Gray

Round 37: October 2046 (Spring)

Noah Gottlieb is 28 and Brigit is 27.

(Wade is 56, Maia is 44, Anthony is 29, Annabel is 22 and Michael is 15)

Narrated by Noah Gottlieb

We had been scraping by on just my salary and Brigit’s occasional shifts at the campus coffee shop all last year and most of this year but now, Brigit has a permanent part-time job.

It was her idea to start job hunting. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to work and study but she wanted us to be able to put away a little more cash each month, rather than it all going towards bills.

So she’s got some regular shifts now, working at a florist in Exeter, between here and the uni. 

Her boss, Maia, is willing to work with her each semester and adjust her schedule, if her class times change.

She’s very laid back and really just wants someone to run the store while she’s in back making the actual flower arrangements. She lost her sole employee several months back and has been handling it on her own since. 

Brigit really likes the job. It’s nicer to spend the day looking at beautiful flowers than slaving over an espresso machine. 

She’s not nearly as worn out when she gets home now either, which makes our time together even better. 

I’m working pretty hard at the moment myself. I took a teaching position because it paid more than field research but I’m really not enjoying it.

It’s a lot of work for not that much more reward and more importantly, it’s just not where I want to be. 

I don’t know what Michael thinks of his big brother teaching at his school either. He says he’s fine with it but I don’t know.

I don’t think I would have really liked having an older sibling for a teacher at his age. At least I know I’m a pretty fair teacher, if he’s not complaining out loud! 

But Michael is a good student and doesn’t give me any trouble. I wish I could say the same for all of his classmates!

Recently, Dad gave me a heads up on a job going at his workplace and he really wants me to apply for it.

It’s a position for project leader, which I haven’t done before, so I feel like that will count against me.

Dad said they’ve been having the hardest time finding someone suitable though, so I might have more of a shot than I think. 

That did make me think twice about it. And honestly, I’d love working with Dad on campus again, as well as being near Brigit on days she has class. 

So I’ve been working really hard on my application in the hopes that maybe I can either get this position or maybe at least impress them enough that they might remember me when another position comes up. 

If I did get it, I would still have to see out the school year, as the project doesn’t start until January. But I think I can do that.

Brigit and I are doing all this with the ultimate goal of finally having a baby. 

We’re doing the right thing and being responsible by waiting until we’re set up well financially before we bring in a new family member into the world. 

Babies are expensive and we’ll need to move house, on top of that. We only have one bedroom and there’s not much room to potentially expand. 

It’s really hard though, especially when we see our niece Piper. We are so invested in seeing her reach all her milestones and I just can’t imagine what we’ll be like when it’s our own kid. 

None of our friends are at this stage yet. None are past the dating stage yet, let alone planning a family. 

I’m going to guess that Anthony will be the very last to get there. He just recently started dating Annabel, who is 7 years younger than he is. 

I’m a year younger than Anthony, so I vaguely remember her starting high school just as I was finishing. 

She’s a lot of fun but I definitely don’t see her wanting to settle down any time soon, which suits Anthony just fine. 

They’re content just hanging out and getting to know each other right now. 

Anthony hates being by himself though and he's been in that house alone for a while now, since Chris moved out. I sometimes wonder if he’ll drive himself crazy and convince Annabel to move in out of desperation!

Notes:

• Title is from Gray by You Am I. 
• I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to get this out! But I've had a lot going on the past few months and the times when I wanted to work on this rarely aligned with the times I actually had time to work on this!
• Noah is still in the Science career but his current level is Science Teacher. Wade is in Natural Science, but I always imagine those two careers would have a lot of overlap and that sims in one would know about things happening in the other. 
• Noah and Brigit both have baby wants but aren't yet trying for a baby. I'm impressed by their restraint!