Under the hedge

Round 29: November 2030 (Spring)

last update/next update

Augustin and Hanna Novak are both 75, Naomi is 55 and Owen is 53.
(Eliot is 44, Amar is 29, Adrienne is 23, Malcolm is 20, Hope is 19, Charlotte is 1)

Narrated by Naomi Novak

Mum finally retired recently and we were all glad she was finally going to take it easy.

None of us more than Dad. He retired as soon as he could and has been after Mum to do the same for years now.

I think she sometimes finds herself at a loss for what to do. She didn't really want to retire but she just couldn't work full time any more.

She and Dad have started a veggie patch, just to keep active.

They're both getting really into it now and are talking about some kind of garden club. I don't really know what it is but they want to join.

She's also come in to help me out at the boutique a few times.

Mum is a little slow on the register...

...which I don't think my customers appreciate. She's getting there though and she likes feeling useful. It's not just a token thing either. It gives me the opportunity to focus on sales, instead of being stuck behind the register.

Dad doesn't mind hanging around the house and he's having the time of his life right now watching Charlotte while Cordy and Eliot are at work.

Dad says Charlotte reminds him of me when I was little. Until now, Adrienne has been my parents' only granddaughter, so Dad is having fun with a little girl around again.

He's always sorry when Eliot picks up Charlotte to take her home again. But Mum and Dad are very involved with all of their grandkids and see them all the time.

It was their pestering that finally got Malcolm to come home one weekend and bring Hope with him for a change.

Malcolm and Hope have been together since high school but would you believe we've met her maybe twice in that time?

We certainly feel like we've got to know her well enough now. Hope is a lot of things, but she's not shy.

I think Hope led the conversation for most of the visit.

Although there was still plenty of time for Malcolm to ask us for money. The other seniors are moving off campus next year and Malcolm wants us to supply the funds for him to do the same.

Owen and I were in complete agreement with our response. It's not happening.

We're already paying for medical school. This is a fantastic opportunity for Malcolm to learn some money management skills. One day, he'll appreciate it.

He accepted it but I'm sure we'll hear a bit more whining about it before he gives up completely. We're trying to raise independent adults here, so while we could afford to pay Malcolm's way if we wanted to, that's not something we're going to do.

But we can't deny that with our recent promotions, we really wouldn't miss the money. On a whim, Owen decided to apply for a position within his firm doing family law.

Neither of us were too optimistic about it. He has everything counting against him - his age, the fact that he hasn't been practising too long, et cetera - but amazingly, he actually got it! Shorter hours and better pay! We're very happy!

And I'm not doing too badly myself. My last collection was showcased in fashion magazines around the world. I'm not the biggest designer in the world (yet!) but I'm definitely top of the pile around here.

Not bad for someone who was already no spring chicken when she started out!

It definitely required some celebration!

We went to a little restaurant not far from my boutique. I've been desperate to try it out since it opened.

We should really go out to eat more often. Now that the kids are all grown up, we're not short on time.

I guess everyone else wanted to check out Le Magnifique as well, because there was no parking on the block, so we had quite a walk back to the car.

But had we not had that walk, we wouldn't have spotted Adrienne, making out with some mystery man.

It was dark but I can recognise my own daughter. I knew it was Adrienne.

Owen wanted to go right up to them. I was dying of curiosity but I knew Adrienne would be mortified if we came up and introduced ourselves. I've never wanted to be that kind of mother. So we got in the car and headed home.

But of course, the next time Adrienne came over, the "mystery man" was the first thing Owen asked about. He can be very protective of her sometimes, so he wanted to know who this man pawing at his daughter was.

She was a little embarrassed but she should be thankful I didn't let Owen go right up to her that night.

We got a name out of her at least: Amar. Adrienne is insisting that I would have met him at work at some point, because he's a photographer and she met him at work herself.

I think she's just trying to avoid the whole "meet the parents" thing. But even if I have met him, Owen hasn't and if she's seeing this guy, he's definitely going to want to meet him eventually. She might as well just get it over with.

Charlotte spam:

...because she's so adorable and all!






Notes:

• Title is from Under the Hedge by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
• How cute is Charlotte? I couldn't resist spamming you all, even though the next update (and final update of Round 29) will be her family. So you'll get even more Charlotte soon!
• I really wasn't expecting Owen to ever get promoted again! I didn't even realise he had the skills to be promoted but I was wrong. He needs 2 or 3 skill points to get another promotion but none are charisma (ie., the only skill they won't work on autonomously) so it's possibly he might earn another one.
• I've seen Adrienne and Amar together on community lots a few times this round. I was alerted to their presence this time by that "falling in love" music cue!
• Unintended use of the parts posing box - preserving a Sim's modesty! I didn't notice until after I'd been playing for a while that Naomi's outfit is rather revealing from most angles when she's sitting normally. It was handy to be able to have her cross her legs!