The city

Round 15: November 2024

Stephen Marlowe is 23.

(Patrick is 77, Alexandra is 50 and Kaitlyn is 23.)

Narrated by Stephen Marlowe.

Things are going really well with Kaitlyn. We see each other more now that I live in Exmoor. I lived in Wellington for a while after graduation because I wanted to stay close to my family but in the end living in Exmoor is so much more convenient.

We haven't talked about living together but I think we're heading into that direction. We spend almost every night together anyway either at my place or hers. My apartment is really tiny but it provides more privacy since I live alone.

I can definitely see myself living with Kaitlyn. Neither of us have talked about eternity but we love each other and I think it would be the natural next step in our relationship. I know Kaitlyn doesn't want to move out unless Eve finds a new roommate and we definitely can't live together here because we'd bump into each other all the time. Getting our own apartment in the same building where Kaitlyn lives now would be ideal.

I try to go home as often as possible or at least on special occasions. It was Father's Day so we all gathered around to celebrate with dad.

Dad adores Kaitlyn and always teases me saying that if he was 50 years younger he'd snatch her right away.

We still celebrate pretty much the same way than we did when mom was still alive. Alexandra says she wants to keep the old traditions alive. It's not the same though. We've all kind of gotten used to not having mom with us anymore but I don't think we'll ever get used to not having Ethan around. Still - we try to stay positive and not dwell in the past. It doesn't mean that we don't miss them every minute.

After dinner dad said he wanted to talk to me. I was expecting the usual "how's work" and all that stuff but instead he took out a jewellery box.

"I've talked about this with Alexandra and Thomas and we all think you should have your mom's ring." I was about to say something but he continued. "I know you're not ready for that kind of  commitment yet and that's fine. But there will come a day when you want to pop the question and it would mean a lot to me if you gave your mother's ring to that special woman."

I was really touched. I didn't know what to say so I just gave dad a hug. Getting engaged isn't a current topic for me but I know it's going to happen some day.

"You know, if you have any sense in that head of yours, you'll ask Kaitlyn to marry you" dad said and winked.

Just seeing how well Kaitlyn fits into my family is enough to make me think about it sometimes. I know that I'm ready when I can think about it without having a panic attack.

Kaitlyn had an early appointment at work the next day so she was already leaving when I woke up. I gave her a kiss and said I'd miss her. 

I feel like dad opened up Pandora's box when he gave me that ring because now it's all I can think about.

Notes:

• Title reference: The city by Ed Sheeran.
• I think Stephen and Kaitlyn are ready to move in together. I have an idea about Eve's roommate but I don't know yet when it's going to happen. At least I need to rebuild Eve and Kaitlyn's apartment building first to make it a bit smaller.
• I really like how this apartment building turned out. I found some layouts for tiny apartments and wanted to try if they would work in the game. I'll post a tour of the building in a couple of days.