Taking Steps for a Better Future

Arla soon realized that she has the talent and determination to make it as a stylist, so she woke up early in the morning, and visited Don Lothario's salon, and offered her services. Don offered her the job right away!  The salon has been very busy, and he was looking for a new stylist to help him with his client load!

 

Arla jumped to work on her first day, taking four different walk-in clients at the salon.  She had a few misses on her first few tries, but Arla's talents began to show, and she made $240 her first day!

 

Although she had just met Don Lothario, her boss at the salon, Arla knew the spark between them was undeniable. After work hours, Arla called Don and invited him over to her house for a few drinks.  Being the great kisser that she is, Arla made the first move, and Don and Arla shared their first kiss.  Don was hooked right away, and leapt at the opportunity to spend the night at Arla's house.

Arla invited Don to cuddle on her bed, and one thing led to another... which led to the famous rock-a-bye baby music!

The night seemed perfect, but Don snuck off before Arla woke the next morning... too bad, since Arla had some nice grape pancake leftovers!  Arla returned to the salon for another day's work, as though nothing had happened between her and Don.  She style several clients that day, but she felt nauseous and couldn't wait to get home to the comfort of her little home.

 Arla didn't have both feet in the door, before she felt the panicked urge to run for the toilet.  As Alra held her own hair back (where's a good man when you need him?), she quickly realized that she was most likely preggers.  She should have known, she doesn't even own the rock-a-bye baby album, and it's not really the most romantic music to play for your first date...  she should have known when she heard it!

 

Although it was a bit of a surprise, Arla was overjoyed to be pregnant with her first child.  Her lifetime wish is to raise 5 children to teenagers, and now that her dream career is starting, she's in a great position to start her family.  Not being married is something that Arla has worried about though, since she is walking around town with a bun in the oven with no ring on her finger, but Arla isn't ready for that level of commitment yet.  Besides, she just met Don!

Arla scandalously walking around town showing off her baked goods.

Arla admiring her growing belly

After what seemed like a rather easy pregnancy, Arla gave birth at home to a daughter, with character traits of being easily impressed, and a heavy sleeper.  Being inspired by her recent fashion research, Arla named her baby Dolce, after Dolce and Gabana, and she really is as sweet as sugar!  Darla put the spare bed in storage, and bought a panda bear bed for baby Dolce.  For now, the baby must share a room with Arla's studio.

Baby Dolce sleeping in her crib.

Arla and Dolce bonding.

Single motherhood didn't turn out as blissfully as Arla had imagined.  Between caring for Dolce, cleaning the house, completing home repairs, and researching fashion, Arla was very nervous about returning to work after her maternity leave, especially since she only had $300 in her bank account.  Paying for a nanny for Dolce would only be another expense!  Arla called Don, Dolce's father, and asked him to come over to talk about their situation.

Unfortunately, Don's visit didn't seem to solve anything, but at least for the night, Arla could pretend the she, Don and Dolce were one happy family, as they all slept under the same roof.

 

As time passed, Dolce grew into a toddler, and Arla rushed home from work to spend time with her.  For the time being, Arla was able to make enough money at work to cover the costs of hiring a nanny to care for Dolce while she was at work, but Arla still worried about the future, and how she would be able to have more children to pursue her lifetime wish and still manage to progress at work.

Arla teaching Dolce how to talk.

Arla teaching Dolce how to walk.

Arla qorked hard and was quickly promoted at work from a Taffeta Trainee, to a Polkadot Specialist, to a Houndstooth Soothsayer.  With this promotion, Arla now makes $532/week on top of her individual client service charge.  Although financially things have started to look up, this promotion also requires Arla to complete makeovers for clients outside of the salon, and away from Don.

Arla meeting with a client to do a makeover.

A makeover that Arla was particularly proud of.

Arla felt as though she was losing touch with Don and wanted to make things right, so she called him on the phone once she got home from work.  Don's only response was, "I'm at work and I'm not sure when I"ll be done"  Although the Knights live across the street from the salon, Don never showed up.  It was heartbreaking for her to see little Dolce playing, and not have her father in her life.

The next day, after finishing with her client's in their homes, Arla went to the salon to see some walk-in clients, and to hopefully speak with Don.  They got a spare moment towards the end of the day, and Arla spoke to Don about his responsibilities as a father.  He seemed responsive, and agreed to come over to Arla's house after work.

That night, Alra and Don cuddled on the bed like old times.  She kept going for "make a baby", but both were too tired to complete the transaction. 

The question is though, what should Arla do?  She really wants to add a new baby to her family, but she can barely keep herself a float as a single mother.  Raising Dolce through toddlerhood has been difficult, and since her birth, she's had barely any time to research fashion.  On the other hand, Arla does not like commitment, and would have to devote a lot of time to Don, or a new relationship in order to be open to the idea of even dating Don.  Don also works long hours at the salon, so he may not be able to help around the house much, even if they were to get married... maybe another man would be a better father to Arla's children.

Vote for what you think Arla should do on the poll in the top right hand corner!