It was perfect; the location, the price, the size, and that bay window. He could see her perched in that window, musing, or writing. The other added benefit was the outrageously big kitchen. Sure it was rundown, sure it was in a so-called bad area of town, but it was the end of town they knew best. It was home.

The woman showing him around smiled hopefully. "I'll need to know ASAP. You're lucky to have jumped on the listing so quickly. This is one of our most well cared for apartments. I'm so sad to see the old couple who lived here go." She was a wiry, older woman, but kindly enough.

Rand laughed nervously and leaned against the door frame. "Well, I can't promise my friend and I will be the tenants they were, but we really would love the place. I can put money down today if you'll hold it."

"If you have the deposit, I'll hold it now for you, until your credit check goes through."

"There's one other thing, my roommate, I'd really like to surprise her with this. Can we wait to run her credit since I’ll be co-signing for her anyway?"

"Oh, Mr. Edhi, with the way Mr. Johnston spoke of you, the credit check is mainly a formality. I trust you wouldn't be rooming with someone who will wreck the place."

"Of course," Rand smiled. "So I suppose we could move in soon?"

"Probably tomorrow," the woman beamed. "I'll give you a call."

***

Rand could barely contain his excitement as he worked to box up his room. He'd still not told Ellette. She had been fairly resistant to the idea, but he knew she'd love the place he'd found. She knew he'd been saving up, even looking for a place, but what she didn't know was that he'd actually gotten one.

Ellette was resistant to change. Despite the fact that he'd been boxing up non-essentials for some time, leaving circled listings on the coffee table and asking what she'd like in an apartment for weeks now, she still brushed off the subject just as soon as he'd brought it up. She liked their apartment. She liked the old, pull-out couch, despite the coils that were all but jutting through the mattress.

He was excited and equally terrified. The only way he'd convince her was to show her the place he'd found. The only way to get her there was to surprise her. Plots and white lies churning in his mind, he folded, packed, and taped box after box.

"Wow, you've been hard at work in here." Her voice came as a surprise, and he spun. He pushed the box he'd half-filled behind him on the bed, a guilty effort to hide the evidence. "Ah, yes. You know, getting ready to move..." he admitted reluctantly.

Her eyes wouldn't meet his, and she kicked at the threadbare carpet. "Seems you've gotten serious... soon you won't have anything to wear," she muttered.

"I've got enough out for a while. I just want to be prepared if one of the places I've looked into comes through. You've packed a couple of boxes at least, right?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "Don't have much. I'll just toss it all into some bags if I have to..."

"Well," he took her by the arm and steered her into the front room, "I have something I'd like to show you. You have plans tomorrow? I know you've got the day off, maybe we can have lunch? Go for a walk?"

She raised her eyes to his, a hint of a smile crinkling the edges. "I'd like that, you have time off too?"

"I traded for a night shift. Thought it'd be nice to spend the day with you."

* * *

The little bistro was charming, a familiar haunt for them both. Ellette had been rather fond of the place since a waiter had covered her lunch when she was down on her luck. Just a sandwich, but it had been the difference between going hungry for the day and having a full belly. The moment she'd had enough money to indulge in the luxury of dining out, she'd been a regular.

Unfortunately, the boy, Boris, had found another job and she'd failed to find him again. The nostalgia, and the chance that he might still live in the area, drew her back time and time again.

Rand stirred his lentil soup and watched her study each young man who entered the popular eatery. If he were the jealous type or didn't know Ellette the way he did, he'd be fuming. She watched for this boy the way he'd hunted for her after their first meeting.

After the lunch rush had slowed significantly, she was finally able to relax enough to dig into her sandwich, chewing slowly, thoughtfully. "So, what is it that you're going to show me?" she asked to fill the silence that she'd finally noticed.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"A surprise," he replied and sipped at his tea. The soup was long since finished, he was only waiting on her now.

"Oh?"

He grinned. "I have a blindfold and everything."

"What?" she nearly choked on a bite of food.

He shrugged. "When I say surprise, I mean surprise." Not to mention he didn't want her to get wind of what it was before he'd managed to get her into the apartment. There was a good chance she'd run or refuse to even look. He couldn't risk it.

"And after the surprise, I think we should go somewhere out on the waterfront to celebrate. Maybe have some chowder? The weather is beginning to cool just enough for it."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Celebrate?"

