Where Are We Now? (Marina)

Fifteen.

Maya

When we arrived, it was even nicer in person. It had a big open green yard with beds of flowers surrounding the house. There were stairs that brought you up to the wrap around porch. Windows, giant windows, ones that Carina loved as soon as we looked it up and the giant solid wood front door.

Excitement filled my chest as we crossed the threshold of the house into the giant foyer. The ceiling rose to the second floor and the long hallway followed down to what I assumed was the backyard, the spare bedroom and first bathroom.

Carina's eyes looked around and I pulled her over to sign the paper that said we were viewing the house. We entered what was the big family room that had a porch view window, giving us a whole view of the yard.

The dining room was reasonably sized, but it was the kitchen that looked like it was out of a fairytale. Even Carina who seemed detached from the whole experience wandered around and traced her hand over the small marble kitchen island. "Still your dream kitchen?"

"It's beautiful," she said simply and I played with my ring as I watched her look around and feel the cabinets. Carina had never been this quiet with me. Of course I knew she had reason, there was only one logical thing Ross could have said to make Carina this upset. I just wished she'd tell me she was upset instead of being quiet. Anything other than quiet.

"Do you want to go upstairs and look at the rooms?" I questioned pointing at the doorway that led to the staircase.

"Sure," her voice was clipped and took my hand to let me help her up the stairs.

We walked up the stairs slowly, Carina holding onto me as we moved up the staircase step by step. Maybe a non-staircase home would be in our best interest. The first room we found was the master bedroom which was huge and spacious. Windows surrounded the room and gave us our first view of the backyard.

It was equally grand and the pool didn't over overshadow the entire thing. Carina was in the bathroom while I looked at the backyard trying to picture living here. Images of Carina sunbathing in the backyard while I had a little outdoor gym. Best of both worlds in my opinion. She needed to see it too.

"The backyard is huge!" I found her looking into the tub. She nodded and kept looking around to the long double sink. "Don't you want to look at it?"

"Why?" She asked me with a laugh, "I believe you, I'm sure it's great." Her cane tapped the tile with every step towards me.

Her tone had sent shivers down my back. "Do you umm want to look at the other rooms?"

"What if you look at them and decide for the both of us if they are perfect for us too." She walked by me and I closed my eyes.

"Carina," I called out after her.

"I just don't understand how that even came up between you two," she laughed as she asked and I knew it was to fight back the urge to either cry or yell.

"What?" I asked, hoping it wasn't what I thought it was. Although I knew it was naive for me to think it wasn't, and maybe it was better to just have said I knew what she was talking about because the glare Carina was giving me... "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?! Again! You're 'sorry', again!?" She snickered as tears came to her eyes, "Why were you even talking about that with her, MaYa!?"

I looked down at the floor with my eyes closed, "She was in my office and saw your picture on my desk. She asked if you were my wife and then I guess logically she asked if I had kids and I said..." I stopped talking, remembering the exact words I used and closed my eyes in a sigh, bringing my hand up to push back my hair.