CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Cost of Living
Luke pulled into the driveway just after five o’clock.
For the first time in years…
He was home before dinner.
Emily stepped onto the porch with a smile.
“I could get used to this.”
Luke climbed out of the truck.
“So could I.”
She wrapped her arms around him.
“I’ve missed this.”
“What?”
“Having you home while the sun’s still up.”
Luke looked toward the western sky.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed it either.”
Dinner was simple.
Grilled chicken.
Mashed potatoes.
Fresh green beans.
Nothing fancy.
Just the two of them around the kitchen table.
Luke reached into his wallet and pulled out an envelope.
Emily looked at it.
“Is that…”
“My first paycheck.”
Her smile grew.
“Open it.”
Luke carefully unfolded it.
They both looked at the numbers.
There was a long silence.
Emily finally spoke.
“It’s… a little less.”
Luke nodded.
“A little.”
She looked worried.
“Do you regret taking the job?”
Luke answered without hesitation.
“Not for one second.”
“You don’t?”
He smiled.
“I ate dinner with my wife.”
Emily’s eyes softened.
“I came home before dark.”
She smiled.
“I’ll take that trade every time.”
Later that evening, they spread their budget across the kitchen table again.
Emily tapped a calculator.
“We’ll have to be smarter.”
Luke nodded.
“No random spending.”
She smiled.
“So… no buying five bags of gummy bears at once.”
Luke looked offended.
“I feel personally attacked.”
Emily laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
“We’ll make this work.”
Luke nodded.
“We always do.”
Saturday morning they stopped by the grocery store.
Emily pushed the shopping cart while Luke carried the list.
“Do we really need name-brand cereal?” Luke asked.
Emily looked at him.
“That’s exactly what your dad would have said.”
Luke smiled.
“He never paid full price for cereal either.”
She reached for the store brand instead.
“There.”
“Look at us.”
“What?”
“Being responsible adults.”
Emily grinned.
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I.”
As they walked past the candy aisle, Luke stopped.
Emily caught him looking.
“What?”
“Gummy bears are on sale.”
She folded her arms.
“We’re here for groceries.”
“They’re practically groceries.”
Emily burst into laughter.
“No.”
“What if I only buy one bag?”
She smiled.
“One.”
Luke tossed a single bag into the cart and raised his hands in victory.
“I have won.”
“You negotiated yourself into exactly one bag.”
“I still won.”
That afternoon they drove past a beautiful farmhouse sitting on ten acres.
Luke slowed the truck.
Emily stared quietly out the window.
The porch wrapped around the entire house.
A red barn stood behind it.
Two horses grazed peacefully in the pasture.
Luke sighed.
“That’s the dream.”
Emily nodded.
“It is.”
A real estate sign stood near the driveway.
Luke looked at the price.
Both of them laughed.
“Well…” Emily said.
“Maybe not today.”
Luke smiled.
“But someday.”
She reached over and held his hand.
“We’re closer today than we were last year.”
Luke nodded.
“And next year we’ll be closer than we are now.”
They drove on, leaving the farmhouse behind.
Neither of them felt discouraged.
Dreams worth chasing rarely happened overnight.
Sometimes they were built paycheck by paycheck…
Sacrifice by sacrifice…
And mile after mile.