Our Home

Stepping out of the train station, gazing towards the sky dreadfully, he sighed. Heaven was about to cry while he took the luggage. I was staring at him with narrowed eyes observing all of his dramas, drinking hot coffee from across the station. I have no idea why the hell he dislikes such a romantic climate? The petrichor soothes the brain cells and George has his drama going on. Why do men have to be such a baby about this beautiful weather?  I smiled looking at the sky, dreaming to take a bath. It reminded me of how tired I am of traveling, I need a shower. When I looked back at George, he gave me a cunning smile, conveying that I won't be lasting at this place for long. He always does this, gives me a look showing that he knows me so well. Well, he is wrong this time. He marched towards me and told, ‘Do you need me to take you to our apartment, or you wanna get a return ticket from here itself?’ He burst into laughter. I am so pissed at him right now. But .. but look at him. How can I be mad at this charming, cute face? This isn’t fair! I responded, sarcastically calming my hormones, ‘HAHA, CAN YOU SEE ME LAUGHING MY ASS OFF?’ I deliberately hit him on his arms, ‘NO.’ I spite out. ‘SO STOP PISSING ME OFF EVERY NOW AND THEN.’ He made an annoying face and called a cab. I advised him to make some arrangements for breakfast as we had a long journey, and my stomach required some dumping in. He called at a place nearby our apartment and placed an order for 2 sandwiches and 1 chocolate frappe for me as he knows I crave caffeine, and he comes second. ‘ But George, I want to eat something right now. The mouses in my stomach are HUNGRY!’ I said. He rolled his eyes at me. ‘PLEASEEEEEE!’ I stubbornly said. Making a cute face I added, ‘I am not perfect. Stop looking at me as if I am an enemy and gimme some cash. At least I can get some chocolate here. Huh!’ I strolled towards a shop not far away, and got some chocolates and left only 2 for George.

As the cab arrived, we got in, and the cab driver switched the engine on advised, ‘It might rain any minute. Better you get in fast.’ In no time, we settled in, and he drove. When George stepped out of the car to get the ordered breakfast, it started raining, as if on cue. . I pressed my fist against my mouth so that I wouldn’t laugh out loud. Looks like the weather hates him as much as he hates it. Such mutual feelings. I coughed and said ‘Karma,’ under my breath. He shot me a dark look over his shoulder but ran inside the shop to seek shelter. He ran out soon after, carrying takeaway boxes in his hands. He made quick work of it and settled in before he could be soaked. Much to his delight, less to mine. I still couldn’t help myself and ended up guffawing noisily. He smiled at me, as he pulled his jacket off to reveal his veiny arms and, we were on our way again, reaching our destination sooner this time.

I had no idea how the place looked from inside. All of it was taken care of by George since I was busy packing and working late in my previous office. My ex-boss had been cruel and merciless. Being a part of a publication house didn’t do me any good when it came to having a good boss. I had long working hours and could hardly contribute any time to give my husband. But it will be different here - with my new job. At least I hope so. After paying the cab driver, I skipped my way to the apartment door, excited as ever. George followed behind me with our luggage. I giddily turned to him, ‘Give me the keys! I want to have a look at it first.’ He smiled and handed them to me. As I unlocked the door and pushed the knob, I was greeted with a huge empty room, compartmentalized into three parts by the different kinds of wooden floor used. One was the kitchen, where I could see a stove over the platform and sink beside it. Another was the bedroom, THANKFULLY with a door that separated the hall and lastly the bathroom attached to the bedroom... which had NO BATHTUB?! I gasped, traumatized. My heart skipped a beat and my mouth hung open. ‘WHAT IS THIS? NO BATHTUB? EMPTY ROOMS? NO BED? NO TELEVISION? AND LOOK AT THE COLOR OF THE WALLS!’ I screamed at the top of my lungs. He defended himself with an equally loud voice. ‘THIS IS OUR APARTMENT. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FURNITURE, BUT YOU WERE BUSY WITH WORK SO, IN CASE YOU DON’T REMEMBER, I TOLD YOU THAT WE CAN PURCHASE IT FROM HERE ITSELF. ALSO, I RECALL TELLING YOU THAT I COULDN’T GET A BATHROOM HAVING A BATHTUB AS IT. WAS. NOT. AVAILABLE.’

And he stormed off, leaving me alone here. For a moment, I felt that coming here was the wrong decision. This is bad. The way I hoped this apartment to be, it isn’t. What are you doing Meghan? Stop being so negative. Take deep breaths, and let it go. These things happen all the time. And George will be back soon. You can unpack and clean a bit until then. I finished the chores distractedly and somewhere along the way I realized that we had forgotten to have our breakfast. George must be hungry. Where the hell is he? I called his cell, but he didn’t receive it. I was getting increasingly worried so I decided to take a shower to get my mind off of it. I’m sure he’s fine, I assured my worried mind.

I grabbed a towel, hung it behind the door, and stood below the shower, after removing the dirty clothes. I turned the geyser on and could feel the hot, steaming water over my body, relaxing me, while the sound of rain coming from the outside calmed me. Out of nowhere, I heard a whisper behind me, ‘I’ve ordered the bed, it will be arriving by evening. Also, we will be going to the furniture store first thing in the morning to decorate OUR NEW HOME.’ It was George. I blushed, and he grabbed me from behind. I could feel him undressing. He hugged me from behind, moved my hair to the side, and trailed kisses along my shoulder. I could feel his breath with the steam of hot water. He hugged me tighter and bent me over, slipping his hands inside me. I was soaking wet. Later, we made love and washed each other lovingly. He dressed me as if I were a baby and my heart swelled for him. OMG! I love this monkey so much. This place is our new home, and I love it because I have George with me. With him, I can love any place I am in. He was wrong this time. I am in love with Brooklyn, it brought us closer. We had lunch afterward, and the bed arrived not much later. It was king-sized and perfectly fit the theme of our bedroom. It looked good. Maybe when I first saw it, I was fatigued and that might be the reason for my bias. But it is what it is. Later, I resorted to arranging our clothes in the wardrobe, which arrived as a complementary set alongside the bed. George was sitting by the huge glass window in the hall, surfing the internet, and taking random candids of me every once in a while as I worked. Haha, he still loves me. Yay!  

I was now preparing dinner, as we’d already had takeout for lunch and chomped on unhealthy calories along the entire journey. The spaghetti was almost cooked, and George brought us some wine from the store nearby. We hogged on the food, our worn-down bodies were asking for fuel after a long day of traveling and labor. George offered to do the dishes and clean up, arguing that I’d done enough work for one day. I smiled and nodded, sluggishly making my way to the inviting bed and falling over it. He finished all the work before he slid in and laid beside me, tracing his fingers along my forehead, and then to my cheeks. ‘I love you, Meghan. I love you so much. Even your anger makes me fall for you. Being with you makes me so fucking happy. I want to make you happy always. Your smile and happiness matter to me more than anything in this world. If that makes me selfish, so be it. Hehe. Good for you.’ I stared into his eyes for a while, smiling sleepily, then kissed him on his lips softly. He turned me against him and cuddled me in his arms. I felt safe. I told him. ‘I love you too George. I know sometimes I unnecessarily freak out, and I am sorry for that but I’ve realized that, if you are with me, no matter where we stay, it will always feel like home.’ Placing my palm against his cheek I look up at him and whisper, ‘You are my home.’ We both released a happy sigh and laughed at the coincidence. He then kissed me on my forehead and wished me ‘goodnight’, just as I dozed off.