Seattle Washington,
April 3, 1991
A few hours later, I wake up to see the early overcast light coming in through my window. I groan a little as I roll over on to my back and reach for Chris but he wasn't there. I slowly sit up in bed and rub the sleep out of my eyes and I see Chris walk back into my room, wearing only his black boxers, his hair so perfect, resting passed his shoulders, carrying coffee and some fruit in a bowl.
"Hi baby," He says so sweetly as he sets the coffee down on the side table. He climbs up on the bed and sits crosslegged in front of me.
"Hey," I say slightly groggy.
"I thought you might be hungry so I ran down to the store and grabbed a little bit of food for you... you didn't have anything in your fridge..." He says as he sets the bowl down between us and grabs a strawberry takes a bite.
"I'm not really hungry..." I say as I look down at the bowl.
"You should eat something though... here..." He says as he picks up another strawberry and holds it up to my lips. I take a bite and he smiles at me as he eats the rest of the strawberry.
"Did you sleep any better after... y'know... " He asks as he looks down at the bowl and takes another strawberry.
"Meh... not really," I say as I reach over and grab one of the coffee cups off the side table, take a sip and hold the warm cup in my hands. He looks at me while he pecks at some more strawberries and reaches up to brush a stray curl that had escaped my ponytail out of my face. I lean into his palm and reach up to hold his hand to my cheek, feeling his soft warmth against me.
"You probably have to get back to your place soon right?" I ask quietly as I closed my eyes and continue to hold his hand to my cheek.
"No baby... I'm all yours..." He says sweetly as I open my eyes to see him grin at me.
"Is there anything you want to do today?" Chris asks after a few moments of silence and he slowly pulls his hand away to eat some more.
"Lay in bed all day... and cry..." I say as I grab a strawberry out of the bowl.
"Awe... baby..." Chris says sadly and takes my hand in his and places a kiss on my palm.
"But I have to stop by the store and tell Nancy everything in person... I figure I owe her that much since I just left a message on the machine..." I say as Chris holds my hand.
"Ok... we'll do that... and then after, why don't you come with me for a drive...? And maybe we can take a look at a house... or something?" He says. I look at him a little confused.
"A house...?" I ask as he grabs the coffee the side table.
"Uh huh," He says as he takes a sip.
"Since when were you thinking of buying a house...?" I ask him a little surprised.
"I don't know... I just thought maybe it was time to have a place we can call our own..." He says as he takes another sip.
" 'We'?" I ask as I raise my eyebrow.
"Well yea... I want you with me of course... so why don't we get a house together..." He says.
"But I can't afford a house..." I say as I look at him.
"Baby... don't worry... I got you. We're a team remember?" He says as he takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. He places a kiss on the back of my hand as his blue eyes look into mine.
"Ok so you want to buy a house and have me live with you too?" I say as if I didn't believe what I was hearing.
"Uh huh... well you wouldn't just live with me, you'd own it too," He says as he places another kiss on the back of my hand. I look at him for a few moments to think it over and I honestly didn't know why I was hesitating in the first place. This is what I've always wanted.
"Um... ok... sure... lets buy a house...?" I say in almost disbelief as a smile spreads across his face. He moves the bowl that was between us to the table, places his hands on my hips and pulls me into him as my legs rest on either side of him. He touches his forehead to mine and closes his eyes.
"Do you know how much I love you?" He asks as he takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. I look at him as he opens his eyes and looks at me under his brow. He then leans into me and presses his lips to mine as he lets go of my hand and cups my face in his palms. I sigh softly against his lips, as I begin to suck his beautiful pouty bottom lip. I then pull away from his lips and touch my forehead to his once again.
"To the stars and back?" I ask softly and he nods.
"Forever and ever..." He says and smiles at me.
•••
"I'll just be a couple of minutes, I think she's down in her office..." I say to Chris as we walk through the door of Lost Loves. I walk towards the back of the store as Chris walks down a couple of isles and looks through some shirts. As I head into the basement where Nancy's office was, I start to feel that horrible lump in my throat like I'm about to cry any second. God damn it, why does this have to feel like this?
"Hey," I say quietly as I knock on her office door.
