Dreams, Memories & Keys

Chapter 10 - September

Susan went to work at the office in San Francisco on Tuesday morning with sore muscles. It was the good kind of sore, the type that came from doing something good.

While Aaron, Matt, and Elliot did all the heavy lifting, there had still been plenty of boxes in the Coopers' Davis apartment for Susan, Julie, Ashley and Rita to move on the Monday holiday, Labor Day. To Susan's surprise, not all of the boxes belonged to Matt and Ashley, evidence that Aaron and Rita had been living in their place since the beginning of the summer. They got all the young couples' belongings loaded into the back of a rented truck by noon. Ashley stayed behind to do some cleaning. Then she met them at the new house, bringing sandwiches for lunch with her when she arrived. By that time, most of the furniture and half the boxes were already unloaded. They took time out for lunch, finished unloading the truck, then Susan left. Julie and Elliot stayed a bit longer to help, but eventually they left too, bringing Ashley with them back to the Bay Area. She had to work the next morning, though she expected to be back at the new house on Tuesday evening.

That's how Susan found herself alone at the rental house in Oakland after work on Tuesday. Julie and Elliot were staying in Alan's living room so not even they were there to keep her company.

"How is it?" Greg asked when she called.

"Lonely," Susan admitted. "It was much more fun to be here while Matt was living here."

"Well cheer up. I'm sure he'll be back once he begins classes again," Greg told her.

"Oh, I know he will be. I expect we'll spend the rest of this month establishing a bit of a routine," Susan replied. "Ashley is still working here in Oakland, at least until classes start, so I know she at least will be back now and then."

"Speaking of routines, I believe the Wilsons are adopting one relatively quickly," Greg remarked.

"Oh?" Susan asked.

"John and Karen began their new jobs today. Both Peter and Payton are enrolled at the school. Payton is apparently in their preschool program. All four left from here to go to the school early this morning. They spent the afternoon today at their new place, preparing for their rental furniture to arrive. According to John, Karen has been cleaning and arranging the kitchen. Their utilities have been transferred and they bought groceries yesterday. They came back to our place this evening to sleep. According to John, they expect to do the same thing tomorrow, except Karen expects to be able to cook. I fully expect them to begin staying at their place completely sometime this week," Greg related. "From what I understand, their furniture is supposed to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday."

"You may be right. I know Aaron and Rita went shopping for a bed on Sunday. They were able to get it delivered today, which is how they could stay there tonight. I expect they will be shopping for the other furnishings they need the rest of the week," Susan predicted.

"How does it feel to be on the periphery of that this time instead of the one doing it?" Greg asked.

"Wonderful. I am really happy with our life right now, Greg. It's really wonderful to be at the point in our lives where we can help everyone," Susan told him.

"It is a good place to be," Greg agreed. "I should turn in, Susan. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Sounds good. Good night," Susan told her husband, and she blew him a kiss over the phone.

c

Wednesday was very similar to Tuesday for Susan, including the phone calls at the beginning and end of her day to Greg. She went out to dinner with Julie and Elliot on Thursday and learned that, in addition to the beds Aaron and Rita bought over the weekend, they had already picked out bedroom furniture to go with it and were trying to decide on a sofa for the family room they were trying to furnish. Julie shared just how excited they were to be doing that. Matt and Ashley's sofa and chair went in the living room, which gave them this one room all to themselves and they couldn't be happier with the arrangement.