Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
CHAPTER
NINE
Lena
Age twenty three
So much has happened in the last year. Stanley and I got married and just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It doesn’t seem like a year could have passed already, but here we are. We’ve been enjoying our time together as husband and wife. We make it a point to find time for one another, even with our busy schedules and Stanley’s business.
His business has taken off to something I never could have expected. Today, we’re expanding yet again. We started with one small box truck, and now we have four box trucks and two semis.
The side hustle he wanted to start has turned into a full-blown business. I’m so damn proud of him. It brings tears to my eyes. He’s worked tirelessly to make this happen, and during it all, there was never a time I didn’t feel like the most important person in his life.
It’s also allowed for us to start looking for a house. It’s time for us to move out of the apartment we’ve called home for the last couple of years. The tiny space has served us well, but we’re ready for more. Ready for what comes next, and right now, that’s a house of our own on the outskirts of the city.
Pulling my car up to the house, I see Stanley’s truck in the driveway. I park behind him and climb out of the car. He comes rushing toward me, a huge smile on his face.
“I missed you, wife,” he says, kissing me softly.
“I missed you too.” It’s only been since before we left for work this morning since I’ve seen him—not days—but you would never be able to tell. This is how he always greets me whenever we’ve spent any amount of time apart.
And the wife part, yeah, we’re just over a year into our marriage, and he still likes to refer to me as “wife.” I don’t object because I like it. I like being reminded I’m his, and I refer to him as “husband” just as much. One, because I know he likes it, and two, it feels good to remind the universe that this incredible man is mine, all mine.
“So, what do you think?” He keeps one arm wrapped around me while the other gestures toward the house. “It’s three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and has a decent-sized yard.”
“It’s beautiful and so much bigger than our apartment,” I tell him as I stare up at the two-story house. “Can we afford this?” I’m mentally crunching the numbers. I know that we can. We’ve talked about it at length, but buying a home is not only a huge investment but a big step for our family.
“Baby, we’ve talked about this. Even taking the twenty percent down payment from our savings leaves us a nice little nest egg.”
“I know.” I nod. “I’m just… this is happening so much sooner than we thought it would. We had a five-year plan, and this wasn’t until the end of that.”
He grins. “We’re kicking ass, baby.”
I laugh, hiding my face in his chest. “You’re kicking ass,” I say, peering up at him.
“Nope. We’re a team, Lena Riggins. There is no me without you. You’ve been there every step of the way. We’ve built this business. It’s ours, baby.”
I know he’s right, but really, I’ve just been there to support him. Sure, I do the books, but the business has grown so much that he now has an accounting team that takes care of it all. Either way, I know not to argue with him about it. In Stanley’s eyes, we’re partners in everything we do. No matter if I had a hand in it or not.
“Can we go inside?” I ask, instead of debating with him.
“Yeah, we can. The realtor is already in there. I asked her to give us a few minutes.”
I grin up at him, not able to hide my enthusiasm. “I’m excited.” I pull out of his embrace, lace my fingers through his, and guide us to the front door.
We walk inside into a small foyer with a set of steps. To the left of the steps is a sitting room, and to the right is the half bath. As we explore further, the laundry room is just off to the right, which leads to the attached garage, and a little farther down the hall is the kitchen. To the left is a dining room, and to the right is a larger living room with a fireplace. All three bedrooms and two bathrooms are upstairs.
I’ve studied the pictures and the layout on the realtor’s site more times than I should be admitting. Partly because of my excitement and partly because it’s a huge deal to buy a house. I want to make sure we think of all aspects of what our growing family will be like.