Chapter 17

"Owww!" Callie shouted in pain as she ran into the dresser that filled the narrow hallway. "Pinche mesa!" she cursed at the object in frustration. It had been three months since the family arrived back in Seattle and to say things were a bit cramped would be an understatement. With the addition of Arizona's belongings, Callie's 920 square foot bungalow was filled to the brim. Located in the heart of Beacon's Hill, the quaint place had always been a bit cozy. But from the very first day they moved in it had been a perfect match for the single mother and her daughter.

When Arizona heard the collision she quickly dropped her tooth brush in the bathroom sink and ran to poke her head out of their bedroom doorway. Trying hard to fight the grin that was creeping up onto her face, she asked "Are you ready to start looking for a new place yet?"

"Esto es in tiradero" The Latina grumbled as she ignored her girlfriend and shuffled her way into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

Callie didn't have to say much of anything to make it completely obvious that she wasn't too keen on the idea of moving. "Oh, that would look great in the living room!" Callie would enthusiastically announce as they would try to find a place to fit yet another piece of Arizona's furniture. In her old age, Yes, Callie had promised that they could find a home of their own together but in her old age she had grown quite sentimental. She hated the thought of leaving the house that Sophia had grew up in. But when push came to shove, Arizona had to hold Callie to her promise of buying a new home together. At this point it wasn't so much that Arizona wanted a new house, she had come to realize that home for her was anywhere Callie and Sophia were. They needed a new house simply because the Torres-Robbins household was running out of room.

…..

"So…do you want a house or a condo?" Arizona cautiously asked as she browsed the classified section of The Seattle Times. They had enjoyed their breakfast together in relatively silence and were now relaxing together on one of their rare mid-week days off together.

"I don't know" Callie said as she walked over to the couch where Arizona sat, two cups freshly brewed cups of coffee in hand. "My only request is that it is bigger…obviously. And that it is little bit closer to the hospital." Callie said as she handed a mug to the blonde and sat beside her, pulling her feet into her lap.

Arizona looked at her partner with a surprised look. She was unsure what surprised her the most: That Callie was entertaining the idea of a condo or that she was willing to talk about it all together. "So…you would be okay with a condo?"

Frankly, the upkeep and maintenance of home ownership was not something that Arizona looked forward to. The blonde had always enjoyed the simplicity of apartment living. With their busy work schedules, the last thing she wanted was days off filled with roof repair or leaky plumbing. The luxury of paying a monthly HOA fee and not having to worry about a thing was right up Arizona's alley. Deep down she hoped Callie felt the same.

"Yeah…sure." Callie replied. "I can get used to the thought of never doing yard work again." She smiled at the blonde who was beaming beside her.

"Callie?" Arizona excitedly exclaimed as she noticed an ad in the paper. "What was the address of our old apartment?" she asked as she tugged on the brunettes sweat shirt.

"The one across from the hospital?"

"Yeah….do you remember what the address was?"

"1928 Bond Ave. Why?" Callie shrugged.

"Because…look at this!" The blonde pointed at the ad before her. "Three bedroom. Two and a half bath. 1800 sq ft. Rooftop Terrace. 1928 Bond Ave…. Callie, that's in our old building!"

"Oh my God, it is! Apartment 1200? That has to be the top floor!" Callie flashed a huge smile. She had always loved their apartment in that building. She was giddy at the thought of possibly living there again. "Do you want to go check it out today?" She asked her girlfriend, even though she already knew the answer.

….

"Thank you, Katherine. We really appreciate you meeting with us today, especially on such short notice." Callie said to the older woman as the couple walked into the sprawling penthouse apartment. Even though they were seven floors above their former residence it still brought back so many memories. The concrete floors….the sleek, modern kitchen. Walking into the apartment was like déjà vu.

"It's my pleasure, Ms. Torres. I have to admit I'm in a bit of a hurry to get this flat leased." The older woman said with an accent to her voice. "I must return to London immediately. Heaven forbid, I never understood what my sister saw in this dreadful city."

Callie and Arizona both looked at each other trying to stifle the fit of giggles that the sardonic woman was causing to erupt in them. Fighting to be the mature one of the two, Callie straightened up and asked "Can we take a look around?"

"Oh yes…Please do." The older woman replied.

The apartment was an almost exact replica of the one they previously lived in, except it had an extra bedroom and bath, the living space and kitchen were quite larger, and there was a spiral stair case just off of the living room that led up to the rooftop terrace. The walls were painted in more cheerful colors and the additional windows throughout the whole apartment let in a lot more natural light.

