The Apple of My Eye

Living on a Prayer

Two weeks fly by—though not by Star's account, as these feel like the longest two weeks in her life so far—and they finally make it. She and David now share a small one-bedroom apartment his mother has found for them. It's not too far from where the woman lives all by herself now that David is gone. And it's not too far from the big city's most important avenue, which headquarters a large number of financial and cultural organizations.

Star is gobsmacked, and she makes no effort to hide her jubilation. The tallest buildings she has ever seen, human diversity like she has never thought possible, and, most importantly, living in her own place with the man she loves.

Okay, so it's not exactly her place. David's mother has found it for them and she is the one who is actually paying for the rent. Also, they don't have jobs, so his mother is the one funding their entire little adventure. It's all right, though. They will soon be working and making just about enough money to take care of themselves and to pay David's mother back for all her kindness and generosity.

It's not like they're playing house, the way more critical observers will describe it. It's not like mama's boy, who introduces himself as a bona fide rapper-slash-deejay, depends on mommy to give him the very bed he will be sharing with his sweetheart—a cutie-pie who is not only easy on the eyes, but easy on his every sense. Plus, Star inspires him, and inspiration is all he needs to come up with sharkish lyrics that are sure to take him to the top and make him a load of money in the music business. Now that she's with him, let haters hate, as they say. Nothing can go wrong for David and Star.

It doesn't feel like honeymoon for very long, though, as is to be expected. After about a couple of weeks, Star realizes her dependency on David's mother does not do her good. Not that there's anything the woman won't let her have, it's just that she wants to go out and buy whatever she feels like buying. She doesn't even want her parents wiring her money. She wants to go out and make a buck and spend it the way she sees fit. She doesn't want to feel like somebody here is indeed "playing house" and it's not even her. She doesn't want to feel like she's being played with, like a brunette Barbie doll of sorts.

Of course, she doesn't feel that way all the time. She is mostly happy and does not regret her decision to leave home and go live with her boyfriend, to whom she now refers as "husband," even if her parents were very specific about her not tying the knot just yet. It's more fun to think of him as her husband, she deliberates. It sounds more official somehow. And she understands why her parents don't want her to be tied: if she ever changes her mind, all she has to do is say goodbye and fly back to the safety of their home. No strings attached, they say.

But Star is not going to do that. Her willpower decrees otherwise. Not only is she strong-minded about making her relationship work, but she also means business when she says she won't wait another day until she goes out job hunting for both herself and David.

David, on the other hand, is not so sure. He means well when he says if he starts working nine to five, how is he going to find time to work on his music? How is he going to find the disposition to stay out late deejaying and then start working early the next morning? That doesn't sound like his idea of a surefire recipe for success. Star understands, she really does. She's a big fan of his art, maybe his number one fan, even. But she wants him to help her pay the bills. She wants him to declare financial independence from his mother. That's part of growing up, she says. Even if things are complicated at first, they'll make it together, she has no doubt. And since David wants to make her happy, he concurs. Going back to school can wait, but searching for a job needs to start right away.

Like most things Star and David do, their job seeking is done together as well. Wouldn't it be just unbelievably great if they could find a job at the same place and thus spend the whole time together at work, too? Sure, most couples don't see each other all the time, but that's just because most couples don't love each other the way Star and David love each other. No, it won't interfere in the quality of the work that they do. And of course it won't interfere in their relationship. They won't let it.