Page 132 of Semantics

“It really was only a matter of time,” Sarai said.

Violet thought about it, and while it had only been a few weeks, she could see it. Not tomorrow, and not next month, but she did like the idea of living with Stella one day, assuming they got that far. And by the look on Stella’s very happy, adorable face when she hurried back into the garage to tell them all why she liked her favorite TV show, they just might.

EPILOGUE

“Nervous?” Stella checked, squeezing her hand before they walked into the bar. “Are you sure you want me to be here for this? I can go home. Or, maybe I should just sit at the bar and wait.”

“Are you afraid of my friends?” Violet asked, laughing.

Then, she stopped their progress and turned toward her girlfriend on the sidewalk just in front of the door.

“I’m not afraid of them, but Arlowe is going to glare at me.”

“So, you’re only afraid of Arlowe? You know, it’s really Sarai you have to worry about.”

“She’s probably going to punch me on the shoulder, and she punches hard, Violet.”

“Poor baby.” Violet leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll protect you from Sarai’s oddly strong arms for someone who doesn’t work out.”

“You’re sure you want to tell them tonight?”

“Yes, I’m sure. We’ve been waiting. They’re starting to notice, Stella. Besides, we invited them here specifically to tell them.”

“I know. I heard Arlowe make a comment about how we are a we now.”

“Huh?” she asked.

“You don’t say you invite them somewhere. We do. It’s we’re going somewhere. It’s all we now and not you or me.”

“Those are confusing sentences, but I get what you’re saying. We’re a couple, Stella. We have been for over a year.”

“I know. And I’m more than ready for us to make this official.”

“Me too. So, let’s go in there and tell them,” she said.

“I brought Kleenex.” Stella shared, holding up a travel pack of tissues. “Just in case.”

Violet laughed and said, “None of them will cry, but you are so fucking adorable sometimes.”

“I love it when you curse.”

“Maybe I’ll do that a little more for you later.”

“I hope that’s true,” Stella replied.

“You realize that for that to happen, first, we have to go inside and take care of that thing we came here to do, right? Then, you can maybe have the thing you really want,” Violet told her.

“How quickly can we tell them? Can we blurt it out, toss the tissues, and run?”

Violet laughed and kissed her once more.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you, too,” Stella replied.

They’d been together officially for thirteen months and twelve days. On their one-year anniversary, they’d exchanged gifts, and Stella’s had been to ask Violet to move in with her. Violet had said yes. She’d wanted to move in with Stella even earlier than that, but she’d wrestled with what it would mean to no longer live with her friends. It was going to be hard to be away from them, but it was time. She’d already spent four to five nights a week at Stella’s place anyway, but for the past month, she had spent pretty much every night there to help them all begin to get used to her not being there. She’d also started to move some of her stuff over to Stella’s.

Initially, they had carried bags of things back and forth, but over time, more of her stuff had ended up at Stella’s, and after Stella had asked her to move in, she had begun to more purposefully migrate her belongings when her friends hadn’t been paying attention. Now, all that was left in her room was the furniture, and she didn’t need to keep her bed. Stella’s was better, so she’d see if one of her friends wanted it, or she’d sell it instead. Her desk would come with her, though, and they’d planned for it to sit in the living room for now. Her dresser could come or go. She didn’t care either way because Stella’s had enough space for her stuff, too, and they’d made a plan for the bedside tables already. All Violet had to do now was actually tell her friends that she was moving out.