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Sam was on the phone with Lizzie and her mom. She bought a small house not far from the ranch and completed renovations. Her mom and Lizzie now live there and it made her very happy to have them close by. She was very busy these days. She now had ten billionaire clients that took up a lot of her time. She also had four assistants to manage. Natasha, who stays glued to her hips, the twins, Carter and Sage, and a doting husband to care for. My life was now full of love, happiness, and family.
“Sam, can you put Natasha on the line? I need some advice on a ballet I want to take mom to next weekend.” I could hear Lizzie over the speakerphone, the twins were screaming, and Natasha was on the iPad talking with Aunt Helen. I looked at Peter. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
He had a wide grin. “I can’t wait.” I walked over to Paige who was examining some unused diapers stashed away on the kitchen counter. I could tell she had never changed a dirty diaper before. “Paige, let me give you a quick tutorial.” She looked at me relieved and gave me a perplexed smile.
Sam finished her call with Lizzie and joined me at the kitchen counter. She laughed at my feeble attempt of changing one of the twins. “Hey babes, so you heard the good news?”
She then turned to Paige. “Chris won’t be able to help you. My mom is coming by later; she can give you some pointers.” She took the diaper out of my hand and changed the baby in under ten seconds in her rocker. She then called for our new live-in nanny to help with the twins. I watched as she led Paige into the living room with both of the screaming babies, the nanny had Sage and Carter was resting on her hip. Despite the chaos of having two newborns, I loved my new reality. Peter had enough and decided it was time for us to head back to the study.
My phone rang as we walked in. I saw Ann Marie’s name pop up on my caller ID. She was the realtor who had worked with Sam when she closed on the house she bought for Lizzie and her mom. “Hey, Ann Marie, did you find it?” I liked her, she was very thorough. I also enjoyed talking with her; she reminded me of my mother.
“I sent over three listings I think you might like. Take a look at them and let me know if you need me to keep looking.”
I sat at my desk and fired up my computer. “Okay, I will get back to you sometime in the morning. Thanks, Ann-Marie.” She hung up and Peter saw his opening. “Are you buying another house?” I sat at my desk and waited patiently for my email to pop up.
“I am,” I said. “Sam finally bought a house and will probably never live in it. I want to give her the experience of house shopping and actually moving in. This ranch doesn’t feel like home for her.”
“I get it. I am sure she’ll love the process.”
I forwarded the email to Sam and went back to my recliner. Peter broke the silence. “So, what are you going to do with the ranch?”
“Nothing. We’ll probably keep it as a weekend retreat.”
“What’s your budget for the new house?”
“Twenty million, Sam wants something with less acreage, we are staying in Highland Park though.”
Peter was satisfied with my response and went back to nursing his whiskey. I stared through the wall of windows, admiring the well-manicured acres of the ranch. I had a flashback to the morning I got home from the hospital.
I couldn’t imagine my life beyond that point. I was broken beyond repair, wondering how to pick up the pieces. As I sat almost a year later with Peter, in the same spot, I couldn’t help but be grateful for everything I went through. If I had never been broken, I would never have been able to appreciate all the joy Sam has brought into my life.
