Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
ENFIELD
Because of my friendship with Nash, I think I’ve become a Van Doren loyalist. After we agreed to tour houses throughout California, I called Nash and asked about the Van Doren Real Estate Group, knowing they must have branches or whatever all over the state.
They do. He put me in touch with a local agent in Napa Valley, and we set up a video conference for that evening, where Xavi and I told him all the things we were looking for in a home.
Then we went over the locations we’d like to look around, including Longwood Crossing and the house Sparrow found.
We’re beginning in Longwood Crossing and working our way to Napa Valley.
Three days later, he has the names of realtors from different Van Doren offices to show us various houses, so now we’re loaded into my car and nearly at the first showing in Longwood Crossing.
Not the one Sparrow printed for us. While it has many of our wants, it’s grossly overpriced and is showing hints of foundation issues, which might explain the clause in the listing that the property is sold ‘as is.’
They’re going to be hanging onto that one for a while.
Shapiro is sitting on the dashboard and watching out the window.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Xavi has a whole vehicle set up for his cat.
He does. A little house setup in the backseat for privacy.
There’s a drinking and feeding station with spill-resistant bowls.
There’s even a litter box in the very back, should he need it.
Not to mention the heating pad on the middle console perch that Xavi set up.
I’m still shaking my head in amusement at the whole thing.
Especially since it doesn’t mean we don’t stop to take Shapi for walks.
Xavi is pretty determined that he needs to stretch his legs and smell the grass every couple of hours.
While I know it’s very different, I wonder if he realizes that he’s already a good parent. Shapi is a cat, I know. Cats don’t want or need constant supervision and care. Clearly, that’s incredibly different from young children. But he’s a great parent, nonetheless.
“It’s beautiful in this neighborhood,” Xavi says as we drive down the tree-lined street in Longwood Crossing just outside of Longwood University’s campus.
I slow down as we drive by the house that Sparrow showed us, and we park the car across the street to examine it.
“That doesn’t look anything like the picture on the listing,” Xavi says. “It’s far more run-down.”
“I think the picture must be old. The trees surrounding the house weren’t that tall.”
“It’s like when guys use a stock photo on their Thrustr profiles. As if you’re not going to notice that he’s eighty pounds heavier and a completely different race than the photo they chose.”
I laugh. “Wow. Have you fallen for that?”
He shrugs. “No. There are stories all over the place of it happening, though. Like when a guy brags that they have nine inches and then you get there and they whip it out and it’s barely five.
Like… did you think we wouldn’t notice the missing four inches?
That has happened to me. I walked out with him naked there, and he got mad and tried to post on ShareIt about me being an ass, so I screenshot his profile and made my own post with a tape measure at nine inches and one at five inches—I think I was being generous. ”
“Savage. What happened?”
“He deleted his profiles from ShareIt and Thrustr.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m not body shaming. I don’t care what you have. But I wanted a big dick that night, and he lied to me. Sometimes you’re in the mood for something specific, you know?”
“I can’t say dick size has ever crossed my mind for hookups, but sure.”
He rolls his eyes as I pull back onto the road and drive on.
“I’m a firm believer that all body sizes are beautiful.
I’m also a very loud advocate for honesty, and if you’re lying about something in your profile to lure someone there…
no. I don’t trust them. They’re lying about something I’m literally going to see the truth about as soon as they’re naked.
That’s not a lie they can maintain or hide.
So what else are they lying about? My health and my body are mine to protect, and if you can’t tell me the truth about your dick size, nothing about you is going into my body. ”
I’m grinning the entire time he talks. I’ve never heard Xavi talk so much at a single time. He’s animated and passionate about it, and it’s fucking adorable.
We pull up to the house that we’re scheduled to walk through, and it’s like night and day from the one we peeked at a moment ago. It’s beautiful and perfectly maintained, with manicured greenery and a bright exterior.
“That’s better,” Xavi says as he leans forward with his head against the window to look at it. “Come here, Shapi. Time to get your harness on.”
He gets the cat all decked out in his walking gear, and we climb out of the car. There’s a car parked on the opposite side of the road. Once we climb out, the door opens, and a gentleman joins us.
“Vinny Machone. Van Doren Real Estate,” he greets, offering his hand. We both shake, and I give him our names as well.
He joins us as we walk down the path to the front door and tells us about the neighborhood and property.
“This town was settled for its proximity to the lake, the gold mining towns south of here, and the expanse of green areas. This street was built in the early mid-1800s, around the same time that California became a state. It was primarily occupied by the wealthy due to the expansive green areas surrounding it. In 1981, the same year Longwood University was founded nearby, this house was completed. It was built by one of the first executives of Longwood, Mr. Darcy, and his wife, Florence, and their six children.”
He opens the front door and takes a step back.
“Take your time. I’ll be on the porch here when you’re finished.
Make sure you take a look at the backyard and all the buildings outside.
This is one of the few estates left in Longwood Crossing that are intact after selling off most of its land over the years.
All the buildings on the property are original and have been restored in the past twenty years. ”
“Thanks,” I tell him. With my hand on Xavi’s lower back, I guide him inside. Shapiro leads the way.
The entryway is grand and wide, as you would expect from an old house. The hand-carved wood fixtures are stained dark. There’s a stained-glass window in the wall on the landing of the stairs to the right that makes a rainbow of light fall across the floor.
“Wow,” Xavi says. He cranes his head to look up through the center of the stairs, where they wind up and up and up. “This is pretty cool.”
“We just walked in the door,” I remind him.
“You think people died here?” he asks, and I stare at him. “There could be ghosts.”
“And now I’m seeing who Xavi Adair really is.”
Xavi looks at me and grins. “This house is over a hundred years old. When people died a hundred years ago, they used to lay their bodies in one of the rooms of the house for viewing, and for friends to pay their respects. It’s not unheard of.”
