Choices

Chapter 1

I dropped my bag on the kitchen island before grabbing the bottle of water and two bars of granola, Haidar was somewhere in this castle of a house and I was determined to find him.

Passing by the movers on my way out of the kitchen, I had to stop to admire the family room. The brown and white patterned rug matching perfectly with the curtains, the chandelier gleaming, casting light on the dark brown sofas.

To say I was excited to move into the house was a total understatement. The family room gave way to the hall which had pictures hung on the walls, most of which had been taken down; Haidar wanted us to create our own memories on the walls. I could hear voices coming from the foyer so I hastened my pace when I noticed Haidar walking out from underneath the stairs.

“Hey.” I called out, he spun to face me slightly startled, eyes wide.

“You scared me” he said laughing, placing a hand on his chest.

“Yeah right, you aren’t easily startled. Where are you coming from? What’s back there?”  I inquired straining my neck to look. He placed a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention back to him.

“Nothing to worry about, just a dusty storage room” he explained smiling “What do you think of the house?” He asked, trailing his hand down my arm to hold my hand.

“It’s beautiful Haidar. I can’t believe this is our new home.” I gushed looking around and further admiring the architectural masterpiece that was our house.

“New old house, that reminds me. I have a surprise for you” He said, his lips forming a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Should I be worried?” I asked. “Don’t you trust me? Have any of my surprises ever been awful?” He countered. I raised my eyes and gave him a dead look.

Really???

“The sushi experience doesn’t count” he retorted “Just close your eyes wife of mine and no peeking!!!”

I rolled my eyes at his antics but obeyed him. I felt him leading me towards the foyer. “Watch your step” he whispered.

“Are we going up the stairs?” I asked tightening my grip on his arm. “Yeah” He answered guiding me upstairs. We got onto the first floor and I felt him turn me towards to the left, about 20 steps later, we stopped.

“Can I open my eyes now?” I asked.

“Patience grasshopper” he whispered chuckling. I huffed, eager to see what the surprise was. The door clicked open and he gently pushed me in.

“Go ahead, open your eyes” I opened my eyes and let out a gasp. “Oh my…” I trailed off staring at the dream room in front of me. Beige walls with white French windows overlooking the gorgeous manicured lawn that was our backyard, there were three shelves stacked with different types of fabrics by the left wall. Two mannequins were placed facing each other at the corner.

There was a wardrobe placed against the right wall with a printer on the top, and two hanger stands near the wardrobe.

“Is… Is that a Babylock Brilliant?!” I squealed rushing over to the sewing machine which was situated in front of the windows.

“Yes” He replied.

“This has the automatic threader option and the cutting option plus it has over 20 stitch options” I gushed, running my fingers over it in awe.

“I don’t think I will ever get tired of you geeking over your tailoring gadgets. I’m glad you love it” He said walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me into his body.