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Chapter 8
As they pulled up in front of the apartment complex, Colby felt like she had a rock in the pit of her stomach. Debbi had picked this place: brilliant white buildings, red stucco roofs, palm trees everywhere. It looked like every other expensive apartment complex on this side of Houston. She hated all of them so far and couldn’t even afford them. Not without getting a full-time job right away.
“Isn’t this gorgeous?” Debbi said. “Gated, two pools, hot tub, tennis courts—there’s even a beach volleyball court!”
“Because I’m so sporty.”
Debbi made a frustrated noise. “You can’t write off every place we see before you even go inside. Come on. You’re going to love this one. I know it.”
Colby should be acting more grateful. Debbi had gotten a babysitter just to drag Colby around to help find a new place. She knew she was acting like a brat, but the truth was that she didn’t want to face the reality of moving. It just reminded her that she needed to get a job so she could afford it, which meant putting her business on the back burner again. You couldn’t grow your income without time or money to put into it, but without growing her income, she didn’t have the time or money to put into it. She was right back where she’d been the last few years: working jobs she didn’t like, trying to start a business she did like in whatever free time she had, and wishing all the time that she was building a family instead.
Maybe that was wrong in the 21st century—to be a woman who simply wanted to stay home and raise kids. She felt like she was supposed to want more. And while she was passionate about her business, it wasn’t enough. Colby wanted people in her life. As an only child, her very house seemed to echo with emptiness. Especially since her Dad was never around. Her mom wouldn’t say much about him. Colby only knew that he was unfaithful and left when she was little.
For some people, this might make them sign off relationships. Her mom certainly gave her enough warnings about how she shouldn’t trust anyone. Especially men. Her mom’s negativity through the years was one of the things that kept Colby in Houston after finishing up at Rice. Her mom seemed determined to have a sour outlook on life, which was the opposite of Colby’s optimistic, sunny personality. Because her childhood home felt so stark and lonely, Colby longed for a home that rang with the sounds and chaos of a big, happy family. Not a one-bedroom apartment alone. Even though she and her friends had grown apart some, Houston felt more like home than Richmond.
Debbi was already to the door of the leasing office. “Come on, Colby. Cheer up! I know that it’s hard to look at apartments after living in Liz’s. Her house is amazing. I’m totally jealous. But we’re going to find a great place for you. I just know it.”
Colby sighed as they walked into the leasing office, which looked like every other leasing office they’d been inside that day. Debbi flitted around the room, pointing out features. This was the last complex and then Debbi had said she had a few unusual rentals to see. Colby had no idea what that meant but would take unusual over just about anything else.
“Look at the fitness center! And did you see the pool! Gorgeous!”
“Debbi!” Colby was whisper-shouting. The leasing agent was on the phone in her office, but had eyeballed them and was already standing. “Let’s go! I don’t want to look at another place like this. I feel like I’m going crazy just standing in this building.”
Debbi gave her a look. “You want to run out of here right now? We haven’t even seen an apartment.”
“Please? Honestly, I can tell that I’m not going to be able to afford it. And I really don’t even like it. It’s way too fancy.”
Debbi sighed. “You’re impossible. But that’s why I love you.”
She crossed the room quickly, obviously eager to get out before the agent got off the phone. Grabbing Colby’s hand, she began moving toward the door. They were both giggling when they broke back out into the sunlight.
“I miss this,” Colby said. “I feel like my life is just so stuffy now. I don’t laugh much anymore. Mostly I sit in a quiet house and sew things. Which is…nice. I mean, I like creative work. I just feel like I’m too young to feel so boring and serious.”
And alone.
“I know what you mean,” Debbi said. “I mean, I have a Mom Voice now. It’s so creepy. I don’t have to think about it—it just comes out of my mouth. I’m not even thirty! I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain.”
“Shut up. It’s fine. Honestly, I wanted to be married with kids by now. But you guys also give me a dose of reality. Maybe I shouldn’t complain so much about a quiet house.”
Colby said the words, but they weren’t true. She would give anything to not live in a quiet house. Even if that meant morning sickness like Jane or having Mom Voice.
“Let’s find the perfect place. That will cheer you up. Then we’ll snag lunch. Maybe you’re just hangry,” Debbi said.
Debbi took them to a neighborhood a little further west. “Um, I definitely can’t afford anything in this neighborhood,” Colby said.
Debbi grinned at her. “Trust me.”
She parked in the driveway of a cookie cutter home, looking like every other house on the block. Colby didn’t understand what they were doing. She couldn’t rent a house. There wasn’t even a sign in the yard. An old woman with a kind voice opened the door and gave them a key.
Debbi led her around the driveway to a detached garage with an upstairs apartment. “I know this is a little unconventional, but so are you. It’s the opposite of what you’ve been looking at. No leasing agent. No special features.”
“No sand volleyball court?” Colby asked.
Debbi laughed. “Definitely not. Any issues, you’d be dealing with the homeowner. That can be good or bad. I guess you’d have to ask if you get a garage space or street parking? Maybe a driveway spot.”
Colby followed Debbi up the wooden stairs to a door on the second floor above the garage. “Doesn’t look very big. I like that it’s upstairs. It feels safer somehow. Maybe it will tone my calves.”
“Your calves are already toned. Shut up.” Debbi had to fiddle with the key, but when she opened the door, they both stood staring for a moment.
