A/N: So, I'm just sitting in my living room watching Supernatural, doing a little more writing on this story, and I thought why not go ahead and post the next chapter? So I go ahead and post the next chapter. Yay!
Disclaimer: It's been raining here almost all afternoon. It's amazing.
As the house hunting wore on, Jen and Ezra found out they had a pretty good bit in common. They quickly fell into easy conversation after leaving the grill. At first, it was just about what kind of home Ezra was looking for, but it didn't take long for the subject to change to more personal things about themselves.
Ezra felt he learned a good bit about Jen. It was easy to tell that she was a sweet, intelligent young woman. He was impressed by her idea of putting up a website for the grill, even if it was just a ruse to stay online in case she got a message from Jeff. Actually, that impressed him even more than the grill's webpage.
"So what made you decide to move out here?" asked Jen as they neared the first apartment complex offering available units. "It sounded to me like you're away pretty often, and even when you're back stateside, you live elsewhere."
"Yeah," Ezra hummed. "I go to Jamaica a lot, usually staying four or five months at a time, and I spend the rest of the year living in my parents' carriage house."
"Do you work while you're at home?" asked Jen.
"Yeah, with my dad's construction company." The building next to them caught Ezra's attention. "This place has rooms for rent," he said, drawing Jen's eye to it.
"This is a good building," said Jen as she led Ezra toward the door. "I had a friend who stayed here for a little while. He enjoyed it a lot. The rooms are really nice, and the rent isn't bad at all."
"If it was such a good building, why did your friend move?" asked Ezra curiously. "Did he have to move for work or something?"
"Yeah, he had to go back to L.A. for work," Jen answered. Ezra could tell there was more to it. But she didn't elaborate, so he didn't ask.
When they entered the building, the first thing they did was find the manager's office. "It's over here," Jen directed. Inside the office was an older man, maybe in his early fifties. He was shorter than average and had balding hair. "Excuse me, Mr. Sellers?"
"Yes?" the man asked pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for an apartment," Ezra answered. "I saw the vacancy sign outside and thought I'd see what's available."
"Absolutely!" the older man cheered in delight. "Always delighted to have new tenants. Let me just get my keys and my list of available apartments." It only took the man a minute, and they were off. "What kind of place you looking for?" asked Sellers after they started up the stairs.
"I'd like a two bedroom apartment," answered Ezra. "It doesn't have to be a huge, spacious apartment, but I do need two bedrooms, and maybe an open kitchen."
"Got a roommate coming?" asked Sellers.
"Sort of," Ezra answered vaguely.
"Well, here's the first unit on our list," the elder man said. He stopped in front of a door and unlocked it. "This one's two bedroom. Doesn't have an open kitchen, or a laundry set. You'll have to go downstairs to the laundry room."
"Ooh, laundry's gonna be pretty essential, too," Ezra mused aloud. "Can I bring in a washer/dryer set?"
"Afraid not," said Sellers. "The unit's not set up to include a washer and dryer."
"Do any of the other apartments come with washers and dryers?" asked Jen as she looked around the kitchen.
"Some of the upper apartments have washers and dryers, but they're all occupied."
Ezra gave another glance around the apartment before making his decision. "It's a nice apartment, but I don't think it's quite what I need."
"Oh well," Sellers said lightly. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. I hope you have better luck with the next place." He held a hand out to Ezra.
"Thank you for showing us the place," said Ezra, shaking the man's hand. "It really is a nice apartment. If it were just for myself, I'd probably take it in a heartbeat."
"Well, I wish you luck, young man," said Sellers with a smile. He led the younger pair out of the unit and back down to the lobby.
"So, where to next?" Ezra asked Jen once they were outside.
The pair went to a few more apartment complexes in the same general area, but none of them were quite right for what Ezra needed. "I think there's a building near Tish's place that has some open units," Jen mused after their fourth unsuccessful attempt. "I think I remember her saying something like that."
"Let's go see, then."
The whole time they searched, Jen couldn't stop thinking about the "sort of" roommate Ezra had mentioned at the first apartment they saw. "So," she mumbled hesitantly, "who's that sort of roommate you were talking about?" Ezra have her a puzzled look. "Mr. Sellers at the first building asked if you would be getting a roommate, and you said 'sort of.' What's that about?"
Ezra breathed a sigh. "You know I said I do missionary work in Jamaica," he began. Jen nodded that she remembered. "Well, there's a girl in one of the smaller villages that's pregnant. She's not nearly capable enough to take care of the baby, so she asked me to adopt it when it's born."
