Chapter 2: First Day Blues

Well, the outfit's not flattering, but at least she's gainfully employed.  Elizabeth hops in the grungy car the newspaper sent and heads off for her first day at work.

Robert basks in the glow of working from home by working on his book in his underwear.

Elizabeth's first day on the job was not as successful as she had hoped it would be.  She comes home and immediately begins regaling Robert with the horrors of her day.

Elizabeth, a fairly verbose woman in the best of moods, tends to become unintelligible when she is upset. Robert can't understand exactly went wrong today, but he discerns from her babbling that her coworkers were difficult to impress, and that she is afraid that she won't be able to impress them enough to earn any promotions or raises.

"We're so poor Robert!  If I fail at the newspaper, I'll ruin my resume.  Then I'll never get another job in this town, and we'll have to go crawling back to my father, begging for help!  Everything's going wrong!"

"Elizabeth, today was just your first day.  You can't base your potential success on just one day!  We knew it was going to be hard work when we moved here.  It's not going to be easy, and that's okay.  If the journalism career doesn't work out, you can find a new job, and if money gets really tight, I'll find steadier work, too.  We'll make this happen, Elizabeth.  We swore we weren't going back, and we aren't.  We'll both work hard and watch our money.  Everything will be fine, darling.  You believe me, right?"

She does believe him.  Robert's quiet confidence that things will be all right is enough to calm Elizabeth down.

Wanting to make sure Elizabeth's second day at work is better than the first, Robert tries his hand at making pancakes for breakfast.  Pancakes have been scientifically proven to increase the happiness of those who eat them.

Unfortunately, his pancakes are much worse than his salad.

She doesn't complain about his pancakes, but she does tell Robert that he needs to put on clothes while she is at work today.  She'd gotten complaints from Christopher Steel about Robert's preferred writing outfit.

"My darling, writers have routines to stimulate creativity," he protests.  "Some write in cafes.  Others drink themselves into oblivion.  I write in my underwear."

"Not until we get curtains you don't.  Why don't you go to the library to stimulate your creativity?"

Figuring he owes her one for not insulting his cooking, Robert puts clothes on and heads to the library. Surprisingly, he finds the library to be a great working environment.  Maybe his wife was onto something...

Once he's back home, Robert makes the mistake of reading the comments section on an online news article, literally headdesking at the stupidity of some Sims.

Elizabeth's second day was much better, but her happiness was slightly diminished when she broke the sink.

Not one to be bested by the plumbing, she valiantly tries to fix the sink herself.

Robert decides that if he can't write in his underwear, the library is the best alternative.  Robert has decided to follow up the modest success of Attack on the Bear Cave with a dramatic novel.  He's calling it When Cougars Attack.

He is shocked on his next visit when Boyd Wainwright, a local scientist, gushes about Attack on the Bear Cave, which was recently published.  The royalties aren't great, but the fact that he's a published author is certainly gives him a confidence boost.

Robert and Boyd spend the next few hours talking about everything from Boyd's work in astronomy to Robert's fondness for art.  Robert is pleased to have made a friend.

Elizabeth joins Robert at the library after her shift is done for their version of  "date night."

"When Cougars Attack?  That sounds...interesting, honey."

"You bet it is!  It's about a safari expedition gone awry."

"Oh, you meant THOSE kind of cougars.  I was thinking of a different kind of cougar.  Never mind!"

"What kind of cockamamie cougars did you think I was writing about?"

"Umm, the Botoxed kind.  You know, the ones who have the same expression on their face on all the time and the really colorful nails?"

"..........."

"...What is it, dear?"

"You've got to stop reading the tabloids while you're at work."

For most, the library isn't a romantic place.  For bookish Elizabeth and her novel-writing husband, the library can be a very romantic place.

After the disastrous first day, Elizabeth is actually enjoying some success in her journalistic pursuits.  By the end of the week, she was promoted to Automated Spell Checker.

Robert is thrilled with her success.  "I'm proud of you, dear!  I knew you'd do just fine.  Let's celebrate!  I'll make you a nice dinner!  How does salad sound?  I can't burn that."

Elizabeth's success extends to her garden.  Her apple tree is growing nicely.  She recently planted grapes and tomatoes to diversify the garden.

Feeling more financially secure with her raise, Elizabeth decides to purchase a television.  She'll be even happier when she can afford a television that has the sports channel.

Robert is either questioning Elizabeth's taste in sports teams or attempting to discern how she manages to fit all of her hair under that cap.

Elizabeth also splurged and surprised Robert with an easel.  Next to writing, painting is his favorite thing to do.  He looks forward to decorating their cottage with his masterpieces.  Elizabeth finds his enthusiasm so endearing that she doesn't protest when she finds him painting in his underwear the next morning.  Christopher Steel will just have to deal with it.

"Our first week here is over, dearest.  Did we do the right thing?"

Elizabeth thinks a moment.  "Absolutely," she replies.

"No regrets so far?"

"Not a one."

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Corny ending is corny.  o.O  Oh well.

Elizabeth really did have a miserable first day at work.  Her moods were a little low, so anything beyond "take it easy" stressed her out beyond belief.  Luckily, her moods were better the rest of the week, so that went swimmingly.

The author career isn't the most exciting.  I've been having Robert work at the library to prevent the stir-crazy moodlet and to ensure that he meets a few other Sims.  He also works faster at the library, so while there are no babies in the house, it is the ideal place for him to write.  Once the babies start coming, he'll be back at the house.

The story will hopefully pick up a bit more next chapter.  It seems the Tudors were not the only ones to come to Sunset Valley...*cue dramatic music*