Page 116 of Where We Fall

“Picking up her favorite dessert. A slice of atomic cake.”

He looks at me strangely. “Atomic cake? I’ve never heard of it.”

I smile over my cup of coffee. “You’ve got a lot to learn about Chicago. I’ll just have to introduce you to the famous dessert today.”

“I look forward to it. We should pick up some flowers for her too. Her room could use it.”

He has been so incredible with my mom. It’s only been a couple of days, and he is so concerned with how to make her comfortable and happy. He’s patient with her remarks and makes her laugh more often than I’ve seen anyone do before.

“I forgot to ask what the realtor said about your home yesterday.”

“Ah. I need to stop by the post office today. I’m going to mail her a copy of my key. Ma is going to straighten it up, and then she is going to go in with a photographer to take pictures. It should be on the market in the next week.”

“Did she tell you how long it should take?”

I know he says not to worry, but it would be nice if he could get it sold sooner rather than later.

“With the pictures I sent her that I had in my phone, she thinks it’ll have multiple offers the day it goes on the market. It’s a seller’s market right now and a highly sought-after neighborhood.”

“Are you gonna miss your house?” I ask.

He laughs. “You keep thinking this decision is gonna end up with me filled with regret. The only thing that I would have ever regretted was not doing what I needed to keep us together. Trust me. I’m happy. I’m excited to be here with you.”

“Sorry. I’m going to stop asking.”

“Good. Now, let’s get our day started. I need to start exploring my new neighborhood. We should go out to eat tonight.”

We grab our jackets and get into my car.

“Sure. Are you thinking fancy restaurant or more casual?” I ask.

“Let’s go for casual.”

"Alright. I haven’t lived here for over a year. We may need to do some research.”

“On it. I’ll look some things up this afternoon.”

The afternoon goes by quickly. From the errands we ran to the time we spent at the bakery. Marcus loved the atomic cake, but I don’t think I’ve met someone who doesn’t.

Mom was in heaven with her slice of the cake. She had another good day today and recognized Marcus right away.

I took him to the local grocery store, where we stocked up on everything we needed. I quickly learned that his taste in food is expensive. He went for thirty-dollar blocks of cheese, sausage that I didn’t know could get that expensive, and all the finest wine.

We’re gonna have to have a serious talk about my inability to say no to good food. If he wants me to fit in my clothes, I can’t live in a kitchen full of these foods all the time.

When we take a break to relax for a bit, I think about when I should start looking for work. It keeps running through my head. I know he wants to take some time to settle in with each other, but I don’t have a thick bank account like him, and I don’t want to use his money.

It’s one thing for him to say he wants to put the down payment on a house; it’s something else entirely to use his money for my everyday living costs.

I have a great resume, and everybody needs an IT person, so work generally isn’t hard to come by in my field.

The job will likely be in the city, which is okay. I love downtown Chicago. Having lunch on the steps by the river, watching the boats pass by. I always loved it when I would catch the Wednesday or Saturday morning bridge lifts along the river. Watching all the sailboats with the backdrop of the city is a sight worth seeing.

I’m excited to be able to show Marcus these things, too. He finds the fun in every situation, and there’s plenty of fun to be had in Chicago.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Marcus

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