9. NEW JOB

At the Drozd household, Maja continues to hit new milestones. Anna has not yet returned to work, allowing her to fully dedicate herself to her daughter's development.

Anna: Come here, sweetie. Let’s get changed and practice standing up.

Some milestones, however, are less pleasant than others...

And here’s the result of today’s practice—Maja is finally standing on her own two feet!

The next day, the rainy season fully settled over Sulani, dampening everyone’s mood.

Anna: Sweetie, try a little more puree. Oh dear, all right, Mommy will give you some milk.

Filip: If you keep nursing her, she’ll never learn to eat solid foods.

Anna: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I have a higher parenting skill level? So I probably know better what’s good for our daughter. Once she’s full, we’ll try other foods.

Anna: There, she’s full. Now let’s try the puree.

Filip: If she’s full, she won’t eat anything else.

Anna: We’ll see… let’s prove Daddy wrong. And… voilà! Look at that, wonderful! Who would’ve thought you’d like sweet potato puree?

Filip: This could be important… no, another dead end.

Anna: I thought you started at the Institute today?

Filip: I was supposed to do some field spraying, but the weather ruined the plan. So I’m stuck with this research, and it’s exceptionally dull.

Anna: You know, I’ve been thinking — I should start looking for a job. I need to do more than just stay home and take care of Maja.

Filip: I don’t know… she still has a few milestones to reach. What if she doesn’t manage to hit them all before her birthday?

Anna: Aha! So, you get to pursue your dreams of ecology, but I can’t pursue mine?

Filip: I’m just saying, maybe you could hold off a bit longer…

Anna: Stop it. We graduated four days ago. In Sim time, that’s like a year! It’s high time I started job hunting.

Filip: Actually, if we both took work-from-home days now and then, we might be able to balance everything.

Anna: See? Now you’re making sense!

Filip: If you’re interested, the museum I worked at is looking for an art historian. I could ask around.

Anna: Don’t you dare try to pull strings! If I’m going to get that job, I’ll do it on my own!

Filip: Okay, okay, just saying. You’ll get it without a problem—you’re the best.

Filip has started doing some DIY repairs to gain handiness skills. It turns out his ecology work requires a bit of knowledge in this area. Let’s hope it doesn’t involve fixing broken toilets at the Institute...

The next day, after Filip returned from work, Anna went to her job interview.

Anna: Good morning, Mr. Paewai. My name is Anna Richards.

Mr. Paewai: Ah yes! You’re here for the interview. Welcome to the Sulani Cultural Center.

Mr. Paewai: As you can see, we have quite an impressive collection. It includes Sulani treasures, cultural and natural heritage artifacts, and works by local artists.

Anna: Is that a painting by Sparklili?

Mr. Paewai: I see you know your stuff. Go on, tell me more about this painting.

Anna: Of course, there’s debate among critics about whether the volcano in the background is truly Mua Pel'am, given the vegetation depicted doesn’t grow on the Sulani islands. Finally, Sparklili showcased these paintings in the Gallery in June 2019 under the collection "Island Ladies Photographs."

Mr. Paewai: Impressive! I’m truly impressed with your knowledge. You’ve got the job!

Anna: Really?! That’s wonderful! Thank you so much!

Mr. Paewai: You start tomorrow. Please prepare a few brief descriptions of other Sparklili paintings.

Anna: Of course!

Anna: They hired me! I’ll be analyzing and describing the latest acquisitions, evaluating their value, and promoting the island’s culture through them.

Filip: That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you.

Anna: How was your day?

Filip: Being an ecologist isn’t quite what I imagined. For now, there’s a lot of admin work… I wish I could spend more time outdoors.

Anna: You’ve got to start somewhere. Show them what you can do, and soon enough, you’ll get different assignments. My job as a critic wasn’t my dream either, but hey—it was still working with art!

Filip: Eh, you’re right. I guess I’m just a bit impatient.

The next morning, Filip (or rather, the Watcher) had a brilliant idea.

Filip: Hi, Mom! What do you think about us coming over for Winterfest? Maja could see snow and a real Winterfest tree, not one of those fake ones from Simkea.

Klara: Wonderful idea! Absolutely, come over!

…Darling, we need to start decorating and cooking right away—the kids will be here in a few hours!

Anna: Look, Maja, this white, cold stuff is snow! Do you like it? Thanks for having us—it’ll be fun for Maja.

Akito: Who’s Grandpa’s little angel? Oh, who? Oh dear… Ania, Anna, I think she needs you—she might’ve had a number two.

Anna: Haha, come here, sweetie. See, Grandpa’s afraid of your little mess. Let’s get you changed, and then it’s nap time.

Klara: Are you coming to decorate the tree?

Akito: In a minute, I’m teaching Filip some DIY basics.

Klara: They said they’d come soon.

Anna: Oh, they’re already here! I thought they’d wait for everything to be ready.

Filip: Time flies, doesn’t it? Remember when Piotr accidentally set the tree on fire last time?

Anna: Maja’s nap is lasting unusually long—travel must’ve really tired her out.

Filip: Funny how she never sleeps this long at night.

Filip: So, I was thinking… since Maja’s still asleep, maybe we could make the most of it?

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