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City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"Might as well have dairy cows then!"

Imagining their life on a farm, Ele's cheeks hurt from smiling so much,

"But I have to let you know, before I met you, I did imagine a very traditional romance. You know, dating, engagement, marriage, then a family... Somehow you and I managed to combine the dating and living together part of things."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"If we're talking a farm, you have to have horses!"

Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, Ele leaned on the counter with her phone tucked between her shoulder and ear,

"I've always liked to look at horses, but I've only ever pet them."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"Choke up on that stick and keep your eye on the ball!"

Laughing, Ele sat up and went to her kitchen to get dinner.

"And I want a golden retriever. We can name him Beau."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"I don't know, I've always seen myself with a baseball team,"

She giggled,

"I'll be the manager if you're the coach."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"A house full of animals sounds good, but we may have to negotiate on the kids..."

Ele said, smiling,

"Because I want a lot of kids."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"No I did not! I'm asking specifics now!"

Ele giggled, rolling onto her back again, feeling like a teenager talking to her boyfriend,

"You said you want a family, but I'm talking about kids, as in more than one. Big family? Single child? 2.5 children with a dog?"

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"Well I am an unknown number saying that I am calling a favor from a friend. He probably wants to verify that I'm not some weirdo."

Smiling more now, Ele imagined the store and Tyler working with the kids,

"So, random question, but do you want kids?"

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"No, I haven't heard back from him."

Biting her thumbnail, Ele closed her eyes as she tried to calm her mind into a state where she could sleep,

"If he doesn't get back to me by tomorrow afternoon, I'll probably call Kate and have her come stay with me. We'll plan how to slowly redecorate the house, little by little, until I've fully taken over."

Managing to tease Tyler, Ele smiled and rolled onto her front,

"Did you have a good day at work?"

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

"I just wanted to hear your voice,"

Ele said, smiling as relief washed over her as she listened to Tyler's calming voice,

"Today was kind of scary. At least I didn't faint, or break down! I managed to tell Mom and... yeah... That I didn't want them there and that they needed to leave."

City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

Packing what she could take on the plane, Ele also got to work beginning to clean her apartment, changing into sweats and a tank top for the job. She had lived in the space for three years, so there was a lot to go over, but she was happy for the distraction. She knew that she would have to get out of the apartment the next day to go to the manager's office, as well as the post-office and bank to transfer her information to Michigan, so cleaning helped her keep herself occupied while her TV made noise in the background.

That night as Ele crawled into bed, she sighed and laid on her back, staring at the ceiling. Cleaning had wiped her out, but her mind was still racing. Picking up her phone, she dialed Tyler, hoping he would pick up.