Mad Woman✓

20. Can you believe it?

"I say, "Can you believe it?" as we're lying on the couch.. The moment I can see it, yes, yes, I can see it now."

   TAYLOR

"Are you nervous?" Joe asks, hiding his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "No, are you?" I ask, trying to stop my hands from trembling by pressing them to the sides of my thighs. "No.. No, not at all."

Today, after Joe scared the hell out of me by disappearing from the car - but coming back with a damn good cup of coffee - we spent the whole morning shopping for furniture for the new house.

We decided to get pretty much everything from a thrift store. We probably won't be staying here for too long so it would be a waste of money to spend a lot on furniture that will only be used for a few months. Maybe only weeks.

And yes, Joe convinced me of this. Because I would much rather sit on a clean, never-used-before couch. I don't think he quite understands the amount of money I have.

He'll find out though. Because, when all of this is over, I am buying us a house. A big one. One where we can live the rest of our lives - if a life with me is what he wants.

I hope it's what he wants.

At the thrift store, we got a love seat, a small coffee table and a three-quarter-size bed frame. Thankfully, he let me buy us a brand new mattress, pillows and bedsheets. He started an argument about hotels and mattresses, but I just stared at him and finally, he stopped babbling and gave in.

"Then why aren't you getting out of the car?" I ask. He looks at me, an innocent look on his face.

"Because it's.. Uh.. because.. Because it is cold outside and here it's nice and warm. The house is probably cold too." "Come on", I say, getting out of the car.

We are parked in front of our house - the only house on this street.

Whereas in warmer weather, the front yard would be lovely and colourful, it now appears to be a gloomy shade of brown. It's terribly close to grey, actually.

The white paint of the front door and window frames is flaking off.

It's even smaller than I had expected.

And yet, despite my nerves and the sad yard, it looks perfect for the two of us.

It's a shame it's so cold here. Because if there had been more sun, those plants would have been beautiful and vibrant. And it would have looked like a house from a fairytale.

The fact that we're living alone on this street is ideal as well. We are still going to have to be careful, but maybe a little less than expected.

How could anyone find us here? There's barely any cell phone reception, which is truly amazing. There's no way The Diamond Crows can find us here.

I hope.....

I get the keys from my purse and look at Joe. "What if the door just falls down when we touch it, we wouldn't even have needed the keys." "I hope we do need them, though", he smiles, "It's September now, it is going to be cold. Very cold. Especially in November and December."

"Maybe we won't be here until November or December", I remind him silently.

He softly puts his hand on my lower back and kisses the top of my head.

A warm feeling seems to spread from his fingers through my whole body and I open the door. Luckily, it opens normally and doesn't fall out of its frame.

We step inside and we find ourselves in the small living room. Thank God we didn't get a bigger couch because there is no way it would have fit.

There's a fireplace that looks like it hasn't been lit in the last few years. To be honest, the entire place appears to have been uninhabited for years. The kitchen is dusty and the floors are creaking.