CHAPTER TWO
Tight Budgets
Saturday mornings belonged to Luke and Emily.
No alarm.
No rushing.
No schedules.
Just coffee, breakfast, and the quiet comfort of being together.
Emily shuffled into the kitchen wearing an old gray T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
“Yes I know I look homeless deal with it.”
Luke looked over the rim of his coffee mug and laughed.
“You dont look homeless.”
Emily looked at him with a smirk, looked at his coffee and frowned.
“You made you coffee I see, and exactly where is mine?”
“You look like you lost a fight with your pillow. And its in the microwave I know you hate it getting cold so as you brushed your teeth I made it added creamer and warmed it back up.”
“I probably did and your sweet.”
Luke smiled as he slid a plate of biscuits across the table.
“I made your favorite.”
Emily added jelly then took one bite and closed her eyes dramatically.
“If this is my last meal, I’m okay with that.”
Luke shook his head.
“You’re so dramatic.”
“I learned from the best.”
She tossed a napkin at him.
“Eat.”
After breakfast, the dining room table disappeared beneath stacks of paperwork.
Mortgage calculators.
Savings goals.
Monthly expenses.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck.
“I hate looking at numbers.”
Emily looked up from her notebook.
“They’re important.”
“I know.”
She circled another figure.
“If we keep spending the way we are, it’ll take years before we can buy a place.”
Luke sighed.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Emily reached across the table.
“We’re not failing.”
“I know.”
“We’re just…not there yet.”
Luke nodded.
“I want more time at home.”
Emily looked at him.
“You’ve mentioned that a lot lately.”
“I miss too much.”
“You don’t miss everything.”
“I miss enough.”
She knew exactly what he meant.
Long hours.
Unexpected overtime.
Late evenings.
He was grateful for the work.
But he was getting tired of living for weekends.
“There has to be something better,” Luke said quietly.
Emily smiled.
“Then let’s find it.”
That afternoon they climbed into Luke’s pickup and headed across town.
Not to shop.
Just to dream.
Every now and then they’d drive through quiet neighborhoods, pointing at houses they liked.
Emily pointed toward a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch.
“That one.”
Luke smiled.
“It needs a barn.”
“It has room for one.”
“And fencing.”
“And flowers.”
“And two horses.”
Emily grinned.
“And three dogs.”
Luke laughed.
“The dogs will think they own the place.”
“They probably will.”
“Running around chasing everything.”
Emily nodded.
“The Boston will just sleep everywhere.”
“Possibly.”
“He won’t move unless food is involved.”
They both laughed.
Dreaming didn’t cost anything.
Yet.
On the drive home, Luke grew quiet.
Emily noticed.
“What are you thinking?”
He kept his eyes on the road.
“I think it’s time.”
“For what?”
“I’m going to start looking for another job.”
Emily turned toward him.
“The kind where you’re home every night?”
He nodded.
“It might pay a little less at first.”
“We’ll make it work.”
“It’ll mean changing a lot.”
“So?”
Luke smiled.
“I knew you’d say that.”
She reached over and rested her hand on his arm.
“I don’t care how big the paycheck is.”
He glanced at her.
“I care that you come home.”
Luke swallowed hard.
No promotion.
No bonus.
No amount of money could compete with hearing those words.
For the first time in a long time…
The future didn’t feel uncertain.
It felt possible.