Chapter 2: Home, sweet home

...

We crossed the sidewalk and walked a few more meters until we reached the door of my ground floor. It was a four-story block including the ground floor where I resided, but the portal to the upper floors was independent of mine.

I opened the door and we were both energetically received by Sven who made it clear to me in a second that that girl with, now it was clear to me, bright aquamarine eyes, wouldn't murder me in my sleep. They both rolled on the floor in a one-way exchange of drool before I could even close the door.

"Who is the most handsome boy in the house? Who?" Anna asked in a silly tone to the dog that was going along with her game, happy with the presence of that intruder. "And, who is the smartest?"
"He, no doubt," I mockingly said as my dog rested his head on that girl's chest while she affectionately scratched behind his ears.

Finally, they went a bit into the room and, pushing the suitcase that Anna had left in the middle, I managed to find a space to close the door.

"Well, you will sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

Anna laughed heartily.

"No, seriously, where is my room?" she said wiping her tears.
"I'm afraid this is all," I replied with a grimace.
"Impossible, there are no such small houses."
"There are worse," I said crossing my arms a little offended.
"Oh, yeah? And what about that door? Did you think you would tease me?"
"This is…"

She didn't let me finish the sentence and opened the door between excited and expectant as if she were going to find a treasure behind it, but, as soon as she opened it, she fell dramatically on her knees.

"… the bathroom," I finished saying confirming the obvious.
"There is really no more than this? And the floors above?"
"Those are other houses."
"Is it really true?"
"Totally."
"Why do you live in here?!"
"It's cheap. And so far I hadn't needed more."
"I can't believe it."
"If you don't want to stay…"
"No, it's okay, it's okay. We've come here to play!"
"What?"
"If I'm traveling to get experiences, meet people, learn about the world, and discover what I want to do with my life, I can't give up at the first difficulty that arises."
"Do you travel for all this stuff?"
"Uh-huh."
"I don't travel a lot, but when I do it is usually to see family and relax. Not much more."
"Well, you do have a place to live, a dog, and, I guess, a job."
"That's right."
"You have a life. I am looking for mine."
"Don't you have a house?"

I took out a couple of glasses and offered her some water.

"Water? Is that what you give me to loosen my tongue?"
"You're not thinking I'm going to get a stranger drunk to go crazy in an apartment where we hardly fit in, right? Drink water; is healthy."
"You're like an old man…"
"Are you hungry?"
"Are you going to offer me a cardigan now?
"I assume you are not hungry."
"Hey! I didn't say that!"

Dealing with that girl was a bit complicated: she wasn't one of those people who make it easy for you; however, she also was somehow fun. After so long alone, I never thought I would feel so comfortable talking or rather arguing, with someone outside my family.
Without explaining, I opened the top of a closet and pulled out a clean bedding set that I tossed into her arms.

"Okay, I'm going to prepare something to eat. In the meantime, make the bed. I imagine you would prefer to change the sheets and stuff."
"What? No way! I'm not going to kick you out of your bed. We'll sleep together."

I imagine that the sudden burning that I felt in my ears was also seen in my face because she didn't take a second to start laughing out loud.

"Come on! Easy! It was a joke! I stay on the couch."

I rubbed the back of my neck, embarrassed and feeling awkward, and changed the subject, hoping I could forget that moment one day.

"You'll sleep on the bed. I'm not going to invite you to my house and make you sleep on the couch. Don't worry about me, I've slept in worse places."
"No way!"
"Seriously, do you know what tact is?"

She stared at me like waiting for me to confirm that it was a joke, but obviously, that moment didn't come. It would've been nice if it had been a joke.

"What if we take turns?" she said finally accepting that I was serious.
"No."
"Why? If you sleep so long on the couch it will end up with your whole body hurting and I will feel guilty."
"And change the sheets daily? I refuse. I prefer a low back pain."
"I don't have scabies, you know?"
"And what makes you think I don't either?"
"Mmm… You smell good."
"What?" Irremediably my colors rose again. "And what's the point with that?"
"I guess nothing. But you don't have scabies, right?"
"No… Well, by now, this night the bed is yours. We'll see what happens tomorrow."

Anna seemed to take that as a possible victory and happily agreed.

"Ookay!"

I started preparing the food while she made the bed. It was fun to see out of the corner of the eye how she fought with the bottom sheet making the corners that she already had snagged come off every time she put a new one on. Finally, she got hold of the unruly sheet and finished preparing the rest in no time. It didn't take long for her to start prowling around the small kitchen sniffing everything I was preparing and without losing any detail. The way she moved, gestured, and even talked danced between the brusque and the graceful making of her a really interesting specimen.

"Where is the main course?"
"This is the main course."
"And where is the meat?"
"There's no meat."
"No meat? But you have just come to do the shopping, right?"
"Animals are not eaten in this house."
"I can't believe it."
"Because…"
"You are a huge guy! How are you going to keep all of this without eating meat?"
"I don't need it. Everything I need comes from the plants."
"Aren't you kidding me?"
"Why should I?"

Anna held my gaze for a few seconds. Again, I felt she was trying to prove the truth of my words.

'Maybe I should have told her about this before bringing her home.'

"You see, since I met Sven, I haven't tasted meat again."
"Not the fish?"
"Nor anything that comes from an animal."
"Oh, my God! The cheese!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the desperation in her tone.

"I've always hated cheese; it has not been a hard loss."
"Nobody hates cheese."
"I do."
"You are a very weird guy."
"I'm going to take it as a compliment."
"So, what are you? Some kind of elder who loves animals?"
"I just realized that there was no difference between eating the animal on my plate and eating Sven. The fact that it hurts less because there is no affective bond between us doesn't make it any less terrible. That's all. Does it bother you? You still have time to change your mind about staying here.

Anna looked at the begging eyes Sven was giving me and smiled tenderly.

"I will survive."
"You will. And now, go put on a cardigan, dinner is almost ready."