Page 11 of Wild Pitch
Me: Outside it now.
I sent a photo of the outside of the brownstone as I walked up the steps and rang the bell.
Kelsey: Nice! Good luck!
Good luck is right. I spent my lunch break researching the location and even planned out my morning coffee run. I confirmed that I could walk to work if I wanted to. I was excited, and the only thing that could ruin it was if there was an issue with the room.
I rang the bell, and Lily met me at the door, face flushed.
“Sorry, I was just moving the last of my things out of your room. I underestimated how much work it would take. Come on in.”
The apartment was on the first floor, with the kitchen and living room in an open floor plan. The exposed brick added to the charm of the modern kitchen. My big fear was that there wouldn’t be enough lighting in the apartment, which was one of the problems I had with where my sister lived. Small, cramped, and dark.
“Wow,” I said, and Lily smiled.
“You love it?”
“I think I do,” I said, as Lily showed me the bathroom, which not only had an old-fashioned clawfoot tub but also a frameless shower with a rain head.
When she opened the door to an empty bedroom, my heart fluttered with excitement. I had saved some money for a new bed, and the one on my Pinterest board would fit perfectly in front of the beautiful, exposed brick wall.
“And the closet is decent, not amazing, but decent for city standards,” Lily offered.
“I left almost everything I owned at Goodwill before I flew home. I don’t need much closet space. This is perfect, Lil. Are you sure you’re ready for a roommate?”
“Yeah. Besides, it will be nice to have the company,” she said. “Are we ready to celebrate yet?”
“We are! Shit, Lil, I love it.”
She pulled my hand to the kitchen, opened the cabinet next to the refrigerator, and picked out two delicate, crystal champagne flutes. She placed them on the island before reaching into the fridge for a bottle of champagne.
I took a quick peek at the brand. Yup, expensive. Lily might be what she thought of as broke, but anyone who could buy Dom Perignon on the off chance that there would be a reason to celebrate didn’t know the meaning of the word broke.
I was instantly transported back in time, when Lily and I were close friends and lived parallel lives, but had two very different experiences. I remembered when she’d come back from Disney, excited and full of stories. When I went with my family, I had expected to have private tours and fancy dinners, but instead, we brought a cooler with sandwiches. While we had a great time, I shied away from sharing the differences, worried my friend would think less of me.
While we sipped champagne, Lily passed me the sublet agreement. The landlord would require me to sign it before I moved in. But everything else seemed to fall right into place.
“Ooh, I think I forgot the best part! We have laundry in the unit!”
I followed her to what looked like a closet door outside the bathroom, and she opened it to reveal the washer and dryer.
“Damn, that’s awesome.”
I had expected a basement machine, not something so convenient.
“I figured we could split the days. In college, my sorority assigned people to certain days to minimize people leaving their clothes in the washing machine until they stink. It worked out, but the best part was that it eliminated arguments.”
“I can do that,” I said.
We set the move-in date for the weekend. Between this and my date with Luc, I was anxious to get to the weekend.
Kelsey: Landed in Minnesota.
Me: How was Crew?
Kelsey: Better than expected!
Me: Okay. Be safe, have fun.
