably get a real idea of what it will be like before she decides for sure.

I'm glad Tessa can drive now, because it means we don't have to worry so much about her getting home by public transport in the dark. Of course, now I just worry about her driving!

She and Maia are currently sharing the car, which has led to a fair amount of disagreements over who needs it more.

Jace and I both thought the girls were a little old for us to step in as mediators in their disagreements and eventually, they worked it out. Maia usually drives Tessa to where she needs to be and then drives on to wherever she's going.

Maia's best friend Aaron and his boyfriend Calvin don't graduate until the end of this year but they still hang out with Maia quite a bit. They meet each other halfway; Exeter is about equal distance away from the university and our home.

I'm glad Aaron is such a good friend to Maia and I know she only just broke up with Nick a few months ago but I admit that what I'd really like for Maia is for her to meet a nice guy and settle down. She's not showing much interest in dating again yet.

When she's not at work or hanging out with Aaron, she's generally slumped on the couch feeling sorry for herself. So at the very least, I'm thankful that Aaron manages to drag her out of the house.

Which was the main reason Jace decided to start taking her to the shop with him on the weekends sometimes. Lia really tried with the shop when she was younger but she found all the customers overwhelming and holed herself upstairs making the flower arrangements instead. Maia seems to cope with customers pretty well though and she's not bad with the flowers either.

Jace would love it if Maia took over the store one day. He still loves it but he's not sure how long he'll be able to keep it up. He's starting to think about retirement. Tessa might do well with the shop too but it's going to be a lot longer until she's ready and she's got a little more direction than Maia does.

Of course, it's up to Maia. But I told her it's something she should keep in mind for the future.

Tessa turned 15 this year, which was the age Jace said she could start dating. I think he regretted telling her that when she came to him less than a week later with ideas of dating this boy named Nathan.

Jace was very reluctant but he decided he'd stick to his word, as long as he could meet Nathan beforehand.

I think Tessa probably would have agreed to anything to be allowed to date, so she was very excited.

So we met him. Honestly, I'm not fond of him. He just doesn't seem very polite, or even friendly. I wonder what Tessa sees in him. She's so outgoing and bubbly but I guess she's still at the age where Nathan being "cute" might be enough.

Neither Jace or I were sure if we trusted this boy, so Jace laid down some rules before he'd be allowed to take Tessa out. Tessa must be home by 11 and not a minute later and they need to tell us exactly where they will be going.

Nathan does seem to really like Tessa though, so it may be that he's not all that bad.

I hope if it turns out that he's not right for Tessa, that she manages to see that without going through too much heartache.

So far, so good though. After their first date, they were on our doorstep at 11pm on the dot.

I know, because Jace was hovering around the foyer from 10:30 onwards, making sure!

Maia found a new job. I wish I could be happy about it, because she says she likes it better. I just don't know what's "better" about working the 12-8am shift at a convenience store.

Maybe what's "better" is her co-worker who she seems so fond of. His name is Conrad and he's come to visit a few times.

I'm pretty sure they're just friends but I can hope, can't I? He seems like a nice guy.

Maia doesn't even roll her eyes at me any more when I start asking her about dating. She's so used to it.

Jace and I had a little family party recently. It served two purposes; one was to celebrate our anniversary but the other was to introduce our two granddaughters Georgina and Annabel to the family.

Jace and I were both thrilled when Gordon and Lia had twins but I think Jace was beside himself. All he's ever wanted was grandchildren. To be blessed with two at the same time was like all of his Christmases had come at once.

I don't think any of my girls could make anything but beautiful babies but Georgina and Annabel are really gorgeous little things.

Maybe it was becoming a grandfather or maybe it was when Gordon and Lia got married but Jace has softened his stance on Gordon somewhat over the past year or so. They actually have friendly conversations now, without Jace trying to stare him down or otherwise intimidate him.

I think we're all relieved, but none of us more than Lia. I don't think she minded Jace's over-protectiveness so much when she and Gordon first got back together but once they got serious about each other, it started to really bother her.

Gordon was just as keen to start a family and Lia tells me he's been a wonderful dad so far. From watching him with his daughters, I'd have to agree.

Lia is very tired, naturally, because the girls are still only three months old but she's enjoying parenthood. She's wanted a family for so long.

As much as we love being grandparents though, being around babies again has made us really glad we didn't have a fourth child! When you're in the midst of baby fever, you kind of forget the disgusting parts!

I'm going to go ahead and call our anniversary party a success. Georgina and Annabel kind of stole the show but seeing Jace and I were probably the worst offenders in that respect, I don't think we can really complain!

Notes:

• Title is from A Daisy Through Concrete by Eels.
• I'm kind of surprised Maia hasn't rolled the want to go on a date yet, seeing her secondary is Pleasure. But I guess it fits that she wouldn't be quite ready yet either. She and Nick were together for 3 years, which is a pretty long time, especially in close quarters like they were for their whole relationship.
• I think Maia will probably be the one to take over the shop eventually. She's close to a silver badge in Flower Arranging already and she's a Nature Sim, so it seems to fit. Flower Arranging is an arts and crafts activity, officially but damn it...it should be both! When she can scrape enough money together to get her own place, I'll have Jace sign it over to her.
• Maia and Conrad - one bolt of chemistry but no romantic wants at all. She rolls up lots of platonic wants for him though.
• I forgot to say so in the birthday post but Gordon and Lia are some of the best Sim parents I've had. I'm talking autonomous nappy changes, people! And they're always going in to the nurseries and playing or cuddling the babies. Really cute. And that was just in the roughly 8 Sim hours I played them.
• The anniversary party means that Magdalena has now completed her LTW. She rolled up a new one of Graduate 3 Kids from College. I never bother with the second ones (seeing I often don't even bother with the first!) but I thought it was kind of funny that she'd roll that, after Maia's flunking out.