He shrugged again and she bit into her sandwich once more. He was surprised she'd not started to protest. Surely she suspected. He hadn't done much to hide his intentions. "So when do I have to put on the blindfold?"

"When we get down to the park. Don't want you guessing after that."

She shook her head. "What would be down there that I wouldn't already know?"

"That's the surprise."

"You are seriously going to drag me through the streets with a blindfold?"

"Yes," he added stubbornly. "Eat your sandwich."

She laughed and did as she was told. And just as he'd promised, once they'd gotten to the northernmost corner of the park, he pulled out a purple-flowered scarf. She fingered it, smiling.

"You can keep this afterward. And no, you won't be able to see through it, I checked."

"I was half expecting a plain black number."

"Now that would be suspicious-looking, wouldn't it?" he chuckled, tying the scarf in a firm knot behind her head. He stood before her, adjusting the scarf so it covered her eyes from brow to cheek. "No peeking."

"Yes sir."

The walk to the building was short, and he hoped that that fact didn't give too much away. He did his best to keep her distracted with questions about work and plans for the slower autumn season.

The elevator ride brought about a curious "Hmmm, where could we be?" and a short string of guesses, all wrong, though he answered each with a "maybe," or "seriously?" if it was too far into left field. By the time they were at the door of the apartment, they were both laughing at her creative suggestions.

He fumbled with the keys, suddenly nervous as her brow furrowed. The door stuck, and he only just managed to get it open before the questions started. Guiding her into the all but empty, deceptively spacious, front room, he went to pull open the shades of the bay window before returning to her and unknotting the scarf. With a flourish, he unveiled his surprise.

Her brow was furrowed still as she blinked at the light pouring in through that multi-paned window before her. She turned to him, cheeks reddened, hands clenched into fists.

"What is this, Rand?" she asked, voice trembling.

He shrugged and gave her a smile. "Do you like it?"

She closed her dark lashed eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't want to move, Rand."

"You knew I was looking, we've talked..."

"I don't want to move!" She cut him off.

He put a hand on her shoulder and she jerked away. "Just look around, see what you think."

"I don't care, Rand. I like our apartment, I like the way things are..."

"You're being ridiculous," he snapped. "We need a bigger place, and this is perfect. I've already put down the deposit."

He went to the window and stared down at the street. "The lease is up at the old place at the end of the month. I'm moving next weekend, like it or not."

She hadn't moved from her spot, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't want to leave, Rand. I love our apartment. I feel safe there," her voice trembled. "I can't believe you did this. I don't want to move, I've told you time and time again."

"We need this, Ellette. You need this," he shook his head and walked past her, stiff and angry. He'd had enough, enough of her frailty, her resistance to the most subtle of change. He'd been patient, understanding, calm, collected. But this, this was the last straw. "This is your chance to look around. Take it or leave it. I'm going downstairs."

She drifted towards the window, fingers lighting on the frame. She turned when she heard the door open, tears finally spilling onto her cheeks. "I don't want things to change, Rand. Being with you, in that tiny apartment... it was the change I needed. I'm afraid we'll lose something..."

He sighed, ever empathic, ever protective of this child-like woman. "The only thing that will change is the setting, Ellette. You'll have your own room. Your own space. That is all."

She shook her head, wiping at her face. "No, you don't understand. Change brings more change. Every time I've found a home, settled in, I've been ripped from it, and it has never for the better."

He stood his ground by the doorway, refusing to coddle her.

"This time can be different. You'll never know unless you try," he turned back to the door. She would have to deal with this on her own. "Look around, see what you think." He slipped out the door and stood on the other side, back against the wall.

He waited for about ten minutes before taking the elevator down to the lobby. It wasn't much of a lobby, just a small sitting area with worn-out chairs and a graffitied table outside the door to the manager's office. He sat in one of the chairs watching the foot traffic along the well-traveled street with a perfect view of the park. The same view that Ellette would have from the third story window.

She found him sometime later, half asleep. He came around with her gentle touch to his shoulder. Her eyes were red, puffy, but she was composed. He stood and she leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered. "It's perfect."

He put his arms around her, thankful she'd come around. There were surely more hitches to come, broken as she was. But for now, they were making progress. They were moving on to their future together.