Sara dumped her bag on the floor next to the full-sized bed pushed against the wall. She could picture Christopher growing up in this room, sitting at the desk near the window studying or playing on the braided rug in the middle of the room. Unzipping her bag, she began to unpack while waiting for Christopher to come up. When she’d left the kitchen, he'd still been deep in conversation with his mom about the preparations for his sister’s birthday party. He wanted to have it catered, but his mom insisted on preparing all the food. After seeing their disagreement, Sara knew where his stubbornness came from.
Since getting back together four months earlier, she'd seen that side of him on numerous occasions. Not that she was complaining. After all, she had a stubborn streak of her own, a fact that occasionally caused them to butt heads. In the end though they always managed to reach some kind of compromise no matter the issue.
In search of some clothes hangers Sara walked to the closet door and pulled it open. A few long-sleeved shirts and a winter jacket hung in the closet, items she guessed Christopher left when visiting his parents. The shelf above the clothing rod was stacked high with old board games and science kits as well as models of space shuttles and science fair trophies. From the looks of it Gail Hall had held on to many mementos from Christopher's past.
Careful not to knock anything down, she reached up and lifted one of the models from the shelf. The name Discovery was painted on the side of the shuttle and was an exact replica of the photos she'd seen of the real thing. How many hours had he spent constructing this? An image of a young Christopher carefully gluing together the pieces made her smile. Before any damage could come to it, Sara replaced the model and grabbed a handful of empty clothes hangers.
Behind her, the bedroom door opened and closed as she hung up her robe. "She won," Christopher said sounding like a little boy who'd just been told he couldn't go out and play with his friends.
Sara closed the closet door and turned around. "She's the one that has to do all the work. If she doesn't mind neither should you."
Christopher frowned. "I guess. I just wanted to make it easier for her. There's no need for her to do it all."
"I was going to wait to tell you, but since you look like you need some cheering up I'll tell you now." Sara moved closer to him. "Last week Governor Campbell contacted me about coming to work for his administration." Sara continued, referring to the governor of California. "I accepted the position on Monday. Starting next month, I'll be a California resident." As much as Sara loved living in DC, she hated being so far away from Christopher. So far they'd managed to make things work by visiting each other on weekends but every week it got harder and harder to part again.
Instantly Christopher's face lit up. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to surprise you." She brushed a light, gentle kiss across his cheek.
"Goal accomplished," he said with a laugh. "I guess that means you'll be looking for a place to live.”
“Any suggestions?” She wanted to move in with him, but she didn't want to ask.
Christopher wrapped his arms around her. “How about with me?”
“I hoped you'd ask,” Sara admitted, wrapping her arms around his neck and showing him just how much she loved him.