not a cookie-baking grandmother

March 2043 - Jan Gaunt is 62, Cassiopeia is 14.

Jan isn't your typical cookie-baking grandmother. She has five grandchildren, but she doesn't spend very much time with them. Her sons love her, but they're scandalized by her choice of profession after she and their father divorced. She really doesn't care if they approve or not. After all of those years as a society wife, she loves having a career as a romance novelist. And even if they aren't fine literature, her novels sell very well.

She spends most of her days alone in her apartment in Arcadia. It's only a block from the Gaunt mansion, but her family rarely comes by to visit. She spends her days writing, painting, and playing with her cat Sake.

The only visitor she has is her oldest grandchild, Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia thinks her grandmother's life and novels are incredibly romantic. "I've read all of your books," she says. "I love Rhianna. She's so brave, and her life is so romantic."

"I'm surprised that you've read them. I thought your mother and father wouldn't let you read them."

"Well... they don't want me to read them, but I read them in the bookstore."

Jan smiles. "I'm glad you like them. Here," she goes to the bookshelf and pulls down a stack of books, "you should have your own copies."

"Thank you so much!" Cassiopeia cries. She knows her parents won't approve, they'll say she's too young to read them, but she doesn't care. Her father might wish his mother were more of a proper lady, but Cassiopeia wouldn't give up her romance novel-writing grandmother for anything.



*****

I haven't updated Jan in almost 20 years, and I thought she deserved a story. She lives a pretty quiet life, and she doesn't hear much from the rest of her family, but Cassiopeia likes to visit her. I think a teenage girl would be pretty fascinated by a grandmother who was a famous romance novelist! I also wanted to make sure that her novels would remain in the game after she died, so I had her give them to Cassiopeia.