Sorry, but I don’t want to move in together yet…
James thought that Alice was as in love with him as he was with her, so he was quite surprised by her response to his suggestion to move in.
“Sorry, but I don’t want to live together just yet!” she said.
“Why not?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. We’ve only been dating for six months. It feels a little soon…”
“Soon? Darling, I think it’s the perfect time. We can live together, get to know each other better, and maybe take the next step.”
“James, this isn’t a video game; this is real life. Right now, there’s no room for cohabitation in my life, but that doesn’t mean I don’t value our relationship. I’m just happy with where we are now.”
“But I want more! I want to wake up with you in the mornings. I want to fall asleep together! Don’t you?”
“We do that already. Twice a week, remember? Isn’t that enough?”
“Not for me!”
“Well, if you love me, you’ll just have to wait a bit.”
“I can wait if you give me a reason! Why don’t you want to? Tell me! Is it really that difficult?”
Alice thought for a moment, smiled at him, and decided that it was worth having a more detailed discussion.
“James, let’s be honest. What does living with a woman mean to you?”
“Like I said, falling asleep and waking up together!”
“And what about in between?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s twenty-four hours in a day, remember? You’re only talking about night and early morning. What about the rest of the time?”
“The rest of the time, we’re mostly at work, aren’t we?”
“Well, not always. For example, we would have dinner or breakfast together.”
“I hope so!”
“And who would do the cooking?”
“You can’t cook!” James guessed, more foolishly than knowingly, though he’d enjoyed her cooking more than once.
“I can cook!”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“Who’s going to cook? You or me?”
“Well, you could, and maybe sometimes I can. Why are you worried about this?”
“James, because I don’t want to turn my life into a repetitive cycle, like many of my friends! I don’t want to wake up early to cook someone breakfast. I don’t want to rush from work to shop and then spend two hours cooking dinner!”
“But you sometimes cook when you stay over with me, don’t you? I thought you liked it…”
James looked a little annoyed. Was his girlfriend just lazy?
“I love cooking, but I’m not ready to do it every day. I enjoy coming home, quickly making a salad, and that’s it. I enjoy our twice-weekly meetups, sometimes more. That’s enough for me! Maybe someday I’ll want more, but not now!”
“It’s just that you don’t love me!” James declared.
“Oh, here we go…”
“What? Isn’t it true? When a woman loves someone, she’s willing to do anything for them!”
“And what about the beloved? Is he willing to do anything for his love?”
“Of course!”
“Okay, then let’s live together, BUT – all the household chores will be shared equally. Each of us cleans up after ourselves, we cook in turns, and do our own laundry. How does that sound?”
“But I’m not a good cook. You said so yourself!”
“This will be a chance to learn. You can’t always eat pizza or burgers. I can help you learn!”
“I just don’t get it; why is it so hard? Then why is it not difficult for others? Are you special or something?” James couldn’t let it go.
“If you want to think that way, go ahead! Consider me special. I don’t want to sacrifice my personal life for love. Not now, at least. I’m only twenty-three. I want to enjoy my freedom!”
“Oh, I see! You have someone else!” James concluded surprisingly.
“And why would I need anyone else?” Alice asked, puzzled.
“Well, if you don’t want to live with me, then someone else must be more important to you!”
“Your imaginary man means more to me?” she laughed.
“Your imaginary man! Why would I make up men for myself?”
“You don’t need men, so you decided to invent one for me, huh?”
“You’ve utterly confused me!” he nearly shouted.
“Because you’re talking nonsense! There’s no one else! Sometimes, even you are a lot for me, which is why I don’t want to live together! I love my solitude and am not ready to give it up. Not yet!”
“How can you love solitude when you’re in a relationship?” James was surprised.
“It’s simple. Are there things you like to do when no one else is home?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, read a book, watch a series, take a bath, browse social media, try on clothes from your wardrobe, dance in the dark!”
“Men don’t do that!” he protested.
“But women do! And I like it! I’m not ready to give up the simple joys of single life yet!”
“But living together has its perks too!” James tried to persuade her.
“Like what?”
“Falling asleep and waking up together!” he reiterated.
“James, you know you snore like a tractor?”
“What? You’ve never mentioned it! And no one else complained!”
“I can’t speak for others, but ever since Leon punched your nose at the barbecue a couple of months ago, your snoring has been awful. By the way, I did tell you! I can endure it a couple of times a week, but every night is too much! I need my sleep occasionally, too.”
“You can’t sleep next to me?”
“Only when I manage to drift off before you do.”
“But you usually go to bed later…”
“Exactly!”
“So, I snore, I can’t cook, and I’m not fit for cohabitation?”
“And as it turns out, you’re also a terrible bore!” she couldn’t hold back.
“Why am I a bore!?”
“You’ve spent half an hour trying to convince me to do something I fundamentally don’t want to do. What is that if not being a bore?”
“Alice, I actually wanted to marry you! That’s why I proposed living together!” he said, offended.
“Did I ever say I wanted to get married?” she smiled sadly.
“Don’t you? Every girl wants to get married!”
“Apparently, not every girl…”
“Or maybe you don’t want to marry me?” he guessed.
“I don’t want to marry in general, but if we consider your point of view, what can you offer your future wife? Falling asleep and waking up together?”
“Are you saying I’m a nobody?” James was offended. “That I’m not capable of anything?”
“You’re nearly thirty. You earn two thousand a month, you live in your uncle’s rundown apartment to avoid rent, you shop in cheap stores. You don’t even want to buy a car because it needs upkeep!”
“Listening to you, I sound like a real prize! Then why see me at all?”
Alice shrugged.
“You’re charming, in good shape, funny, and a wonderful lover.”
“For health?”
“And for the soul!”
“But we won’t have a family!”
“Until you mature, definitely not!”
“Fine! Then my proposal is off the table! And I’ll tell you more! We’re breaking up!”
“Really?” Alice asked sarcastically. “I thought you’d never suggest it! So, goodbye?” she said, waving as a reminder that their argument was in her apartment.
“Goodbye then!” he declared, pulling on his trousers. “Or rather, farewell!”
“Then farewell!” she replied with a smile and tossed him his shirt.
James left, and Alice turned on some music, turned off the lights, and started dancing. It always helped calm her nerves and bring back a positive mood. She knew he’d come back tomorrow or the day after, but whether she’d let him back in was another question.
