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"You need it," Drake said and I was so glad he was so understanding. "Being a new mother is a lot of work. You need to be Kate, the artist or writer as well as Kate the mother and wife."
I removed the bacon from the pan and then went over to where he sat reading the morning paper.
"I'm happy to be a wife and mother, but I feel like moving here has opened up so many possibilities for me and for us."
"It has, strangely enough. I never thought I'd want to move away from Manhattan, but after the whole business with Lisa, I honestly couldn't wait to get away."
I leaned into his arms for a moment and stroked my fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry all this happened to you. You've sacrificed so much because of her."
"I sacrificed nothing," he said and kissed me. "I have everything I could ever need or want right here."
We kissed again and smiled at each other.
"Do you want your eggs scrambled or fried?" I asked when I left his embrace and went back to the stove.
"Scrambled," Drake replied and returned to reading his paper. Beside him, Sophie fingered her Cheerios and munched away happily. I nodded and quickly scrambled his eggs, before fixing him a plate. I placed it in front of him and sat beside him with my own and together, the three of us ate our breakfasts and watched the view through the picture window as the sun played on the ocean.
My cell rang and I grabbed it from the counter and checked the caller ID. It was my dad.
"Hey, Dad," I said, smiling at the thought of him.
"Hey, sweetheart, how are you today? How's the little family?"
I glanced at Drake and Sophie side by side. "We're great. What's up?"
"Elaine said we'd come by and sit with Sophie whenever you're ready and you can go into the city and do yo
ur business. We'll be happy to have her at our place for a few hours if you and Drake can come over for dinner tonight."
"Drake's working evenings so he won't be able to, but Sophie and I would love to have you stay at our place for dinner."
My father called out to Elaine. "Katie wants to know if we can stay for dinner. Drake's working so he can't come down. We could stay if you don't mind driving back later."
I heard Elaine respond and then my dad spoke.
"She says yes. Just tell us what time to come by and we'll be there whenever you're ready."
"Okay, thanks Dad. I appreciate you and Elaine sitting for me while I go out and check on the studio. I was planning on going sometime after three when Drake goes for his shift."
"No problem. I'll let Elaine know. We love to do it and you know it."
I said goodbye and ended the call.
"Too bad you can't join us," I said with a sigh. "You've worked so hard since we came to California."
"Gotta pull my weight," Drake said and held up his cup of coffee. "If I do, I might get a better shift next time. I hate sleeping during the mornings."
I nodded in sympathy. "You're far too successful to be putting in time, but I understand it was the only position open that fit."
We tidied up once we were finished eating. Drake kissed us both and went back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep before heading to the hospital to check on his patients.
On my part, I got us ready, packing up everything I'd need for a walk along the beach. When I was ready, I took the stroller out of the garage then packed Sophie in, her tiny pink sunhat fastened around her chubby cheeks. We stopped on the beach a mile down from our house and Sophie played in the sand. I sat beside her and got in some sun, enjoying the morning. There were only a few people walking the beach that morning, collecting shells and walking their dogs. I saw the same older couple out for their morning walk and we smiled at each other. People were generally friendly and often stopped to say hello to Sophia.
When I'd had enough sun and Sophie had crawled around, getting sand in her hands and her playsuit wet, we made our way back along the beach to the house. All in all, we were out for about an hour and a half. I wanted the house to be quiet so Drake could sleep longer. Because she was wet, I changed Sophie quietly and then we took a drive to the store to pick up a few items we needed. The local Whole Foods had great organic vegetables that I used to make Sophie baby food and so I did some shopping while Sophie sat in the cart and sucked on her pacifier. I picked up a cup of coffee from the local Starbucks, and then sat in the window seat with Sophie beside me in a high chair, and we watched people on the street while I planned my afternoon.
I looked at the calendar on my cell and thought about what I'd do if I liked the studio space. I'd get the keys and pay the deposit and the year's rent, then I'd start to move in my supplies. I was so excited that I had butterflies in my stomach. I was planning to finish the rest of the series of paintings from Africa and hoped to get the collection shown at a local gallery. I didn't care about selling my work, but I would be happy to feel like a real artist.
When I was done with my coffee, we drove back to the house and I hauled in the groceries and Sophie. She sat happily in her chair while I put the groceries away.
