I’m finally moving. I’m the girl on the train with the unwieldy stack of empty boxes.

I will be sharing a house with the two men who own it and one other renter. My new roommates drink. I saw some bottles of liquor on a tray in the kitchen.

Seeing the liquor didn’t alarm me unduly. I’ve always had access to alcohol. Admittedly, though, I haven’t had it in the house. I’d like to play it off like it’s no big deal but (sigh) I suppose it is, or could be, and I should spend some time getting prepared.

I haven’t told them yet that I don’t drink. I know I need to do it soon. They probably won’t even care. But still, I’m not looking forward to interrupting an otherwise cheerful conversation with those dreaded words, “Just so you know…”

I suppose I could make things easier on myself by finding a house where no one drinks. I could also go to AA every night and avoid social events featuring alcohol. But I’ve already decided I’m not going that route. I want to live in the real world. If the real world has a washer/dryer, even better.

One of my new roommates told me I “gave off a really good energy.” That is a perfect example of the kind of thing I would have found corny in the past. But now I'm really pleased to hear it, and what's more, I think it's probably true.

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