That Friend from College

July 2009

“Alright, come on this way, there are some interesting features I’d like to show you,” the realtor ushered them into the front door. “So each unit is like a complete townhouse, it has a garage, which can be accessed from the back of the building, let me show you this way,” he opened the door next to the staircase to show them the garage. Pete and Alli stepped in scanning over the empty space with shelves along the back wall, nodding and smiling politely.

“Alright? Let’s go back out this way. There’s enough space outside of the garage to park at least one other car behind it and then there’s the parking area for the complex also.” The realtor said walking up the stairs. “There’s an open-concept space up here, updated kitchen to the back,” he gestured, dining room, living space in the front.” They walked through the space slowly, checking out the windows in the front that took up an entire wall, then back towards the kitchen, checking out the stainless steel appliances and the sliding doors out of the kitchen that led out onto a deck.

“It’s not huge, but you can definitely get a grill up here and probably…” the realtor estimated, looking around. “A table that seats four.” Pete and Alli nodded along. They came back inside and the realtor walked them towards the stairs. “There is a half bath over here,” he opened the door to the tiny bathroom underneath the stairs, turned on the light, and they all peeked in. “And let’s head upstairs,” he gestured for them to go ahead as he followed.

“The master bedroom is towards the front, very large and spacious, walk-in closets, once again a large window.” They went in and looked around. Alli opened the closet door to check it out. “Out here,” the realtor spoke from the hallway, “there is a laundry room, which I think is genius. You know, you take off your clothes up here, you put them away up here too, this is definitely better than having to lug baskets up and down the stairs.” They agreed, taking a look at the washer and dryer in the closet-sized room.

“Here’s the upstairs bathroom,” the realtor opened the next door, gesturing inside. “And here is the extra bedroom,” he pointed them to the back of the house. The room wasn’t much smaller than the master, definitely spacious, with a slightly smaller closet. “It has plenty of potential, whether you’re planning on having children,” Alli and Pete exchanged a look, “or setting up a home office, or having it as a guest room. It’s a nice-sized room.” They nodded again.

“You were right, that was basically perfect,” Alli told Pete in the car, as they were pulling out of the complex, after the realtor had also shown them the other facilities like the gym and the pool. “I really liked it too.”

“It would be about 30 to 35 minute commute for you, I looked it up. It’s definitely more than what you’re doing right now, but it’s reasonable, right?” Pete glanced at her before returning his eyes on the road.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “We talked about this, I can manage that long in the car in each direction. It’s not bad.”

“I think I want to bring my parents in and let them have a look too. I’m sure my dad is going to notice things that I haven’t even thought about. Do you want yours to come? Maybe we can schedule something for both of them together?” Pete put it out there. Alli was silent. He glanced at her quickly, to see her biting her lip, looking down at her hands.

“I haven’t talked to them about this yet. I am not expecting it to go over well,” she admitted.

“What do you think they’re going to say? We’ve been together for over two years now, we are in our mid-twenties, I mean… it’s obvious that we are sleeping together right? They don’t think that… umm… you’re waiting for marriage or anything, do they?” Pete had met Alli’s parents, on more than one occasion now. Yes, they seemed stern and reserved, but they didn’t come off as delusional.

“They are not going to be supportive of this, of us moving in together. My mom had gone off on rants about this a ton of times. When she sees unmarried people living together on TV shows, in movies, my cousin Emily, she always gets all judgy about it.” Pete wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Unmarried people. It felt weird and backward to him, for some reason, to marry someone before having a place to live together. He wanted to marry Alli, he had no doubt about it, but it felt like living together was the next natural step towards that.

“Do you want to go up there and talk to them together?” He offered.

“Maybe,” she looked away, out the window, leaning her chin in her hand.

“The townhouse is really great though, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I love it,” Alli confirmed.

He would have been ok with them going ahead and buying the townhouse without even mentioning it to Alli’s parents. He wouldn’t have minded it, as long it was what Alli wanted to do. But as much as it pained for her to discuss this with them, she didn’t want to go ahead with the purchase without telling them either. She had invited her parents over for dinner at her apartment to sit down and have the conversation with them. Pete helped her in the kitchen – taking the garlic bread out of the oven, cutting it into pieces, setting the little table for four.

