Matilda has lived on her own for such a long time.
She had no plans on living with Steve so early in their relationship.
At the time the couple were still moony-eyed for each other, plus that’s when the COVID lockdown protocols were active. The couple had to choose to stay together for the next few (what all of us thought would be) months, or stay apart for that duration. Matilda and Steve decided to shack up, and of course that lockdown lasted for so long. Were they happy they did it? Yes, they are, although there are small annoyances that Matilda loathes like hwo Steve operates the air conditioning system. Because Steve has apparently never had to worry about money, he has never considered how much the air conditioning system impacts the weekly utility costs. When grandma and grandpa pay your costs, why would you wonder about something as trivial as air conditioning system costs? Now that his grandparents were not footing the power costs, Matilda had to talk to him about not setting the temperature control quite so low. Things didn’t go as Matilda wanted, but the bottom line was that Steve would pay the full utility costs himself every month if it meant he could operate the air conditioning as much as he wanted. Matilda agreed to that, and has been chilling her tits off ever since, because if the air conditioning system ever stops even for a short period, Steve will make it turn back on! It’s his money so Matilda knows she can’t complain, however … brrrrrr!