I’ll ask Alejandra if she knows where they are,” he said. I followed him into the main house, and he called for Alejandra.
We found her down in the basement doing laundry. After a brief discussion with hugs and promises to stay in touch, she showed us where we could find the boxes.
“How many do you think you'll need?” I asked him.
“No more than will fit in both our cars. I have a small storage unit near the school where I put all the stuff I took out of graduate housing. I only brought some of it with me.”
“Okay, just make sure you get anything you have to have in these first few boxes. I’m not saying your father won’t let you take anything with you, but—”
“But he may not let me take anything with me. You’re right. We better get busy then.”
We started with his room upstairs. I did the closet because all the clothes were going, and he started filling boxes with personal items. I made my way out of the closet with my arms full of clothes and tossed them on the bed. He looked at them for a minute, tilting his head and studying the pile of clothing.
“You know, I’m not getting rid of anything right now, just in case, but I hope I can donate most of those to this program Jordan was telling me about. They provide suits and other interview-appropriate clothing for men who don’t have it.”
“You two are going to be attached at the hip, aren’t you?”
“Probably. He’s great to talk to. He has so many ideas for how to better things for people. It’s a shame he doesn’t want to run for office.”
I laughed. “Jordan wants nothing to do with politics.”
“I know, he told me. He believes he can make a bigger difference working outside the system, and after hearing his plans, I’m not sure he’s wrong.”
Conrad had always believed that and made sure we were exposed to ways to help others, whether it was helping out at local soup kitchens or volunteering to help collect winter items for the homeless, he always had us working on some kind of project. He always said we could do more to make change happen one on one. It made me feel good to know that the man I was planning to spend my life with felt the same. He and Jordan were going to be a force to be reckoned with once he got his feet underneath him.
“Do you know what you want to try to do for work?” I asked, going back for another stack of clothes.
“No, all I know is I want to make a difference.”
“You will,” I said, putting down the clothes and pulling him to me. “I don’t doubt it for a second.” I kissed him, and he relaxed into me. Then he dropped his head to my chest and sighed.
“I honestly doubted that I would ever have this. The idea that I love you, and you love me back. That we’re going to build a life together, it’s almost overwhelming.”
“It is. I didn’t honestly plan to settle down anytime soon, but I hadn’t planned on you either, and I know it looks like we’re moving fast, but it doesn’t feel like it to me. Now, let’s get this stuff loaded up. We’ll have plenty of time to sort out what all we’re donating once we get home.”
We rushed to get everything out to the cars, and by the time everyone got back, we were done. Fredrick drove with the Senator, Trey’s mother, and sister, followed by the one with the two other security team members. “Okay, they’re back, I’ll shoot Fredrick a message letting him know I’m not on the property. Like before, you stay here at the main house until I return.”
“Okay, go on and get moving before they realize the back of the SUV is full of my stuff. I’m going to try to run up and talk to my sister, and then I’ll talk to my parents.”
“If you want to wait to talk to them until I’m here, I’m happy to go with you,” I reminded him.
“I know, but I need to do this on my own. You just get the security all set up and get back here because I have a feeling I’m going to be ready to get out of this place.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I’d put in a call earlier to Ryan to give him a heads up on