Bed peace

Round 16: September 2025

Dawn Whitfield is 21, Finn Harris is 20 and Shea is 5.

(Rianna is 55, Denise is 39, Josh and Lilly are 20.)

Narrated by Dawn.

Unfortunately it turned out that Finn is allergic to birds. Soon after we bought Polly he started sneezing and coughing. One morning he woke up with both his eyes swollen shut. He got tested and he's allergic to birds and rodents which rules out getting a guinea pig as well.

Shea was devastated but she understood that we had to sell the bird because it made her daddy sick. We promised we would get a dog as soon as it was possible but she still cried herself to sleep that night.

Finn and I have been fighting a lot lately. We're both stressed - me especially about graduation and everything. We still haven't figured out where we're going to live next year and when Finn suggested that we'd let his parents help I just kind of lost it. I called him a spoiled brat who just wants to run to his parents every time life gets a little bit hard. I don't even think like that about him but it was too late to take it back.

He said that he's just trying to do his best for everyone. "This isn't exactly how I imagined my life to be at 20, you know. I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do!" Then he stormed out.

He came back after a while but he didn't come upstairs the whole night. I saw him briefly in the morning after he came home from work and I just didn't know what to say. I hovered in the doorway to our living room for a while but he just sat on the sofa and didn't even look at me.

I called my sisters after Shea had gone off to school and asked if we could have lunch together some day. I guess they both heard in my voice that something was wrong because they cleared their schedule and we met up at mom's restaurant that same day.

"You have to apologize to him" Rianna said. "You don't even know what he was going to suggest."

"Would it be so awful to let his parents help? You need a decent place to live. It doesn't have to be a charity thing if that's what gets you so angry, you could just loan money from them" Denise continued.

I'm so glad to have two voices of reason in my life. Lilly's my best friend and we talk about everything but we're in so different places in our lives. Sometimes I just want to talk to someone who understands what it's like to be a parent. My sisters and I have a crazy age difference but at the same time we really see eye to eye on so many things.

Finn was home when I got back and I just sort of ran into his arms and sobbed that I'm sorry. He just hugged me and said that everything's going to be ok. I felt like I never want to let go of him.

We're trying to talk things over now. We've decided we're going to live here for another year so we don't have so much pressure to find a house or an apartment right away.

"You've been so tense lately, maybe you need a night out to take your mind off of things for a while."

I called Lilly and asked if she wanted to check out the new bar on campus. Circus was opened just a couple of weeks ago. They have karaoke and arcade games. Lilly and I don't see each other so often now that she lives in Exmoor so I was really glad when she said she'd hop into a bus and come get me.

I'm not that much into games but I love karaoke. I would've sung all night if there weren't other people in line to sing as well.

I asked Lilly if she's seeing anyone. She said she's been going on a few dates but nothing serious.

"I think I'm just going to enjoy being single for a while."

I asked if she'd heard from Josh and she said that they talk on the phone sometimes. She then threw this crazy idea that we should let Josh move into the vacant room we have in our house because he's going crazy with all the drama in the dorm.

I don't know if Lilly was serious or just joking but I started actually considering it when Josh came over a few days later. Shea adores him and he's one of Finn's best friends. Even Zach said that they've become friends and that Josh isn't the douchebag he initially thought.

I talked to him and it just kind of evoked my maternal instincts. He just seemed so depressed and lost and I could tell that living in that dorm is hell for him. I know it's partly due to his own actions but I don't think anyone deserves to be treated like that in a place that's supposed be their home. And as much as I hated him for breaking Lilly's heart I still have to appreciate the fact that he was honest and didn't cheat on her.

Finn and I talked about it and we're going to ask Josh if he wants to move in. It'll only be a year and we're definitely going to set up some ground rules for him (especially when it comes to over-night guests!) but I have a feeling it could turn out just fine.

Grades, autumn semester 2025:
- Dawn: culinary arts (art), C+, GPA 3.7
- Finn: entrepreneurial studies (economics), A+, GPA 3.7


Notes:

• Title reference: Bed peace by Jhene Aiko feat. Childish Gambino
• No moving for Dawn and Finn for a year. I haven't decided yet where they'll live after he graduates but I have a few options. I think Dawn definitely over-reacted when Finn suggested that they'd let his parents help. She doesn't want to be dependent on them and she's also afraid that they'll think she's a bad mother and girlfriend if they can't make it on their own.
• I got the idea of Josh moving in with these three from that picture of him talking with Dawn. She just looks at him with such sympathy that I thought it would evoke her maternal instincts to see him suffering. This also helps me keep the number of uni households down because I have a new batch of students starting next year and they'll get their own update as will Lilly.
• Dawn didn't do so well on her last semester because she was missing one skill point. She still graduated with an awesome GPA so she should be proud of herself.