Chapter 31 - The Blank Canvas
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The move to the new apartment felt like the final, physical severing of the past.
It wasn't a sprawling mansion or an overly decorated penthouse. It was a spacious, light-filled loft in a converted warehouse district. Exposed brick, high ceilings, and completely empty.
Claire stood in the center of the living room holding a single cardboard box labeled Kitchen Essentials.
For the first time in her adult life, she didn't have to consider anyone else's taste. There were no antique armoires to place carefully so Daniel wouldn't bump his shins. There were no rigid color schemes dictated by Evelyn's oppressive aesthetic rules.
"It's very... echoey," Nora commented, walking through the front door carrying two large pizzas and a six-pack of craft beer.
"It's a blank canvas," Claire corrected, taking one of the pizza boxes.
Nora set the beer down on the only piece of furniture in the room: a small folding table.
"Are you going to paint the brick?"
"Absolutely not," Claire said, opening a box and grabbing a slice. "I like the texture. It feels grounded."
They sat on the floor, eating pizza and watching the sunset cast long, warm shadows across the empty space.
"So, no Daniel, no Evelyn, no Vanguard crisis this weekend," Nora mused, popping the cap off a beer. "What are you actually going to do with yourself?"
Claire looked around the empty room, a small, genuine smile playing on her lips.
"I'm going to buy a really comfortable couch," Claire decided. "And then I'm going to sit on it and do absolutely nothing."
Nora laughed, raising her bottle in a toast.
May you like
"To doing absolutely nothing."
Claire clinked her beer against Nora’s. It was the best toast she had ever made.
