Stage 5: You Are Happy
You get a text message from him. He’s been at your old apartment all morning patching up the holes and painting the walls white. He wants to know if you want to get lunch when he’s done. Your heart melts. What were you worrying about? He’s so thoughtful. He’s so kind. You found one of the good ones, you think. That night you make love. It’s wonderful. The kind of love you can only make with someone you live with. The kind of love that’s comforting because you know he doesn’t have to leave in the morning to go home. You don’t have to leave in the morning to go home. You are home. This is a nice feeling. You promise to stop bothering him about getting a puppy (for a week at least). He promises to call about TiVo the next day. You want him to call about the dishwasher first but you stop yourself – you’ll ask about that after the puppy next week. You look around the apartment. It’s so much better than your old place, you realize. It’s actually unbelievably awesome. Like a real decorated adult apartment, somewhere in between an Architecture Digest spread, a Lower East Side art gallery, a West Elm catalogue and a Williamsburg coffee shop. We did good, you say to each other. You love your new place. You love living together. You love him. You make love again. Moving in with your boyfriend is the best thing you’ve ever done! 
