You're definitely scared." Selena set down her laptop. "What if I move in and it ruins everything?" What if we're better when I have my own space to retreat to? What if we're better when you stop retreating? That's optimistic. I'm an optimistic guy.
You're really not. Fair point. Ethan sat beside her. Look, we can keep doing this. You can keep your apartment.
Keep one foot out the door. Keep pretending this isn't permanent. Or you can take the risk. Move in. See what happens.
And if it falls apart, then it falls apart. But at least we'll know we tried us. She moved in on a Saturday in late May. Khloe helped unpack boxes, sorting through Selena's things with the critical eye of an 8-year-old who now had opinions about decor. "This pillow is ugly," Khloe announced, holding up an expensive designer throw pillow.
"It costs $300," Selena said. ""It's still ugly."" "You're probably right." No, they put the ugly pillow in storage and replaced it with one shaped like a triceratops. Selena's minimalist artwork went up alongside Khloe's crayon drawings. Her high-end coffee maker shared counter space with Ethan's ancient toaster that only worked if you hit it exactly right. It shouldn't have worked. The clash of worlds should have been jarring, but somehow watching Selena arrange her books on shelves next to his worn paperbacks, seeing her suits hanging in the closet beside his graded paper stained button-downs, it all felt right.
That first night, after Khloe was asleep, they stood in the bedroom that was now officially theirs and surveyed the chaos of half-unpacked boxes. "This is insane," Selena said completely. I run a hundred-million-dollar company and I'm living in a house with a wobbly table and a shower curtain featuring a fictional superhero. You can change the shower curtain. Chloe would never forgive me.
Probably not. Selena turned to face him. "I'm terrified." "I know." But I'm also happy. Happier than I've been in years. Maybe ever.
Same. Uh, she kissed him and they fell into bed surrounded by boxes they'd unpacked tomorrow or the next day or never. It didn't really matter because for the first time in either of their lives, they weren't running toward the next thing or away from the last thing. They were just here. The first real fight after she moved in happened three weeks later.
Something stupid about dishes in the sink and whose turn it was to take out the garbage. But it escalated the way small fights do when people are learning how to live together. When proximity reveals all the tiny incompatibilities that distance used to hide. You're being ridiculous. Ethan said, "I'm being ridiculous.
You literally left a bowl in the sink for four days. It was soaking for four days. It had dried oatmeal. That stuff is like concrete. Then wash it immediately instead of letting it become a science experiment." They stared at each other across the kitchen, both knowing this wasn't really about the bowl.
It was about space and habits and the way living together meant giving up the freedom to be careless because someone else had to look at your mess. "I'm sorry," Ethan said finally, "about the bowl." "I'm sorry, too, about yelling about the bowl." It's We're going to have more fights like this, aren't we? Probably. I've never lived with anyone except my college roommate. And we communicated exclusively through passive aggressive sticky notes.
That explains so much. Selena laughed. And just like that, the fight dissolved. She washed the bowl. He took out the garbage.
They moved on. But the bigger fight came six weeks after that. And it wasn't about dishes. Marcus called on a Thursday night. Ethan was helping Khloe with homework when Selena took the call in the other room.
When she came back 15 minutes later, she had that look. The one that meant opportunity and danger in equal measure. What? Ethan asked. Tokyo.
There's a company there we've been eyeing for acquisition. Small but innovative. Marcus wants me to fly out next week, meet with their CEO, see if we can make a deal. For how long? Week and a half, maybe two.
Chloe looked up from her math worksheet. You just moved in. I know. So, you're already leaving? It's work, honey.
It's important. Everything's always important. Khloe went back to her homework, her pencil pressing so hard the paper nearly tore. Ethan caught Selena's eye. She looked guilty and defensive at the same time.
Later, after Khloe was in bed, they had it out. I have to go, Selena said. This acquisition could double our market share in Asia. [ __ ]. I'm not saying you can't go. I'm saying the timing is terrible.
When would the timing be good? Next month? Next year? How about after you've been living here for more than six weeks? How about after Chloe stops thinking every trip means you're not coming back?
That's not fair. I came back from Singapore. I turned down Seattle. I'm here. You're here when it's convenient.
When there's nothing better pulling you away. Nothing better. Tokyo is work. It's my company. It's what I do. and were what?
The thing you do when you're not working. Selena's face hardened. You knew who I was when we started this. You knew I ran a company. You knew there would be travel.
I knew. But I also thought moving in meant something. I thought it meant you were choosing to be present, not just having a home base between business trips. I am present. I'm here every night.
I help Khloe with homework. I go to her school events. I cook dinner. I do laundry. I'm trying.
I know you're trying, but trying isn't the same as being here. Not really. The words hit harder than Ethan intended. Selena looked at him like he'd just confirmed every fear she'd been carrying since she moved in. "So, what do you want from me?" she asked quietly.
"Quit my job, sell the company, become a stay-at-home partner who waits for you to come home from work." That's not what I said. It's what you meant. No, what I meant is that I want you to consider us before accepting every opportunity that comes your way. I want you to ask yourself if this trip is necessary or if it's just easier to say yes than to delegate. I can't delegate meeting with a CEO face to face.