Time warp: Moving

[Joshua Bernstein]

2010

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Josh was grateful for many things, not the least of which were his family and friends. Although he didn't have as many belongings as some, he still had enough that moving was difficult alone.

Boxes of books, a wardrobe box of suits, his collection of Judeica, a few kitchen items well meaning people had given him over the years that he swore he would use and then didn't. Dishes, utensils, a toaster. Cleaning supplies. Linens.

The usual accoutrements of a household. A household he'd always thought of as minimal until he had to move it across state lines.

But Matt and Michelle had taken off work, as had David and Talia, to help him.

And, more importantly, to help move the elder Bernstein's. Bobby'd mental decline was almost more difficult than hauling their furniture.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had been more ecstatic than befit his age or the task ahead of him; however, the notion of living in the same town as his best friend for the first time in twenty years was too exciting to ignore or to downplay. Even his knowledge about the other reason for the move did little to mitigate his elation.

Most of the Bernstein clan had gone to Burlington to help Charlie and Bobby move into their retirement complex. This had left the telepath essentially alone with Josh as the two of them unloaded the boxes from the moving van into the attorney’s new house.

Sean didn’t mind, just as he didn’t mind the fact that he was the only person involved in this move who was not a Bernstein by blood or by marriage. The labor was more than worthwhile, given that he would benefit from his friend’s presence in Vermont more than any other member of the Bernstein family, save his parents.

“Do you want to put the contents away as we bring the boxes inside? Or would it be better just to pile them all in the living room and work from there?”

Sean knew what he would prefer, but this was Josh’s house, not his. The younger man had to make all of the moving-related decisions; the telepath was merely a set of hands and company.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Let's just pile them in the living room first."

Emptying the van would provide a much needed sense of accomplishment.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean acknowledged that with a nod. “Can do.”

With that, he set down his burden near a wall in the otherwise bare-walled and mostly empty living room. The telepath paused a moment to stretch, since moving at fifty-two qualified as an extreme sport, before he exited the house and returned to the van.

At least the worst of it, insofar as being heavy and burdensome, had belonged to Bobby and Mama B, and thus had accompanied them to Burlington. Josh’s belongings constituted the leftovers.

Arriving at the van, Sean rooted around to find two boxes that he could pile atop one another, thus saving himself another trip. They were a might unwieldy, and so he walked carefully, minding his steps. The house was new to him, which meant that he had yet to memorize obstacles in his path, and that required greater care.

“How does it feel to finally move into an adult home?” He asked his friend with a grin. Josh’s apartment back in New York City had been far too small, in Sean’s opinion, even if he knew that his own house on the other side of town was too large (albeit not for family planning). Josh’s new home constituted a happy medium.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I'm going to have to learn to do yard work." Josh replied as he gingerly lowered his own box to the ground. "But isn't every place I've lived an adult home? I've been an adult in every one I've owned."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean leaned against the wall, taking the support so that he could remove one box and lower it to rest atop another. From there, he set down the other box. Slowly but surely, they would finish this task.

Turning to face his friend, he shrugged slightly. “Yard work isn’t that bad, all things considered. Besides, you can meet the neighbors, learn who has a teenager and might want some pocket money, and then pay him or her to rake leaves or mow the lawn or shovel the driveway.” That was how the telepath had handled his yard tasks for the past several years, and he saw nothing wrong with that. It benefitted everyone involved.

Then he cocked his head in Josh’s direction. “Your last apartment was smaller than back when we lived together, and you were a student back then.” Not that the attorney needed the reminder; he surely remembered the apartment in the Village as keenly as Sean himself did.

“This is a full-sized home. Somewhere you can actually have house guests without them sleeping on a sofa in the living room.” Not that Sean had minded. The pull-out hadn’t been great for his back, but he had always considered it a fair exchange to visit with Josh.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"It was big enough for me and Mopsy," Josh began, but then Sean mentioned guests and he smiled. "Are you planning on spending the night often? You can help me choose furniture."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had no doubt of that on the one hand. He knew that Josh had earned more than enough at his firm that, if he had wanted a larger apartment or a townhouse, even with the steep escalation of New York City rents, he could have afforded to move long ago. On the other hand, Sean had not lived in a space as small as Josh’s apartment since the telepath had been in college. The thought of living somewhere that small throughout his entirely 40s boggled him.

