***
My parents and I eat the muffins and drink our coffee before headingover to Ethan’s—myplace.
We spent a couple of hours unloading boxes from Dad’s truck and clothes from my car.
While dad picks up sandwiches for lunch, Mom and I relax on the couch.
Looking around, I see pieces of Ethan, from the large abstract painting over the couch to the fake potted plants on the built-in shelves.
I don’t know how I’ll ever remove all these remnants of Ethan without feeling like I’m throwing him away.
“You ok, pretty girl?” Mom’s voice breaks my contemplation.
“Yeah.” The word is little more than an automatic response. But then I look at her, and the confession sits on the tip of my tongue. “All of this is a little… strange. I keep looking around this place, and it’s nice, but—” I pause, searching for the right words.
“But?” Mom encourages. She’s lounging on the couch facing me, with her knee propped onto the couch, and her arm dangling along the back. I adjust my position so I’m facing her.
“This is Ethan’s place. The placehechose. It has all his furniture in it.” My voice cracks a little, and I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m so grateful to be able to live here. It’s just going to take some time, I think, to settle in and feel like I’m not intruding on his space.”
“You know you don’t have to stay here, right?” Her expression is soft as she looks at me. “If it doesn’t feel right, you can live at home.” I fiddle with my fingers as she speaks. “We can sell this place, and you can use the money to buy something else.” Her voice is shallow, like selling this place is the last thing she wants to do, but I know she doesn’t want to make it feel like she’s forcing this on me. It’s not. I don’t feel like it's being forced on me.
“I know, Ma.” I place my hand on her arm in a reassuring way. “I think having some of my stuff mixed in will help it feel more like my home. I’m also a little nervous about living by myself. I wentfrom living with you all to living with a roommate in school to living with Liv.”
“It’s a lot of transition at once, I suppose.” She looks around before speaking again, “You should get a cat to keep you company.”
“That’s a great idea! I should get a couple of cats. Kittens. That way, they’ll like each other,” I laugh. I’m not going to get a cat.
After lunch, my parents head back to their house, leaving me alone. It’s still a few hours until Chris picks me up, so I decide to start unpacking.
I connect my phone to the Bluetooth speaker system that Ethan had installed—there are speakers in every room—put on my favorite playlist, and grab a box labeled “Clothes.” I set the box on the bed in the primary room and walk over to the closet, opening it only to realize Ethan’s clothes are still hanging up.
I don’t have the mental capacity to go through his things right now, so I shut the closet doors, pick up my box, and head to the guest room. I open the closet; I’m relieved to find it empty.
This will have to do until I’m ready.
I make easy work unloading my clothes, one box at a time.
Britney Spears’ Work Bitch, playing through the speakers, is interrupted by an incoming call.
Thankfully, my phone is in my back pocket, so I don’t have to search for it. I answer it as soon as I see Sam’s name on my screen.
“Hey, hang on. I need to connect this to my headphones.” I hurry into the living room where I left my purse and rummage through it until I find my headphones. Once they’re situated and connected, I turn my focus back to Sam. “Sorry about that. I know this is a first-world problem, but I can’t handle holding my phone to my ear.”
Sam’s lighthearted chuckle makes me smile. “You’re such a princess at heart.” He laughs again. “So, are you all settled in?”
“Settled? Not exactly. But I unpacked my clothes.”
“Whoa, slow down there, tiger. You don’t want to overwork yourself.” I can hear the smile in his voice. I wish I could see him.
“You're in a good mood.”
“I’m always in a good mood when I talk to you, Kitty Kat.”
“Whatever. What did you do today?” I sit down on the couch and prop my legs on the coffee table.
“I slept in, got some tea, and went grocery shopping. I just finished at the gym, and now, I’m relaxing. I have a few minutes before I need to leave to meet up with some friends for a movie and dinner, and I wanted to hear your voice.”
I smile at his words. “Slept in? You heathen! I ran into Chris this morning while I was grabbing muffins, and he’s picking me up later to go to dinner.”
