Shut Up and Surprise Me

10. Cornered

The day we finally live under the same roof has arrived. Unlike Sophie who let everyone come to help during her moving out, Ashton prefers to let the moving crew do the whole work. He finds it useless to involve other people since he has paid someone who is in charge of the furniture arrangement.

It's not like we bring the whole thing from our old places. The furniture in the new home is designed specifically for each room in the building, and all we need to do is bring our personal belongings. But we still let Chloe bring her study desk because she's too attached to it.

"I wanted to bring my wardrobe too, but–" she pauses, stepping into her walking closet. It's narrower than my closet, but the space can hold five times the clothes and accessories she has now. "Now I see why I couldn't. This room was not even here when we checked."

"I know," I say, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning on the closet door. "They made a little adjustment to the next room to create this little space."

"Okay. I almost believed that this was a secret room with an invisible door."

"You watched too many fantasy movies."

Chloe grins at my remark before continuing to inspect her closet. Two wooden racks stand on either side of her, a tall mirror is hung at the end of the passage, and the LED white light beams from the ceiling.

"Do you like it?" I ask since she hasn't said anything yet. Lately, it's been hard for me to follow her train of thought. She adores the house because it's way bigger and more luxurious than our old house, but I expected more explosions or a burst of excitement from her.

Instead, she just smiles and nods. "Diana will love to see this. She's been wanting to have a special room for her clothes and shoes."

"You can show it off at the housewarming party."

We spend days settling in and slowly unboxing our stuff. At least, the photo collections, the decorative paintings, the pot plants, and some accessories we brought from our old home make the new place feel more familiar; something we gradually call home.

While I take a few days off, Chloe keeps going to school with her normal schedule. She's not happy with having to get up earlier and getting ready when she's barely awake. Her chirpy voice in the morning slowly turns to silent nods and a shaking head.

To worsen her mood, Chloe's favorite sitter is resigning because the distance is impossible to keep the job longer, despite the extra money we offer. Luckily, we have Cassandra, Ashton's cook who is willing to come early to make sure someone is home when Chloe is back from school. I met her a few times when I visited Ashton's apartment. She barely talks, but she seems fine. The fact that she's been working for seven years for Ashton gives me more peace of mind. At least we can trust her.

The housewarming has become the moment my daughter is counting the days for, and I know why. Her cousin and her favorite aunt will be coming over and having a sleepover.

***

The last time I hosted a party at home was when I just moved into my old house, and it was around Chloe's birthday. She was barely three when I decided I was ready to leave my parents' house. I had plenty of friends, family, and people from my old work attending the party, but it was easy since my house was compact; the total opposite of our current home right now. At least, we're hiring a party organizer for the housewarming.

People start showing up around lunchtime, though my parents, Sophie, and Diana have been with us since early in the morning. Despite the main party area being set in the living room, the guests prefer the backyard. They seem to enjoy the fresh air and the view of our backyard which faces the lake. Luckily, we've secured the swimming pool with a low-level glass cover, to prevent someone from accidentally falling into the water.