Chapter 04 – Base of Operations
Nikki's bachelorette party took the rest of the weekend to recovery from. I lounged around for the next two days, doing nothing productive. I was tired and depressed because Brooke had not been home since we went out on Friday night. Her distance from me was becoming excruciating. I pushed through my haze and went back to work on Monday morning, excited for the distraction.
The day was a waste. I got nothing done and moved like a complete zombie. As I headed home on Monday night, I hoped that I would break through the current funk that I was operating in. I reached Brooke's place and found her car in the driveway. I quickly made my way into the house, desperate to see her, only to find that Brooke was not alone. She was sitting at the table in the nook with Penny. They were giggling and chatting over coffee when I entered.
I stared at them as I entered the house and wondered what there conversation was about. I greeted them both cordially before excusing myself to decompress for a moment. I made my way to my room and dropped my briefcase. I changed my cloths, hoping to relax, but the anxiety was overwhelming. After taking a few moments to compose myself, I made my way back downstairs and joined the two of them at the table.
"What is going on," I asked plainly as I seated myself next to Penny.
"Brooke has found us a house," Penny exclaimed, almost overjoyed.
Her excitement was clearly written on her face and her tone of voice indicated that she was more than pleased with Brooke's work.
"That's great, is the price right," I asked, trying to be rational and realistic.
"It is quite a good deal," Penny replied. "Brooke even got the seller to allow us to move in early in good faith."
Penny's last remark took me somewhat by surprise. I didn't know a lot about real estate but I knew enough to understand that this was not a common occurrence.
"That's great," I responded, trying to remain positive, but still feeling a little skeptical. "When can we move in?"
"Vivian and I will be moving our stuff this week," Penny disclosed. "I have taken Thursday to move my furniture, while Vivian has taken Friday to move hers. You can move your stuff in on Saturday."
I was stunned by the very short time frame that Penny had laid out. I thought about all the stuff I had at Brooke's and the great many things I still had in storage. I was very interested in seeing our new residence but the new living situation was going to be a very different dynamic. I was going to miss Brooke, which was more than clear. Penny was very organized and quite direct in her planning. I liked her approach but this was a lot of information to take in at this point.
"Ok then, I need to go plan the rest of my week," I stated before excusing myself from the table.
I made my way back to my room and closed the door. I missed Brooke already. Penny had a pretty specific plan in her mind and it wasn't bad though it was a different idea of how to operate in this game. I trusted her, but I felt myself starting to get genuinely selfish in some of my thoughts. I almost wished that Vivian was not moving in with us and that Brooke was. I needed to shake that off and get my head on straight. This was Penny's game and Penny's plan. Trust her and move on.
I planned my weekend with the complete intent on moving over the weekend. I mapped out a time table for Saturday and the best way to proceed with transferring my shit to my new home. I got angry with myself as I sat there planning and letting my mind run away with thoughts of leaving the game and taking Brooke with me. I needed a reality check. I returned to the table in the nook where both Penny and Brooke tried to make things very easy on me.
"This place is great," Brooke advised me as I sat down. "It's only about two miles away from here."
"Your move should be very easy," Penny said. "You will have no problems with it all."
"That is great," I responded, with knots in my stomach. "I think I need to go get some rest for by big weekend move then."
I could not take sitting at that table and hearing Brooke tell me that this was a good thing. I knew that she hated this idea as much as I did, though she was being an amazing team player about this. I retired to my room again, this time for the balance of the evening. I winced at the thought of not living with Brooke and my mind continued to get the better of me as selfish scenarios danced on my brainwaves. It had not been all that long since I had moved in here, but Brooke had changed the way I viewed this game. She was more than another player to me now, more than a desire of the flesh. She had become the desire of my heart.
I worked my way through the balance of the week, very much in a haze. I felt like work had become my distraction to my real existence. My time in the office was my only sanity check, where I did not have to think about the game or my yearning to be with Brooke. The thought of being without Brooke really wounded me, so I tried to put it out of my mind. Also, currently I did not have an assignment from the game, which would have also been a welcomed diversion. This sucked.
I left work on Friday, heading home and finalizing all the planning for my big moving day on Saturday. Brooke had given me the address of the new place she had found for Penny, Vivian and I because she was going away for the weekend with her sister Leslie. They were going to visit their niece Mindy at college. I felt this was Brooke's clever way of not having to have my leaving front and center in her mind.
I was very interested to see what the new house she had found us was like, but I was also not at all anxious to leave. Brooke was the only thing I could see when I closed my eyes. This was the spot between the preverbal rock and hard place. Brooke was the thing I desired but I was committed to the game and could not bring myself to hurt the other people involved for the sake of me being selfish. This game and these women where part of who I was at this point, which made them a major factor in every decision I was making these days.
I packed my normal, everyday gear in a travel bag and headed to the new address the next morning. I arrived and found Penny and Vivian unpacking their boxes, like young women arriving at the dorm on the first day of college. I let Penny lead me on a tour of our new residence and scoped out the entire property.
I could not deny that it was a nice place. It was a three bedroom, tri-level home which was built into a hill on a dead-end road. The first level was a finished basement that boasted plenty of usable square footage. It was carpeted, clean and appeared as if it had recently received a fresh coat of paint. Penny escorted me to the main level which was comprised of the kitchen, dining room, living room and ½ bath, not to mention the French doors to the very large back deck. The third floor contained all three bedrooms and both full baths. It was a very nice place for the three of us to live, with light colored paint on the walls and plenty of natural light. It felt very homey and inviting.
Penny had commandeered the master bedroom with the master bathroom for herself. As the leader of the game and since this was her idea, I thought that was a fitting selection. Penny was not trying to force herself on us as a leader; she was just evolving naturally into a Type-A Alpha-Female. The role seemed to suit her well. I never questioned my loyalty to her or my caring for her, but my trust and confidence in her was growing daily to exponential levels.
Penny's room was located directly at the top of the stairs. Vivian had selected the third and smallest bedroom for herself, probably because it was painted pink. It was at the far end of the small hallway, past the linen closet and closer to the room that was left for me. I, obviously, was relegated to the middle bedroom. The room was square was a decent size with a fair closet.
The first thought that occurred to me was to make the room as unappealing as possible and keep people out of it. I quickly thought better of that idea, it was just plain stupid. I dropped my travel bag in my new room and began analyzing how to setup the furniture that would be arriving shortly. I had hired a moving company to deliver my things from my storage unit to the new house. I did not have too much, a bed, desk, armoire and filing cabinet. I spent the next few moments debating on where things were going to fit best.
I was so deep in thought about how to arrange my room that I did not hear Penny and Vivian sneak up on me. They giggled from the doorway as I mapped things out in my mind. I turned to look at them and they were completely adorable, both of them. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I originally thought.
I spent the day running back and forth between Brooke's and our new place, gathering my cloths and the rest of my shit. The movers were great as they delivered my furniture and boxes of other miscellaneous items from storage with no issues. I set up my room and tried to stay out of the way as Penny and Vivian set up their rooms and the rest of the house.
The day seemed to evaporate and it was well past 6pm when Penny tapped on the door to my room. I was running wires around my desk, setting up my workstation and pc. I heard her enter the room but didn't look away from what I was doing.
"I took the liberty of ordering a pizza," Penny announced. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," I admitted. "Thanks."
"You look busy," she said. "I will call you when it gets here."