"Andi honey!" She says as she looks up from her desk and then comes around to give me a big hug. I was startled at first but the hug felt so nice, I just let her squeeze me.
"I'm so sorry about your mom," She says as her voice shakes a little.
Oh no, don't cry Andrea, get it together.
Suddenly the tears sting my eyes and the lump in my throat gets larger. I pull away from her and look away to wipe my tears. I do not need to cry especially right now.
"I uh... I know I just left a message before so I thought I would come in and tell you... I was just so frantic that morning," I try to explain without balling my face off.
"Andi... it's ok... take all the time you need... there's no pressure to come back at all..." She says.
"I brought some papers just in case... I didn't know if you needed proof or - "
"No... don't even worry about that right now... take some time... it's alright," Nancy re-assures me. I look back at her and she offers a sympathetic smile as I wipe the tears from my cheek. I nod and she gives me another hug. After a few minutes I desperately needed to get out of here, so we say goodbye quickly and I head back upstairs.
As I reach the top of the stairs I see Chris still looking through the shirts. He looked so cute flipping through them as his hair fell in front of his face. He glances up for a moment and sees me and flashes me a smile.
"Everything ok?" He asks as he flips his curls out of his face.
"Yea, Nancy's cool... she gave me all the time I need and said for me to call when I'm ready to come back," I say as I walk over to him. He leans down and places a kiss on my lips.
"Ready to go?" He asks as he pulls away from me.
"Yea," I exhale as he takes my hand and we head back out to his truck.
•••
"Ok so... there's this place I found right here... it looks like it's in a good area and they have an open house today... wanna go check it out?" He asks as he closes the driver side door and hands me the real estate section of the newspaper he had folded in the pocket of his black baggy shorts. I take the paper from him as he buckles his seatbelt and look at the photo of the house he circled.
It looked beautiful in the photo. It was a large brick 2 storey house with a large front lawn. A large brick enclosed porch and from the photo, it looked like the back faced a large wooded area. The add explained it was a 2500 square foot 2 storey home nestled in the heart of the Seattle suburbs.
"Perfect for the ever growing family and the ideal location for the best views of Mount Rainier. The lush forest is perfect for the outdoorsman and provides the perfect seclusion for all your privacy needs." I say mocking the ad.
"I know the description is a little..." Chris trails off as we pull away from the curb.
"Over dramatic?" I giggle as I look at him.
"Well yea... but look at the view from just the photo. It's fucking beautiful..." He says as we head down the street. I look back down at the add and see the price.
"Um... Chris, it's a million dollars..." I say in disbelief.
"Yea...?"He says coyly. I look at him and he looks back a me sheepishly.
"Wait... you have a million dollars?" I ask completely in disbelief.
"Uh... well not quite but pretty close... we'd obviously put a down payment on it and then mortgage the rest through the bank...." He says as we come up to a stop light.
"Holy shit! why didn't you tell me?" I exclaim happily.
"Um... I don't know... I just didn't think it was important... I guess... Trust me I'm not used to it at all yet... but I know I want to put it to good use so... investing it in a home seemed like a good idea..." Chris looks at me. I move closer to him and place a quick kiss on his lips. He smiles at me and I push his soft curls behind his ear, revealing his silver hoop earring. He then turns back to look out the windshield and head down the street towards the open house.
We arrive at the house and see the sign on the front yard for us to head inside for the Open House. The front yard was huge and the house was just as beautiful on the outside as it was in the picture. Chris hops out of the drivers side and comes around to help me out of the truck. As he takes my hand, I hold his bicep as we walk up to the house.
"Hi, come on in," A woman in a business suit says as she greets us at the door. She must be the real estate agent.
"I'm Lisa... and you are," She asks as she holds out her hand.
"Chris..." He says awkwardly and shakes her hand.
"Nice to meet you Chris... and is this your wife?" She asks me.
"No... uh...I'm Andi," I say shyly and she shakes my hand.
"I'm sorry... just by the way you two look... I thought... Well, anyways very nice to meet you two... have a look around... if you have any questions just ask. I'll be around," She smiles at us. Chris gives a grin back and we start to walk through the house, taking everything in.