Alli was visibly nervous. She was quiet and entirely in her head as she moved around the kitchen. She had everything ready before her parents arrived and paced nervously.

“Come here,” Pete called her over to one of the chairs in her small, tidy kitchen. He sat her down in the chair firmly kneading her shoulders. He understood her nervousness, even though he didn’t feel it himself. He wished he knew the exact right thing to say to make Alli feel at ease, but he didn’t. The doorbell rang and Alli jumped up to buzz her parents in, then opened the door for them.

“Hello, dear,” Alli’s mom kissed her cheek walking past her, slipping her shoes off by the door.

“Hiya, cupcake,” her dad did the same, following her mom. “Peter,” he switched his attention over, “how’s it going?”

“It’s good, things are good,” Pete extended his hand out to Alli’s dad who shook it.

“Alli told us your grandmother had passed away. I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mrs. Warner gave him a concerned look.

“Yeah, a few months ago. She’s really had an amazing life, you know, she was 92.” Her memorial service has really been more of a celebration of her life than mourning.

Alli was filled with nervous energy, already placing the food on the table, unable to keep still.

“Let’s sit down to eat, everything’s ready to go,” she gestured to the chairs.

“Alright, alright,” Alli’s mom sat down in one of the chairs, looking slightly annoyed at being rushed. Alli served everyone and as they dug in, Pete watched her nervously push her food around on her plate instead of actually eating it. He hated that this was causing her so much anxiety, but he wasn’t sure what he could do to relieve it.

“So, mom, dad,” Alli set down her fork and nervously tapped a fingernail against the table. “Pete and I wanted to talk to you about something.” Mrs. Warner stopped mid-chew, her gaze switching between the two of them. Alli gave him a quick glance and he smiled reassuringly. “We’ve decided to get a place together.” Mr. Warner’s eyebrows came together as he continued to chew thoughtfully.

“As in… move in together?” He asked. Her mom set her fork down too.

“Yeah,” Alli confirmed. Dad looked down at his plate, spearing some salad onto his fork.

“Alli, are you pregnant?” Mrs. Warner’s lips pursed in an angry bow. Alli seemed to have been anticipating this accusation. There was no indication of surprise in her reaction.

“No mom, I’m not pregnant. We’d like to move in together because we want to, not because we have to,” her phrase seemed prepared.

“Are you getting married?” Dad asked, his forehead creased.

“I would absolutely love to marry Alli, definitely, but we were planning to move in together before that,” Pete jumped in. Everyone’s eyes switched to him.

“I don’t understand the reason for this.” Mom folded her hands in front of her. “You are choosing to do things completely out of order and I cannot support this. I don’t understand this casual living together thing at all. You live with this guy for a bit, you live with that guy for a bit, and then what’s left? What’s the point of getting married? The whole idea of family is compromised!”

“Mom,” Alli sighed, moving her hands into her lap, “I’m not going to live with any other guy! Just Pete. We want to buy this townhouse together and live together for a bit before we actually get married. We feel that having a place to live together is more important than a wedding and a fancy party.”

“Buy a place together,” that part seemed to get dad’s attention more thoroughly than any previous statement. “That’s a huge commitment, cupcake. I don’t think you understand the kind of binding arrangement that is and the sort of funds that you need for something like that.” It irritated Pete that her dad was saying this, talking down to her as if she was a naive child.

“I think Alli has a fairly good understanding of what it entails, both contractually and financially,” Pete told him. Dad waved a hand at him.

“What does she know? She’s had this little studio apartment for less than two years. She didn’t even know what a security deposit was when she was moving into here! I know exactly what she makes and what she has and she is in no way capable of buying a house at this point!” Mr. Warner seemed smug and condescending.

“Dad, I knew what the security deposit was,” Alli bit back.

“I don’t think you’re giving Alli enough credit for how smart she is,” Pete looked Mr. Warner right in the eye. There was a moment of silence before Mrs. Warner spoke.

