Built For Her

I slide my key into the double front doors then push the doors open.

“Oh wow,” Gabi says, and she can’t hide the awe in her voice.

I smile. “Finally, you see it.” I nudge her with my elbow. I take her hand and bring her into the entrance. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yeah, it really is. It just needs some TLC.” She looks around and I can tell she’s getting it. The house isn’t unlivable, it just needs some work. As long as the water and lights are on, I’ll be fine.

“I’ll show you around real quick.” We go through each room, and I talk excitedly about what I’d like to do. What I love about this house is how much of the original details are still intact. It’s over a hundred years old, but it’s got good bones. Just a little updating here and there, but more than anything it needs to be restored.

“This house really is you,” Gabi says as she leans up against the master bathroom sink.

“I know there’s a lot to do, but when I saw it I had to have it.”

“You were always the impulsive one.”

“You’re the one who got married three weeks after you met Neal,” I laugh.

“I had to. Some other woman could have snatched him up.” She looks completely shocked, like I’m crazy for thinking she shouldn’t have married him so fast. I laugh even harder. He was in just as much of a rush as her.

Neal and Gabi are complete opposites. Everyone thought she’d end up with some male model, but she married one of the smartest men I’ve ever met. Nothing gets my sister more excited than when Neal does what she calls his Smart Talk, where he rambles on about something she doesn’t understand. They really are adorable together. He looks at her like she hung the moon for him. Maybe one day I’ll find something like that.

“You two are perfect together.”

“I know. Now if you could find someone we could do as we always planned.” Her hand goes to her stomach.

I stand up from where I’m sitting on the edge of the clawfoot bathtub. “Gabi, you are not waiting for me to get pregnant.” She does a small shoulder shrug like she’s not listening. “If you wait for me than you’ll be waiting forever,” I tease, trying to make light of my romantic life, because it’s terrible. So terrible I’ve pretty much given up.

“Look how big this house is! You have to fill it with squishy little babies.” Her eyes turn hopeful.

“I’m going to marry this house from the looks of it.” That prospect might not be too bad.

“That sounds lonely,” she whispers. I know she worries about me and there’s no fighting it. We’ll both always worry about each other.

“Maybe, but right now I’m going to focus on this. I’ll worry about everything else later. I mean, look at you and Neal,” I remind her. “You weren’t even looking and you found your soulmate.”

“Who knew I’d find the man of my dreams at a comic book convention.”

“I told you we’d have fun!” I rub it in her face for the millionth time.

I dragged her with me because I hadn’t wanted to go alone. I’m the shy one between the two of us, but no one is a stranger to Gabi longer than five minutes. I still laugh at how she zoned in on Neal. I’m not sure he knew what hit him. He still doesn’t, and they’ve been married for four months.

“You were right.” She rolls her eyes but still smiles.

“It always hurts to admit it, doesn’t it?” I laugh. “You’re going with me again, right?”

“Neal already got us all tickets,” she says, reminding me that I’m now the third wheel.

That has taken some getting used to. It had always been Gabi and me, but I knew a day would come when we’d have to detach from each other. I think she still has a hard time with it, because Gabi invites me along with them all the time. Even when it’s stuff that they should really be doing as a couple.

“Maybe we’ll find you a guy.” She nudges me with her elbow.

“No thanks.” I shake my head, walking out of the bathroom. I can hear the boots of the movers bringing boxes in. Gabi follows me, hot on my heels.

“Come on! Give me another shot at this,” she pleads.

“Hard pass.”

Gabi and I have way different taste in men. Everyone she’s tried to set me up with was a disaster. To be honest, I think she tried to set me up with men who are somewhat like me. Which doesn’t work because then you have two shy people at a table in a restaurant and they barely say two words in the course of the evening.

When I get downstairs, I make sure boxes are being put where they belong. I probably should have waited until I did some work before I moved all my stuff, but I didn’t want to pay rent on my apartment and have a mortgage on top of it. I need all the extra money I can get for this place.