The Neighbour ✔️

EPILOGUE

14TH DECEMBER 2022

"I'm so glad our parents decided to come together for Christmas. I can't wait." Callie says, admiring the tree in Artie's flat.

Artie glanced over at the decorated fir too. He'd never had a Christmas tree in his flat before, but once Callie had run out of space in her flat to decorate and asked if she could decorate his, he couldn't say no to her gorgeous blue eyes. "Me too." He confesses, snuggling against his girlfriend in their matching pyjamas.

Something else he never thought he'd do.

"The coloured lights really give me a nostalgic feeling." He adds, kissing the hair of Callie.

"Me too!" She chuckles, sipping on her hot cinnamon chocolate whilst she pulls her blanket up and over her legs.

They cozy down for the dark, festive evening, watching a Netflix Christmas movie, whilst talking every now and then and making little jokes. Callie's phone pings and she picks it up, showing it to Artie.

"Awh, look at this photo of Freddie in his school play!" She chuckles giddily as she fires back a text to her cousin.

Artie smiles down at the photograph and admires Callie's bright face as she stares at the photo with so much love. He knows she wants children, but they haven't had the talk quite yet. "Kinda makes you want one, doesn't it?" He says as if he's testing the water with a toe.

Callie locks her phone. She's been secretly pining over becoming a mother ever since Grace and Nate announced they were pregnant two months ago. She'd been dropping hints here and there to Artie. "Yeah." She replies simply. She cheers herself on to be braver and meets Artie's eyes. "I've been thinking about it a lot recently." She didn't dare mention it in case Artie thought it was too early.

She'd never once thought about having a baby at all through her relationship with Eddie, but Artie just feels right.

"Me too." Artie admits. And he had. He notices her little hints, and he sees her face when they pass a baby in the supermarket, or she spots a specifically cute baby grow when out shopping. "How about once the tenancy is up, we get a house?"

Artie's tenancy had finishes after Christmas and the pair had already agreed to move in together into Callie's flat.

"That sounds good with me."

"Then we can start trying?" Artie asks unsurely, raising an eyebrow, worried about what she might think.

Callie jumps up onto her knees and turns to face Artie excitedly. "Really?"

"Really."

6TH JUNE 2023

And Artie kept his word. One year after the date they met, Callie's tenancy finished.

They moved into a three bedroomed cottage in York with a big kitchen, beams along the ceiling, and a view to die for from their garden.

"I didn't know painting was that tiring." Callie chuckles as she sits down harshly beside her boyfriend.

"I'm shattered." Artie chuckles, picking up a ice cold glass of lemonade. "Why did we pick one of the hottest days of the year so far to paint?"