Wait—never mind. During the day, at the neighborhood park, she’d seen plenty of stay-at-home dads handling two kids at once with practiced ease. She’d even chatted with one of them—the mom was the breadwinner, and the dad had been home with the kids for four years.
Shaking her head, Jolene figured it wasn’t really her concern. Raymond was practically a big kid himself—only 25—still far from being a stay-at-home dad.
To keep the kids active outdoors, Jolene brought a frisbee and took them to the park to play.
On the weekend, Raymond had the day off, so he drove everyone to the nearby beach.
It was less than ten minutes away—lots of open space, but crowded on weekends.
Along the long pier, people were strolling and fishing. On the beach, families walked their dogs, sunbathed, and swam or surfed in the water. Of course, there were also families having picnics by the sea.
It didn’t seem like the best place for frisbee—better to find a quieter spot in a park.
They arrived at the beach with nothing, so they just took off their shoes and walked along the shore.
Jolene told Ben to lead the way. “You’re in charge of forging the path. The rest of us have to walk exactly in your footprints—anyone who falls off gets eaten by sharks. And whoever gets eaten has to take the lead.”
Ben’s eyes widened with excitement. He marched ahead, constantly looking back to see who’d fallen off.
Raymond trailed far behind, keeping his distance. He felt like he was getting more childish by the day—just to avoid being told he’d “fallen off,” he stayed well away from the three of them.
But Ben wasn’t about to let his brother off that easily. Halfway through, he ran back to drag Raymond into the game, announcing cheerfully, “Hugh, you didn’t follow my path—you got eaten by a shark a long time ago! Now you have to lead!”
Raymond: “…”
So Raymond led the way, with Ben wobbling behind, stepping in his brother’s giant footprints. Unfortunately, his brother’s stride was way too long, and Ben quickly fell off. He yelled, “Ahh! I got eaten by a shark! Hugh, take smaller steps!”
Emma and Jolene exchanged glances, giggling behind them.
Time flew by, and soon it was the end of August—the kids were going back to school. Jolene deeply felt the joy of “the little monsters returning to their cages.”
Although school let out early at 2:40 PM, Jolene still gained half a day to write—or to browse bookstores, instead of spending every single day playing with the kids and helping with homework.
Before school started, Jolene took the two kids to the mall to buy new fall clothes.
The weather was cooling down, and Jolene needed to update her own wardrobe too. After three months here, she’d barely spent any money—mother and daughter had saved over $8,000 from her nanny salary. As for the book royalties, the quarterly payment was almost due.
Over the two-month summer break, the kids had played outside every day and grown quite a bit—each about a centimeter taller (roughly 0.4 inches). Ben and Emma loved getting measured and would beg Jolene to check their height long before the two weeks were up.
For Emma, Jolene picked out some light sweaters, long-sleeved tees, hoodies, a denim jacket, tracksuits, and sneakers. She had school uniforms, so these were for outdoor wear—and she didn’t buy too many at once.
Jolene didn’t go for expensive kids’ clothes—most were around ten dollars. But for Ben, since Raymond gave a generous budget and Ben’s clothes usually looked pricey, Jolene shopped at children’s brand stores and bought striped sweater sets and a little blazer—priced at several dozen dollars each.
For herself, Jolene shopped at mainstream brand stores and bought basics: a trench coat, loose turtleneck sweaters, and vintage jeans—nothing too expensive.
But adult clothes were still pricier than kids’. A trench coat, for example, was $34.95.
The average U.S. household income at the time was around $3,600 a month. Jolene’s nanny salary was $3,200 a month with room and board included—so compared to the average family, she was now solidly middle-class.
After buying everything, they were about to head back when Ben suddenly looked up at Jolene and asked, “Jolene, why didn’t you buy anything for my brother?”
Jolene paused. “Your brother’s an adult—he buys his own clothes. Or… do you want to buy him something?”
Remembering that Ben had his own little savings now, Jolene understood.
“Yeah, I want to buy my brother a present. Can you help me pick something?” Ben said seriously.
Jolene felt warm inside. This kid had never forgotten why he’d started earning money in the first place—he still wanted to spend his hard-earned cash on his brother. If she were Mr. Raymond, she’d be incredibly moved—just like when Emma wanted to use her $20 to buy her mom a dress.
“Sure! But if you’re buying a gift for your brother, you should choose it yourself. I can give you some advice, but it’s better if you pick it out yourself,” Jolene suggested.
