Some things never change.
As my mom and I pull out of my driveway, I can’t help but smile. Here it goes! Nick already found a house near the university, and I’ve seen pictures. I’ve been pretty immobile, and just got the okay to move, though the doctor made me promise I would take it easy for a couple weeks after.
I don’t start teaching until the end of the month, and to say I’m nervous is an understatement. I’ve been preparing the syllabus all week, and I hope I’m a good professor. Assistant professor—I’ll be teaching a British Literature 101 class, but I’m actually pretty excited to be able to teach a class full of impressionable freshmen.
“Excited?” my mom asks, and I nod quickly.
“Nervous,” I answer. “Mostly about teaching.”
“And about moving in with Nick?”
I stare out the window as we cross the bridge. My mom is driving me to Nick’s house, where we’ll all box up the last of my belongings in the guesthouse—rather, I’ll stand and watch as Nick and Marcus help box all of my belongings—and then we’re off to Portland in a moving truck.
“No. Strangely, I’m not nervous to move in with him.”
“You haven’t really had any alone time with him…”
“What are you getting at, Mom?”
“I’m just saying, it’s okay to be nervous about the first time.”
I can’t keep myself from laughing.
“The first time?”
“Sex, Evianna. The first time having sex.”
“Okay, Mom. First of all, I don’t ever want to talk about sex with you again. But I will say, I lived with Dan for seven years. Lived. I know how it works.”
“Oh, I know that, silly girl. I just meant the first time with a new person.”
“Please change the subject.”
“How does Bria feel about it all?”
“Fine,” I answer honestly. “We sat her down last week and told her everything. Needless to say, she’s excited that I’ll be a more permanent part of the family.”
I brush my hair away from my face, and I wince when I lift my arm. My broken rib still hurts, but at least I can move my arms. For a few days there, I could barely lift my water cup. As we pull into the driveway of Nick’s house, I hear my mom suck in a mouthful of air.
“Wow,” she says, glancing at the house and parking. “Is the house in Portland this big?”
“No. It’s a simpler, smaller house. I’m glad. It’ll be nice to have a fresh start.”
“Right,” she says, eyeing me. “It’s too bad, this house is just—”
“Mom!”
Before she says anything else, I exit the car as quickly as possible, which is not really quickly at all. Nick opens the front door, and I notice the large moving truck in my old spot.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he says, pulling me gently into him. I smile as we kiss. “Ready to be roommates?”
“So ready.”
I know I’m talking about more than being roommates.
Ever since the accident, Nick and I haven’t had sex. I was in too much pain for so long, and it was just last week that I felt well enough to walk around. Even though I begged him a few times, he held back, saying that I needed rest.
I’d rested, and rested, and rested… I was ready.
He smiles at me knowingly, and I see his eyes darken slightly. The effect it has on my legs is not a good one, considering I currently need the support of crutches, so I just look down and concentrate on not falling over.
I say good-bye to Violet and Marcus, who’d helped with the moving truck. Cecelia and Frank stop by as well, and I make sure to hug Frank extra tightly. For some reason, I feel a kinship towards him. And I know the cancer is spreading. He’s refused treatment, so I know it’s not long now. I make a promise to try and visit him and Cecelia often.