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Chapter 196

Yeah, it's in my head and I'm shutting it out
Can you hear?
Can you hear me?
All the things I did just drown it out
Just drown it out

— Luke Hemmings, Mum

. . . .

The house is perfect. Two-story detached home painted white brick, about ten minutes away from our previous home. One of the selling points of the house for us, aside from the back garden, bedroom count, and quiet neighborhood was the sunroom out back. Equipped with a sliding glass door and panoramic windows, we fell in love with the relaxing room the second we exited through the kitchen. It had been our fifth house viewing, and the day we saw it, was the day we put in an offer. It didn't take us long to discuss whether we wanted it or not.

After officially signing all the papers and becoming the official homeowners, we brought Lilly and Max to see it first. We let them take a Post-It note of their names and put it on the door to the room of their choosing. Max wanted mine and Harry's simply because it was at the top of the staircase. After nudging him to another one and telling him that the first was ours, he picked the one diagonal from us that overlooked the street out front. Lilly, however, chose the one on the opposite end of the hall, the bathroom being the divider between her room and ours. Being the smallest room on the first floor, we designated that as mine and Harry's shared office. It's enough to install two white bookshelves and our desk while still being somewhat spacious.

The kitchen, aside from the sunroom, is a statement room of the house, as mentioned by the realtor. She said it was the focal point of the previous owners when they began renovating. I loved the midtone gray with the sleek white countertops. It's a simple, clean design but is beautiful, nonetheless.

The first day of the move-in, we had so much help and even more offers. Harris came over, along with Gemma, Ryan, and my parents. Anne and Robin took the kids for the day while we went to work between the two houses. When our old house was bare, we did the last final sweep of the place and my heart hurt even more than it did leaving my apartment.

The memories we've shared in that house have been equally wonderful and heart-shattering. I've loved my time there, but it was time to move on. It was a great house, and we outgrew it. As we've been settling into this new one, I've been trying to boost any uncertain thoughts in all of us by saying that we'll make even more memories in this one.

By now, Max has gotten pretty accustomed to this house and is loving the back garden. It's fenced in, so I can be at the sink or in the sunroom while he plays out in the grass with George. Even now when it's been weeks of living here, there's still a lot we're finding that needs to be unpacked. Our bedroom is pretty much done, including our walk-in closet that I was beyond excited about.

I've never bought a house before, so the decorating process has been exciting for me. When I moved in with Harry, I had no problem keeping all the furniture where it was. It all fit well, and I didn't need it to change. With this house, we're doing it together, even though Harry's let me take the reins on a lot of it.

Nevertheless, I've enjoyed living here so far. I'm happy, and it seems like everyone else is too.

This past Friday we finally got to host a little gathering with our close friends while the kids were visiting Dad and Bonnie. We had wine and ordered pizzas and talked for hours. It was so nice to have everyone together in the new house. To say I got a little drunk may not be a stretch, and that night, Harry helped me stumble up the stairs and into our bed to sleep off the alcohol while he cleaned up downstairs. I remember being all over him that night, even suggesting we sneak away for ten minutes, but he was persistent to stay with the group and remind me that I had many glasses to drink, not that I couldn't figure that one out on my own.