“Let’s not buy a house based on any potential ghosts.”
“Just in case,” he says and looks around. “Hello. My name is Xavi. This is my fiancé, Enfield, and our cat, Shapiro. We’re just going to take a look around and maybe move in. We mean you no harm.”
When he’s done talking to no one, the house sounds eerily quiet. We look around and wait. Footsteps? Creaks? A door closing?
Nothing.
Xavi shrugs. He meets my eye. “Where do you want to look first?”
“Let’s take a look around the first floor and work our way up.”
He nods. I take his hand, and together, we go room by room and talk about what we like and what we might not like. To be honest, Xavi has far more opinions than I do regarding what he’s looking for in a house. My only stipulations are five bedrooms.
When we get to the second floor, Xavi becomes excited about the bedrooms there. There’s the exact setup I was referencing when I talked about having our own spaces. There’s the primary suite and the bride’s suite. They’re attached by a door connecting the sleeping chambers.
This alone sells him on the house. I have a distinct impression that the rest of our tour is just formality.
There are half a dozen more rooms throughout the house, not including the old servants’ quarters in the attic.
I really like that the previous owners who lived here didn’t try to erase the past as if it didn’t exist. The room is bare bones, just as it had been a hundred years ago.
There’s even the old call system that would notify them when they’re needed elsewhere.
We tour the backyard and find three more buildings.
Xavi is entranced by the big one at the back of the property, just peeking through the trees.
We follow a stone path that offshoots to different pieces of the property—a garden with a dramatic arch, a large fountain, and a pond.
There’s a stable or something off to the right.
Based on its shape, it probably was a stable at one point, but given the way it looks now, I’m not convinced it’s still just an outbuilding.
The house we come upon is probably what’s defined as a single-family house of reasonable size. It’s all stone and clearly very old. There’s a chimney at each end, and the shutters remind me of a Hansel and Gretel story—this is the witch’s house.
Xavi opens the door, and it’s beautiful. The stone and old wood beams are visible throughout. The entire bottom floor is open, which leads me to believe that it likely wasn’t a house originally. Back a hundred years ago, they tended to section off the different rooms.
There’s a bedroom on the first floor and three on the second. Three bathrooms throughout. A loft area that Xavi wants to have sleepovers in. Lots of little places all over the place for Shapi to explore.
The one-time stable is another guest quarters, but this one is set up more like a bunkhouse.
It’s rustic, with bunks on one end and a kitchen lining the opposite.
In the middle is the living space. There’s a single bathroom, and it’s also set up for multiple people.
Three toilet closets, an open shower with multiple showerheads, and a row of sinks.
Even though it’s made for a sports team or something, it’s still elegant and stunning.
As we’re standing at the fountain and admiring the stone carvings of the cherubs, Xavi leans into my side. “Okay, hear me out,” he says, and I know he’s about to make his bid for this house. He’s right in love. We haven’t even finished exploring the rest of the outside.
“What do you think the chances are that we can convince your baby mamas to move down here? There are two separate living spaces right here on the property so they could each have their own. That space over there,”—he points to the right where there’s an open green area—“we could build a whole huge playground complex for them. Ohhh. We could build a little schoolhouse!”
I chuckle and kiss the side of his head. “You want my kids that close?”
He sighs. “I don’t know. I want them close for you. It’s important to you, and therefore it’s super important to me. And… I would love to be close to Sparrow. This is three minutes from campus.”
“You’re suggesting I ask Sarah and Amelia to pick up their lives to move here temporarily,” I tell him. “And remember that I’ll have Ronan full time.”
Xavi nods again. He’s chewing his lip. I’ve come to the conclusion that this means he’s worried. Nervous. Anxious. “Yeah. I know.”
“How do you feel about it?”
He meets my eye, and he’s amused. “I think you know. I’m afraid of all the things but… I guess I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“Are you?”
Xavi inclines his head. “It’s a step forward in our lives together.”
I rest my head against his and stare at the gently falling water. Honestly, it would be really cool to have all my kids so close. Right here in the backyard.
“I’m not sure how to sell this to them. I really don’t think they’d go for it. Sarah isn’t close with her family, and I think she’d be the most open to it since she’s also self-employed and works from home. That’s not the case with Amelia.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want this. It was just an idea.”
“Actually, I think it would be amazing, Xavi. My kids, right out the back door. I can see them all daily. They’ll be close together and be able to form sibling bonds. I love that. I’m just… unsure I could get them to go for it.”
“This isn’t me pushing, but maybe just suggest it? And if they’re not open to the idea, then that’s okay. We move on and look at something closer to Napa Valley.”
Further away from Sparrow.
I nod minutely as I consider this. “Let’s go check out the rest. What do you want to bet that’s another guest quarters in the small shack?”
“Shack,” Xavi snorts. “Nothing on this property is a shack. Given its proximity to the pool, I’m guessing it’s a pool house. Either way, let’s check it out.”
As we continue through the property, I imagine our life here together.
The two of us in this big house, and my kids in the houses out back.
It’s a dream that feels unrealistic, but the more we wander around with Shapiro peeking in windows and under doors, I can see Ronan walking Shapiro around the yard.
I can see Lissander sitting beside the pool with a book.
I can see Theodora learning to crawl in the grass.
It’s difficult not to get my hopes up. I’ve never cared where I live. My only stipulation is being close to my kids. That’s the only thing I wanted in the world.
It’s so surreal to me that I want something else as much—I want Xavi. I want him by my side every single day. I want his happiness. I want to see him smile.
If that means being close to Sparrow, then that means I need to find a way to sell this idea of uprooting my kids and their mothers and convincing them to move to Longwood Crossing with us.