Slowburn

Chapter 23

        The apartment was in a closer neighborhood to Fuoco Lento, but farther from Val and his school. As promised, Renzo picked me up at 1pm and drove us here to have a viewing of the place. He was obviously close enough to the family that they'd given him a spare key to take me there himself. He did say it was a family friend. 

It was a townhouse and upon entering you could see the place was structured as a perfect square. The kitchen was the front left hand side with its corner counter and overhead cabinets. It had white walls, grayish countertops, and stainless steel appliances. 

There was a short breakfast nook that cut the space in half, so that the back left hand corner was the living room, spanning across the back wall, which held a bay window down to the street view. We were on the second floor. 

The sofa was really a teal colored love seat, which didn't overwhelm the spacing of the living room, but popped against the cleaner color palette of the space. With that bay window so prominent it lit the main room beautifully. 

An area rug cut the shape of this living room. There was a tv stand, which was designed with a white block style bottom and wood countertop that held the flat screen television. Along that same wall in the back right hand corner was a door to the bedroom, which had the connecting bathroom. The flooring was hardwood and shiny.

        I was stunned by the cleanliness and beauty of the practically new looking space, so I quietly walked further inside to look at the bedroom/ bathroom suite. The room was also square to match the rest of the apartment's layout. The bed was queen sized and had a teal duvet a similar color to the sofa in the other room. 

There was actually a brick accent wall in the bedroom that I really enjoyed. When they renovate old spaces in Boston properties they usually have some industrial styles left over, which makes the place unique in my opinion. 

A short nightstand was on either side of the bed, but there was a modest walk-in closet where the clothes were kept by the old woman. They were neatly packed towards the back, which left plenty of space for my own belongings. 

Other than these clothes there wasn't much of a trace of someone actually living here aside from one picture on the nightstand of the old woman and her family I assume.

        The bathroom had only a stand up shower, no tub, and a beautiful ceramic sink without much counter space, but beneath it there was space for bathroom items. Obviously there was a white porcelain toilet as well. 

"You haven't seen the best part" Renzo's voice took me out of my trance. I almost forgot he was here, quietly studying me as I took everything in. He waved me out of the bedroom back into the main space, and I don't know how I missed the half walled nook at the front right hand corner of the apartment across from the kitchen. 

        When I walked in I fell in love. The same brick accent wall could be seen that followed along from my bedroom. On the other wall from floor to ceiling was a redwood bookshelf filled to the brim with books of all sizes, widths, and colors. The only other thing in there was a suede armchair that looked lived in. The cushions showed me that this space was loved and used often. I don't blame the woman. 

"I love it" I breathed. The red brick wall and reddish wood tone of the bookshelf somehow made this space feel homier than the rest of the beautiful modern home, like it was it's own little escape. If I had my own apartment I would want this in it. I love to read.

"I thought you might" Renzo commented, but I realized I never told him I liked reading and he doesn't even know me well enough to know my style for anything. I guess he is a good judge of character. Now that I think of it he had been in my bedroom and I had a stack of books beside my bed.