Never the Right Time

Chapter 34 Sophia's POV

Two years later.

"Babe we have looked at five houses this weekend already. You've had problems with every single one. We don't have to do this" Joel grabbed my hands trying to reason with me.

"No, I just want to find the perfect house. I'm allowed to be picky." I said grumpily. Even though I knew he was right, I was starting to be a little unreasonable. At the same time, I was the one buying this house, sure he would contribute, but I was still the buyer I was not going to be rushed into a decision. "You don't have to be here if you don't want." I countered.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay okay. How many more are we looking at today?"

"Just two, but if you're going to bitch about it, you can just stay home."

"No no, I know this is your house, but I still want to be apart of this since we are moving into it together."

I sighed with semi relief. We have been off lately and I knew that as much as I did want him apart of this, I also wouldn't have minded doing this without him.  I hated how things have been lately. He is always working and going out with friends. I can't be all that critical though because I have been working my ass off too. I've been promoted from intern to editor. I was editing up and coming historical fiction writers. The job itself is a dream, but my coworkers are beyond toxic. I would love to open my own bookstore, but that seems like a pipe dream at this point. Joel has convinced me to work hard now so that we can do our dreams with some cushion. It's a good idea, but my job is draining my love for books little by little. So its easy to say that my brain is basically mush at the end of the day and on the weekend.

I was pulled from my thoughts when we pulled up to the first house. It was a little dark green bungalow with a big front porch that led to a big lush grass yard. So far so good.

"I like this yard and the porch a lot." Joel voicing my own thoughts.

"Me too" I responded as we walked up the front door where the realtor was waiting for us to explore inside.

I was just as blown away. It was dark hardwood flooring. It had an open layout with the kitchen separated from the living room with a large rectangular island. The current owners three bar stools at the island. The kitchen had a big sliding glass door that led to the backyard that was very similar to the front with the wide open space filled with lush green grass and a couple of trees. On the first floor there was a small bedroom with a window that looked out into the backyard. It had a small half just outside of the room and a small laundry room nook caddy corner to the bedroom. The realtor sent us upstairs to look at the master bedroom and the other small bedroom. The main bedroom wasn't grand by any imagination, but it was perfect. It had a small en-suite bathroom attached to it. Down the small hallway was a small bathroom and another small bedroom. It was quaint and exactly what I had been looking for.

I looked over at Joel to gauge his reaction to the house. He looked relatively please, but there was still a little skepticism in his eyes, which might be due to my indecision.

"What do you think?" I asked hesitantly

"I like it a lot. It's a bit of a drive to my job, but if you like it then I do too." He said with certainty

"I love it. It's exactly what I've been looking for." I said with enthusiasm "I want to make a offer!" I all but yelled at the realtor.

Three weeks later, I had closed on the house and we were in the process of moving in. The house came together perfectly. We had a couple of arguments about some of the décor, but ended up compromising. Another month later, I finally felt as though we were officially moved in and unpacked. We relationship perked up and it finally felt like we were back on the same page.