Chapter Nine: The Move

 

The day after the Dignity and Decorum shoot, we had finally earned enough money to move. Peter took out his phone and arranged everything, whilst I watched excitedly. 

Once we were given the go-ahead, we both went round packing everything up. The penthouse was big enough for each of the children to have their own rooms; this would be particularly good for Erytheia and Xanthe as they were nearly school-aged and would appreciate having their own space away from their younger siblings. 

Almost immediately, the children gravitated towards their play table, and had a lot of fun giggling and chatting together. Peter had to go off to work, but I sat on the sofa and watched them for a while.

"Are you having fun?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Apollo replied, whirling a toy above his head like it was an aeroplane.

"Do you like the new house?" I asked.

"Don't know," Artemis said, and I had to laugh. It was such a typical little kid response. 

"I guess you haven't really explored it yet," I smiled. "It's a lot bigger."

The kitchen was upstairs, and was much bigger than at Medina Studios. As I began prepping dinner, I was acutely aware of the view across the city. I'd never been particularly scared of heights, and didn't mind the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that were all over the apartment. 

I was entirely unsurprised when Salim Benali arrived later that evening.

"Hey, congratulations on the new place!" he smiled. "I've seen photos of it on estate agent websites, but I've never actually been here."
"Well, I've got something for you," I replied. "Here's a key to the place. Now you can visit whenever you'd like! Just remember to keep your promise of letting me know when you're coming."

"Of course I will!"

One of the more exciting parts of the move was that we now had a dedicated space for the cauldron, which we'd decided to upgrade. Peter had already placed his potions on a little coffee table, and I began experimenting to see if I could add anything. I was looking forward to telling the children all about their magical abilities, although they'd probably be annoyed that they couldn't practise until adolescence. Hopefully they'd understand - Peter's curse, although brief, had been a reminder of how unpredictable and occasionally dangerous magic could be. 

Friday was Love Day...

"How are you so handsome?" I asked Peter. The sunlight streaming through the windows made his ginger hair even brighter than normal.

"You're just as beautiful," he replied. "Let's go out on a date later."

"Yes! I've always wanted to check out the Stargazer Lounge," I said. "It's mostly outdoors, so let's hope it's warm."

And so...

"So, what do you think of the new place?" I asked.

"It's great," he said. "It's useful having somewhere for the cauldron. I was always worried about something going wrong and the bed catching fire or something."

"It's got great views, too," I added. "I'm really looking forward to lounging on the pool in the summer."

"You know what," Peter said, changing tack, "I almost can't believe we've nearly got two school-aged children. They grow up so fast!"

"Tell me about it," I sighed. "I'm always amazed at how grown up they are most of the time. I hope they'll enjoy school - I definitely did."