“I don’t support this. This is unacceptable. There is a certain way that these things are done, the correct way. You,” mom looked over at Pete, “are supposed to buy a ring and propose, there should be at least a year to plan the wedding, and once you’re married, then you can start looking at houses.” Her gaze switched to Alli, eyeing her up and down. “If you move in together now, everyone will just assume that you are pregnant and you don’t have time to plan a wedding because you’re probably already showing and it would be embarrassing to wear a white wedding dress with a huge baby bump.”

“Mom, I’m not pregnant!” Alli raised her voice in frustration. This was definitely not what Pete anticipated would happen. “And who is everyone? I don’t even know who you’re talking about.”

“The real estate prices have dropped significantly this year and it’s possible that they might not go any lower. It’s a really good time to buy and a very good investment. I’ve inherited a bit of money when my grandmother passed away and I’d like to use it for the downpayment. I think making this move now would allow us to make a significant upgrade a few years down the line when we ARE married and decide to start a family. Right now, the money sitting in the bank isn’t really doing much, the interest rates are very low.” Pete rattled off all of his information, not wanting anyone to interrupt. “It would work better for us if we invested into this townhouse which, at this point, could only increase in value. We’ve done the math on all of this – the price of this townhouse plus taxes and HOA fees in this complex, even at current mortgage rates, still wouldn’t cost us any more than we’re already paying for our two separate apartments. And we would be saving money on not paying utilities at two apartments! The money we’d be saving could,” he shrugged, “potentially help offset wedding costs down in a little while. Don’t worry, I already have the ring covered,” he added with perhaps a bit more smugness than was necessary. But Pete just could not stand the way that Alli’s parents were reacting to this. There was a stunned silence amongst them and Pete decided to add: “My parents are coming out to check out the place on Monday night, you are welcome to come too.”

****

Alli loved the way that Pete had taken over that conversation, the way that he presented the bare facts that would be difficult to argue with, and the confidence with which he delivered it all. She was a bit shocked by his declaration that the ring was already covered. What did that mean? Did he already buy one? Or just that he had money set aside for it? They had definitely discussed marriage before and saw themselves together in the future, but this seemed somehow more concrete, especially said out loud this way, in front of other people.

“So essentially you would be buying the house and Alli would just be invited to live there?” Alli’s mouth dropped open when the words came out of her mother’s. “And what would happen when you two break up? Would Alli be out on the street with nothing?” Pete raised his eyebrows.

“No, we are buying the house together. Alli’s name is going to be on the deed and the mortgage. We are able to afford the monthly payments as partners so she would be an equal owner.” Pete’s jaw shifted as he added: “And we are NOT going to break up. No one is going to be out on the street.”

“You can’t make those kinds of promises. People break up all the time,” Alli’s mom looked down her nose.

“And people get divorced all the time too, mom. Being married doesn’t guarantee that we’d stay together.” Alli told her mom.

Everyone’s dinner was sitting uneaten and the atmosphere between them didn’t seem to lighten one bit. Pete’s speech, which had worked to relieve some of Alli’s nervousness, making her feel more confident about making the right choice, had seemed to do very little to appease her parents. She didn’t know what else to do. They were stubborn and stuck on their ideals of normalcy and she had to decide how much she was going to let this all bother her.

“Anyway, mom,” she sighed, resuming the conversation. “The point of this dinner was to let you know what our plan is and offer you the chance to check out this place before we officially put in an offer. We are not… exactly asking for your approval on the general idea of us moving in together, but… we would definitely appreciate your opinion on this particular place, as seasoned and experienced homeowners. It would be great to have another pair of eyes to see if there is anything that we may be overlooking.” Alli looked between her mom and dad, seeing opposite reactions from them. Mom was shaking her head no while dad was nodding. They didn’t seem to realize it.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have an extra set of eyes,” dad declared.

“I do not support this at all, Mike,” mom crossed her arms over her chest. “This is unacceptable and I am not planning to encourage this in any way.”

“We will talk about it, cupcake,” dad said to Alli.

“There is nothing to talk about. I am not changing my mind,” mom gave dad a dirty look.

Alli felt Pete’s hand on her knee underneath the table and turned to see him giving her a tiny smile. It did feel like a small win, getting this kind of reaction out of dad.

