“Are you new to the area? Or moving from around here?”
“We’re moving down from Sacramento,” my dad answers. “Though my wife is from here.”
“Sacramento! Where about?”
“Right around Land Park and Richmond Grove.”
Jasper exhales a long, drawn out whistle. “That’s some fancy roots you have there.”
My dad lets out a nervous laugh. “We just moved there about two years ago from Monterey,” he tells him. “Work has me going all over.”
“Wait a minute,” Jasper says with a slight rise of surprise in his voice. He has a loose hand pointed in my dad’s direction, and it’s the face that we’ve seen one too many times back home. I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly here. “You’re the Kings’ new head coach.”
My dad huffs an awkward laugh. “Sure am,” he answers with a polite smile.
“I thought you looked familiar.” He turns to Josh. “Josh, we got a celebrity next door.”
“Oh, no. No, no. I’m no celebrity. Just doing my job.”
“I’m a huge fan,” Jasper adds. “Though my kids have been trying to convert me into a Lakers fan for years.”
“Are you from up north?”
He nods. “Grew up in Santa Cruz. I moved down here after me and my wife got married.”
My dad’s face lights up. Though we’ve been all over Northern California, it’s the vast area that spans from Monterey to Sacramento that’s home. So while we have no small tight knit community, it’s the familiarity of the area that we feel attached to. “Hey! Nice to meet someone from back home,” he says, adding a friendly handshake and hefty pat to Jasper’s shoulder.
“So are you taking up a different job? You didn’t back out of your contract? Or is that confidential information?” Jasper asks, poking fun at the level of discretion my dad has to keep in relation to his job.
“Oh, no. Nothing like that,” my dad assures. “This is my in-laws’. Was,” he corrects. “Ours now, I guess. Anyway, my wife’s going to take the year to clear it out, enjoy it one last time before we sell it and this guy goes off to college.” He hooks a hand over my shoulder, grinning proudly at me.
“I’m sorry,” Jasper offers with a stern face of condolence. “Mr. Allen was a nice man. Always let the kids back there when one of their toys flew over into his yard.” He juts his chin toward our house.
“Daddy! What’s taking so long?”
We all peer at the car with the doors still open, a blast of radio music streaming out from the speakers. I see the girl, Christine, look in our direction with a set of curious eyes. Her lips are pressed together and twisted to one side while she sits impatiently.
“I’ll catch you later,” Jasper tells my dad. “We got a birthday thing to head out to, and now we’ve got to pick up the cake.” He chuckles warmly, extending his hand to my dad again. “It was nice meeting you both.”
“Nice meeting you too,” my dad answers. We turn back to our waiting bags as Jasper hops into the driver’s seat with everyone buckled and waiting. I glance back at the front passenger seat as Jasper pulls out of the driveway, only to see Christine peering at me through the window. I see her lips lift in a small smile, the sentiment reaching her eyes as they soften, and I smile back.
CHAPTERTHREE
Teeny
NOW
When Leoand I were house hunting eight years ago, we weren’t picky home buyers. We just wanted something modest where we could watch our daughter, Sadie, grow up. Somewhere safe with a decent school district and enough room for us to eventually bring home a yellow lab like I’ve always wanted. We finally found one not too far from my parents’ house, the place I’d grown up and where my brothers hadn’t strayed too far from as well. We could still stop by on the weekends and drop off Sadie for an overnight stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. James and his family could come over for Sunday Night Football or a random weekend barbeque. While it needed some work, it was perfect for our growing family.
Now, walking into the vacant house that suddenly feels too big, it feels empty. There’s no yellow lab to meet me with a wildly wagging tail and the pitter-patter of happy paw steps. There’s no husband to ask how my day was or what I want to do for dinner. I’d spent almost half my life building this life and this home, putting up the walls and filling the space with memories, only for it to feel like it’s no longer mine.
I set my purse down on the floor somewhere on the way to the kitchen, tossing my keys on the counter as I flick on the overhead lighting. My coffee mug from this morning sits half empty next to the sink. Sadie’s headphones and ChapStick are left on the stool tucked under the kitchen island, forgotten and probably being searched for at this very moment. Piles of mail are scattered in a disorderly heap, and my laptop sits left open with a blank screen and invoices resting atop the keyboard.
With Leo’s partnership that came shortly after we bought this house, we experienced a level of financial freedom most couples our age didn’t get to. Leo’s ambition gave us this home and a life that allowed me to pursue my work at a pace I was comfortable with. I studied architecture in college and shifted my career goals toward interior design and decorating once I started working and found more opportunities. I worked freelance and took on clients without the pressure of constantly having to work. Looking back now, it seems it all came with a price. Late nights of Leo courting clients and opportunities to expand his reach. “Networking,” as he called it. Maybe I was too trusting. Maybe I thought our marriage, while it wasn’t perfect, didn’t have enough ups and downs for Leo to consider a greener pasture. But maybe we needed those ups and downs. Because living life in a straight line was boring. It was uneventful and listless. Something so quick to get tired of.
My phone rings just then, vibrating violently inside my purse. When I look at the screen, I see Sadie’s name flash on the screen.
“Mom,” Sadie calls as soon as I answer. “I don’t need you to pick me up. Lauren’s dad’s going to drop me off.”
