SEPTEMBER, 1987, SEATTLE, WA
"DO YOU LIKE it here or should I move it over more?"
Kurt stood precariously on the seat of a wooden chair, hanging one of his many unusual paintings on the wall of his tiny new bedroom.
Lindy stood behind him, squinting as he repositioned the canvas.
"Move it an inch . . . yeah, right there is good."
Although Krist, Shelli and Kurt had been moved in to their new Seattle home for a few weeks, Kurt had gone recently crazy in creating new decorations to spruce the place up. He'd crafted a wide collection of babydoll heads, paint splattered murals and odd looking sculptures with gruesomely twisted limbs. Shelli had been a little uneasy about him placing his artwork in the living room, so he had to settle for his own bedroom as a museum of his belongings.
Kurt hung the picture, jumping down from the chair and stepping back to analyze his handiwork. After a minute of scrutiny, he shook his head.
"I don't like that one, I think I've got a better one around here somewhere."
Lindy laughed, collapsing backwards on his small bed and watching as he sifted through a stack of canvas in the corner of the room.
"Now I know what to get you for Christmas," she grinned. "More paint."
Kurt chuckled, turning away from his search to join Lindy on the bed, He kissed her neck as he laid down, stretching out beside her.
"I'm glad you don't have class on Tuesdays. Every day that you're not here is so boring."
"Are you still looking for jobs?" Lindy asked lightly.
"Maybe," Kurt grumbled.
Even though Lindy knew he was overjoyed to be in Seattle with her, she sensed Kurt was growing antsy being cooped up in the small house. All that he truly aspired to do was either write music and play guitar, or spend time with Lindy. While she approved of all those past-times, none of them were presently putting money into his pocket.
Lindy's classes had been demanding straightaway, requiring her full attention from the day she started. College life was as enticing and freeing as she had imagined it to be, and walking on campus every day and sitting in lectures made her feel excited rather than indifferent.
She'd been struggling a little in biology, but other than that, her other nursing prerequisite courses had so far been going smoothly. She felt like she was living in a parallel universe, one in which she was free to make her own choices and call the most wonderful human being she'd ever met hers.
She missed Trae dearly, but as far as she knew, he was doing well back in Aberdeen with his new job. Having Kurt, Krist and Shelli was nearly just as nice as having Trae around, and her dormitory roommate, a petite brunette named Jacqueline, wasn't so bad either.
"If you had a job, that would ease the pain," Lindy teased, though there was some seriousness behind what she said. She tapped Kurt's nose with her finger.
"You sound like Shelli, going on about a job," Kurt said, sitting up and reaching over to his shabby little nightstand where a glass-blown smoke bowl sat.
"Shelli wants you to help pay bills, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, and I want to help you . . . study."
Kurt smirked slightly, rummaging through the nightstand drawer until he produced a plastic bag of weed. With the flair of an artisan at work, he crumbled flakes of the pot until they were nearly ground up, packing the bowl tightly.
