Amity Kilgannon looked at the view from the front of her new property and frowned. It was not exactly the “breathtaking vista” she had read about on the real estate website.
The only saving grace of her new land was that it was quite
large – large enough for her to build the home she’d always dreamed of and
still have room for a garden. After all, space and open sky was the main reason
she had relocated to Aurora Skies from bustling Bridgeport. She had grown tired of city life soon after
she graduated. She didn’t care much for the constant noises, smells and barrage
of people. The promise on the website of a “quaint suburban life by the water”
had been enough to draw Amity in. She’d put down the money on the land and
hopped on the next plane.
And now, as she was surveying the location, she began to see
her little house taking shape in her mind. She envisioned a covered porch where
she could spend warm days sipping tea and reading a book. A cozy living room
with a fireplace where she could snuggle up in the winter…perhaps even someone
to snuggle with.
She had just enough simoleons left over after purchasing the
land to get the first stages of her house under construction.
Amity was disappointed at her meager kitchen and lack of
wallpaper…and lack of living room, frankly.
But she vowed to find a job in her new home and work hard towards making
her little skeleton house a home.
The following afternoon, she headed to the library bright
and early to use the computer to aid her in her job search.
She found an opening at the local paper and discovered that
they were holding open interviews that very same day! She practically ran to the
curb outside the library to hail a taxi to take her away to the business plaza.
Normally she would have taken her bike on a lovely day like today, but there
was simply no time. Amity tried not to think about how wasteful she was being
by not carpooling – she didn’t want to be in a bad mood for her interview.
She stepped out of the taxi and took a moment to adjust her
hair before walking into the tall building that stood before her.
Amity emerged an hour or so later with a new sense of
confidence and belonging. She had landed the job! Granted, it was only for an
entry level position. But her new boss assured her that there was plenty of
room for upward mobility within the company as long as Amity proved she was
committed and capable. Amity hoped she could be committed to the new job as
much as her boss wanted her to be. She was certainly committed to her dream of
becoming an illustrious author. She spent much of her spare time in Bridgeport
writing and she was even on her school newspaper. However, she had never
thought of journalism as the career path she wanted to take. However, perhaps
it could be a stepping stone. Amity was certain she would gain valuable
experience, if nothing else.
She decided to go home and prepare her first real meal in
the new house. She decided on her favorite dish, autumn salad.
Amity went to bed that night and dreamt of what she wanted
to write her first real piece of journalism about.
The next morning she was in a particularly good mood as she
was getting ready for work.
She decided to expand on her cooking talents and
make pancakes for breakfast that morning.
She reminded herself to stick to cold foods until she’d
brushed up on her skills a bit more
Amity arrived to her new office ready to take her job
head-on. To her dismay, she discovered she would only be delivering papers. Her
boss explained that the real journalism would come later – for now, Amity had
to toil on the lower end of things just like everyone else had.
She pouted a little as she delivered her newspapers in the
rain.
She arrived home that evening wet and miserable and as she
sat in her underwear eating ice cream in her sheetrocked “dining” room, Amity
wondered if she’d made a mistake coming to Aurora Skies.
She had no money, no friends and a low wage menial job.
“Things are supposed to get worse before they get better, right? I certainly hope it’s only going to go up from here,” Amity thought bitterly to herself as she lowered her sore body into bed for the night.
She didn’t feel much better as she stepped out the door for
work the following morning.
It was raining again.
The saving grace of Amity's second day on the job was that she did manage to meet someone new - a coworker. Bjorn was quite a cut-up, but Amity found his sense of humor and candid nature refreshing. She admitted to herself that she was a little disappointed to discover he was already married with two young children, but she was glad to have at least met someone she could call a friend.
It was after work that Amity discovered that she and Bjorn were both bike enthusiasts. Neither were keen to ride home in the rain after riding all day in to deliver papers, so they sat on the covered balcony at work and chatted while waiting for the clouds to roll out.
Amity discovered that Bjorn and his wife Gundrun were both celebrated scientists, the "leading minds in cutting age technology that helped this town develop," according to Bjorn. Something about water treatment and irrigation. Amity was highly skeptical - what was an accomplished scientist doing moonlighting as a newspaper deliveryman?
Bjorn laughed when she inquired.
"Ha! Well...Gundrun wanted children but she didn't want to give up her career. I offered up my own to stay home and take care of the kids. Things have gotten a little tight in the past few years since our littlest one was born, so I decided to go back to work. I wanted a low-key job with firm hours, so I took this. Science is, for better or worse, a 24-7 career move."
Amity had to admit she was impressed. She was also impressed when Bjorn offered to ride home with her to make sure she got back safely - the rain had subsided, but the sun was hanging low in the sky. Amity agreed.
As Amity bid Bjorn goodnight, she hoped that she could find a partner in this small town as thoughtful and kind as he was.
