100, A house

The week passed by in a fast tempo. There was so much to be done Ayya felt her days were full even when she wasn’t working. Soon, the two weeks of free time were up, and both Ayya and Tenac needed to go back to work. As Jason hadn’t started school yet, they had arranged that some days he would stay home with Bettina in the mornings, then Ayya would work from home in the afternoon. Tenac had his rotating schedule and on days he was free and Ayya wasn’t. He would take Jason and have riding lessons. Days Bettina needed to visit her clients, Jason would come with Ayya and either spend the day in her office or with Tariana. The best days were when both Ayya and Tenac had the days off. Then they would take Jason and explore the city like they had done when Ayya first came to the city. 

It was late one afternoon and Ayya had spent the day in meetings with the council, Tariana, and Mikhalie. She was happy to finally get to go home. When she was walking to the docks, Tenac and her father came walking from the other direction. 

“Hi. What’s going on?” she asked.

“I have something to show you,” her father said. Together they made their way over to the river field and her father led them along a road that took them to the left instead of the one to the right that would bring them home. “I have been looking into available houses. Nothing has come up which sounded interesting, until now,” her father told them. They stopped in front of a gate that was set into a high wall. It had the same kind of arch over it as the gate to her parents’ house. “This is close to the sanctum. There is a school not far from here, and it’s only a five minutes walk to our house. It needs a little work. The owner is an elderly woman who hasn’t been able to keep up with all the work. She has moved in with her daughter and son-in-law and wants to sell the house. I have talked to her and you are welcome to look around. I’ll be waiting here,” he told them. Ayya kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks dad,” she said and when Tenac opened the gate and held it opened for her, she walked through it. Inside, there was a small front garden. It was hard to see how it would look when it was green. Spring had come, but it was just in its early stages. The house was a little larger than her parents, at least it looked to be it. It had the same smooth finished, but when her parents’ house was cream coloured, this was painted in a rich crimson colour. The windows and the door were framed in wood painted with tar, and the straw roof looked to be in good condition. 

“Ready to walk inside?” Tenac asked. Ayya nodded, and he let her go first. They came into a small hall. There were two vaults leading out of it. One led to a family room with a large fireplace. To the right there were two doors, to the left there was one. Straight ahead was a staircase leading to the second floor and beneath it a door. Ayya looked through the second arch and saw a kitchen. “Where do you want to start?” Tenac asked. 

“The kitchen, always the kitchen,” she said with a smile. The kitchen was in the shape of a large L with a door at each end. A good fireplace and cabinets and work surfaces. Ayya could see where she would place a table and the two windows gave good light. They walked through the door at the other end of the kitchen. “Dining room?” Ayya said. Tenac nodded. There was another door leading out from the dining room. It led into the family room. Next, they looked through the two doors to the right and saw it was two small rooms. They looked through the door under the stairs. It led out into a good sized garden surrounded by the same high wall as was in the front. To Ayya’s surprise, she didn’t see any neighbouring houses on the other side of the wall in that direction. She looked a little to the left and saw the sanctum. 

“It’s on the river’s edge,” Tenac said behind her. They walked upstairs and found four bedrooms, two large ones and two smaller. All had their own bathrooms. The house needed painting and some small repairs. But as Ayya stood in one of the large bedrooms and looked out of the window, she could see the garden, the river, and the sanctum. She could see herself living here. “You like it,” Tenac said. It wasn’t a question, but Ayya nodded. 

“But do we need this much space and so many rooms?” she asked. 

“We will find a use for them,” Tenac promised. “We can both get a study on the ground floor. This can be our room. Jason will need a room. Then we have room for a couple of more kids when we are ready,” he told her and put his arms around her. 

“Mom and I can get the gardens in shape. The one in front looked like a perfect place to run around and play. Maybe we can get some chickens as well,” Ayya thought out loud. 

“Let’s go and tell your father we want to talk to the owner and set a price,” Tenac said. 

“Do you think we can afford it?”

“I have a good amount saved. I think we will be fine,” Tenac said.

“I have savings as well. My dad never let me use my own money. We need to buy furniture as well.”

“It will be fine. This is our home. We will find a way to make it work.” He turned her around and kissed her. 

“Our home,” she said with a smile. They walked down to her father. He was waiting in the front garden. 

“We would like to talk to the owner and talk about what price she has in mind,” Tenac told Kopa.

“You liked it then?” Ayya’s father asked. 

“We did. It’s an amazing house. I can’t believe you found one as good as the one you have,” Ayya said. 

“I’m happy to hear that, little one. This will be your wedding gift from your mother and me,” he told them. Ayya and Tenac looked at him. 

