A first date, but my mom watches

I heavily regret playing with my mom's body proportions. And thus not being able to send her outside while I wanted to chat more with Klara. But the food is great. It doesn't taste how I expected it to. It has a dash of... Amber? Yeah, it feels like Amber helped. Did the two give each other tips? I'm very impressed.

James: "So now that it's getting dark, you have to herd the animals back in the barn, yeah?"

Klara: "Yeah, with how cold it is, I really have to. It's below freezing at night."

Isabella: "Are the barns heated? Or just well insulated?"

Klara: "Oh no, they have to be heated."

Mom and I took turns asking Klara a bit about farm life, or in my case, some things about farms that I hadn't experienced yet. After dinner, I brought her home. "You know Klara, today has been fun for me. Thanks for letting me take my mind off of things. I'll be sure to return the favor some time soon, okay?"

"James, I...", she looked deeply into my eyes. She approached me. It was just a brief kiss on my lips. But her nervousness and the lack of points told me everything I needed to know. She quickly disappeared behind her door, and I returned home. Time to rest...

Klara

Fuck, why did I do that? I shouldn't have. Not yet, at least. But it felt so good and so right. It's what you should do when you're in love, right? That's how it happens in the movies too...

Sadly, my life isn't a movie. I can't have my dream man and a happy life on the farm. I have to settle somewhere, and I don't like it. I'm not asking for the perfect partner, it just feels like I need to settle on something big. And live with it for the rest of my life. If I became serious with James... I'd be with the man I love. I'd have to work just as hard as I do now on the farm, with basically no rest. At least he wouldn't do it out malice. But how is it gonna be with kids? My parents only had time for me because they were together, they could share the farm work. Being with James means no kids and no help. Basically what we have right now, expect I wear a ring, we see each other every day, and we have occasional sex.

What if I tried anyone else? Well, if it's a guy from the area here, I don't think I'd have any help. Either, he'd let me have the same work to laze off while his wife works, and thus I couldn't raise kids either. Or he'd **** me into the kitchen, becoming a housewife, raising kids. But I do love the farm... And this is a family property, I can't just give it to some guy.

And what if I tried to look for a partner in the city or online? Well, the average guy I'd go on a date with there would probably respect me more, but he'd also have a job like James. And a long commute. So in essence, I can't really find a better guy than James from the city already.

My thoughts continued to wander, until I realized something... Every option I envisioned failed either at making farm life easier or allowing me to take care of children. It's reasonable to expect my future partner to ensure the second one, but as long as I'm not dating a jobless guy, I shouldn't expect him to help me, should I?

I think there is only one course of action that I can take right now. I need to hire someone. And then I need to think again about what I want from my future husband. Children? Love? Respect?

In times like these, there's only one person I can call for good advice

"Hey aunt, sorry for the sudden call, but can we talk?"

"Yeah, sure Klara. What's going on?"

"It's a long story. I have a new neighbor, he's a really friendly guy, I like him a lot..."

"Aw, are you in love, Klara?"

"Yeah but... I'm still unsure about him. When I think about my future, I always imagined something like my parents had. Together forever, running a farm, raising a child. But I don't think I can achieve that. If I were to date a guy from around here, I'd either be **** to become a housewife or somehow do my current work and raise a child at the same time. Looking for a partner in the city is difficult and I've never done it before. James, the guy that I like,... He's from the city, but he's probably way better than any guy I could meet on apps or at a bar."

"Klara, why do you want your future husband to work on your farm with you so much? I mean yeah, it worked well with your parents, but they were both farmers and your mother had to leave her family behind for this. And I don't know if I should tell you this... But the reason you were an only child was that they couldn't afford another child. They didn't make enough money, they didn't have enough time."

"W-What? But I thought I was a good child, I don't think I made many problems."

"You didn't intentionally, no. But children need to be raised, they need to be taught. Everything you do on the farm was taught to you, every word you speak was one you once learned. And children are inexperienced. Like many other children, you probably broke something once, you probably injured yourself once. I see it with my siblings, even the guys age a lot when they get newborns. They're happy, yeah, but an exhausted kind of happy."

"Just like after farm work... You make raising children seem scary, aunt."

"It can be one of the most rewarding things on this planet, but it requires many sacrifices. Few people regret it in the end, but they do have to endure many hardships for it."

"You know, I think James was right..."

"Wait, Klara, did you talk to him before me, your favorite aunt? If that's how much you trust him, why wait?"

"I-I'm sorry aunt... Love makes you do stupid things, you know that. Anyway, he suggested that I should get someone to work here on the farm with me. He can't, of course, he has a job, or now two I guess. He suggested that I look for someone to work for me, maybe get a few more chicken and cows, and then think about what I really want again."

"That seems like a good idea, got anyone in mind?"

"I-I was thinking maybe y-you could..."

"Sigh, sorry Klara, but no. I'm about as old as your parents, I should be thinking about retiring, not doing farm work. How much help do you actually need, Klara? From what you've told me, you've been able to keep up with your parents' farm remarkably well."

"Yeah, I am doing basically the work they did together as an elderly couple together. It's exhausting. I need a weekend, or even just a day off."

"Do you earn enough to hire someone, even just for one day on the weekend?"

"Yeah, I do, actually."

"Then go and hire someone for Saturdays, anyone that needs to earn a little extra that you trust. And don't forget the most important thing: Actually relax on Saturday. Don't think about your cows and chickens, don't think about how you could earn more if you just did something else. Pure relaxation."

"I'll try that. Thank you, aunt. Love you. Bye."

"Bye."