“Oh?”
“Yeah, she’s a teacher at the local prep.”
I remembered him telling me he fell in love with a teacher. He met her at the local bar, and boom, just like that, they hit it off and he was on one knee, proposing to her.
“The condo’s not big. I’ll give you a silent tour, not to wake everyone. As I said, you’re in Lily’s room. We can catch up if you want something to eat or we can leave it till the morning.”
“Leave it to the morning,” I said without hesitation.
He nodded, then turned to say something, but changed his mind.
I walked in as he showed me around, thinking about what he’d said—sure, we were nearly thirty, no longer at the age where we shouldn’t know what we want and we should all be settled down. His small, two-bedroom condo looked like a golden dream as he showed me the small wooden kitchen. It was just about big enough for one person, let alone for two people to be in.
The living room was only a fraction bigger than the kitchen. It housed a leather corner sofa, clearly for the three of them to sit on, and maybe a little room for one more person. In the corner was a small wooden dining set.
The living room had a small opening, and I pictured Greg being in the living room while his wife was in the kitchen, talking about their day or even their kid. The type of thing most married couples would do.
They had a small terrace, and as he showed me around it, I had a feeling I would be spending most of my time looking out, but I knew the view was nothing compared to the penthouse. I thought about planting my iMac out there while I tried to figure out where to go next. The front of the apartment had views of the KFC below and other parts of the town. Everything was quiet and part of me felt nervous about the silence of it all. It was only eleven, but I had no responsibilities and no family to think of, so time has never been my thing for the last five years. I never really thought about what time I would go to bed or what time I woke up. Greg gave me one last pat on the back and I dropped my bag once I was in Lily’s room. I looked around, reminding myself that I would only be here one day or two. I had visions of feasting the night away on pizza and talking about new technology. Greg was right, even if he didn’t say it out loud; we were nearly in our thirties, not some guys in their teens, and I needed to start acting like it. Even if I didn’t have a fucking clue how I was going to do it.