the "m" word

This past weekend was spent in Charleston, mostly, with my singing bird.
I drove up on Friday after work and then waited until he got off from his job and came home. I had known he would be at work and had no problem waiting, knowing I had about 45 minutes to myself and entertaining myself by catching up on some overdue phone calls. My bird was a little chagrined that I had to wait for so long in the car and, before I knew what was happening, he had given me a key to his apartment. Big step, for me certainly, and, I believe, for him, too.
Before you say anything, just let me state that some time earlier, I had attempted to give him a key to my place. When he came here to visit me, he would arrive a bit before I got off work and then he would wait in his car until I got home. I had told him I could leave a key outside, but he didn't think that was a good idea - color me relieved! Still, when he was visiting for a few days, with one of those days being a work day, I hadn't wanted him to feel trapped in the house, so I had placed my spare key by the door for him to use. He had chosen not to do so and the key remained where I had placed it throughout his visit.
Anyway, back to this past weekend. When he arrived home, we went to dinner, then watched the 2007 Oscar Shorts (two animated, two live-action, all excellent!) before going to bed. The next morning, we were up and off to Columbia and the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. My favorite blues band, Elliott & The Untouchables, were performing for their Springtime In The Garden Festival. Beautiful!!! Cool blues in a green place on a warm spring day... heaven! I danced and danced while my bird lounged on the new grass of the hill fronting the amphitheatre. It was truly a little slice of perfection!
Later, we went to the Penn Center to hear Gullah folk songs. A friend of my bird's was performing and he had invited me to come along, as neither of us had heard that music before. I think we would both agree that Gullah folk is still folk. Nice, but not my cup of tea, so to speak. After enjoying our own Music Festival, we had a late dinner and headed back to Charleston and bed.
The next morning, we watched the news: CBS Sunday Morning, the only news program I deliberately seek out. The weather promised thunderstorms and severe rain, so I opted to return to Savannah rather than attend the Cajun Festival there in Charleston. That's when he bounced upstairs and returned ... with a key. He told me he didn't want me to ever have to wait out in the car for him to get home. Nice!
Then we're cuddling on the couch, watching a little Jim Carrey movie, commenting about the action. You know: not really doing anything, just passing a little time. And out of the blue he says, "My lease will be up in five and a half months." Whoa! What?! I'm sure I must have stiffened up as I turned my head to look at him. He then says he's been looking at other apartments and was thinking about a job transfer to my town and I told him the truth: I had also been thinking about that option, but I didn't think I was ready to move in with him yet. I told him straight up that ten years had lapsed between the end of my first marriage and the time I was ready to try it again.
I am definitely not yet ready to try that "m" word again, and I don't know how I feel about this other "m" word. Moving in together. All of the responsibilities, none of the protections. Still, we are both thinking along the same lines and that's pretty amazing. We talk about a lot of things, but we don't talk about our feelings for each other. I think we're both a bit leery of that word "love" and we're letting our actions speak for us. That's a good thing, but we ARE going to have to discuss that word "love" and define what it means to each of us, what we want it to mean.
Meanwhile, I enjoy his company and he enjoys mine. That's special.