The Shortest Month: February
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It’s February 1, and we’re sleeping on our mattress on the floor. I still haven’t gotten paid, and Elizabeth feels different, almost like she’s a different person. I know this transition in her life has been difficult, but her temperament has changed; I could feel it in my bones. Or at least I thought I could. Making nearly two dozen trips up and down four flights of stairs does something to a person. Next time, we will hire professional movers rather than doing it ourselves. I was sore for the following week but happy about the apartment.
Before we moved in together, Elizabeth and I did some thorough apartment research. It was also at that time that we realized we had very different perspectives on the type of home we could live in. I lived in a four-bedroom, four-bath apartment with three roommates. None of our rooms had windows, but there was a skylight that slightly illuminated our living room for a few hours each day. On the other hand, Elizabeth had windows in every room, two roommates, and a living room with two windows. How pretentious. I was so astonished the first time I visited that I had to frequently stay the night three to five times a week, to ensure I wasn’t dreaming.
I, in fact, was not dreaming. Nor was I dreaming when every living space I found suitable was not up to Elizabeth’s standard. Frankly, at the time, I was frustrated that my selections were found to be subpar. I was looking for affordability, while she was looking for comfort. A compromise was found at the crossroads of reality and affordability. While it is unfortunate that our first living space was no more (read: “New Year a Traveling”), we found a lovely two bed, two bath, balcony, and office space for a “reasonable” price. In this economy, is anything truly reasonable?
The accounting error, which caused me to utilize my emergency funds and increase my credit usage, was still not resolved.
Nevertheless, we were in a new place, our new home, with no bedframe or couch, just two mattresses, kitchen appliances, our clothes, and electronics. I found it funny, and so did she. One week before Valentine’s Day, and I was giddy. I thought things were finally nesting together until she said warmly, “I feel like we don’t see each other anymore.” I was puzzled; we lived together, slept together, ate together, pleasured each…
