Genre: Romance

Plot: A couple that has just moved to a place that one loves, and the other hates

Words to use: travel, adventure, escape, beginning, longing, hope, despair, mismatch, opportunity, renew, relearn, fall, break, perspective, thrive

The leaves on the birch trees in the front yard shivered in the cool breeze. Inside moving boxes lined the white wall of the front hallway that divided the first floor.

“Did you remember the pan covers?” she asked, “above the refrigerator, they were mismatch but still useable.”

He sighed, his shoulders slumped down toward the floor, despair in his voice. “Yes, of course I did,” he said, “do you think I am dumb?”

“No, of course not,” she said, stopping to look toward him on the other side of the overly bright living room. “We definitely need some curtains for this room.” 

She turned her attention back to her box, “This is going to be such a wonderful adventure. I wish you wouldn’t look so miserable,” she told him, not daring to look toward him, “Think of it as a new beginning.”

“I need a break,” he said, throwing his box onto the sofa, it bounced and settled on its side, the contents falling out, settling between the cushions. He threw himself onto the upholstered side chair positioned in front of the picture window that looked out toward the street. “I hope this is only temporary,” he said under his breath. The longing to run away surged through his body.

“What was that?” She said, holding towels in her hands, “did you need a break?”

He grumbled curse words, his back turned to her so she didn’t hear him. She looked down at the towels and turned on her heel, heading down the hall toward their new bathroom. He didn’t see the glistening eyes.

“And I was so longing to travel more,” he said to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, “what have I done?” 

“I just love our new bathroom,” she said when she returned, “it is so much bigger than at the apartment,” her voice high pitched, excitement filled the air around her. It didn’t penetrate his dark cloud over him. He sat pushed out at the edge of the cushion, only his dark haired head was visible. “Did you want to go out for dinner or BBQ again. We have a lovely yard now. It was delicious yesterday.”

“What I want to do is escape the domestic nightmare,” his voice gruff and cracking in anger, “I don’t want to BBQ, I don’t want to be here.”  

“You just have the wrong perspective,” she insisted, the angry words flowed off her. “This is an opportunity, we can thrive here, wait and see.”

“I know it is going to be hard to settle into this new life but we had little choice. Don’t forget it wasn’t my fault the trouble you got into,” she said, removing a vase wrapped in bubble wrap, setting it on the side table. He looked at her, shook his head, his long curly hair bobbed up and down.

“I remember,” he said, he went toward the far wall and leaned against it, his hands buried in his pockets. “I am sorry for that, you are dealing with this better than me.”

She stopped her unpacking and went toward him, leaned her weight into his body and laid her head on his shoulder, “We will be okay. We need to relearn and renew our lives now. We can’t change the past, just adapt.” 

“I will try,” he said, putting his arms around her shoulders, “I will try for us.”