Page 123 of C is for Comfort

Her eyes widen. “Well, I’m pleased to meet you then. I’m Louise, and I’ll be showing you around today. I’m pleased to tell you that your application has been accepted by the landlord, pending reference checks. So if you like the property, we can go ahead and sort that out.” She looks to me. “And you’re…?”

“Spence,” I reply, shaking her hand.

“The application only had the name of one adult on it. Was that an oversight on your brother’s part?”

Corey glances at me, his smile wavering. “No… it would just be Lexi and me moving in.”

“I’m just here to look around,” I say.

“It’s a lovely property,” she says as she lets us in through the front door. “The owners have recently modernised it.”

Lexi clutches my and Corey’s hands as we follow Louise into the house and look at the downstairs. It’s unfurnished. I don’t know why, but rooms always seem smaller when there’s no furniture in them. I’m sure the opposite should be true.

“It’s got a separate kitchen, Daddy,” Lexi says.

It is a separate room, but with one wall removed, so it’s open to the hall.

“It has tons of cupboards,” Corey says, staring around the kitchen space with wide eyes.

We have to step down into the combined dining and living space, which is bright and airy. French doors lead out into a courtyard garden, which adjoins the carport.

“No grass,” Lexi says, hanging her head.

“You can still play out here,” Corey says, ruffling her hair. “And there’s a park right around the corner.”

“Shall we look upstairs?” Louise asks.

We follow her up the carpeted stairs.

“It’s in the roof!” Lexi exclaims as we go into the master bedroom. She rushes over to one of the two large Dorma windows. “So much light, Daddy! Perfect for painting, right?”

Corey smiles and nods.

“Let’s see my bedroom,” Lexi says, grabbing our hands again and dragging us out of the room before we’ve really had a chance to have a good look around.

The second bedroom is above the carport.

“Pink!” Lexi exclaims.

It certainly is. The room is painted a very bright pink that’s almost painful on the eyes.

“It’s perfect! I love it! Do you love it, Daddy?” Lexi bounces. “Please say you love it?”

“It’s really nice,” Corey says.

Lexi claps her hands and then spins on her heel to look up at me. “Do you love it, Spence?”

I smile at her. “It’s lovely, but it doesn’t really matter what I think of it.”

Lexi frowns. “Yes, it does. Daddy and I are going to live here, and one day you’ll live here too. I’m going to look at the bathroom.”

She slips past us, followed by Louise, leaving Corey and me staring at each other.

“She’s enthusiastic.” I’m not sure what else to say.

“Very.” Corey’s cheeks have become an adorable shade of bright pink that almost matches the walls.

I step close to him and put my hands on his hips, drawing him closer still. “The two bedrooms don’t have an adjoining wall,” I point out.