Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 24
They stayed up late to hash out their immediate plan of action. They listed the things that needed to be done.
A marriage license had to be obtained from the King County Records Office. It was decided Edward would contact the County Office the next few days to apply for one.
Carmen would have to shop for an OB-GYN as her primary physician for the duration of the pregnancy. Given his association with the medical field, the task fell on Edward to research and suggest the best obstetrician in the area.
Edward would also need to provide Carmen with a ring of appropriate value; they didn't want their families to get the wrong impression. As the would-be groom, the responsibility lay on his shoulders, naturally. Of course, Carmen could help him pick it out.
The families of both parties would have to be informed. They decided to call their respective parents once they had the marriage license in hand.
They would need to start looking for a bigger place to move into. Carmen agreed to take on the task of house hunting.
She wanted a house instead of an apartment, now that she knew Edward's inheritance could buy them one.
Edward expressed his reservation about purchasing a property right off. It was too much of a liability to have so early in life, especially given the transient stage their careers were in. What if they had to move?
"Move? Why would we have to move?" she asked suspiciously.
"I don't know... what if I don't get a job in the state? Or, my residency, I got accepted at Lenox Hill in New York. It makes no sense buying a house now only to be moving in a few months. It would just weigh us down more than anything else," Edward reasoned. He thought it was a good opportunity to test the waters and see the degree of Carmen's willingness to adapt to his needs.
In hindsight, he perhaps should have waited for a better occasion.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.