we keep this love in a photograph

Chapter 19

Sunday came with golden sunlight as they rose late, and Jennie grinned at Rosie as she sipped her green tea, eyes bright as she watched Rosie move around the kitchen, adding feta and sundried tomatoes to the eggs she was scrambling in a pan.

"What?" Rosie asked as she caught her staring.

"I have some errands to run today, if you want to join me."

"Sure. What're we doing?"

"I asked Karina to arrange a few showings for apartments yesterday. You know, because you said you were thinking of looking for a place."

Rosie gave her an uneven smile, raising her head as she arched an eyebrow. "I think my budget is going to be a lot lower than your standards. We're talking bars on the windows and electrical wiring from the thirties."

Rolling her eyes, Jennie tilted her head to the side. "We can still go and look. It'll be fun."

"Sure. It'll be better if I line up a place first before telling Alice; she won't feel so guilty if I make it my choice. I know she'll never do it otherwise," Rosie mused as she scraped eggs onto two plates. "When's the first showing?"

"At eleven. There are only four of them."

Nodding, Rosie took a seat beside her and they ate their breakfast in the warm kitchen as sunlight pooled golden on the floor. It was going to be a sweltering day and Jennie changed into a plain cap-sleeved linen dress after showering, pinning her hair up in a loose chignon and donning oversized sunglasses as she waited for Rosie to finish getting ready.

Putting the address into maps, Jennie drove them to the first apartment, in a modest neighbourhood of high-rise buildings with vegan café's, boutiques and a dog park on the corner.

Rosie frowned as she climbed out of the car and followed Jennie to the glass doors, agitated as Jennie pressed the buzzer and conferred with the man who answered before they were let inside.

The apartment was on the third floor, a studio empty of any furnishings. It was modern and clean, the floor dark wood and the walls painted a soft cream that glowed yellow from the sunlight flooding in through tall windows. Jennie poked around, curious as she looked around the bathroom and looking up when Rosie touched her elbow, a clouded look on her face as her cheeks turned pink.

"Jen," Rosie whispered, "I can't afford a place like this."

"Don't worry," Jennie assured her, giving her a small smile. "Just see if you like it."

"I do like it, but ... what's the rent?"

"Twenty-four hundred a month."

Rosie balked at the prospect and Jennie grimaced slightly. Fiddling with her fingers, Rosie listened as the man droned on about the facilities and the rental agreement, before Jennie politely thanked him and steered them out.

The second one was on a grungier street, a Rosieoke bar two buildings down, graffiti brightening up the alleyways and tattoo shops and adult film shops dispersed between the drugstore and 7/11. This apartment was a shared one, a young woman interning at a local law firm showing Rosie the spare shoebox bedroom amidst the clutter of her own belongings. The rent was half the price of the other place and she could see Rosie considering it before she whisked them away to the third one. It was a one bedroom, a little cramped but more private than the studio, despite the aged seventies feeling of the place.

"Okay, ready for the last one?"

Nodding, Rosie looked out the window as Jennie drove them through the inner city traffic, an agonisingly slow process, until the neighbourhood started growing familiar, the wide streets of terraced brownstones and upscale designer stores nestled amidst towering skyscrapers shining in the sunlight. Frowning, Rosie turned to Jennie as they pulled onto her street.