No, he was far too old for that.

Sean smiled as well. “That depends. Are you interested in sleepovers? I can bring my footie pajamas.”

That was only a mild exaggeration. The telepath always slept in pajamas, although none of them had feet, not at his age.

“I’d be happy to take you furniture shopping,” he added, as he left the living room in step with the other man in order to fetch more boxes from the van. “But you might want to reconsider the invitation when everything I choose has a nautical theme.”

That, too, was an exaggeration. While the psychiatrist was fond of sailing, even his own home lacked tacky nautically-themed décor. He would not inflict that on Josh.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Beer, pizza, news coverage. That would all be better with a sleepover, don't you think?"

Not that Sean needed to spend the night given how close they lived now, but it would be exciting.

"But please don't go for a nautical theme. We live in the mountains, thematically everything ought to be bears."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean lifted one box and handed it to his friend, before hefting another into his arms. The trips back and forth from the van to the house were slowly becoming habit, as he adjusted to the path between driveway and front door. The van slowly emptied as well, which filled the telepath with a sense of accomplishment.

“You make a valid point,” he said with a grin in his friend’s direction. “Although, since you’re living up here now, we’ll have to vary your diet a bit. Not just pizza. There’s that Greek place I like, and the Chinese restaurant I take you to when you visit...”

Pilot Ridge had surprisingly varied food culture, given how homogeneous the rest of Vermont was. The telepath took pride in the diversity of their town.

“You’re right, of course,” he conceded with a nod, as he set down his burden. “We can make your house bear-themed. I saw a bear-shaped rug – not real, of course – (as both men opposed hunting for sport), that we could put in your master bedroom. I can knit you a nice brown and green quilt for your bed, and we can get furniture made from logs to match the rest of the décor.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Log furniture!" Josh repeated as he stepped into the bright sunlight had made his way toward the van. "Must we make it ourselves? Surely there's a carpenter somewhere around Pilot Ridge."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I’m sure there’s a carpenter to be found.” Pilot Ridge had a few rugged individualists involved in all manner of crafts. Surely, they could find a carpenter to design from scratch, but that had not been the path of Sean’s thoughts. “But I know there’s a furniture store in Burlington that sells log furniture for cabin decorations. I’ve driven by it when running errands, and I’d be happy to take you there.”

They would see how long this game of bluff lasted.

Another trip to the van, and this time Sean thought he saw a candle wick sticking out from the box. That was a good sign, he thought, as Josh didn’t own so much that there could be too many boxes of Judaica and decorations.

“And we can get you a bear-themed shower curtain. Actually, two different bear-themed shower curtains, as long as you make sure that nobody from your family ever uses that bathroom. Burlington sells some unique wares during Pride.”

With the legalization of same-sex marriage in Vermont the previous year, all manner of niche home items had popped up. “A bear flag would look nice, I think,” he mused with a smile. After all, Josh was the one who had bought him the bear tee shirt those years ago.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I can get bear themed and then bear themed and swap when anyone comes to visit." Josh suggested, pressing one hand into the small of his back. "And I think that's the last of it. Ready to help unpack?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I support that plan,” Sean said with a smile. Considering how easy it was to put up and taken down shower curtains, the only problems would arise if Josh’s family dropped by unexpectedly, as Josh’s family were the only ones in the world unaware of his sexual orientation. (And, even that, not all family members were equally unaware.) Given that now his siblings and their families lived several states away, the telepath could guarantee they would only visit with warning. As for Josh’s parents, with Bobby’s deterioration and his mother’s macular degeneration, it was far less likely for Mama B to stop by without calling first. That would put him in the clear.

Sean then took a moment to stretch, nodding. “I am.” The mere thought of being done with the lifting was enough to put a spring in his step.

He reached out his hands, gesturing with a finger to indicate that his friend should turn around. “Do you want a quick rub? It might make this go faster.”

Josh was turning fifty this year. Sore muscles were an inevitable part of moving before factoring middle age into the equation. And the telepath had always been generous with back rubs for his friends.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh turned so that his back was to his friend.

"Only of you allow me to return the favor." He warned. His career often involved being on his feet, but rarely did he engage in repeated lifting of heavy objects. He could feel it in his arms and calves and thighs, a creeping soreness that would be all the worse tomorrow. His feet throbbed, but there was more yet to do.

He would take some pain killer later.