Chapter 38 Nyree
The daycare photo shoot went smooth. Once I finished with them, I went home to edit for a couple hours on my laptop, then went to pick up the truck from U-Haul. I already had the shit I was taking with me packed up, so I loaded it in the truck.
The rest, I put in the dumpsters. The last thing I would have to do was sweep and mop the apartment to make sure the landlord gave me my full deposit back.
I would probably take the money from that and use it to start a joint account for me and Asia.
Should we do a joint account? Ma and Dad did during their marriage.
Maybe I would talk to Asia about it first. I didn't mind her having access to my money but I wasn't sure if she would be comfortable with making that kind of move yet. We would talk about it once I got home.
As I pulled away from my old apartment building in the rented U-Haul truck, I felt a strange mix of emotions. That place had been my first real apartment. It held a lot of memories.
But I didn't feel sad about leaving it behind. If anything, I felt lighter. My future was with Asia now, in the home we would build together.
I rolled down the window, letting the warm air rush over my face as I drove. The traffic was light, and I found myself thinking about what our life would look like once we were settled.
The possibilities stretched out before me like an open road, and I couldn't wait to explore them all with Asia by my side.
I pulled into the parking lot of Asia's apartment building—our apartment building now—and found a spot big enough for the U-Haul.
A warm feeling swept through my chest. This was what coming home was supposed to feel like: someone waiting for you, someone excited to see you, someone to share your life with.
I bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time despite the long day I'd had. My body should have been tired from loading the truck and all the running around, but I felt energized by the knowledge that I was coming home to Asia—my wife, my partner, my future.
I slid the key into the lock, still getting a little thrill from the fact that I had a key to her place. Our place. The door swung open, and I stepped inside, a grin already spreading across my face.
"Honey, I'm home!" I called out, half-jokingly, half-seriously loving how domestic it sounded.
But my playful greeting died on my lips as I took in the scene before me.
Asia was sitting at the kitchen table, her face streaked with tears, her eyes red and swollen. Her phone lay on the table in front of her, and she was staring at it like it contained the end of the world. When she looked up at me, the anguish in her eyes made my heart drop to my stomach.
"Baby, what happened?" I asked, crossing the room to kneel beside her chair. My mind raced with possibilities, each one worse than the last. Had someone in her family died? Had she lost a major client? Was she sick?
I took one of her hands, alarmed to find it cold and trembling. "Asia, talk to me. What's wrong?"