Arriving home

You wish your building had an elevator once again as you lift the suitcases up while climbing the stairs to your apartment. Memories of moving day are still fresh in your mind.

As you unlock the door, you ask Ashley if she wants to come in.

"Sure. I can stay for coffee at least. I want to hear how you went from having to be dragged there to bringing home the first pet you talked to." She walks past you into the apartment, still carrying the garbage bag of cushions. "Hey, Tibby. Is it OK if I put this down in the living room?" she says over her shoulder.

Tibby looks at you before saying, "It's a good place to start off, I guess." She looks into the apartment and then back at you.

"In you go. The living room is just to the right." She grabs one of the suitcases and wheels it into the apartment. You grab the other one and roll it in before shutting the door behind you. "The best place for these will be the bedroom. Just follow me if you want to see it now." You don't wait for a response, but just start walking. You don't turn around when you hear the wheels of the other suitcase moving on the floor behind you.

You put the suitcase down beside the bed on the closet side. Tibby puts the gym bag and other suitcase beside them. Now unburdened, there are four empty hands in the room and privacy for the first time since you met. You pull her into your side and say, "Welcome home, Tibby. I hope you enjoy living here. I know it's not much, but I hope it's good enough."

Tibby hugs you. "If it's good enough for you it's good enough for me. Actually, I'm surprised to see a bed. The way you were talking about being a poor student, I expected to see a mattress on the floor or something."

"Not that far off. Grandpa and Grandma decided they could survive with one less guest room so that's where the bed frame came from and the dresser. Grandpa said something about good sleep for a good brain and he didn't want any grandson of his to not have the brains to pass. Oh oh, sounds like Ashley has started making herself at home. The bathroom is there and I'll show you the kitchen and then we'll settle into the living room with our guest. We can unpack later, OK?"

She nods her head as you pull her across the hall into the kitchen. Ashley stands in front of an open cupboard as she scoops coffee grounds into your French press. The kettle is already on.

"How do you take your coffee?"

Tibby replies, "Can I have a cafe au lait please?"

"I have the perfect cup for that!" you say. You open another cupboard and reach up high to get something that looks more like an overgrown teacup than your regular mugs.

Pretty soon, you are all seated in the living room. As soon as you sat down on the couch, Tibby scampered there too. Ashley took the armchair. She starts the conversation, "So, John, spill it. What's been going through your head today?"

"Come on. This is a big deal. Pet ownership. It's something that lasts longer than a day. And you have been pushing this so hard, that I thought you'd push me into making a bad decision. Thanks for not talking much at the pet store, by the way."

Ashley starts waving her hand. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. This all sounds like old news. We've had that conversation before. And you're welcome, by the way. As if I'd let you make a wrong decision if there was anything I could do about it." She grins.

"Yeah, but Tibby hasn't heard it yet and you keep going on like I'm some sort of pet-hater. You might make Tibby think she's unwanted." You gaze at your pet and then look back to Ashley. "Anyway, you remember back when my family had that cat for a while? Sometimes it would let me pet it. I liked that. It was relaxing."

Tibby piped in. "That sounds nice. I like relaxing like that. Cuddling is good too." You notice that in her enthusiasm, she moved just a bit closer to you.

You smile at her and continue. "Good to know. I remembered that story when I walked into the pet store. It seemed like a better alternative than coming home to an empty apartment. That would be culture shock after my big family. That's when I decided I wanted a pet."

Tibby took another sip and then set her cup down on the coffee table. She unbuttoned her cardigan.

"How can you even wear a thing like that in the summer?" asked Ashley.

"The best reading spot had air-conditioning blowing on it."

Just then, Ashley's cellphone rings. She jumps up and heads towards the kitchen. "Excuse me. I have to take this." You can hear her speak a few sentences in the kitchen and then she comes back out again. "I have to go. Or do you need me to stay to make sure that Tibby gets to keep her cushions?"

You laugh. "I doubt it can be worse than the phase you went through with that boy band, Ash. I think we'll be OK."

"What? They were cute! You let me know if you have any problems with him, Tibby. It was nice to meet you. See you later, John." And with that she was gone. The next thing you hear is your apartment door closing.

"So, since she mentioned them, would you like to unpack the cushions now? As you can tell, my interior design hasn't gotten to cushions yet. It's all hand-me-downs." You are curious to see what she thought was so important to bring with her. You both get up and go to the bag.

She opens it. Along the side of the bag is a big, flat pillow. "This one is for sitting on the floor." She puts the large, forest green corduroy pillow on the far side of the armchair where it will catch the afternoon sun. The next one is a circular black velvet cushion which she decides to put in the armchair. Reaching into the bag again, she pulls out a quilted cushion. You reach out and she hands it to you. On the black background, there are satiny green shapes with a lighter green rectangle on top. The overall effect is that it looks like the cushion is encrusted with emeralds. How clever! This won't be so bad after all. You look up to see her reaching to the bottom of the bag. "Last one, and the most girly. If you don't want it in the living room, please let me keep it in the bedroom. Please don't make me get rid of it." With that she pulls it out of the bag. "Tada!"

Well, it is girly. It looks like it's overly plump. It's unmistakably pink. And is that shaggy fun fur? You can understand why she kept this one for last, especially when you look at her cute face. You grin and nod. "Yeah, you can use that in the living room. Just don't be surprised if it disappears for guys' night."

She hugs it as she carries it back to the couch. She sits back down and puts it on her lap. You walk over and hand her her cup before you sit down and pick your cup up again. You talk a bit more while you finish your coffees.

Later, she unpacks while you cook supper. Before you go into the kitchen, you show her the closet which has a rack on either side and a set of shelves at the back. You still have some unpacked boxes on the floor. "Have at it. No shoes on the shelves. Otherwise, make yourself at home. If you need to move my stuff higher so that you can reach yours, just let me know. Oh, and if you find room in the dresser, it's yours." With that you walk away.

When she comes out for supper, the cardigan is gone and she's unbuttoned two buttons on her blouse. The sleeves are rolled up to her elbows. After supper, you sit on the couch together, much closer than before, and watch TV. When she slides down and curls up with her head in your lap, you know it's time for bed. When the show ends, you turn off the TV.

"Come on, Pet. Come to bed. I'm not one of those owners that makes pets sleep on the floor." She changes while you brush your teeth. She's wearing a black tank top with short black baggy shorts that have lace at the bottom. By the time she's removed the makeup from her face, you are in bed, holding the covers open for her to crawl in. "In you get, Pet." You fall asleep with her in your arms.