“Dad,” Ayya said.

“Kopa, we are moved by the gesture, but it’s too much. I have money saved,” Tenac started. 

“I know you could buy it on your own. But we want to give you a good start, especially now when you have Jason. You need a stable place to start your family. Your mother will furnish the house for you as her wedding gift,” he told them. Ayya had to blink away her tears.

“Thanks dad. We are very grateful,” she told him and gave him a hug. 

“It’s our pleasure, little one. We promised to take care of you and we intend to keep it,” her father said. 

“Thank you, Kopa,” Tenac said and shook Kopa’s hand. 

“Let’s head home and tell mom she picked a good house,” Ayya said. Her father froze in place. Ayya looked back at him and saw the fear in his eyes. “You did let mom look at the house before you took us here?” she asked. Her father shook his head. “Oh. But you told her you had found it and she thought it sounded nice, right?” 

“Found it today, got excited,” was all he said. 

“Oh. Well, then I guess we will give her a surprise as well. This should be fun,” Ayya said, taking Tenac’s hand. She saw Tenac smile, even if he didn’t dare to laugh. 

“I just remembered your mother asked me to get…” Kopa started. 

“Oh no. Don’t try to get out of this, dad. You know as well as I do it will be worse if you let her stew,” Ayya said, taking her father’s hand with her free one. 

“Right. I can come and stay with you when your mother kicks me out, right?” he said. Ayya laughed. 

“You can stay in my apartment in the sanctum,” she told him. Ayya knew her mother wouldn’t be half as mad as her father thought. But she had a good time teasing him. As they got home, Jason came running to greet them as he always did. They walked to the kitchen, where Bettina was finishing dinner. 

“You are late today,” she said as she got a kiss from her husband. “What have you done? You look like a puppy who has been caught chewing on his master’s booth,” she told him.

“Dad took us to see a house today,” Ayya said. 

“He did?” her mother asked. 

“He did. We very much liked it and we hope it will be our home,” Tenac told her. 

“Mhm, and I’m guessing he told you it will be our gift as well?” Bettina asked.

“He did. We are more than grateful,” Ayya said and gave her mother a hug.

“It’s our pleasure to be able to help you like this,” she told them. 

“A house?” Jason asked.

“Yes, we will have to wait for us to get the keys. But then we can go over there and you can pick which room you want. We also need to paint your room,” Tenac told him.

“Sounds fun,” Jason said. 

“I think so too,” Tenac said. They all had dinner together and followed their usual evening routine. When Ayya was in bed and thinking about the new house, there was a soft knock on her door. 

“Come in,” she called. Jason opened the door and stood there. “A nightmare?” she asked, and he nodded. He hadn’t had one since they came home. “Okay, come here and close the door,” Ayya said and lifted the corner of her cover. Jason hurried into her bed and curled up next to her as she hugged him. He didn’t cry, but Ayya could feel how tense his little body was. It took a while for him to start to relax. 

“Ayya?” he asked in a thin voice. 

“Yes, Jason,” she answered. 

“Um, do you think it’s okay if I would call you mom?” he asked. Ayya felt her heart skip several beats.

“Yes, I think that would be fine. Is it something you would like?” she asked.

“Yes, sometimes I almost do, but then I don’t. But I would like to. Do you think my other mom would be mad at me if she knew?” Ayya recognised the thought he had, she had them as well.

“No, I don’t think so. She was a good woman, you mother, and she loved you very much. The only thing that was important to her was that you were safe and happy,” Ayya told him. He nodded. “And if you would like to call Tenac, dad. That would be alright as well,” she added.

“You think he would be okay with that?” Jason asked.

“I think he would love that,” she told him. He nodded and looked like he was thinking. Ayya saw when he started to get sleepy. “Good night, Jason, sleep tight,” she said.

“Night, mom,” he answered. Ayya didn’t know what to do with the enormous amount of love that she felt at that moment.

The next morning, Jason was eating breakfast as Tenac stepped into the kitchen. They were going to spend the day with riding lessons. 

“Are you ready to go?” Tenac asked him. 

“I just need my boots. I’ll get them,” Jason said, running upstairs to get his riding boots. They could hear him running around upstairs and then rush down the stairs. “I’m ready, dad,” he called out. Tenac froze, and the kitchen was silent. Tenac shot Ayya a surprised look. She nodded. Tenac walked up to Jason and got down on one knee and drew him into a hug. Then he got up and put his hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“Okay, son. Then we will head out. Go and say goodbye to your mother and grandparents,” Tenac said. Jason said goodbye and Ayya had to go up to him and give him a kiss on his hair and then she gave Tenac a kiss on his cheek.