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“But a million times the cost and population,” she said.
“It is congested and expensive. And since I was working from home and in a small space, it didn’t make sense to stay there. I’ve got more bang for my buck here.”
“School districts mean something too for you,” she said.
He wasn’t going to answer that. Or he had to be careful how he did. She’d asked if it was possible for him to move back and he’d said yes. So he couldn’t talk about too much of his future here.
“They do,” he said. “But it’s a long way off. I wouldn’t have wanted my kid going to school in Boston.”
“I don’t blame you,” she said.
He pulled down his street and into his driveway. “This is a cute house. I wasn’t sure if you were going to be living in a development or not.”
“No,” he said. “I could have. I looked but not seriously. Colin doesn’t live that far from me. Five minutes. He’d passed this house for sale one day and brought it to my attention. I hadn’t been looking or thinking of it seriously.”
“Just like that you bought this house?” she asked. “Did you actually go look at other houses? Like in person or online?”
He grinned. “Online. I looked at this one. Did some research online at the costs of the area. The taxes. I did the same of newer homes too. This seemed like it was priced right so I called to walk through.”
“That’s great,” she said. “As I said, my house wasn’t as important as the building for the school. I make the house work.”
“It’s not what you wanted?” he asked and parked his car in the garage.
“No. But it works or I can make it work. Very few people are able to get exactly what they want in a house. Most have more expensive tastes than budgets.”
“Good point,” he said, unlocking the door and walking into the mudroom. “This house is about seventy years old. I liked the craftsman feel to it. The older built-ins and the darker wood. The previous owners had updated the kitchen and baths about ten years ago or so. They were good enough for me and I haven’t made a lot of changes.”
“The kitchen is big,” she said. “Dark, but seems to suit you.”
He looked around at the cherry wood cabinets and tan granite. No island. Just long counters. He wasn’t one for entertaining. There was a large opening to the living room, but it wasn’t what he’d considered open concept. He had a dining room to the right with the same wide doorway too. No breakfast nook and no counter to eat at. All his meals were in the dining room or in the living room.
“It does,” he said. “You can see most of it here. Some division but open too. I guess for me it’s important to see Max and I can when I’m in here.”
“Which is what most parents want too.”
They moved through the living room. “There is a half bath here,” he said, opening the door. She peeked her head in. It was convenient to him and that was good enough to stop him from going upstairs to use the bathroom.
“It’s a decent amount of space for the two of you,” she said. “I’d say about the size of my first floor, maybe a bit bigger but laid out better.”
“Depends on who is looking at it,” he said. “My office.”
“Okay, that is a crazy setup,” she said, laughing. He still had two monitors there, but it looked empty to him compared to what he normally worked with.
“I’m going to take one more. I don’t have that great of a desk where I am, but I’m going to put another monitor on a side table that I ordered the other day. This is all going to be a bitch to bring back, but I’ve got to be comfortable there too. I start back at work on Monday full time and judging by the few times I’ve checked in I know I’m not going to be thrilled. I ordered a chair too. They only had a hard wooden one in the rental.”
“You’d get a numb butt if you sat on it too long,” she said.
“Among other things,” he said, grabbing his monitor and bringing it to the living room. “I’m going to make a pile of what I’m bringing in here.”
“Do you have a list of what you need? Can I help?”
“I’ve got a list. Or a loose one on my phone. It’s more stuff for Max, but I’ll walk around and see things that will trigger too. Like this bouncy chair thing in the living room. I need that. He’s missing it.”
“He really loves that at daycare,” she said. “Most of the kids do. They like to be standing up or supported that way. It helps with their legs and gives them a lot to do with the attachments and the ability to look around at the action. Plus they can snack while they are there or be fed at it too.”
“Would you think horribly of me if I told you that Max has some meals there? If I’m eating a sandwich or something quick, I feed him in the living room.”
“I’d think you were lying if you told me you never fed him in it. I believe a lot of people do. Life is about adjusting. More so when you’ve got kids.”
