James

 

August 2030

James and Marla Centowski are 66; Jamie Centowski and Meadow Thayer are 24; Harrison is 4

As much as James had enjoyed raising his children, he also had a very clear idea of what should happen when they became adults. 

All going as it should, they would eventually leave and have their own homes (ideally within dropping-in distance, so that they could spend plenty of time with their grandchildren), and he and Marla would once again have the freedom they'd had before they had kids - only this time with the money and maturity to fully enjoy it.

So far, things hadn't been going according to plan. The three girls had moved out and started families of own but their youngest, Jamie, still lived with them in their family home in Redwood City. It was the best solution when his now-fiancé, Meadow, had become pregnant in their first year of college. Marla had taken an early retirement to help care for baby Harrison, while Jamie and Meadow continued their education.

Marla had loved her career as an architect. James wondered if part of her willingness to give it up came from the fact that none of their girls seemed to have got the bit about staying within dropping-in distance. 

Their eldest, Cherry, was  off on Twiki Island with their youngest grandchild, who they'd not yet even met. Hayley was married to a farmer in Bluewater Village, and Laine was living in Brooklyn Heights. They all visited regularly, but it wasn't the same as having a grandchild close by.

Jamie and Meadow spent as much time as possible with their little boy between their studies. 

With graduation now approaching, they had started talking about moving out, and James and Marla had also started to look ahead. 

As much as they enjoyed their home, they really wouldn't need a large house anymore. They were looking forward to moving to something a little easier to care for. Not a high rise apartment, but maybe a townhouse or something similar... something modern and low-maintenance in a nice neighbourhood, with a bit of space and a yard for the dog.

They had started to take an interest in real estate advertisements, and as they looked they also saw rentals that might suit Jamie and Meadow. But the kids had been surprisingly uninterested in their suggestions. They found out why not long before final exams, when they made a couple of very unexpected announcements.

The first was that Meadow was pregnant again. This time it wasn't an accident.

"We don't want Harrison to be too much older than his siblings," Meadow said. "We timed it so that graduation would be well over before the baby comes." 

It also meant that they would postpone their wedding - "we want the new baby to be old enough to take part, too."

The second announcement was even more of a surprise. Jamie's ambition was to be a writer. He'd majored in literature and had short stories published while he was in college, and was working on his first novel. 

James' own father had been a very successful author, and his brother Kyle had somewhat followed in his footsteps. Having seen the ups and downs of Kyle's career, James had some misgivings about his own son taking up something that involved much uncertainty and very limited opportunities for real success. 

But Jamie was determined. James had reminded him of the importance of a solid back-up plan - Kyle, for example, also ran the bookshop in Richmond that he'd founded with their father. 

Jamie completed a teaching certificate as part of his degree. He could now teach high school literature. He had a back up plan. So James kept his doubt to himself - most of that time, at least.

They already knew that Jamie had asked his uncle Kyle to take a look at his progress on his novel so far, offer him feedback, give him any advice he might have on how to impress a publisher and break into the industry. 

But apparently the conversation with Kyle had moved onto the book shop - how useful it was to Kyle, as a writer as well as a bookseller, to keep on top of what was happening in the industry... how much he enjoyed getting to know his customers' tastes and sharing his love of books with them... and how much trouble he was having finding staff...

The more they talked, the more Jamie loved the sound of it...

"You're going to work in Kyle's bookstore?!"

"It really sounds like something I'll enjoy. And it'll help Uncle Kyle, too. One of his full time staff left to have a baby and another one joined the army. He's having a lot of trouble replacing them."

"But... you've got a degree now, and you're qualified to teach. It's one thing to run the shop like Kyle does, but you'll be going from college to starting out in retail..."

"It's only for a year or two, and I'll still be writing in my spare time. Some people take a year off from their plans between high school and college. I didn't so let's just say I'm taking it now."

Marla cut in before James could respond. "So you'll be living in Richmond?" 

Jamie and Meadow nodded.

"That's going to be hard, isn't it? I mean, I'm guessing you'll be earning quite a bit less in the shop than you would teaching, and Meadow won't be able to find a job until at least after the baby comes."

"It's all sorted out," said Jamie. "Uncle Kyle and Aunt Willow said we can board with them."

"They said what?!"

"We looked at some houses, but what we could afford was a bit depressing...

... "Their foster kids are in college now and they've got that big house to themselves. We'll pay board but its less than what we'd spend on rent... I think they really liked the idea of having kids in the house again..."

"Have you and my brother been plotting anything else behind my back?"

"We weren't plotting behind your back, it just didn't make sense to tell you until we knew it would work out."

James was still annoyed - it was one thing to have your kids move away but another all together when your brother will have the chance to know your grandchildren better than you do!

A few weeks later, Jamie and Meadow graduated and moved in with Kyle and Willow. 

Jamie started to work in the shop and seemed to be enjoying it as much as he'd expected he would. After years of a small child in the house, it was very quiet with just James and Marla.

One thing that had gone well was the apartment. They managed to find a spacious place in a small building in a reasonably quiet street, with a little yard at the back. 

But even that needed a lot of work before they could move in, as the interior was dark and dated. They had to redecorate completely, put in a new kitchen and even take out a wall to open the space up. But they were very happy with the results.

They were even happier when they sold their house to another member of the family. 

"At least Jamie's family are only in Richmond," Marla said. "We saw plenty of Cherry's kids when they were growing up there with their father. And we've got the house to ourselves again".

"Hmmph"

----

We're a bit short of suitable pictures here, but most of this happened when I thought I wouldn't be blogging again, and I couldn't recreate much with James and Marla in a different house now.

If it seems like James doesn't seem to know what he wants, that's because sim-James really doesn't seem to know what he wants! Maybe its because he has the grumpy trait, but everything seemed to annoy him - mess in the house, toddler-Harrison crying, even his dog barking. But as soon as Jamie and family moved out, he was immediately rolling wants for them.

With the Newson twins off to college now, Kyle and Willow have a big house to themselves, but I really didn't want to move them out. Jamie and family solved the problem for me, and it feels natural in-story, too. I also had another young family who needed a bigger place, so they are now in James and Marla's old house. I like the house, so it's worked out well for me to still have a playable family in there.