The weeks following my engagement to Mr. Thrift were some of the most intense weeks of my life. During the course of a week, Mr. Thrift and I had to find a new place to live, deal with the insurance company, and replace all the things we had lost in the fire. We also had to explain the situation to our families, who were both extremely happy and sad for us. Our entire families showered us with congratulations and condolences. It was surreal, exciting, stressful, and completely absurd.
Although both of us had lost a lot of personal objects in the fire, we tried not to spend too much time spending sorry for ourselves. We were extremely grateful that no one was hurt in the fire. The firefighters did an amazing job, and they even rescued someone's pet goldfish! The fire damage was on the third floor, and we lived on the second, so we ended up with a lot of smoke and water damage. It could have been much worse. Mr. Thrift was relieved that his guitar was unharmed, and I was dumbfounded that the sprinklers had not destroyed a series of watercolor paintings I had recently completed. We couldn't believe how lucky we really were.
(photo by Thrift Girl)
Our building a few days after the fire. The roof of the building was completely gone. By the time we were able to enter the building to salvage some of our things, mold was already growing on all of our furniture and walls.
(photo by Thrift Girl)
The fire was started on the porch above ours. The students living in this apartment had a couch on their porch, which caught fire from a stray cigarette. The fire spread quickly to the roof and got out of control.
The following week, Mr. Thrift and I, along with our roommate, began the hunt for a new place to live. We were incredibly fortunate that a condo community nearby offered to waive the fees for the victims of the fire. We began replacing the furniture and housewares that had been destroyed in the fire, and slowly but surely things began to feel a little more normal, and Mr. Thrift and I were able to actually feel the excitement and giddiness that comes with being a freshly engaged couple. The following weekend, we looked forward to a celebration with our families, and Mr. Ring was finally able to place a ring on my finger.
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