Four Hundred Seventy

Four Hundred Seventy
Cecily looks a bit overwhelmed and a bit discouraged.
"Don't think that way", Alicia sighs.
"I can't help it. I mean... look at me. I'm practically gawking like I'm not used to anything, and really I'm not. Our apartment in the Bronx was literally 500 square feet if that. My bedroom was so small that I could barely fit in a twin bed. And my bathroom... literally the size of a small linen closet".
She takes a seat on the couch and stares at her shoes.
"Our kitchen had only a small counter and a mini fridge with two burners and no oven, and none of us knew how to cook. I tried. I can do certain things though like hotdogs and breakfast food. I can nuke stuff in the microwave", she laughs nervously. She seems a bit embarrassed and I wish I could tell her that there was no reason to be. That we could care less about all of this, but I doubt she would believe me.
We go up the stairs and Alicia goes over the layout.
"This was originally a large upstairs loft with one huge bedroom space. We were able to make two bedrooms out of this. "Each bedroom has it's own bathroom", she adds.
She opens the door to the first room. "This room is empty. It will be your room". We enter the bedroom and Cecily walks around amazed.
"This bed is freaking huge. Is this a full size"?
"It's a queen, I think".
"I've never had a dresser before. Or a tv in my room". She heads to the bathroom and looks upwards.
"A sky light", she whispers.
We exit the bedroom and head towards the second bedroom.
"This is my aunt Teresa's room, and this is where it gets interesting", Alicia nods. "More like a pain in the ass". We reach the master bedroom and she takes a peek inside.
"How so"? she asks me.
"This is the original upstairs". She peers into the upstairs hall bathroom and we near the end of the hall. "Estella's room", Alicia laughs.
"She loves orange huh"?
"Yeah", I laugh.
"Do all of the rooms have huge windows and a view"?
"Alicia has this strange love for the Empire State Building. So she insists on having a view of it. Each room has a view of midtown".
"We had to make room for Dominic. We were able to convert the walk in closet in her room, and Dominic's, as well as the other linen closet... and voila! Dominic's room".
"He has a smaller view, but he still has a view", I laugh.
Finally, we head across the hall. "When I first moved in this was my guest bedroom. It's now Avery's room. Oh and Jonesy's room, too".
"Jonesey"?
"Avery's cat. Jonesy is anti social. He only seems to love Avery and Estella".
"And the upstairs bathroom"...
"Wow. You must really love this place".
"We do".
"So... let me get this straight. I will have a room next to Teresa's room... and there's your room obviously, with Estella next door and Dominic at the end of the hall?
Alicia lets out a laugh.
"Pretty much".
"And you have a guest room downstairs"?
"Mhmm"...
"We may end up losing Teresa", Alicia sighs. "I'm pretty sure that Jonathan's father is gonna propose to her soon".
And you guys... You don't get in eachother's way"?
"Not really", I laugh. "Avery and Jonesy are currently staying with Alicia''s sister for awhile. If Teresa leaves then we will figure out if Dominic or Estella will take her room".
"But I'm thinking Avery will probably take it and Dominic will take her room. It's a whole mess", Alicia groans.
"How did you pull this off"?
"Well Alicia owns this penthouse. There was a smaller apartment next door. I purchased it and had to get permits to make it into one".
"So this entire floor is yours".
"Yes. We don't want to move. It's kinda sentimental. It's where we fell in love", Alicia smiles.
"Can we go back to the room that I will be sleeping"? Cecily asks quietly.
"Of course. I'm gonna go downstairs and get your bags. Alicia can show you where everything is".
I head down the back stairs and grab the two duffel bags and the suitcase. I head back upstairs and Alicia and Cecily are sitting on the bed.
"Thank you" she says. "I didn't mean to make you carry all of that".
"It's not a problem at all".
"There are some blankets and towels and washcloths in your closet", Alicia nods. "This is your room. You can decorate it however you would like".
"I don't have anything to decorate with".
"Well, We can maybe go shopping and pick out a few things to make your space yours".
"This is more than enough Mrs. Hutchinson".
"I'm not sure of your favorite color, but if you would like to paint the walls"...
"I've noticed that the kids have small bookcases in their rooms".
"Yeah. They love picture books and us reading to them at night".
"I think I would love to have a bookcase, too. Just a small one. I can go to the thrift store and maybe pick up a few of my favorite books".
"Of course. We can do that. Is there anything else you need? Clothes? Shoes"?
"Well, I only grabbed a few things. I had to leave the apartment in a hurry and leave a lot behind... since it had to look like I hit bricks and ran away. Cheryl bought me some things thats in the suitcase".
"We can go pick up a few things you will need. Alicia loves to shop", I quip.
"I don't have anything warm really. I don't have pajamas", she whispers.
"Ok well we can go out and"...
"I don't like going out places. I'm still nervous", she sighs.
"Why don't I pick up a few things"? I offer.
"Or I can take her", Alicia nods.
"Honey. You can't be out in the cold for too long".
"Then I will have stuff delivered", she shrugs.
"I'm okay for now", Cecily nods. "I'd like to order my clothes. I usually thrift from Thread Up, and they deliver in a few days".
"Ok", Alicia nods. "We will get online and order you some things. Your other stuff like underwear and stuff... We will have to go out to get those things, but I can have Heather pick those things up and drop them off".
"I don't want to impose".
"Or we can order Amazon Prime. If you aren't comfortable going out... We don't have to".
Cecily agrees.
"Lets get you unpacked and then we can go online and order stuff".
"I'm gonna leave that stuff for y'all to handle. I can't stand clothes talk".
"Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson".
"Ok... Mr. Hutchinson makes me sound old. You really don't have to be so formal with us. We want you to feel at home here... So Jonathan and Alicia is cool.
And we are gonna have to get used to calling you Gianna... So the kids won't slip up".
"Okay. What happens now"?