“I know,” she answered, then winked at me.
Angel and I had settled into our new living arrangement without a hiccup. I was amazed at how comfortable I was around her. Angel was low maintenance, thank God. Then again, I was conscious not to throw my clothes on the floor. Honeymoon roommate phase, and all.
“Pretty decent neighborhood,” she said as we turned onto Inessa’s Street.
“Yeah, Charlie makes a good living.”
“IT, you said?”
“Uh-huh. He’s part man, part microchip. We all held our breath when Jeremy was born. We were convinced he’d be an AI.”
Angel threw back her head and laughed out loud. An infectious sound if ever there was one.
“I wonder what they’ll say about our kids one day.”
“Kids? I think you better get used to this kid first.”
“I think I’m managing quite well so far.”
“Indeed. Don’t worry, my love,” I grinned. “If they look like me, we can always dress them nicely.”
“Haha. If you’re fishing for compliments, I’m fresh out.”
“Ouch. Okay. Here we are.”
“Hang on. I know this house.”
“You probably recognize it from the article Condé Nast did about it. Inessa works as a translator. She met the editor when they were in college.”
“It’s beautiful. Inessa has great taste.”
“She’ll be glad you think so. Ready?”
“Yup.”
We walked hand in hand to the front door. I knocked once before we went inside.
“Hello! We’re here.”
The smell of home-cooked food rushed up to embrace us.
“Hey, Max,” Charlie said as he came to greet us. “Welcome.”
“Hi, Charlie. It smells great in here. This is Angel.”
“Hi, Angel. Nice to meet you. Come in. Come and meet my family.”
“Hello, Charlie. It’s great to meet you.”
“Where’s the woman of the hour?” I asked.
“Inessa’s dressing little J. He decided to wear his dinner earlier this evening.”
We followed Charlie to the living room where he offered Angel and me a drink. Inessa joined us about ten minutes later with a fresh-looking Jeremy on her hip.
“There’s my boy,” I said and took my nephew from her.
“Hi, Max,” she said and kissed me on the cheek. “Hi, you must be Angel. I’m Inessa. It’s nice to meet you.”