Page 12 of Here You Are

“Sigh. And now we never will.”

I threw some packaging supplies at her and told her to focus on the task at hand. Luke came into the kitchen and hugged me from behind. “How is the unpacking going, ladies?”

“Cora thinks instead of moving in with you, we should be out prowling for single men to take home to our own respective apartments, so she’s having a hard time focusing.

He grabs his heart, acting wounded. “Cora. I am shocked. I thought I was your favorite future brother.”

She sat down on the kitchen counter and responded, “You're my only option at this point, but things could change.”

Cora gets another bunch of packing papers thrown at her head, this time from Luke.

“Fine, fine. You’re fine. I guess this means I have to settle down, too, so our parents don’t think I'm the floozy sister who can’t get a man.”

“You're twenty-two. I think you have time. Maybe I can introduce you to one of Luke’s single brothers.”

“If I’m not married by the time I'm forty, I’ll marry whichever one is left,” she sighs, jumping off the counter. “This is making me depressed, so I’m going to go home to my apartment, where there are no men stinking everything up. Call me if you want me to sneak you out of here in the middle of the night.” She punched Luke in the shoulder as she walked by, which I explained to him is her way of saying ‘I love you.’

“So, live-in girlfriend, what do you need help with?” Luke leaned in to me and started kissing his way down my neck. We get distracted “unpacking” in the bedroom for the rest of the evening.

One thing that has not been awesome over the last couple of months is that I have been dealing with Aunt Flo for weeks at a time and tons of pain along with it. Luke has been really chill about it, but it’s starting to drive me crazy. I decided to see my doctor to get some testing done, and they concluded I have pretty severe endometriosis. They opted to take me off birth control to let my body settle and see what happens. I have to keep monitoring periods and pain and report back. A lot of people experience relief of symptoms on birth control; however, since I have been on it for years, this doesn’t seem to be the case. This did say that people with severe endometriosis can have trouble with fertility. I know that I want kids, so I really struggled with this information. I also know it’s not the right time in my life, so I'm choosing to consider this a later problem.

Luke and I had stopped using condoms around the time he asked me to be his girlfriend, since we weren’t sleeping with anyone else, so we had to get back on that birth control train. If I’m being honest, we have forgotten a few times. Nothing has happened as a result, which is good, for now. I’m trying to stay positive and grateful that Luke has been so understanding.

Chapter 7

February 2013

Luke and I were coming up on our four-year dating anniversary. I’m nearing my thirties, and he is already in his thirties. The question of “what’s next?” has been popping up occasionally. We have both been staying career-focused. I got a job at a new agency as an advisor, and I am finally making the kind of money that I set out to make when I earned this degree. I feel like a real adult with a grown-up job. Even though I am feeling like a real rich bitch, I’m not the type of person to immediately upgrade my lifestyle. I’m trying to be responsible with my spending and saving, considering that’s literally my life’s work. Luke has been feeling a little stagnant at his job, so he has been keeping an eye out for other opportunities.

I’ve casually approached the subject of marriage with him several times over the last year. His answer is always the same: he definitely wants to marry me, but he’s not in a hurry.

Something that has been weighing heavily on my mind, as I look toward the future, is starting a family. Luke has always been somewhat ambivalent about having kids, but he’s made it clear that he supports whatever I want. Still, we’ve been having unprotected sex for over a year. After having a few slip-ups—who am I kidding, there were a lot of slip-ups—we realized that I am more than likely not going to get pregnant without some intervention, so we have stopped taking any precautions. So far, nothing. If I were to get pregnant, I would be happy. I would prefer to do things in the right order, which is why I have been pestering him about his plans.

Luke and I have always just magically clicked. We have plenty of differences, but we balance each other out, and somehow it works. He loves going out and having adventures; I prefer staying home. He flies by the seat of his pants; I have written goals that I’m constantly updating. I have remained steadfast in exactly where I want my career to end up, while he is often searching for new ideas and possibilities to explore.

We made plans with Tim and Syd for an at-home game night. They got engaged before Christmas, so Syd is deep into wedding planning. She has been inviting me along to check out places she is thinking of using. They have asked both of us to be in their wedding party. I’m a little jealous but mostly having fun and happy for her. They are truly a perfect match. Tim and Syd arrive with a cooler full of drinks and our favorite snacks because they truly know how to party.

“Hey, I invited my sister and the guy she has been seeing to come over too. Hope that’s okay!” Syd says, handing me a bag.

“Of course, I invited Cora, too. I'm not sure if she’ll show up. She is boycotting anything related to happy, healthy love relationships.”

“Honestly, I get it and would be right there with her if not for Timmy Boy.”

“I found a game online that I think we should try tonight, I said as I helped Syd unpack the things she brought with her. “It seems like it will be really fun, but we may have to set some parameters for Tim. It’s a make-your-own-rules game, and I don’t want anyone to get arrested.”

Syd stops what she is doing to look at me. “Yeah, he’s going to need some rules.”

Syd’s sister and her date show up, as does Cora with one of her single friends. As we were letting them in, our neighbors, who were around our age, were coming home, so we invited them to come in and play as well. We ended up with a full house.

“So, here is how the game works.” I grabbed the pizza box I saved for the occasion. “We’ll start by putting everyone’s names on the board. Babe, can you hand me some markers? You roll the dice on the pizza box. If the spot you land on is empty, you get to make a rule. If the spot you land on is a name, that person drinks. Any other spots you land on, you have to follow that rule.”

This is where Syd chimes in for Tim’s safety and the success of his future. “Tim, no full nudity and no felony level crimes.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll do my best, ma’am!” Tim shouts, giving her a salute.

Syd’s sister, Morgan, chimed in. “What kind of rules?”

“It can be anything! Make someone perform an interpretive dance, drink five drinks, take a shot of a condiment of your choice, or run around the neighborhood singing a song. The sky is the limit.”