Page 170 of The Holy Grail
Evan blinked at Malcom. “Thanks, but I don’t want to be a … kept man.”
Jules nodded. “And I don’t want to be a kept woman.”
“Look, I understand where you’re both coming from—” Malcom broke off for a second, because he didn’t, not really, but felt like it was a good thing to say, “—but I don’t have a mortgage, so—”
“What do you mean you don’t have a mortgage?” Evan asked.
“I paid cash for this place.”
“You paid cash?” Jules stared at Malcom. “Are you kidding?”
“No. Interest rates were terrible at the time.” He frowned. “I’m saving a ton of money in the long-term—”
“I meant are you kidding that you could pay, what … $2,000,000 in cash? How much money do you have lying around?”
“Well, it wasn’t ‘lying around’, and I got the house for $1,500,000, so it was a good deal.”
“That’s a good deal?” Evan murmured, still in shock.
“Yes, it was a good deal,” Malcom insisted, starting to get irritated at their responses. He’d been expecting something wildly different ... like gratitude instead of judgment. “It’s a great house in a great area, and it was something I could do after my divorce, so I did it. But even if Ididhave a mortgage, I still wouldn’t let you pay rent, because that would make me feel like your landlord.” He took a breath, wanting to find the right words. “However, if it makes you feel better, you—” he pointed to Evan, “—can pay the electric bill. And you—” he pointed to Jules, “—can pay the water bill. How’s that?”
Jules and Evan exchanged a look clearly conveying their amusement with Malcom’s attempt at being domineering.
“Who’s going to pay for the cable?” Jules asked blandly.
“I will,” Malcom replied firmly, then added, "and we’ll split the groceries three ways, all right?”
Silence settled over them for a few moments.
“All right,” Evan finally said. “I’m in.”
Jules nodded. “Me, too. Let’s do it.”
There was a comfortable silence full of promise for several moments, and then Evan murmured, “So, I guess we need to tell our parents. I don’t think we should move in together until they’re all told.”
“I agree,” Jules said.
Malcom was a little slower in his response. “Okay.”
Chapter 55
Richard goes full dad mode
Feeling ninety-nine percent sure nothing bad was going to happen, but allowing for a one percent chance she might be wrong, Jules texted her parents in the ‘Fam Chat’ they’d set up years ago.
JULES: I was wondering if you two had some time to talk.
In less than a minute, they were both responding.
DAD: Of course. What’s going on?
MOM: Is it serious? Should I be sitting down?
JULES: It’s a little serious. Nothing bad, though.
Almost immediately, Jules’ phone rang with a FaceTime request from her mom, which Jules quickly accepted. Not surprising, her dad was also invited to the call and connected within seconds.
“Well, I’m already sitting down, Freckles, so fire away,” Richard said.
