Rookie

We dried and dressed before joining everyone at the table. Much to my surprise, Corey’s sister, Keenan, was there with her husband, Ken, and their daughter, Katherine.

“Keenan, Ken,” I paused. “What a surprise,” I had only met them four or five times, but they took after Corey and Linda so it was okay.

“We thought we’d drop by to say hello. And, we couldn’t miss mom’s apple pancakes. They are the best.”

“I know, they are delicious,” I replied.

“Hush up and eat now. You two have an appointment.” We ate in silence from then on and it was when Corey finished that talking resumed.

“So, what kind of house are you looking for?” his sister asked us.

“Something elegant but simple at the same time, it just has to feel like home.”

“I want a ranch,” Corey added since his house in Chicago was a two story.

“Sounds like you have a good image of what you want.”

“I guess, more a feeling then anything.”

“We better get going, babe, we have a ten minute drive,” Corey announced at nine forty.

“Okay, it was nice to see you, Keenan. You too, Ken. Bye, Ava, baby. I’ll see you later. Thanks for breakfast, Momma Crawf.”

“Bye now,” Momma Crawf said goodbye.

“Elegant but simple?” my boyfriend asked as we went to the four car garage.

“Did you have something else in mind?”

“No, it sounds perfect.” We reached a blue 1977 Mustang in mint condition.

“I’m sorry, but this car is perfect!” I exclaimed with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess it is. I paid for it by working two jobs and playing hockey in high school.”

“It’s perfect."

“Have to thank Dad for that because he takes care of it for me.”

“Can I drive?” I asked and he flipped me the keys. We got in and I started the car. It sounded beautiful. “Holy shit, this sounds amazing. Why don’t you drive something like this in Chicago? It’s better in winter than your crappy ‘vette.”

“Hey, that ‘vette got you to and from the hospital and the doctor’s when you couldn’t drive, why are you complaining?” he argued as we left his house. He directed me towards the first house the realtor was going to show us.

“But it’s still crap. I have no idea why you, a Stanley Cup Champion, would drive a crappy red corvette.”

“I was going to get rid of it before you moved in with me, but then you had no car or job. So I was going to give it to you until Kaner bought you the Camaro. I guess I never got around to getting a new car while helping you with Ava.”

“If that’s the true reason, I’m sorry and I think this is the right place.”

“It looks nice,” he replied.

“Your mom picked this one out,” I told him honestly. We got out of the car and the realtor came to greet us.

“Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, I’m Ryan Luzon, the realtor. Linda called me yesterday and said you might like this house. If not, we will find some that you do like.”

“Okay, tell me about the house that Momma picked out,” I shrugged off the fact that I was called Mrs. Crawford. It was amazing even though we just technically got together. I knew I loved him and I guess I always had.

“This house is a brick ranch with hardwood floors. It has a basement and a pool in the backyard.”

He showed us the house, but Corey and I both knew it wasn’t the one for us. We followed Ryan to the second house and liked it better then the first, but not enough. The third and fourth houses were in pretty bad shape and would need revamping that we didn’t really have time for. We expressed that we needed a house that didn’t need immediate TLC since we wouldn’t get to it until next summer at the earliest. Ryan told us to grab lunch while he got some more places for us to visit available.