Bridges, squares

Round 33: April 2037 (Autumn)

last update/Jack's next update/Nathan's next update

Nathan Collins is 27 and Jack Benton is 25.
(Rob is 36, Aaron and Calvin are both 34, Rebecca is 28, Dominic, Susannah and Sam are all 27, Leslie and Zane are 26 and Audrey is 25)

Narrated by Nathan Collins

I ran into my cousin Susannah and we got to talking about her and her ex-boyfriend, Sam. I always thought Susannah was pretty smart, so I was quite surprised when she mentioned that there was no legally binding agreement for custody of the son she shares with Sam.

Their break-up was relatively amicable, so they just decided to talk things out and decide on the arrangements like that.

I think that’s such a bad move. It’s amicable between her and Sam right now, but things can change quickly. Not being able to afford a lawyer is no excuse, because she could have always asked me to help. It is my job.

She wasn’t so keen on my lecture but I had to say something.

But Susannah eventually came to see that it was a good idea and said she’d come in with Sam, so I could draw something up for them.

Sam and Susannah were both in agreement about a lot of things but there were definitely things they hadn’t considered.

They were things that are likely to come up in the future but haven’t caused a problem yet, like custody arrangements for holidays, leaving town with Zac when that would interrupt the normal
visitation schedule.

There wasn’t much disagreement from either of them and any points of contention we did come across were ironed out without much fuss. Ultimately, everyone will be much happier now that everything is in writing.

Not all my clients are so easy. With some of them, I cringe every time I get a phone call from them. Of course, I charge them for every call which makes them a little more bearable.

Rob has been doing this a little longer than I have and he’s definitely had his fair share of demanding clients too. It just goes with the territory.

I really enjoy working in family law though, for the most part. I spend my days working on custody arrangements, divorce and some adoption cases too.

Rebecca is currently working as an adoption case worker, so we often end up sharing clients. The couples do the home studies and approval work with her and come to me when I have a client with a child to adopt out.

The most recent clients Rebecca sent over were the Clarkes. It’s been less than a year since their last adoption but I had a birth mother who was keen to adopt out, so I thought I might be able to help them out once they were ready.

Unfortunately, the mother pulled out and decided to raise the baby herself. The Clarkes were very disappointed, of course.

Their last adoption was very straight-forward, so they were optimistic about this one going the same way. This kind of thing happens all the time, unfortunately.

I often don’t feel much like socialising after work, so I’m glad Jack is not into much either. Neither of us like having a whole bunch of visitors around.

Still, now that it’s just the two of us here, sometimes you want to see someone besides your roommate. Zane lives close by, so we have him over sometimes.

He and Chloe are married now, but seeing they’ve always lived together and are still living in the same place, things aren’t so different. I guess when they have kids, that’ll bring some bigger changes.

I don’t see Dominic as much now that he and Leslie are married, mostly because they moved out of the city and back to Sullivan. So Rebecca and I always make an effort to catch up with them at least once a week or so, usually somewhere close to their place.

Dominic and Leslie are in the midst of planning their belated honeymoon. They waited until they had their house all set up and now they’re finally ready to go.

They’ll probably head to Cape Elizabeth for a few days, seeing by the time they go, it’ll be getting miserable and cold here in Sullivan.

I kind of want to go somewhere myself but it’s hard to find time with work and Rebecca’s job can be pretty taxing as well.

Rebecca would like to get away too, so it’s just a matter of building up enough vacation time.

We always have a good time with Dominic and Leslie. Even Rebecca. It surprised me that she gets along so well with Leslie, because they’re complete opposites in so many ways.

But I’m not going to complain. It can only be a good thing having your girlfriend be friendly with your best friend’s wife.

Jack and I weren’t really friends when he moved in - he only really knew Dominic - but you could safely say we’re friends now.

He’s a good roommate too. He’s quiet, he pays the rent on time and the only visitor he ever really has over is Audrey. She’s over a lot but I know her well enough from being friends with Dominic that it doesn’t bother me.

But I guess all good things have to come to an end; Jack is coming into a good deal of money from his trust fund soon and he’s going to use it to buy his own place with Audrey.

He’s a bit coy about how much money it is but he’s pretty confident about being able to buy with it, so I’m guessing it’s quite substantial. Half his luck, I guess!

So by the end of the year, Jack will likely be out of here, leaving me without a roommate.

Of course, seeing Jack will be living with Audrey, that’s going to leave Rebecca without a roommate as well. It would make a lot of sense for us to just move in together.

Rebecca is rarely so agreeable to anything right away but she thought it was a great idea.

Of course, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. I figured we would move into her place, which is much nicer and much bigger. On top of that, it’s closer to both our families.

That’s a negative for Rebecca; further away from her mother is definitely preferable. She wants to move in here, even though it’s much more cramped. It’s in Exeter and that’s enough for her.

I think she’s nuts to want to give up her apartment but I’m not going to put it to her like that. It definitely wouldn’t go over well.

We can both afford rent on our current places on our own, so we’re not in any huge rush to decide. I think I’ll be able to sweet talk her into what I want eventually.

Notes:

• Title is from Bridges, Squares by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
• A little update on Aaron and Calvin's adoption process. It's not really realistic that it would go totally smoothly for them both times, so they've suffered a little setback and some disappointment here.
• I was kind of getting carried away with Nathan's job stuff, lol. Susannah strolled by their house (perhaps she was visiting Daniel, because she lives in Sullivan, not Exeter) and I thought how horrified Nathan the family law attorney would be at the thought of an informal custody arrangement. It's all in writing now though, so if things ever turn sour between Sam and Susannah, Zac's routine won't be interrupted.
• Nathan and Rebecca have been together for 3 years now and like the Family Sim he is, Nathan is quite keen to move things along. Moving in together is mostly about being practical for Rebecca but she and Audrey are up next (after May birthdays), so more about that then.
• Jack has a May birthday, so he gets his money next month. Charlie has to wait until November, which I have to keep reminding myself about. I often forget that they're not twins, even though they look nothing alike and Jack is adopted!