Chapter 2.2 - New and Improved

“Thanks a lot for helping me with this.”

Tara smiled at him. “Well, it’s not the most romantic first date I’ve ever been on, but it’s not that bad. It’s been nice talking to you.”

“It’s been nice talking to you, too.”

“Still, maybe next time we can go see a movie or something? This moving stuff is exhausting.”

Dylan laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to move again any time soon. I really just wanted to get out of my dad’s house.”

She nodded. “I get it. This is actually a really nice place, though. A little small, but nice.”

He looked around. “Yeah, I like it. It doesn’t seem that small to me, but my dad’s house is tiny. Anything would seem spacious after that.”

They were quiet for a bit. After a while, Tara spoke hesitantly. “If you don’t mind me asking… why did you wait so long to move out?”

“I don’t mind. I wanted to wait until my sister was ready to move out. She’s younger than me, and our father hasn’t been fit to parent for years. I wanted to make sure she was okay until she was old enough to move out on her own.”

“What about your mother?” When he was silent, she blushed. “Sorry, is that a delicate subject?”

“A little bit, but I don’t mind telling you. It’s not exactly a secret, it’s just hard to talk about. She’s in a mental hospital. My dad goes to visit her every Saturday, but I haven’t seen her since I was thirteen. I tried to visit her once, right after her breakdown. She started screaming and saying I was infected. I haven’t been back since.” He stopped, a little shocked at the amount of information he’d just shared. He forced a smile. “I’m a little surprised you don’t know about it. It’s such a small town.”

“Well, I’m new to town. Just got here last year. I’ve made a few friends, but nobody’s felt the need to share decade-old gossip with me.”

“Where are you from? And why’d you move here, of all places?” He was honestly curious. They got very few newcomers here.

“I’m from Bridgeport. I moved here because my aunt used to live here. She invited me to stay with her after my parents died, but she retired and moved down to Sunlit Tides not too long after that. I just decided to stay here. I like it. It’s very quiet. Bridgeport was always so busy. You couldn’t hear yourself think.”

Dylan tried to think of a good thing to say. “It sucks that your parents died.” Yeah… that wasn’t it.

Tara just stared at him for a second. Then she started laughing. “You really have no idea how to talk to people, do you?”

“Not a clue. I mean it, it does suck, I just… couldn’t think of a better way to put it.”

She shook her head. “Most people would say ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘My condolences’ or something like that, but you just came out and said what you meant.”

He was blushing at this point. “I’m really sorry about that. But… at least you know that I’m honest, right? I’m never going to say something I don’t mean.”

Something strange flickered over Tara’s face, but it was gone before Dylan could even try to identify it. “That’s definitely an upside. I kind of like it, actually. The idea that you can’t lie to me.”

He looked at her. “You just made it weird.”

She grinned unrepentantly back at him. “No, you made it weird when you told me it sucks that my parents died.”

He groaned. “You’re going to hold that over my head, aren’t you.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

They chatted for a while longer. Several more awkward moments ensued, but they managed to get past them.

Eventually, Tara checked her watch and said, “I should go.”

Dylan walked her to the door. When they got there, she turned to him. “This definitely wasn’t what I expected from a first date, but it was… surprisingly awesome. I really enjoyed it.”

Dylan smiled at her. “Does that mean I’m cleared for a second date?”

“Without a doubt. But I get to make the plans next time, okay? No offense, but spending several hours hauling furniture isn’t my idea of a good time, even when it’s with you.

He grinned. “No problem.”

After she had left, he surveyed his new house, still smiling. He’d lived here for less than a day, and he’d already made more happy memories here than he’d ever had at his parents’ house. He could only hope things stayed this good.

Author's Note: Yeah... I forgot to take pictures for that last section. What makes it worse is that I have at least ten pictures of Dylan and Tara talking that I didn't use. They're just so photogenic! And Tara is the queen of unprompted cute faces. She constantly makes just the right face at just the right time, and I have to take a picture of it!

In other news, I am thrilled by the new house! It is a little bit small (it's a Sunset Valley premade), but it has plenty of room for Dylan, and the rooms are all big enough that I can take pictures without the wall going transparent on me! That's another part of the reason I took so many pictures this chapter, because there was so much space for me to move the camera. I'll probably be sick of it by the end of this generation, but for now, I love the new house. It's the reason behind the chapter title. Join us next time for more slightly awkward Dylan and Tara moments, and to finally get into the career-related plot for this generation! Warning: I took my ideas primarily from various police-related books and TV shows. They have almost nothing to do with how criminal justice works in real life.