Real-life you

To avoid crossing town an extra time—and because of Blaine’s aversion to driving separately and meeting places—he picked me up at home this morning, delivered me to work and then came back at noon to get me so we could go furniture shopping. Blaine in the morning is one of my favorite things so I didn’t fuss. At least not until I saw him.

“You’re very casual,” I said casually. There’s nothing wrong with the way he looks in jeans and a button-up shirt, but… “No suit today?” I asked. “Isn’t that a disbarrable offense?” It should be.

“Nah, I’m not meeting with anyone this morning.” He scanned my jeans and filmy navy paisley v-neck top. Fair point. I, too, had dressed for the afternoon rather than for work.

We had a great afternoon even though the shopping was almost a bust. The two best furniture stores are in different towns. We went to the closer one first, and it didn’t take long to rule out all of the living room furniture. A salesperson asked what “our” style was when she caught us standing in a sea of gray living room sets, differing only by throw pillow patterns. Blaine looked at me. “Can you answer that?” I took a second to catalog his living room and the fact that I had liked it instantly.

“Transitional.”

“Well, you found it!” She opened her arms and swept them around enthusiastically. I nearly looked to see if someone was sliding in a carousel of appliances as the next part of our Showcase Showdown.

Blaine told her we’d like to look around for awhile. Once she moved away, he asked what transitional meant and if anything we could see fit into it. All I could see was variations on Mid-Century modern, all in the blahist shade of gray I’ve ever seen. “Which of these appeal to you?” I asked and was relieved when he said none of them did. We sat on a few and didn’t like them better after.

We moved on to the bedroom furniture. “I hope you like upholstered headboards,” I said upon entering that gallery. He didn’t particularly. He sort of liked a couple of the wood headboards but they were large and commanding, not something he wanted for a guest room. What did appeal to him was a wood and metal headboard. The trouble was it wasn’t real wood and looked cheap.

On the way out we stopped up front where they have an old popcorn maker that makes outstanding popcorn. Free bags are offered to everyone, and we grabbed two. The popcorn fiend I was with, however, sweet talked a third bag from the retired woman who was serving it.

In the car, Blaine put all the windows down and we enjoyed the mild temperature and light breeze while munching popcorn and discussing the layout of his basement. The stairs lead into an open space. There are windows along the back wall that allow a view of the patio beneath the deck. There are also three doorways, one leading to a hallway that goes to the bathroom and to Eli’s room, one that goes to another bedroom, and one that opens to a windowless room. The other end of the room, along the stairs is a strange shape because the wall juts out where something--pipes probably--have been boxed in. “Do you want a TV down there?” I asked, trying to visualize how the room might be set up.

He shook the tall, narrow popcorn bag so the kernels slid toward the opening, his hand too big to fit deeply into the paper bag. “Do you?”

“Do I?”

“You’re spending more time with me at home now.” He looked at me. “A practice that I hope continues. Maybe you’ll want your own spot sometimes. To read or watch those British shows.”

I don’t know, it struck me as very sweet. I had to stop myself from making a smart comment since going for a joke is what I always do. Not so deep down though I was touched that he had thought about a time when I would be less like a guest and more like a...resident.

Suddenly Susannah popped into my mind. She can never learn of this conversation.

“Well, a TV is a good idea." I reached over and gave his had a quick squeeze. And then I couldn't help myself. "A big one so Poldark is practically life-size. You can watch your basketball games on the puny one upstairs.” The one that’s as wide as the fireplace.

The crinkles at the corners of his eyes always give away that he’s about to smile. I turned a bit in my seat and watched him finish the popcorn. He's something special.









He rubbed his hands together to knock of the salt. "I don't know what a Poldark is but I'm starting to reconsider the wisdom of giving you access to a life-size view."

I laughed. "A real-life you is better than Poldark in any form."

We drove nearly an hour to the other furniture store, a huge one that’s pretty much the last word in home furnishings. Blaine picked out a beautiful bedroom set with a wood and metal headboard for the guest room.

The living room remains unfurnished. It’s unclear whether a couch and loveseat or a sectional will work best in the odd space. We found an option for both and Blaine will do some measuring. Hopefully the math will decide it.