Page 38 of 21 Years of Jane

I raised an eyebrow as he reached into the box and pulled out his two favorite possessions in the world. He handed me his baseball glove and handed Nolan his favorite action figure; Iron Man.

“Thank you, Nugget,” I said softly, hugging him tightly.

He smiled proudly and gave Nolan a hug before he went to join his sister next to our parents.

“We’ve got something for you two as well. We’re just waiting on Rosalie and Bryan to get here,” Mom said mysteriously.

“Guys, it’s not like we just got married. We just got engaged... again,” I protested with a laugh.

Mom and Dad exchanged a grin. Dad got my wheelchair and hoisted me off of the bed and into it.

“To the living room, everyone! They should be here soon,” he said.

Twenty minutes later, Nolan’s parents knocked on the door. Mom let them in, and they went and sat on the love seat, which was pretty much next to my parents.

The four of them looked at each other with grins before they turned to us.

“I kind of feel like I’m going to get devoured or something. This is getting creepy,” Nolan leaned over and whispered to me.

“Yeah; I can see what you’re saying. The cannibalistic tendencies are becoming quite apparent these days,” I whispered back.

“You goof!” he said as he began to laugh.

I winked at him and turned my attention back to the four people watching us closely.

“We actually drew straws to find out who would get to tell you this,” Bryan said finally with a laugh. “And I pulled the lucky one.”

He stood up and cleared his throat. He walked over to us and placed an envelope on the couch arm between us.

“Before you open that, we just want you to know that even though we still have some doubts, for medical reasons only, we’re very happy for the two of you. Okay. Open it,” he said, sitting down and leaning forward.

“Should we draw straws to see who opens it?” Nolan asked.

“We could, but I don’t have any straws. However we could each just grab and end and rip it open,” I reasoned.

“Seems fair. Let’s do it,” he said, handing me the envelope.

“On the count of three?” I asked, to which he nodded. “One, two, three!”

We each ripped our halves of the envelope and a pair of keys fell out onto the carpet. He leaned down and picked them up, giving our parents a curious look.

“We got you your own place!” Mom all but yelled in excitement. “The rent has been prepaid for a year; to give you guys some financial help for a bit. We thought it was the best thing to do. What do you think?”

We both sat there in shock. I looked at Nolan doubtfully and he returned my look.

“Mom. Are you sure this is okay?” I asked her.

“Of course it is. You’re both adults and you’re going to have to live on your own eventually. Aaron was the last one to come around on it, but the four of us agree that if you’re going to start a life together, you should live together; alone.”

“Do you understand the responsibility that’s going to come with this, Nolan?” Mr. Ransom asked him seriously.

“Yes. And I hope you all know that you can trust me to do an amazing job. I want a long life with Jane, so I’ll take care of her as best as I can,” he replied, squeezing my hand.

“There’s something else you should know,” Rosalie said.

We both looked at her expectantly.

“You’ll be living in Morningside.”