Her parents left with the dinner remaining largely uneaten and Pete stayed to help her clean up. Alli hadn’t expected it to go any better than it had. She anticipated her mother throwing a hissy fit and possibly walking out on them, which didn’t happen. She expected dad to react exactly as he did at the start, suggesting that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Dad saw her as a sweet, little girl, thinking the best of her in some ways, but also assuming a good amount of innocence and naivete about her. Her mom saw her as rebellious and impulsive, unwilling to conform to doing things ‘the right way.’

In an entirely surprising turn of events, on Monday night dad came alone. He had brought a flashlight, a tape measure, and a voltage tester with him, aimed for a serious inspection. Both Pete’s parents and Allison’s dad approved of the townhouse. Dad talked about how, if it were him, he would have liked to have a yard. There really wasn’t anything but a gravel parking pad out back, outside of the garage. He suggested that they could grow some tomatoes and peppers in pots out back or even on their deck.

They made an offer before they left the townhouse that night and it was accepted the next day. It was incredibly exciting. It felt huge, immense, just an astronomical step! Before the end of August, they were at the closing, signing tons of paperwork and receiving the keys to their house. THEIR house. Their realtor had given them a bottle of champagne to congratulate them and they ended up at their new, entirely empty, house that night, drinking champagne right from the bottle, filled with giddy glee.

“I have this fantasy,” Pete told Allison, “that we would ‘christen’ every single room in this place, including the closets and the laundry room and the garage.” He had a huge grin on his face and his cheeks flushed pink.

“In what span of time?” Alli cocked her head to the side looking at him curiously. She didn’t hate the idea.

“Umm… not really any time frame on it. Just before we move on and buy a bigger place.” He told her, his hands clasping the edge of counter on which he was sitting. They sat side by side in the kitchen, passing the bottle between them.

“We just closed on the house a few hours ago, are you really already thinking about moving on and buying a bigger place?!” Allison giggled, raising the bottle up to her lips.

“It’s just… up here,” Pete tapped his head with an index finger. “You know, that eventually we would have kids and this place wouldn’t be big enough.

“You want to have kids? Plural?” She raised her eyebrows, unable to restrain the huge grin stretching over her face. They’ve talked about the idea of having children, but it all seemed so abstract. They have never discussed exactly when or how many or anything like that.

“Plural?” Pete looked into her face, sniggering. He was definitely tipsy and Alli hasn’t seen him tipsy in what felt like years. “Yeah, I think so. I think…” he looked up at the ceiling, narrowing his eyes. “At least two. No more than four.” Alli’s eyebrows came up on her forehead. She’s never really imagined herself with any more than two kids. “I figure, we have to have enough hands between the two of us to hold all of theirs, like when we go somewhere, you know?” Pete explained. “So, it can’t be more than four.” Alli laughed, shoving the bottle back into his hands.

“That’s a really mathematical approach, hon,” she told him.

“I kinda want to start now,” Pete announced, setting the champagne bottle down on the counter, looking over at Alli, his eyes sparkling. This wasn’t anything that Alli was prepared to hear. Her mouth dropped open a little, staring at Pete wid-eyed. “The christening of the house! Not the babies!” Pete announced, louder than necessary. Alli let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Unless…” he hopped down from the counter, standing opposite Alli, his hands on either side of her, “you want to, but I totally have condoms.”

“Condoms,” she choked out, before grasping his face in both of her hands and leaning in to kiss him. Pete pushed her knees apart, coming to stand between them. His hand came up to loop around Alli’s neck as their kiss grew deeper. Kissing Pete was always fantastic. There were fireworks and electricity every time and the sparks shot straight down south. Allison’s thighs clenched around Pete where he stood. Pete’s hands moved to unbuttoning her sleeveless blouse and in what seemed like just moments, they were both topless.

“Do you want me to get the lights?” Pete spoke so close to her lips that she could feel them moving.

“I’m ok with lights on,” she told him. It never really bothered her before.

“Mhmm,” he kissed her jaw towards her ear and behind it. “Except we don’t have blinds or curtains yet.”