Looking For A Legend (Book 1)

Looking For A Legend Chapter 43 - Valentina

            Moving in with Eli turned out to be an easy transition.  They agreed that the end of the month would be the day they started to share their lives, giving them each three weeks to wrap up all their individual loose ends.  Eli didn’t have much to wrap up.  He only had to add her name to the lease and inquire about pets.  He also decided to ask if he could buy out the demonstration unit, to ensure their privacy.

            Valentina had a bit more to do.  She started with packing up whatever was left of Leibe’s in the carriage house and sending it back to her, cash on delivery for the shipping.  She then set to cleaning up her own things and getting them ready to move.  Valentina didn’t have much trouble getting out of her own rental agreement, thankfully.  Her landlord had already started eyeing potential tenants since Leibe didn’t return in January.

Once again, Levi being a mover was extremely advantageous.  He picked up Valentina and her boxes in the furniture store’s delivery truck, drove her to Eli’s and helped her carry everything inside.  He even helped them unpack.  Valentina was a little nervous to have Levi going through her clothes, but he respectful.  In fact, the only thing he seemed to be looking for was a pair of jeans.

“Look, Eli! Valentina owns pairs of jeans, Eli!” Levi paraded a pair of Valentina jeans in front of Eli as his brother was working to combine their book collections.  She was sure that had a deeper meaning to the Coates brothers, but to Valentina, they were just being weird.

Eli and Valentina’s lives blended well, as did their schedules.  Since his accident, Eli decided to start working from home more.  He set three days of office hours for the first years to see him, electing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to be in the lecture hall or Utkin’s office from noon until five in the evening.  She would often go to the lecture hall with him, researching while he talked to her classmates.  She thought his recent detachment from school was a healthy sign. Valentina was happy to see him developing a life outside of Denvellia.

During his time at home he studied gift development and Valentina taught him Russian.  It wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be, being that Eli only had to recognize sounds and symbols, instead of having to learn to recreate them.  Sometimes he would go swimming, either alone or with Levi.  While Eli was studying or swimming, Valentina would do chores, read, call her father, or go out shopping.  She’d taken up yoga as well, just to have an activity outside of the house and hoping to make new friends.

In the evening, they both put work aside, and spent their time together.  Eli and Valentina vowed to have dinner together every night, whether dinner is held in their home or out.  Eli didn’t usually go out much, aside from the pubs with his brother.  With Valentina’s influence, he decided to try at least one new place a week, though was hesitant to try art shows again.

That morning Valentina stirred awake, feeling Eli’s lips on her shoulder and his hand slipping around her middle.  She let out a little murmur of pleasure, rolling over to face him.  Valentina was about to lean in to kiss him when she felt something cold and wet on her leg.  She let out a gasp and a laugh.  They now shared their bed and home with two English foxhound puppies, Ceres and Dinah.  Valentina had only wanted one dog, but the two sisters from the same litter did not want to be separated and Eli relented.  Knowing her owners were awake, Dinah climbed over their bodies and poised on Eli’s chest to lick his face.  Ceres was sniffing around the bed, looking for the stuffed rabbit she’d carried into the bed with her the night before.

“Good morning, Eli.” Valentina mused as she sat up.  He leaned in to give her the kiss she’d wanted, putting Dinah aside. “We should take them for a walk before anything else.”  Eli looked a little disappointed.  He had something else in mind for their morning.