“It’s been six months,” she reminded me. “They haven’t come around so far. They still keep finding reasons to blame me and you and the whole world for what Brent did wrong. Every time I speak to Mom she asks if we’ve broken up yet.”
“What do you think it will take to convince them that this relationship between us is permanent?” I asked, as we turned the corner that led right to the apartment.
“I don’t know…marriage maybe?” Megan said distractedly. “But that’s still a long way off, and I’m not even sure that will do the trick.”
I took her hand and kissed it gently. “I’m willing to try and talk to them,” I said.
“Talk to them?” Megan repeated. “To what end?”
“To try and convince them that I love you and will look after you,” Phil said. “Maybe to try and show them that I’m a decent guy.”
She smiled at me. “You are the best guy,” she said. “And, you don’t need to prove anything to my p
arents. The truth is, I’ve realized that their opinion no longer matters to me. I know who you are and that’s all that matters. We’re in this for the long haul, and my parents are just going to have to get used to that.”
“They know I’m a firefighter, right?” I asked.
Megan laughed. “Somehow Dad keeps forgetting you’re a firefighter and keeps referring to you as a cop and Mom… She just doesn’t care. I think it helps her to blame someone for Brent’s conviction. And next to me, you’re the easiest target.”
“Well, like you said, their opinion doesn’t matter as long as you know who I am,” I said.
“Exactly.” Megan nodded, kissing me softly on the cheek.
We entered our apartment, and I saw Megan’s smile as she took in the view. We were on the eleventh floor, which gave us a beautiful view of the city. It was peaceful and picturesque, and it fit Megan’s personality. Neither one of us had ever lived in a place this nice before.
We had no couch and no real chairs. What we did have was a thick blanket that was spread on the floor in front of our balcony. We kept the blinds drawn most of the time and though the kitchen was not fully stocked, we kept a few things here so that we had something to eat in an emergency. Most often we just brought food home and had little picnics on the blanket.
The one thing that our new apartment did have was a television. We moved our TV from the old apartment to this one; it was sort of our little initiation ceremony, and we also loved watching movies before falling asleep.
“How about dessert?” Megan asked as she turned to me from the view.
“How could I resist.” I smiled, pulling her towards me and pushing up her blouse.
Megan laughed and smacked my hands away. “I didn’t mean sex,” she said. “I meant actual dessert.”
“Sounds boring in comparison.”
She shook her head at me. “There’s a pint of ice cream in the fridge. How about we unpack some boxes and then have some rocky road?”
“Boxes?” I asked in confusion. “What boxes?”
“I finished work early yesterday, remember?” Megan said. “And I brought a box or two over from the old place. I figure it will make the final move easier.”
“What did you bring?”
“It’s just a box of our clothes.”
“Clothes,” I said, suddenly alert.
“Yes.” Megan nodded, shooting me a questioning look. “Why?”
“Nothing.”
“You look strange.”
“No, I don’t.”
“And you sound strange too.”