"Well, you did say he was busy," Celia said.
"I know."
I'd actually wanted to wait and talk about this with him tonight, but I got ahead of myself. A small part of me was hoping that I'd send him this and he'd be like "Are you crazy? We're moving in together." But he hadn't said that at all, which just reinforced my belief that I’d done a good thing by not bringing it up myself. I wasn't sure I'd recover if he told me to my face that he didn't want to move in with me.
I startled when my phone rang. I took it out, holding my breath. This has to be Gabe.
It wasn't.
"Oh crap. I think this is the realtor." I immediately answered. "Hello?"
"Hi. I'm so sorry I forgot to call. I've been meaning to cancel the appointment."
My stomach sank. "But we're already here."
"I'm very sorry you wasted your time. Listen, the reason I've wanted to cancel is because there’s water damage. A pipe broke near the fridge, I'm told."
I groaned. "That would explain that dark shadow next to it."
"Between you and me, I wouldn't advise you to take the place right now. Let's wait and see if the landlord fixes it."
"Right," I said through gritted teeth. "Thank you for calling me."
After hanging up, I turned to my sister. She was smiling from ear to ear.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "All right. I know I told you not to be a grinch, but this is plain weird."
"Nah, I'm just happy that you don't have to live in this shithole. This is me being very, very supportive. Come on, let's go get ice cream."
I laughed. I didn't have anything else planned, so why not?
Her phone beeped again.
"Who keeps texting you?" I asked.
"No one."
I chuckled to myself. Right. I was betting she was seeing someone. My sister was always a bit secretive with her relationships in the beginning.
"All right, change of plans," Celia said. "I actually need to go already."
"Oh, okay. I can have ice cream by myself."
"Or... why don't you buy your favorite Ben and Jerry's and eat it at home?"
I stared at her. "Is there a reason you're trying to get me home?"
"Well, yeah. I need to get out of this neighborhood. It's depressing. And besides, I have a feeling you'll get good news soon."
"Well, I did write to a few more realtors, so maybe something will pan out."
"Exactly," Celia said, but she looked distracted. She was definitely seeing someone new.
I was thrilled for her. My sister was going on a date, and I was going to have one as well with Ben and Jerry.
***
Gabe