This is your place now, but it used to be ours. We lived in this corner apartment in Browne's Addition for almost three years, and we did not want to give it up. Maybe you don't care who we are or why we love this spot so much, but just in case, I'll tell you.
I'm from St. Louis. She's from Palmer, Alaska. We met at the University of Missouri, where we both studied journalism. She was a grad student. I was in my senior year. We moved to Spokane in March of 2015. I'd taken a job at a newspaper and asked her to come with me. She's an editor for a website based in New York and, until recently, worked remotely.
In this place, we learned to compromise — I got my Batman shower curtain and she got the floral entry rug. We argued over whether to tuck the sheets under the mattress or keep them loose. We pushed our relationship to the brink, several times, and brought it back. We learned that even in love, you need space from each other.
We hosted Friendsgiving, and I threw her a surprise birthday party. We ran out of chairs for both occasions. Sunday mornings I made breakfast, and we sat on the couch soaking in the natural light from the huge wall of windows. On nights in alone, we drank wine and played Monopoly, with our clothes as currency, by the brick fireplace that doesn't work.
By October of last year, her company needed her to relocate. She couldn't turn it down.
I still have some things to do in Spokane, and unfortunately I can't afford this place on my own. So I moved in with a buddy on the South Hill, and she now lives in Brooklyn.
The reason we love this place so much is not because of the in-unit washer and dryer, the massive closet space, the dark wood beams on the ceiling or the parking spot in back.
It's because this is the place where we figured it out together. We built a life here on our own. This is the place where I truly fell in love with her. I think she would say the same.
We've been together for five years, and we've never lived this far apart. Now, our future is a little less certain. I hope we make it through. She's one of the smartest people I know, and she's my best friend. That relationship was etched right here, in your apartment. Enjoy it.
Love,
Mitch and Celia ♦
