“Ready?” I asked when he released me.
 
 He nodded, and I handed him the key.
 
 “Me?” he asked.
 
 “I want you to be first.”
 
 “Ok.”
 
 He opened the door and I followed him inside.
 
 The door opened to an open living slash dining room, kitchen area separated with a bar. There were stairs to one side, and behind them, it looked like there could be a laundry area tucked under the stairs on the same side as the garage. Our footsteps echoed in the empty space.
 
 Lumi stopped in the middle of the living room. I stepped up behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle.
 
 “Good?” I asked.
 
 He nodded. “Our home…”
 
 I kissed his hair. “Our home. Where we’ll have our family. Where you can practice any recipe you want.” I paused. “Do you like it?”
 
 He nodded. “I do.”
 
 “Good. Let’s take the tour, then we’ll go down to see what options we have for furniture and essentials.”
 
 “Ok.”
 
 I leaned in and kissed the side of his neck. “Our home, my Lumi.”
 
 “Our home,” he echoed, a smile in his voice.
 
 ???
 
 I came down the stairs to find Lumi in the kitchen, frowning as he stirred something on the stove. I walked over and wrapped my arms around him from behind.
 
 “What’s wrong, Pookie?” I asked with one of my increasingly outlandish pet names.
 
 He turned and crinkled his nose at me. “Pookie?”
 
 “Don’t like it?”
 
 He shook my head. “I do not.”
 
 I kissed the tip of his nose. “Then I won’t use it again, Sweetheart.”
 
 He sighed and leaned against me. “I like that one and Baby. Those are my favorites.”
 
 “Gotta try them all,” I teased. “What if there’s a new favorite.”
 
 “You are silly.”
 
 I laughed and kissed his hair. “What’s wrong, my Lumi?”
 
 “I do not want you to go.”
 
 I held him tighter. “I know, Baby, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”
 
 “Why do you have to go?”