Semper Fi: Always there for you.

7. Greetings from nowhere 1/2

Men make houses, women make homes.
Jessica had turned Chris' pathetic life into a warm, funny, sexy one.
Three months had passed since Jessica 's stormy birthday and, after her brothers clumsily apologized to the couple and their mom, Chris Callahan had been officially adopted by her whole family. Well, just approved by Alex but still.

Chris got a regular job at the bowling alley as a Jack-of-all-trades: maintenance and repair of the machines and lanes, cleaning the whole place and the snack bar, taking stock and placing the orders, putting the bins out and all that stuff. He even volunteered to give a hand to the cashier and serve as security agent from time to time despite his "ex con" status. Tony, who gave him this job knew him from the time Cal regularly attended the bowling alley with his squad, and entrusted him the keys with no question.

Chris was happy with this job, by which he earned enough money to stop his side-jobs, and which kept him focused and busy 4 days a week. And focused on Jess the rest of the time. He refused the original offer to work there as a basic cashier, he wouldn't spend all his nights away from Jess, and go home to find her asleep, alone in bed at 2 a.m.

His bed was never cold anymore, it was filled with warm bodies, hot touches and a lot of sex.
Cal's bros were right: getting laid had been the best cure to his depressed state, but above all, love was what brought him back to life.

Oyster's absence sometimes struck him down, that open, bleeding wound might never heal, but Jessica was there. Always there.
Semper Fi. Always faithful.

Maybe this applied to lovers too.
She never blamed him for being down, never left him alone in his darkness. She was nothing but supportive and heartwarming, hugging him tight, letting him cry on her shoulder until his tears dried up. Soothing him, whispering him love words in his ears, making love to him so he felt alive again.

They talked about moving in together, which was her idea. He agreed with her on every argument: save money for the rental, stop spreading their stuff throughout 2 houses, have a cozy place they could call home,
to wisely conclude it was too soon.

"We already spend our days and nights together. Your place, my place, who cares since we end up under the same sheets..." he objected with a grin, before he flipped her on her couch, and spent the next hour to prove his point.

He didn't speak the heart of his mind. First, he hated the idea of leaving his house, filled with memories of Oyster. His room, his stuff hadn't moved, Chris made it a sanctuary. He was pretty sure Jessica would want a prettier and fancier place to live, and at this time, it was a big no no.
Also, the truth was Chris kept thinking all this was too good to be true. All his life had been filled with disasters and dramas, why would his future suddenly look bright?

And he was right.
They had an argument. Not a break, a dispute.
Jessica was young and curious, hell-bend on living her life to the fullest. She slightly mocked Cal, who never had left the country. Beside going to war, Cal objected.

"Yeah, real fun!" She shrugged.

He didn't respond, though he didn't appreciate her tone.

Chris was still on parole and thereby wasn't allowed to leave the Empire State, which Jess managed to take the best of: Syracuse, Niagara falls (the American side), Albany, Long island. New York city. They traveled across the State on every occasion, which was new to him.
Restaurants, museums, theatres, operas, they both had a keen interest in art and culture, even though Cal only explored both in books. He couldn't afford half of their outings.
She paid for all. And Chris had felt nervous about it.
She objected she was from a wealthy family, money had never been an issue and even if her parents hadn't raised her to be a spoiled brat, she was told money was just there to make life easier, so why not do it?