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“And that’s exactly why you’re the perfect person to move in there,” Luna insisted. “You’re an angel of a man, and I think it would be good for you both if you actually wanted to. Was that a subtle way of telling me you don’t want to? Because I won’t be mad if it is.”
“No, I’m just nervous.”
“Of course you are. You’ve been stuck in the same pattern forever and change is scary as fuck. Ask me how I know.”
Luna was right. If she could be brave, so could I.
“What time should I go see Stella?”
“We can head over once we’re done eating if you want.”
If I ate a little slower, Luna didn’t say anything about it. Maybe I was dragging it out a bit, knowing each bite took me closer to changing up my life. When the plates were clean, and we packed up and paid, anxiety was curling in my belly like a petulant octopus looking for escape.
We took separate vehicles to Stella’s, and Luna was at the door when I pulled up, waving to me while her sister stood sheepishly behind her.
Stella set us up at the kitchen table with some lemonades before we discussed the details. She had never been a landlord before, and I had never been a tenant. Luna handled the research of tenancy contracts, making sure we covered all the points. I could manage the rent easily, and it would make a huge difference for Stella. She didn’t care if I wanted to decorate or paint, and she was happy to share the yard when the dayhome kids weren’t making use of it.
Even though I had already seen the finished product, the three of us went down anyway to have another look. The suite had one decently sized bedroom, a small but functional kitchen, a full bathroom, and a spacious living room.
“I’ll buy a washer and dryer too,” said Stella, “so there will be in-suite laundry. Is there anything else you can think of?”
“Not off the top of my head. I can help out with the yardwork, and obviously I’ll keep walking Beans for you.”
We all turned when we heard footsteps on the stairs. Nova stood there in her pajamas, looking at us curiously. “Auntie, what’s your boyfriend doing here?”
Luna’s shoulders ratcheted up to her ears. “Nova, I told you he’s not my boyfriend.”
The precocious tween rolled her eyes. “Looks pretty boyfriendy to me.”
“Nova, don’t be rude,” Stella said, trying to shush her.
“Ugh, why do you and Auntie keep thinking I’m being rude? I’m just saying.” She trotted all the way down the stairs and stood in front of me, looking up expectantly. “Can we go for pancakes again?”
Stella looked at the two of us curiously. “Pancakes?”
Luna hastily explained that when she’d taken the girls on Rodney’s time, it had been right after she’d run into me, and we’d both taken the girls out to eat.
“That was very sweet of you, thank you,” said Stella. “Nova, can you please go back up to bed?”
“But you guys are hanging out without me.”
“And we’re going to keep doing that,” replied Stella. “It’s time for kids to be in bed, and grown-ups are going to talk for a while.”
Nova pouted but did as she was told.
When we were alone again, I turned to Stella. “I hope you haven’t had too much pushback from your husband about that weekend.”
Stella rolled her eyes. “There’s always pushback from Rodney. Nova doesn’t want to go over there anymore, but I’m trying to keep things looking good for when we have our custody battle. I don’t want the judge to think I’m keeping them from him.”
“They should listen to kids more,” Luna grumbled. “Nova will be old enough to have an opinion they’ll listen to soon. We just have to wait it out.”
“Yeah.” Stella rubbed her temples. “I wish he would cut me some slack until then.”
“Do you think there’ll be any issue with me renting out the basement, considering how much Rodney doesn’t like me?”
“I don’t know,” Stella said honestly.
“If he kicks up a fuss, we can figure something out,” Luna answered. “He doesn’t get to dictate how things happen here. Stella wouldn’t even need to rent out the basement if he would pay fucking child support.”