She didn’t dare pick out clothes for Mr. Raymond herself. Although his outfits looked simple, maybe it was just his good proportions or good looks—he never dressed flashy, but he carried everything well, like a clothes hanger. Everything fit him perfectly and looked great.
She’d never seen those basic-style pieces in mainstream brand stores—the fabrics and tailoring didn’t seem ordinary.
Ben thought it over. Kids loved having choices, but Ben clearly had trouble deciding—he wanted to buy everything.
They went straight to a men’s clothing store—Jolene specifically took them to a higher-end brand shop, so the clothes wouldn’t be too cheap for Mr. Raymond.
But then Jolene glanced at the pink long-sleeved T-shirt on the mannequin—$130.
Ben could afford it, but it’d clean out his savings…
Jolene felt awkward. She looked up at the brand name again—wasn’t this Ralph Lauren?
Oh no. She’d accidentally led Ben into this store to buy clothes for Raymond. If Ben fell in love with something and found out at checkout that one item would bankrupt his little fund—wouldn’t he just collapse on the floor crying?
Jolene: “…”
“Ahem, Ben,” Jolene tugged his wrist and said softly, “You’ve got $320 in your little fund right now. Do you want to buy just one outfit for your brother, or do you want to buy a lot of clothes?”
Ben looked up, a little confused. He didn’t get why she was asking, and casually said, “Of course I want to buy a lot.”
Jolene nodded. “Oh. Well, your brother’s clothes seem pretty expensive. I just saw a polo shirt on that mannequin for $450. Maybe after we save a bit more, we could buy one. But that T-shirt might not be as expensive—should we check the prices first and plan it out?”
Hearing that, Ben realized he really did need to check prices—otherwise, what if he couldn’t afford it? Especially when he heard one shirt cost $450.
He’d been learning math too. Jolene had just bought him clothes for a few dozen dollars each—he had no idea his brother’s clothes were this expensive!
Ben instantly stepped into the adult world.
Jolene had only wandered into this store by accident, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t afford it—it just wasn’t for her.
After that, Ben checked the price tag every time he picked something out. In the end, he chose two items for his brother: a black jacket for $179 and a gray sweater for $59.
Ben calculated that he hadn’t gone over budget, so he decided to buy both.
Jolene wiped her forehead and went to pay. She had to admit—both pieces looked great. Ben had good taste; they seemed like they’d suit Mr. Raymond perfectly.
When they got home, Ben couldn’t wait to show off his haul to his brother.
He chattered on and on about their shopping trip, his face beaming with pride and clearly begging for praise.
Raymond was surprised—he hadn’t expected his little brother to actually buy him two outfits.
Jolene recorded Ben’s expenses clearly in the ledger and returned the leftover money from today’s purchases to Mr. Raymond.
That night, after the kids were asleep, Jolene was writing downstairs as usual—it had become a fixed routine.
Raymond stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“What?” Jolene closed her notebook and stood up, puzzled.
“Did Ben spend a bit too much? He used up all his earnings in one go.” Raymond had a slight smile, as if he felt awkward bringing it up—otherwise, it might sound like he was criticizing her.
It was true—the kid had earned money for so long and spent it all in one day. That could encourage careless spending habits and make him lose sight of the true value of things. But then again, Jolene hadn’t known what price range Raymond usually wore.
“Sorry, I didn’t think it through carefully. Ben genuinely just wanted to buy you clothes with his own money. I figured your clothes don’t look like mass-market brands—the fabrics and cuts all seem pricey—and I was afraid he’d buy something you wouldn’t like, so I took him to a store that looked nice. I didn’t realize it was Ralph Lauren until we were inside,” Jolene explained carefully. “Since we were already there, I told him he had $320 total and asked whether he wanted to buy just one item or several. He said he wanted lots. And you know—I couldn’t exactly tell him to go to a cheaper store instead.”
Jolene gave an awkward laugh. “But whether expensive or cheap, it’s Ben’s way of showing he cares. I’ve never seen him willing to spend money on anything else like this.”
Raymond nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. He’d just suddenly realized that, for a five-year-old, that amount of money was a lot.
“Sorry, I wasn’t being fair. Ben really does depend on me,” Raymond said, eyes lowered, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He glanced down at his pajamas, a little surprised. “Do my everyday clothes really look that expensive?”
Jolene: “…”
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