Round Two - The Laird's

Introduction: http://aspenlake.blogspot.com/2007/12/introduction-lairds.html
Round One: http://aspenlake.blogspot.com/2007/12/round-one-lairds.html

Family

Brady - adult - knowledge
Orlando - adopted teenager - Romance
Declan - child
The Dog - Jake



After much work, it was finally opening day for Brady‘s Farmers market. Although he quickly earned his first simolean, the money did not come in as fast as he had hoped. He had sunk most of his savings into starting the business so he didn’t have anything to fall back on if it failed. At first he was averaging only about $150 a day, even though he worked well into the night, leaving Orlando to look after Declan. That amount was not enough to look after two boys and pay the mortgage on the farm. He stopped sleeping well at night and would spend odd hours out in his greenhouse trying to figure out what to do.









Orlando could see that his adopted father was worried about their situation, even though Brady tried to hide it from them. Orlando tried to help out where he could, but he just wasn’t interested in farming the way that Brady and Declan were. His love was music, and his dream was to become famous for that, not for his produce. That’s why he was excited when a local piano store offered him a job as a piano tuner and he readily took the position. It gave him a start in his music career and helped out his family too. In his spare time - which wasn’t much anymore - he practiced his piano playing.





Brady could see that his older son’s heart was not in the farm life the way his was. He knew it was only a matter of time until Orlanndo left the small vacation town for bigger things. As much as Brady didn’t want to lose his son, he also knew he had to let him make his own path, and tried to encourage him in his efforts.





As both boys continued to grow, Brady finally accepted the fact that he was not going to get remarried and have more children. He was almost an elder as it was. He knew it was time to let go of that hope, and be happy with the two wonderful boys that he *had* been blessed with. So one morning he packed up all the baby stuff in the house and took it down to his market to sell. Then he started to teach Declan all the ways of the farm so he would be ready to take over when the time came. Declan took effortlessly to the lessons and soon had his own bronze gardening badge. Some of Brady’s worry and sleepless nights began to leave.











As Orlando entered his last year of high school he became more and more restless in the confines of their small town. It seemed like there was just nothing there for him. Many nights he would lay awake dreaming of his future, a future away from the quiet solitude of Aspen Lake.






Not even meeting a girl could lesson his desire to leave. He knew that there would many girls in the big city and didn’t want to become tied down to any in little Aspen Lake. Every time he kissed his new girlfriend, he wondered what it would be like to kiss a big town girl.





Orlando knew, though, that he couldn’t leave home until Delcan was old enough to help with the farm and family business. Time went quickly though and Orlando’s graduation day came and soon after Declan had his birthday. (note: he rolled Fortune, with LTW of being top of adventure career)





Orlando knew it was time to talk to his father about leaving home. He had even already been offered a job as a Battle Of the Bands Judge at a small club in downtown SimCity. (note: I have inteenimator installed so ‘older’ teens can hold down regular jobs and move out on their own) It wasn’t much money, but it was a start. He found his father fishing one night and went out to talk to him.





Brady had known the discussion was going to be coming for some time. It wasn’t hard to tell that Orlando had outgrown the small town of Aspen Lake. It was obvious that the boy had dreams bigger than the small town he lived in. And College had never really been an option. They just didn’t have the money. As much as Brady worried about Orlando being alone in SimCity, he wasn’t going to hold him back. He gave him his blessing to take the job and go.

The night before it was time for Orlando to leave something happened to intensify Brady’s worries even more. A burglar broke into their home. If something like that could happen in little Aspen Lake, what would happen in SimCity? He knew though, that Orlando was eighteen and had a right to his own life. He just insisted that he take Jake with him for protection.





Neither boy could get to sleep after the bugler incident and spent the rest of the night sitting on the floor and talking. Orlando was surprised to find out that Declan had plans other than running a farm.
“I want to be an adventurer,“ He told Orlando
“But what about Dad and the farm?”
“I know, I know. I have to take over the farm. I will. I’m not going to let Dad down. I just hope I can get married, and she can do must of the work. Why can’t I have plans for my own life? It’s not fair.”
“If Dad knew-”
“Don’t tell him, please. I don’t want to let him down. I know how much the farm means to him. I’m not going to do anything to risk it.”





The next morning a sleepy family saw Orlando off in the taxi. Brady put an arm around his younger son’s shoulders as he watched Orlando pull away. Declan looked up at him.
“We’re going to be okay, right Dad?” He asked.
Brady smiled down at him, “Of course kiddo. We’re the Laird men. We can do anything.”
Declan felt the weight of the words settle on him. The Laird men. Would he be able to live up to that?

(note: Orlando has now moved into the downtown neighbourhood to pursue is music career. He still has 7 days left in his teen years)