Animator's Magic - James and Jaiden

Our Home

If this was a movie, a montage would be placed right here in a sepia filter. They went to many dates, some to the movies where they curled up, sharing a big tub of popcorn, or going to the art museum to look at types and forms of art that they would love to draw in the future. They also went to an escape room with a couple of their mutual friends but they had not told them about their newfound romance. They had only been dating for about a month and a half so they knew that if something happened to them, they didn't want their friends to be involved and pick sides. 

Though nothing was confirmed, all of their friends were very suspicious of all of the new smiling, laughing, and even just standing close to each other. The new couple also went to bowling, ice skating, and entered into some art contests together. After eight months of dating, they had agreed to move into Jaiden's house; it was bigger, and James' dogs were more comfortable with moving than the birds. They had told everyone a couple of weeks ago; except for social media.

"Hey, babe?" James asked walking out of the bathroom. It was a Saturday night. They had just been out to dinner and they were both getting ready for bed. Jaiden sat on the left side, reading.

"What, James?" she asked, putting her book down. She noticed he had a serious face on.

"Ever since I got a lot of my subscribers, I've been starting to think about how I'm so far away from all of the people who help me with my videos. I hate that I've never seen them in person, you know?"

"Well yeah, but I didn't meet iHasCupquake until way later that I stopped working for her," Jaiden argued, still unsure where this conversation was going.

"Well, I want to move to California. I'll be closer to who I work with, I could meet new people to collab with, tours and books and even new games would be easier to achieve, and..." he stopped, took a deep breath in and continued, "the neighborhood I'm looking at would be great for kids." he ended with, still not looking at her.

"Of, course, I understand but, well. We've already moved in together so that's not an issue, we have the same job so it would help me as well, and I would love to be in a good neighborhood where cars don't drive down the wrong side, making you spill your coffee," she responds, smiling. They laugh about a day that seemed like forever ago.

"I agree, but what about our families? And friends? I already love our life here..." she says, wondering how he'll respond. 

"I know but I feel like one outweighs the other. We can always fly back, they can always fly in, we'll call, text and FaceTime, we'll make the best of it. Please?" he starts to go on, hoping she'll say yes. She pauses for a minute, thinking about the whole question. She finally smiles, starting to give James an answer.

"Yes! but keep in mind that this will be hard for me and my family and that we'll have to work out a lot of steps to get there. Have you even picked out a house? I mean, I'm sure it'll be great but there's just so many things to think about..." she rambles but is stopped by a kiss. He picks up his laptop from his bedside-table and opens it. A gallery of houses from all different counties came up. Websites on schools, where the hotspots for certain things were, and everything else glared onto the screen. He proudly turned it to Jaiden forcing her jaw to drop. It was the sweetest thing for him to do. 

For hours and hours, they stayed up in their bed, researching different places to live in their new state. They eventually fell asleep with their laptops open and their hands clasped in pure happiness and excitement.

After about a week of researching, they finally decided on a place. It was in a neighborhood with a good school (in case they had kids), but was also close to a lot of restaurants and events for them to go to. The house was about the same size as Jaiden's but a bit bigger. They had a front yard with a beautiful garden filled with many flowers and even some vegetables and fruits, a big backyard with a fireplace, a pool, and a wraparound deck. Before you got into the house, there was a porch swing and some furniture, greeting you. The house had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, all with a theme. They had two living rooms, one on each floor, and a big open kitchen with an island. It was their dream home and they worked hard to get it.

They moved in a couple of weeks after getting the house. They wanted it to be furnished when they got there so it took a bit more time. They finally had to say goodbye to their families and friends who all whole-heartedly agreed when they told them. They had just taken another big step for themselves but in their relationship as well.

"Jaiden?" James asked through their partially finished home,

"Yeah?" she answered smiling as she ran down the stairs

"You know that I love you, right?" he asked.

"Of course, and I love you!"

"Okay, just checking," he said smiling and hugging her. It felt like the day when James asked her out, a warm hug, but this time it felt different. Good different, like they were closer and more connected.