Page 23 of A Forgotten Mistake

“I do not need a freaking catio. And this… this doesn’t mean I’m moving in.”

“My god, you’re a hard sell.”

“I can be much harder.”

“Oh? Sounds sexy.”

He laughs again and shoos me away. “Alright, Mr. I’m Not Rushing Anything but I Bought a House.”

I lead him over to the front door. Though I’m waiting on things to finalize, I do have permission to be in the house to show Gabriel. The realtor is waiting in her car in the driveway while I show Gabriel around, so we can’t linger too terribly long.

I pull open the door and wave him inside.

“After you.”

“Did you buy a house because I said I liked the size of yours and the location of mine?”

“Absolutely not. You see, what happened was I was walking down the street, and this woman was like ‘You look like a sucker,’ and then she told me if I didn’t purchase her house, she was going to mug me. My face is far too pretty to be involved in a mugging.”

“Ah yes, all of that is like… one hundred percent facts, I’m sure,” Gabriel says as he looks around the foyer that leads into an open plan kitchen/living room. “Oh, it’s so nice. I don’t even want to know what this cost. Look at how fancy everything is. And that huge glass door leading to the backyard… and the bay window…”

He sets Lucy Fur down, who sets to work on scrutinizing the place. “Four bedrooms?”

“Yeah. Lucy Fur can have her own for her demon worshiping and sacrifices.”

“She doesn’t do sacrifices or demon worshiping, do you, Lucille?”

The cat is too busy sharpening her claws on the wallpaper to answer.

“Oh my god, Lucille, no. That probably cost like a hundred dollars per strip,” Gabriel says as he rushes over. She hops away and scurries off, surely to go find something else to destroy.

“Have you ever told that cat no before? We should write it in her baby book; I’m sure you have one. ‘On this very day of this very month, Lucy Fur was told no for the first time in her hate-filled life.”

“Strangely, I never seem to tell you no either,” he says as he eyes me.

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re telling me no to all of my hopes and dreams.” I gesture at the house, which I think is an excellent example.

“I never said no; I said you needed to have patience.”

I grumble about that stupid idea.

“When do you get the keys?”

“Shortly. Everything is almost finalized. They’re just waiting for a few things to go through. You’d be surprised how quickly people get you things when you have money or you blackmail them.”

“Or you could have patience. And I hope the blackmail was a joke.”

“Stop using that P word, Gabriel. It makes me feel disgusting inside. There’s a different P word that I can get behind, though. It’s penis.”

“Ah, I apologize for ruining your life with such a heinous word. And thank you for letting me know which P word you prefer.”

I show him the rest of the rooms, including the large master bedroom with an attached bathroom featuring a shower and a huge tub.

“Is this a bit too much?” I ask. “Or possibly not enough?”

“How could a house for our one-month anniversary possibly be too much? If anything… I’m a little disappointed. I thought you’d at least get me a car and a boatanda ring, but all you got me was this measly house.”

“I hear your sarcasm… but I’m going to pretend I don’t and roll with it. What kind of car do you want? And I thought you got seasick, but if you want a boat, even if you’re never going to use it, I’ll get you the best one I can find.”

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