The women were up on the terrace taking in the breathtaking west facing view of Puget Sound. The terrace and that amazing view was the icing on the already decadent cake.

"What do you think?" Callie asked as she walked up closely behind her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's waist.

"Oh Callie, it's just absolutely beautiful…" Arizona gushed at the sight before her. "I love it and it's definitely closer to the hospital…" She smiled, turned to face her girlfriend and leaned in for a chaste kiss.

"Definitely closer to the hospital" Callie repeated as she smiled into the kiss.

They broke apart once they heard the roof access door open. She short statured woman hobbled over towards them.

"There you are!" Katherine started. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think it is great! And it sounds like you are looking for a tenant pretty quickly then?" Callie replied.

"I am, indeed. I must warn you, I do intend to put it on the market quite soon. Ideally, I am looking for a short term tenant. Would you still be interested?"

The couple looked at each other in agreement before Arizona answered. "Yes. We definitely would, especially if we have the option to purchase the place."

The English woman's eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between Arizona then Callie…and back to Arizona again. "What do you mean 'We'?" She asked.

Callie had to stop herself from getting upset. "My partner, Arizona." She nodded towards the blonde beside her. "Myself and my daughter Sophia…she is about to turn 17. We would be interested."

"You didn't mention over the phone that you were a homosexual." The older woman said, oblivious to the reactions of the women before her.

With that, Callie could no longer hide her anger. "Why would I mention that? My sexual orientation has nothing to do with renting a property."

Arizona reached out for Callie's hand to try to calm her down. "Callie, it's not worth it. Let's just go." She said as she started to pull the brunette towards the exit. "Callie, C'mon."

The two women stormed down the stairs and out the apartment. Once they reached the front door Callie turned to head back upstairs. "Arizona, I have to do this."

"Can I help you?" Katherine asked as she met Callie at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, you can." Callie took a long pause before she began her rant. "You know, one would think that beggar's wouldn't be chooser's. And frankly, who I love is none of your business. If your concern is whether or not a lesbian can pay the rent on time every month, then the answer is yes. I can. I happen to be a surgeon at the hospital across the street…And so is Arizona. Obviously, a homosexual couple can afford it. Normally in cases like this I wouldn't give you the time of day but this building means a lot to Arizona…to us. So, what will it take?" Callie furiously asked pulling her wallet out of her purse. "Cash? I can just buy the apartment from you right now if that's what you require."

It took a moment for the older woman to respond she was in complete shock at the boldness of the woman in front of her. "You'd just buy the flat? Right now?"

"Arizona loves this place. And I love her more than anything. I want to grow old with her, have her as my wife and wake up here every day together with her. So, yeah, I would just buy this place for her." First the first time, Callie didn't even try to fight the tears that were starting to fall. She meant every word of what she said and was willing to fight for her lover at all costs.

"Alright…" The English woman said matter-of-factly. "I will have my attorney draw up the paperwork and call you immediately.

…

Callie and Arizona were sharing a lounge chair together. Callie was settled back with Arizona resting her body firmly in the brunette's arms. Nestled together, they were enjoying another sunset over Puget Sound from their new rooftop terrace.

"You're right." Callie smiled. Her head still faced forward but her eyes darted over towards the woman in her arms. "It is absolutely beautiful."

Arizona immediately felt the intense eyes that were on her and she took Callie's hand that she had been holding and brought it up to her mouth, kissing the palm.

"I can't believe that we are here…after all this time we are back here…where it all started." Arizona turned just enough so that she could look into Callie's eyes. "I love you, Calliope."

"I love you too Arizona" Callie nuzzled her nose into the blondes neck, right behind her ear

Arizona turned to Callie and smiled. "I can't believe you bought this place for me." She kissed the brunette's cheek. "For us." She kissed her other cheek. She traced her lips down the caramel toned neck. Then she leaned in, kissing her softly. Their kisses full of love and passion, fulfilling every desire they needed over the last 17 years. Arizona looked up to lock eyes with the only person she ever wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She immediately felt her throat constrict. "So…did you mean what you said?" The blonde timidly asked.

The kiss left Callie gasping for air but she managed to whisper. "What do you mean? When I said what?"

Arizona looked away; she didn't want to see the look in Callie's eyes if she didn't really mean what she had said. "When you said you wanted you wanted to grow old together and to have me as your wife?"

Callie lifted herself off of the chair and then held out her hand to help her partner up. Arizona apprehensively allowed Callie to pull her up. The brunette wrapped her arm around her partner's waist and pulled her in as close as possible. "Of course I meant what I said." Using her free hand she lifted the blondes bowed head so that she could see directly into her piercing blue orbs. "Arizona, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"