Chapter 211 - Amenities

Keeley spent all day Saturday bingeing reality shows Aaron had recorded for her in the awesome entertainment room with Molly, who slowly began exploring the apartment. Spending too much time in front of the TV ended up giving her a headache so the next day she tried to think of other things to do.

The first thing she did was check out the rest of Aaron's house. She had only been in a few rooms. She peeked in a few of the other guest rooms but mostly she was curious about the terraces. There were three! Who needed three terraces?!

If she had thee terraces, she would have planted an awesome rooftop garden. It was pretty empty up there; only one of the terraces even had furniture on it.

Keeley decided to sunbathe while reading a book on the sole reclining lawn chair. It would be amazing to have a hammock up here. Maybe she should suggest it. Although Aaron didn't seem like he spent much time up here so it would probably go to waste.

Once she felt thoroughly baked, she went back inside and wanted to make some cookies. Unfortunately, there weren't any baking supplies in this kitchen like sugar, flour, or chocolate ch.i.p.s.

She was about to go to a convenience store down the street when she heard someone in the lobby talking about how there was one on the second floor of the building. Keeley gave it a try and found it surprisingly well-stocked considering its size.

They even had bath bombs there. She had an overwhelming urge to try one out in that amazing Jacuzzi-style tub back upstairs but didn't know if it would leave a gigantic mess or not.

She figured it was something she should ask permission for first. She needed to update Aaron on how Dinah was doing anyway.

'Do you happen to know if using a bath bomb would clog the jets in your tub?'

'I don't even know what a bath bomb is'

Ah, she should have expected as much. Bubble bath should be fine though as long as she didn't use too much. Better safe than sorry. She put down the bath bomb with a longing look in her eyes and got bubble bath instead.

'No worries; I don't want to destroy anything so I won't. Dinah's doing fine by the way. I can tell she misses you though'

'She's a good cat. What have you been up to today?'

'Trying to find things to do since I watched way too much TV yesterday. I read up on one of the terraces earlier and am about to make some cookies'

He didn't respond again until she was back in the apartment and halfway through making the cookie dough. It was annoying that she had to cream things by hand since he didn't own an electric mixer. Hers was in her bedroom back at her dad's place.

'You should check out the fitness center on the third floor. It has a sauna, pool, and hot tub as well'

Geez, what didn't this place have? She had been here a handful of times and knew nothing about the amenities. Her old apartment building didn't have anything but the units themselves and a tiny parking garage with one car slot per apartment.

A hot tub would be even better than a bubble bath. She was totally going down there once these cookies were done.

'Thanks for the heads up' Feeling like she should be a bit more considerate since she would be able to enjoy the hot tub for free, she sent another text. 'How's Canada?'

'I've been in meetings for two days straight so not the best. It is a bit cooler here though, which feels nice. It's not as humid either'

Was he seriously talking to her about the weather? He always reverted to it when he had nothing else to say. Was he that desperate to keep the conversation going?

She had to wait for the cookies to bake anyway. She could humor him once they were onto a baking sheet. Aaron didn't have a cookie scoop either so she had to form the dough balls by hand.

Keeley figured she may as well bring up the hammock idea to see if he liked it. 'Do you ever hang out on the terraces?'

'Sometimes when the weather is nice. Why?'

'I noticed there's only one lawn chair out there. You might want to invest in a hammock; it would be a super comfy place to read'

'I've never been in a hammock. I'll have to take your word for it'

Never been in a hammock?! Right, he was a workaholic. Hammocks are kind of universally considered a lazy thing. She should have known.

'Go try one out at a store with outdoor furniture sometime. You won't be disappointed'

She realized something. The cat tree they picked out for Dinah had a hammock in it. His cat was more cultured than he was.

She laughed so hard that she leaned backward and crashed the kitchen chair to the floor. It hurt but she was so shocked that she just kept laughing. Why did it seem like laughing fits had become a more common part of her life since Aaron came back into it? 

He really wasn't a funny person—he was probably the most serious stick-in-the-mud she had ever met. What was funny was how ignorant he was of the world at large sometimes. He had grown up and lived in a bubble for the most part.

She helped him expand his horizons a little when they were dating but everything stagnated once they got married. His knowledge of simple, normal people things was still woefully lacking.

Keeley stopped laughing. Now that she thought about it, it was actually pretty sad. It wasn't entirely his fault he was so awkward. His parents were largely to blame.

When she finally picked herself up from the floor, it was because the first batch of cookies needed to be taken out of the oven. The timer she set on her phone was going off. At least Aaron had oven mitts.

She checked to see if he had responded after she put the next batch in—nothing. He must have more meetings. But why did she feel a tiny bit disappointed?