Chapter Text
It was a long six months as Julie finished up her second semester of college, and Matt worked on his art and in his gallery and tried to be patient. Through Julie he heard all about her parents packing up and moving to Philadelphia, her mom’s new job, Coach’s search for a school in Philadelphia that needed a football coach and his eventual hiring on at a small school with a terrible record. Coach had thrown himself into the work, which was not a surprise to Matt. Coach Taylor loved to take an underdog and make it into a winner. Texas or Pennsylvania, nothing would change him too much.
In May, Matt drove to Texas to pick up Julie from school, packing the contents of her dorm room into his car—a tight squeeze, even though she’d already shipped quite a few things to Chicago. They stopped in Dillon for a couple of days to spend time with his grandma. She was fading, Matt saw with sadness. She recognized Matt almost immediately, but it took her some time to remember Julie.
In the car again, driving north, Julie was quiet for a while before speaking up suddenly. “We should get married in Texas, so your grandma can be there. And we shouldn’t wait too long.”
Matt looked over at her. “I was thinking that, too. But … your parents wanted a long engagement.”
Julie smiled. “That was when they were still in Texas, an hour away from me, and had time to worry about me. Now my mom is so full of everything going on at her job and Gracie Belle’s new school and my dad is all in on turning around the football program at his school, so when they call we talk about them more than we talk about me. Which is great,” she added. “Did you know my dad wants to learn how to ski? I think he’s crazy. He’ll run into a tree or something.”
“Doesn’t surprise me at all.” Matt grinned. “So we’re going to Philadelphia for the Fourth of July, is that the plan?”
“Yeah. We can pick up the rest of my stuff while we’re there.”
“You know my apartment doesn’t expand with every box you bring in, right?”
“Our apartment,” she corrected, reaching for his hand.
“Our apartment.”
“You’ll just have to make room.”
“I know.” He smiled at her. “I’ve been counting the days.”
“Then hurry up and drive, Matt Saracen.”
“We’ll be in Chicago before you know it.”
Julie sighed, leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes.
They arrived in Chicago late at night, parking the car and stumbling up the stairs to the apartment, leaving all Julie’s stuff until tomorrow. Somehow, they managed to make room for most of it the next day, and with a minimum of arguing, but a lot of stopping in the middle of unpacking a box to undress each other.
Julie had managed to transfer to a small college in Chicago with a good English department. She was taking a couple of summer classes to get core courses out of the way and start meeting people at the school, and she got a job at a clothing boutique a few blocks from their apartment shortly after she moved in.
They settled into a smooth routine faster than Matt had expected. Julie threw herself into her new life—not just becoming part of what Matt had already built, but making her own friends and starting to find new interests of her own, which made it all the sweeter when they had time free to spend with one another. She brought a new dimension to his art; he helped ground her writing and bring it to life. Before long, he wondered how he had ever lived without her—and he hoped he never had to find out again.
True to Julie’s prediction, her parents had calmed down about their relationship, too distracted with the changes they had made to focus too thoroughly on Julie’s. And it was clear to Matt that they were relieved to hear about all of the ways Julie was making Chicago her own. As the summer went on, the frequent calls between Julie and her mother became more harmonious, as they hurried to tell each other everything going on in their lives.
Lying in bed with her, listening to her deep breathing as she slept and the sounds of Chicago in motion all around them, Matt could imagine their future—a small wedding in Texas with his grandma present, and a larger one to make her parents happy after Julie had graduated. His own gallery, maybe, or work at an advertising firm; Julie writing for a local paper while she worked on her first book. And then someday a baby, a little girl, Rainey—short for Lorraine Taylor Saracen, after his grandma—and a move to a small house a little farther out in the city.
But that all lay ahead of them. For now, Matt had everything he could ask for.