Better Than Home: Better Than Good Novella

Aaron gasped. “It’s so pretty. And look at the deer.”

“Yeah, they can be a pain, but—”

“Oh no, I love them!” Aaron insisted. “This house is so…lovely. Do you like it, Matty?”

This was where I was supposed to hedge a bit or give a noncommittal shrug to put us in neutral. It was poor form to show a salesman too much enthusiasm. One of us had to play it cool. But I couldn’t quite do it.

I nodded. “I do. It’s awesome.”

Chandler beamed. “I had a feeling you’d like it. I’m sure you want to discuss it first, but this house is new on the market and it’s already a pretty popular listing. Are you interested in making an offer?”

“We need to talk about it, but we’ll get back to you right away,” I assured him.

“Excellent.”

“Can we take one last look around before we leave?” Aaron asked. “We’ll make it quick. I just want to take a few notes.”

“Of course. Go for it.”

We toured the house once more. I peeked inside closets, inspected bathrooms and counter space while Aaron made notes on his cell. Chandler waited for us in the foyer, probably sensing he didn’t need to do any additional selling here.

We said our good-byes on the street, shaking hands and promising to get in touch no later than tomorrow. Then we hopped into our car and drove in silence across town.

Aaron fidgeted in his seat when I turned into his parents’ neighborhood. And when I slowed at the crosswalk near the park a few blocks from their house, he smacked his hands on his knees.

“Stop at the park. Please. We have to talk.”

I didn’t hesitate. I pulled to the curb and pointed at the playground. “Want a push?”

He smiled. “We’d have to toss those kids off the swings first. Let’s sit on the bench.”

We commandeered the bench overlooking a small field. A couple of dads were playing T-ball with a posse of pint-sized kids in the distance. Nearby, a few more kids hung upside down on the monkey bars while another group sang loudly as they floated toward the heavens on the swings.

This wasn’t always the quietest place to chat, but we’d started a kind of tradition of stopping here when we needed to get something off our chests before or after a visit with Aaron’s parents. Not in a bad way. His folks were great, but like mine—well, my mom specifically, they had expectations. And Aaron was a good Catholic boy at heart. He grappled with disappointing them and living his best gay life.

In this case, though, they’d be thrilled if we decided to move closer, so this probably had more to do with the fact that the drive hadn’t been long enough to process how cool that house was.

Aaron adjusted his sunglasses and tugged at the collar of his perfectly pressed blue T-shirt. I chuckled when he fanned himself dramatically.

“It’s warm today,” I reported, doing my best Captain Obvious.

Aaron nodded absently but didn’t comment on the state of his guy-liner the way he usually would. Instead, he tilted his chin toward the action on the opposite side of the park. “That could be you someday. Coaching little people baseball matches.”

“Games or practices, babe. Not matches,” I corrected, rubbing his neck.

“Hmm. This is the kind of place you always thought you’d end up, isn’t it?”

That was a loaded question. The simple answer was yes—except I’d never envisioned I’d marry a man.

I glanced at the little girl pushing a toy stroller next to a young mom with a toddler on her hip, then back at Aaron. “Maybe…yes.”

“Not me. I never thought I’d want any part of this, but I do now. Is that weird?”

“No. Life changes.”

“True.” He twisted to face me. “We have a perfectly lovely condo in a perfectly lovely part of a vibrant city. We’re close to work and we can easily visit family and friends. We have a good life, and maybe I’m greedy, but that house was…”

“Perfect?”

“Yes!” He opened his mouth theatrically. “I was shocked at how perfectly perfect it was. I didn’t want to like it. I thought seeing one more stinker would quell the urge to become homeowners for a while, but we just walked through our dream home, Matty.”

“Dream home might be overstating it, but—”

“No way. I can feel it in my bones. Under all those weeds, mucked up floors, and a tragic paint job is a mid-century modern classic, and it wants us to live there. That house was calling to us…begging us to love it and bring it back to life!” Aaron hollowed his hands at his mouth and ghost-whispered, “Matt, Aaron…you’re my only hope.”

“Gee, I didn’t hear that.” I snort-laughed. “But…I liked it too. A lot.”

Aaron pounced, winding his arms around my neck as he practically knocked me off the bench. He rained kisses on my cheeks and squealed. “I knew it, I knew it.”