And by "we", I mostly mean "Gabe" because he's got a lot more savings and a better credit history than I do, even if you don't make a lot of assumptions about what the original Krystle was doing in her life. All the paperwork is in his name, and I'm more or less cool with that, even if I probably should be more paranoid about my whole life being upended instantly.
We got a pretty decent deal in a good location - Moira isn't going to have to change school districts and can still see her friends without a whole lot of effort. Between what the two of us make, it's surprisingly affordable, although I do kind of worry that this is in part because we're in New Orleans and can wind up literally underwater at any time. I wasn't really old enough for Hurricane Katrina to really register with me, but both my parents and Momma Kamen asked me if it really makes sense to buy property in the Delta. Maybe it's not, but, somehow, this has become my place, and our place, and I don't want to leave it.
Of course, moving in has been another reminder of how the Inn has left me, even after nine years, a little afraid to settle in: My apartment had enough furniture and other stuff that we had to use a bigger moving van this time, but the amount that's Moira's dwarfs the amount that's mine. Yeah, Gabe and I and other people spoil her, but I never bought much of a sofa for the living room or much more than the minimum for the kitchen, and the bed I bought two years ago went on Facebook Marketplace. I'm sure my lady friends have noticed that I cycle through my nice outfits a lot faster than they do on girls' nights. They believe me when I say I've been poor (which isn't really a lie), but there's still some "you could be someone else tomorrow" in there.
And then, once Moira and I got our stuff in, Gabe arrived with his van, which was packed, even though I kind of gather that his apartment in New York was actually smaller than ours: Bigger TV, a sofa and a recliner, sports memorabilia, a record player and a bunch of vinyl... More to show for being 30-ish than I do, for sure!
(For those keeping track, my driver's license says I'm 31 and I've lived 25 years; I've gotten used to saying the former when asked my age but it still feels like lying, more than writing "Krystle Kamen" for my name and marking "female" for my sex does!)
The house isn't big, but it's got a kitchen, living room, and dining area downstairs; three bedrooms upstairs, and an attic that could probably be converted to some other use. We set up one bedroom to use as Gabe's home office, since he'd be working remotely now, before starting on the master bedroom. We put the new king-sized bed together and filled closets and bureaus, and then stood back to look at our handiwork. He beamed, but I was like, "huh!"
Not the expression he was expecting. "Something wrong?"
"No, it's just kind of hitting me that we're basically married now. This is a shared space, we're splitting the bills, no place to retreat to if we get upset. It's different than sharing a room in a cramped apartment with Moira or Karla. Like, next year isn't when things change, but just when we throw a party and sign some papers. This is the actual day."
"Is that a problem?" His eyes hit a cross necklace that I'd laid on top of my dresser. "Of course it is; I just assumed. Look, I can move some stuff into the office and get another bed--"
I put my hands on his cheeks and kissed him. "No, it's not a problem, it's just, look, you know I'm kind of a weird girl with a lot of contradictory stuff in my head. I didn't really grow up dreaming about my wedding or being Missus someone, so it's kind of the first time I'm thinking of a lot of this." I stepped in a bit closer. "It's kind of nice to know there's going to be someone there to hold me every night."
He took the hint and pulled me in, cupping my butt and letting my soft chest press against his hard one. "I'm not going to mind holding this, either."
"Mm."
He chuckled. "Of course, if we do enough, then that home office might have to double as a nursery."
It was the first time either of us had said something like this, but, strangely, it didn't leave me shaken. "Well, we'd better be careful on the timing. See what the next year brings before we make that commitment!"
Moira interrupted us at that point, but we did pick up where we left off later, and I can confirm - I does feel pretty good to fall asleep in your man's arms, in the bed you share, in the house that has your names on the door.
-Jonah/Krystle
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