Chapter Fifteen
That night, I was in bed with my wife and—given that it wasn’t a fertile day, I was off the hook for sex. I was starting to put a lot more stock in the appeal of cuddling and talking. Once this impregnation box was ticked, I was looking forward to spontaneity. God, I hoped that would be soon.
“Do you think we should move?” I blurted out of the blue as we lay in the darkness.
She shifted against me. “What? Why?”
“There aren’t any kids on this island, for one thing.”
“So? And that’s not true. The Fredricksons have kids. Two of them.”
“Aren’t they teenagers?”
She hesitated. “Well, yeah I think one of them is in high school, other one is in junior high.”
“No one here has small kids. I’m wondering if there’s something we don’t know. Like maybe this isn’t a place for small kids.”
She shifted against me. “Just because there aren’t any small kids in this very small community right now doesn’t mean we—”
“What about the drowning risk? We’re right on the back bay.”
“We live in Southern California. We also have a pool.”
“We’d definitely have to drain the pool,” I mused out loud.
She sat up to look at me in the darkness. “Wait, what? It’s completely fenced off. Any pool built to code is.”
“There are a lot of risks. And plus...I don’t know. Do we want our kid to grow up a Newport Beach kid?”
She laughed, settling back so that her head rested on my shoulder. “Well, you might have a point there. But what’s the answer to that? It’s not like we can relocate to Anza or raise our kid in a small town out here. Plus, I’d could never hate my kid enough to raise him or her in Anza, anyway.”
I shrugged and her head bobbed accordingly. “Anza’s all right. I mean, its lack of hospital might make it difficult for you to finish your medical training or for us to receive immediate medical care.”
“Adam, I was joking. We aren’t moving up to the high desert. No, not the low desert either. And we can’t go out of state as I’m committed to my residency for at least two and a half more years. Since I like the hospital I’m working at, I don’t even want to leave the county, really. The thought of a long commute makes me gag, and I know I sound spoiled when I say that.”
I sighed. “There has to be an answer.”
“What are you planning on doing, commute by helicopter?”
“Nope, definitely too dangerous.”
She snickered. “Joking, again.” There was a long pause and she shifted against me, resting her hand on my chest. “Please promise me you won’t get like you do about this. Don’t fixate.”
I sighed. “I’ve got too much to worry about with this whole CEO handover and the board of directors and whatnot to fixate on other things.”
“Sure. Because you’ve never done that in the past...fixated on things in your personal life.”
She had a point there. “I just think there might be better options for us, for a young family. Sure, we’re deep in the heart of metropolis suburbia here but there might be options.”
“Well, if you’ve got the time to look into it, that’s fine. But you know, the baby doesn’t move around much for the first year. I’m not even pregnant yet so we really don’t even have to worry about any type of move for at least two years, yet.”
I considered that timeline. “That gives me a little time to do some research.”
I wrapped my arm around her waist. She turned her head to look up at me in the dim light. “Wouldn’t you miss living right on the beach like we do now?”
“It’s pretty hard to get anywhere in Orange County that’s far from the coast. That’s what cars—and my bike—is for.”
“While we’re on the subject of safety—”
Uh oh. Did I just walk myself straight into a trap?“Yeah?”
“Do you think it’s safe for a potential new dad to be managing busy traffic on that crazy thing?”
“Emilia—”
“Lane splitting—”
“It’s legal in California.”
“Just about the only state it is legal in, but it’s fucking dangerous.”
I took in a deep breath. “I told you I don’t do it...much.”
“Adam...”
“Okay, damn.” Fuck. Shit. How did I get myself into these situations? “Fine. No more lane splitting.”
“What might make me happier is if you didn’t ride it at all.”
“Except on Sundays on back roads going thirty-five?”
“Yup, you got it.”
I turned to look at her. “Now who’s the one fixating?” Though I arched a brow at her in the darkness, I doubted she could see.
“Fine, but I need to know that you’re doing everything to be safe.” Her voice was dead serious now, no more joking around.
“I am.”
“Because California drivers suck and are blind to motorcycles.”
“That’s what defensive driving is for.” She sighed and caressed my arm, and we were quiet for a long time, just holding each other. “I’ll stop doing it if it really bothers you that much.”
She kissed my chest. “I don’t want you to not be able to enjoy your bike. But maybe we can compromise. Like, you can check ahead and take your car when traffic is looking particularly gnarly.”
“I can do that.”
“And no—”
“No lane splitting, yeah, already got that one.” I grabbed a strand of her long hair and twisted it around my finger. “Now I’m going to ask something from you.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I want you to keep an open mind about moving.”
She sighed. “I’m going to be honest. I don’t have the time to go house shopping, I’m barely keeping my life together as is with all these long shifts and the way that he’s scheduling—I mean—the way that scheduling is looking going forward.”
“I’ll look around, do some research, get a realtor, I could weed out the stuff I know you’ll hate or that I don’t like and just show you the best candidates.”
She laid her head against mine. “That sounds good,” she said, sleep permeating her voice the way it did when I knew she only had a few more minutes left of consciousness before sacking out completely. “I just hope...”
“What? What do you hope?”
“I just hope it won’t all be for nothing,” she said, her voice sounding far away.
I smoothed her hair. “We’ve barely started trying. It won’t be for nothing.”
And that was the last conscious word I heard from her before her long, rhythmic breathing set in. I pulled the covers up to envelop her and kissed her hair. Then I rolled her so that her back was facing me. I promptly pulled her against me and curled myself around her body.
This right here? This was better than sex in my book. Okay, maybe it wasn’t categorically better than sex, but definitely better than baby-making sex.
I inhaled the scent of her hair and a peaceful warmth took me over. My eyes closed and I couldn’t imagine a better moment of my life than this.
The following morning, I called and left a message for my friend, Dom, asking for the name and number of his real estate guy.
He did me one better by calling me directly a few hours later.
“What’s a busy and successful CEO like you doing not delegating phone calls to your assistant?” I asked with a laugh.
“I’ve got time in my schedule for other busy and successful CEOs like you.”
“Well thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“So, you’re looking for a new property?”
“Looking for something a little quieter. Maybe an atmosphere conducive to family life. But not too far away. I know that’s a lot. You’re probably going to suggest something in south county.”
“On the contrary. I live in the canyons. Have you been out that way?”
“Silverado, once or twice.”
“That’s nearby. Modjeska, Trabuco. I happen to live in Canyon Hollow. And I know of an agent who specializes in the area.”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll take a drive out there and check it out.”
“It’s quiet out there, except maybe on the weekends when people come in for hiking the back country. Lots of trailheads into Cleveland National Forest start out there. But there’s some wildlife. Quirky but fun people. Small town atmosphere but not a long commute. To be fair, I’m biased. I grew up in Canyon Hollow.”
“Even the name of it sounds like it’s out of a storybook.”
“I’d strongly suggest you consider it.”
And with that, he gave me the name of his real estate agent and my next call was to her.
And an hour later I had an appointment to meet her the following week at the Canyon Hollow Café to have lunch. She wanted to show me around to get a feel for the community and find out my needs and preferences.
Talk about a new beginning and big changes. If the job thing and the starting a family thing weren’t enough, then adding a move into the mix was probably just enough to push things over the top.
Emilia would laugh if I ever said this out loud, but she was right—I never did things halfway. Especially when it came to massive life changes.