Toast

***Thank you all for being so patient these last couple of weeks. I've been traveling and haven't had a chance to respond to most of your comments. But, it makes me happy to know that there are dedicated readers out there stepping in on my behalf! Thank you so much! I promise I'll have a personal post up this week to explain my whereabouts. But for now enjoy this "catch up" post for today!***

“To new beginnings...”

Jonah stood at the dinner table with his champagne glass in hand as he gave a quick little speech.

“...And fresh starts” Kadie added as she held up her glass. Her eye twinkled as she looked at Jonah with a side smile. He winked back at her.

Adam stood up next to Kadie. His hand wrapped around her side as he added to the toast. “..And growing empires.”

I walked up next to Jonah and joined in. “To friends who are like family”

“Cheers!” The sound of everyone shouting was proceeded by the clinking of glasses.

Jonah and I took a sip of our champagne and shared a kiss.

Tonight was our apartment warming party. All of our friends, old and new, came over to celebrate.

It was an intense few days of searching every nook and cranny of the city, but we'd finally found the perfect place.

At first I insisted on moving into Jonah's apartment. It was fairly new after all. He'd only moved into it this past summer. But, of course Jonah wanted things to be equal. Or maybe he felt like he should make things equal since I was so paranoid about the whole thing. None the less, I was fully satisfied with the decision of starting fresh.

We settled on an apartment in a “younger” neighborhood. Most of the ones we liked were in more quiet, residential areas, but then we realized we were aging ourselves by doing so. I mean, Kadie and Adam moved into a quieter neighborhood and they're already bickering like an old couple.

The only downside of the place was the cost. It was a three bedroom apartment with a lot more space than I was use to. I had grown accustomed to shimming between furniture and having multiple uses for every space possible. 

Having this much space felt weird. Jonah continuously exhorted the idea of a larger space. He said he needed an office for himself and he wanted me to have a place to lock myself into for my late night cramming sessions. And then of course the last bedroom would be ours to share.

I hinted here and there, but Jonah didn't seem to catch on. Instead he assumed he'd be covering most of the bill. Which, more power to him, but it kind of put a damper on my ego. The fact that I was twenty-something and still hadn't made enough money to buy my own place. Okay, okay, I know, I'm still in school. But it still does something to you.

Needless to say Jonah cut me a deal. I'm sure he did it to end my whining. But, he promised he'd let me pay for my half once I'd started working. Kind of like a loan. I joked and told him that was just his way of making sure I stuck around.

It seemed like the new year was working out in every one's favor. I had finally forced a reunion between Jonah and Kadie. I hated that my best friend and boyfriend weren't getting long. I played victim and made them hash out their differences.

I guess the energy must of rubbed off on Kadie because she ended up clearing things up with Adam. They finally had a heart to heart and came clean about their different approaches to business. Adam agreed to split the company back to 50/50 as long as Kadie agreed to set her pride aside.

Fast forward to a couple weeks later and Jonah and I were standing in front of a room full of our friends. It didn't feel as strange as I thought it would. It actually felt kinda right.

Our attention was diverted when we heard someone tapping on their glass. It was Kadie. The room fell silent as she spoke aloud.

“Hi” She blushed after she realized she'd gotten everyone's attention. “For those of you who don't know, I'm Lynn's best friend, Kadie. About a year ago I met the man of my dreams and the two of us moved in together.” There were a few woos at her statement. “Thank you. Well, anyway, it was my first time moving in with someone I was in a relationship with and it was a huge shock.”

“Hey!” Adam shouted from across the room.

“Love you babe, but you're definitely a handful.” Everyone laughed. “Anyway, I thought it'd be a great idea if we went around the room and gave the new housemates some sound advice.” People cheered in agreement. “Okay, I'll start.” She turned around to face us. Jonah and I looked at each other and smiled. “Living with a guy is like living with a child. It's going to be annoying, you're going to want to pull your hair out, but as you two grow together, it'll all be worth it.”

We all laughed. “Thanks, K.” I raised my glass to her.

Jonah's old Harvard buddy, Colton, chimed in. “Lynn, what ever you do, don't mix Jonah's socks! There was this time back in college when I dumped his laundry in a drawer and he flipped shit. Something about how the left and right socks need to be seperate.”

“Alright, Colton, let's drop the exaggerated details. You paired my black socks with my navy blue socks and I went into Senior Presentation looking like an idiot.” Jonah corrected Colton.

I raised my eyebrow. “How could any one tell if you're wearing mis-matching socks?” I asked, confused.

“Trust me, it's Harvard, people know!" a few of Jonah's college friends laughed as if to bring back memories of the old days.

“Oh, if Jonah's ever unresponsive in the mornings, it's because he hasn't had coffee yet. And the best part is he's completely incapable of making it on his own.” Priyal, Jonah's assistant, said from across the room.

I laughed at the thought.

Jonah held up his hand in defeat, “Okay, okay, this is slowly turning into a bad idea.” Every one laughed out loud again. “Thank you to everyone for coming.”

“And for the wonderful gifts!” I added.

“And for the gifts” Jonah repeated. “But now it's time for yous all to get the hell out of here!”

The room cheered one last time and slowly, but surely, the crowd left.

It was an hour later by the time our last guest made their way out. Jonah and I closed the door behind them.

 

I wrapped my arms around Jonah's waist as we kissed each other. I pulled away and looked at him. “How can you not know how to make coffee. That's literally like boiling water.”

“Hey now!” Jonah smirked. “I never said I wasn't a work in progress!”

“Well it's a good thing we're starting fresh!” I smiled back at him.

He leaned down and kissed me again. “You'll just have to do my laundry, cook me dinner, make me coffee...." Jonah joked.

I cut him off "Oh no, can I still move out??"

"Too late! You signed the paperwork. You're stuck with me" His smile grew from ear to ear. I couldn't help but laugh. For the first time I felt at ease and knew I'd made the right decision.