Jen's eyes lit up. "Ezra, that's awesome! When's the baby due?" she asked excitedly.
"About five months or so," Ezra answered. "Sometime around mid July is all we know."
"Are you excited?" asked Jen.
"Yeah, I'm excited," Ezra smiled. "I'm also pretty nervous, too. I've never been a dad before, you know?"
"Why did you decide to bring the baby here? Why not go back to your parents' house?"
"Priestly's my best friend," Ezra answered honestly. "I needed my best friend's help more than my parents'. Of course I'm going to take the baby to meet its grandparents at some point. But I wanted to bring him or her here to live with Uncle Bo." Both of them smiled at Priestly's new moniker.
"I bet Priestly loved that," laughed Jen. "He still insists we all call him Priestly, even though we all like his first name. But I think Priestly suits his personality better than Boaz."
"Yeah, he's always been a little insecure about his name," the dreadlocked man sighed. "I'm the only one allowed to call him Bo, though he agreed to Uncle Bo right away."
"Well, I'm happy to help if you need anything," Jen offered.
The offer caused a warmth to bloom in Ezra's chest, and he gave her a soft smile. "Thanks, Jen. I really appreciate that." Jen blushed prettily, but didn't say anything else on the subject. It didn't take too long to get to the apartment building, and they quickly found the super's office.
"Hi," the woman said. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties. "How can I help the two of you?"
"I heard there are some open apartments here," said Jen. "We were hoping to look at some, if we could."
"Absolutely," said the woman with a bright smile. "I'm Celine Grays, the manager here." She grabbed up a clipboard with a list of the open apartments and headed to the door. "Alright, let's go look at apartments." The trio left the office and went up to the second floor. "What kind of apartment are you looking for?"
"Nothing really fancy," Ezra spoke up. "But it needs two bedrooms, laundry room, and preferably an open kitchen, but that's not a huge requirement."
"Well, I know I can do two bedrooms and laundry," said Celine. She picked out a key and began unlocking a door. "This one's pretty nice." When they walked in, the first thing Ezra noticed was the spacious living room.
"Wow, look at that," he breathed as his eyes surveyed the layout of the room. The furniture was all situated around the edges of the room, leaving plenty of space in the middle of the room for the baby to play once he was strong enough.
"And look over at the kitchen," Jen spoke up. Looking up, Ezra saw that there was a window looking out into the living room from the kitchen. "That's just what you were talking about, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted," Ezra answered. Jen left the doorway and wandered to the kitchen.
"You can see straight into the living room," she reported from the window. "The only thing you can't see is the couch itself. That'll be great for when the baby gets big enough to play by himself."
Celine gasped. "Are you two expecting?" she squealed excitedly.
"Not exactly," Ezra answered with a blush. "I'm adopting a baby in a few months."
"I'm just helping him find an apartment," Jen concurred with an embarrassed blush of her own.
"Well, that's still exciting," said Celine, her enthusiasm not diminishing a bit. "This apartment is very child-friendly. You've already noticed the window to the kitchen and the open spacing in the living room. This is also a two-bedroom apartment, and it comes with a washer and dryer."
"It sounds pretty perfect," Ezra admitted. He crossed the living room to look at the bedrooms. "These are nice rooms, too." One room was bigger than the other, which Ezra decided would be the nursery so the baby could have plenty of room to play. He didn't need a lot of room for himself. "What's the rent for this apartment?" When the manager told him how much the rent was, Ezra's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" he asked with the beginning's of a bewildered smile.
"Yep," Celine said with a smile of her own. "And that's including water and electricity. You'll have to get your own cable or internet, but everything else is covered."
"This place is amazing, Ezra," Jen said in wonder. "You have to get it. You're not going to find a deal like this anywhere else."
"You're right," agreed Ezra. 'God, you've seen what a great opportunity this is. Please guide me in making the right choice.' After the quick prayer, the dreadlocked man took in the room one more time. "I'll take it," he decided.
"Wonderful!" Celine cheered. "Alright, you two, let's go back downstairs and take care of some paperwork so you can start moving in." Once the paperwork had been completed and the down payment had been made, Ezra left the building as the proud owner of his own apartment.
"Let's go back to the grill and celebrate with everybody else," suggested Jen, looking up at her much taller companion.
"Definitely," Ezra agreed. And they did just that.
A/N: I did so much better on editing this chapter than I did the last two. I'm just a stickler for correct grammar and punctuation. Don't mind me. I'm just over here in my own little grammar universe. Don't forget to tell me what you think. I love getting reviews. Thanks for reading!