The house was completely empty with beautiful hardwood flooring throughout. The living room had this amazing fire place that really made the room look so cozy. The kitchen was large with all new appliances and the kitchen lead to a back deck with the largest backyard I had ever seen, which also lead to a wooded area in behind the house.
The basement was fully finished with a laundry room off to one side and a small 2 piece bathroom. There was also a 2 piece bathroom on the main floor and 4 bedrooms upstairs with a large bathroom that had a large claw foot tub (it was so big I could almost swim in it), a large shower stall and his and hers sinks. That bathroom also lead into the Master bedroom which had a large bay window facing the view of Mount Rainier. Let's face it, this house was fucking beautiful.
"So... what do you think babe?" Chris asks as he walks over to the bay window of the Master bedroom.
"Honestly?" I say as I watch him look out the window, the sun had finally begun to poke through the clouds which shone through the window, outlining Chris's silhouette in his tight white tank top and baggy black shorts.
"Yea," He says as he continues to look out the window.
"I think it's amazing," I say.
"So you want to put in an offer?" Chris asks.
"If you do," I say as I look at him. He turns from the window and walks back towards me, flipping his curls out of his face.
"I do... I really do... I just want to make sure you love this house as much as I do," Chris says as he takes my hand.
"Yea... I do... I really do...I mean that basement alone... It's perfect to build a studio down there" I say as I look up at him and he smiles at me. He leans into me and touches his forehead to mine, closes his eyes, as we stand in the empty room silently holding each other.
"So now that I know you love this place as much as I do..." Chris says quietly as he reaches into his side pocket of his shorts. I watch him as it looks like he's fumbling a little and I can't tell just what he's holding in his hand.
"And I figured this would as good a time as any... to ask you..."
My heart suddenly began to race.
He held a small white gold ring with a single diamond in the middle and I could tell he was having a hard time looking directly at me. He eventually locks his eyes to mine as tears start to sting my eyes.
"I love you more than I thought I could love anyone or anything in my life. I know you are going through one of the darkest times in your life but I want you to know that I'm here. You... you have my heart. I want to marry you. I want you forever..."
Is this really happening?
"I know this ring isn't much but..." He says as he looks down at the ring in his hands.
"Chris..." I say as I start to cry. He looks back at me as I manage a smile through my tears.
"Just put the ring on my finger already..." I say with a half giggle and a smile spreads across his face. He takes my left hand and slips the ring on my finger. He touches his forehead to mine as we continue to hold each other in that bedroom. I touch my hands to his chest feeling him flex a little through his white tank.
"I love you Chris... I'll love you forever..." I say a little shakily as he wipes a stray tear from my cheek. He then presses his lips to mine as I reach up and lace my fingers through his hair. Our lips move together as one and I feel as though I'm floating, feeling like there is nothing in the world I want more than to be with him forever.
"Lets go put in an offer," Chris says, when he pulls away from my lips and touches his forehead back to mine.
"Ok," I say quietly. He smiles at me as he takes my hand and we head downstairs to make an offer.
It took about an hour to discuss the offer with Lisa as she contacted the owner and then Chris had to contact the bank but after much deliberation, the owner accepted the offer Chris put in on the house and we just had to meet at the real estate office tomorrow morning to finalize the ownership.
We headed back to the truck and I climbed in the passenger side as he climbed in the driver side. He all of a sudden just sat there staring out the windshield for what seemed like forever.
"Chris...?" I ask a little confused.
"We just bought a house... and you're going to marry me..." He says still looking out the window. I started to worry. Is he regretting this already?
"We just bought a fucking house and you're going to marry me?" Chris turns and looks at me as I still have my look of worry.
"I'm really here right...? like I'm not imagining this or this isn't some amazing dream and I'm going to wake up and be back in my tiny little apartment or anything right?" He says to me and I smile at him.
"Yes you're really here and no it's not a dream..." I say as I giggle. He leans into me and presses his lips to mine once more as I reach up and start to play with his beard.
"Fuck, we need to celebrate this," He says excitedly as he pulls away from me and starts the engine. We pull away from the curb and head back into town as Chris wanted to call everyone to celebrate. Normally he just likes things quiet, but he was so excited and so happy, it was probably the happiest I've ever seen him and I couldn't fucking wait to move into that beautiful house with him