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The sound of birds chirping and voices from downstairs woke me from the deepest sleep I had in years. I may have been drunk as hell the night before, but Sicily was the first thing I thought of, before my eyes even opened. I reached for her, my hand finding nothing but an empty bed. The stark shock of her not being there, bolted me upright. I grabbed my head, clutching my eyes back shut to stop the spinning. When the room had settled, I looked around, finding myself completely alone. I reached to the side table for the clock, my hand finding a piece of paper first.
Blinking away the sleep from my eyes, I held the paper up and read it. "Time to fly back home. It was an amazing night. Good luck. Xoxo Sicily"
Amazing night? That was an understatement. I didn't know if I’d ever get her out of my mind.
Chapter Four
Four Years Later
Sicily
The traffic moved at a glacial pace, one foot forward at a time, too warm outside for the windows to be down. The sun was bright overhead, and the water beneath the San Diego bridge glistened below. Glancing in my rear view mirror at the city, I was a bit overwhelmed. Everything was moving so fast. The job had practically fallen into my lap, a tech job with a huge tech firm, one that was young, but had exploded on the scene just three years before.
I wouldn’t be necessarily doing my dream job, but my dream job was still years of trudging through software glitches, project assistance, and paperwork away. At least the scenery in San Diego would be good. The job started the next day, which was approximately 8 days and 4 hours after I had officially accepted the position. It was a spur of the moment choice, something I didn’t make a lot of those days. At least it landed me in a place that was too gorgeous for words.
The ocean had always called to me, in some way or another, and the sandy beaches were something I wanted us both to experience, hopefully for a long time. California had a strange feeling to it. It was a sense of relaxation, even for the droves of people heading to and from work in the city. Even the stark gray of the large Naval ships below the bridge, docked and waiting on their next deployment order didn’t seem as war torn under the California sun. But it was a distant remembrance of the feeling. It had been a very long time since I had felt it.
I hadn’t been to California since…
The half war torn bunny zoomed past me, hitting the windshield. Small giggles echoed from behind me. I smiled and turned around, handing the stuffed animal back to Harper. “I know we’ve been car bound for soooo long but we are almost there, I promise.”
“I want to see the ocean,” she replied with excitement.
I pointed out the windows. “There it is, or at least part of it.”
She kicked her legs excitedly. One thing I was grateful for was Harper’s willingness for adventure. She was the most excited one when it came to moving out here. I had been so busy planning for it that I hadn’t had a chance to be excited, nervous, sad, or whatever else might go through my mind. Instead, I was just trying to make sure that I had remembered everything so I didn't have to put out even more money when we got here. Moving was expensive. Moving to the West Coast was even more expensive, but I had managed to find a cute little two bedroom bungalow in a town just south of San Diego called Imperial Beach. It was an easy drive downtown, but not as busy of a place, and not nearly as expensive as living in the city.
“I'm hungry,” Harper said, giving me the pouty look.
I handed her back some animal crackers and pointed out the windshield. “We are almost to our new house. When we get there, I promise I will order a pizza.”
“Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” she chanted as the traffic began to lighten up.
We made it over the bridge and through Coronado, both of us completely in awe of the area as we drove across the thin piece of land connecting Coronado to Imperial Beach. There were military members dotting the sandy sidewalks outside of the base gates, and kites flying from the small alcove beaches along the small strip of land. I attempted to ignore the warning signs for tsunamis, and focused on the small island looking piece of land in front of us, peppered with homes and palm trees.
Our bungalow was only about three blocks from the beach and definitely looked like a surfers paradise. It was in my price range, had air conditioning, and would do us until I could work my way up in the company. I had seen it once, after I had already signed the lease, right after being accepted on the spot for the job, and then immediately going into nanny applications before heading back to pack up our lives to make the biggest move either of us had ever done. It was insane, something I didn’t think I’d ever be capable of, but there had been a lot in the last few years I had accomplished that I didn’t think I would ever be capable of. Harper was definitely on that list.
The nanny, Josie, had only met Harper through video chat, but after 13 interviews, and a serious lack of time left, Josie showed up. I chatted with her multiple times on video chat, and found that she not only fit the bill for someone I felt safe leaving my kid with, but someone I actually wouldn’t mind being friends with. Of course, friends were the last thing on my mind at that point. Just surviving the night with little furniture, waiting for the bulk of the movers to arrive the next day, and starting my job that next morning was all that was on my mind. Thankfully, Harper had just turned three, and wouldn’t be starting pre-k until the next year so school stuff wasn’t something I would have to start thinking about until the winter at the earliest. By then I should hope I had a system and routine down.
Luckily, arriving mid day, there was a parking spot on the street right outside of the bungalow. It was the only crappy part of the rental, no actual parking spot, and street parking alternated each week to make way for the street sweeper. I had a feeling I had several parking tickets in my future, at least until I got used to it.
I grabbed our main bags out and lifted Harper from her car seat, setting her down on the sidewalk. Her eyes went wide, looking all around us, holding her bunny in one hand, my hand in the other. Her bright blue eyes glistened in the California sun as her blonde hair fluttered wildly in the breeze. My heart skipped as for just a slight moment, I saw her father in her, something I rarely saw. Something that no one ever saw, mostly because no one but me and my best friend knew who her father was.
“Ready to see the house?” I asked, shaking it off.
She smiled big and jumped up and down. We walked through the small white gate that surrounded our tiny piece of California, and I released her, letting her run for the front door. I unlocked it and let out a sigh of relief as we walked inside, slipping my shoes off to the left of the door. The living room was full of labeled boxes, dropped by the moving company, and I could hear Harper’s already bare feet slapping against the tiled floors. I had never seen a house with completely tiled floors throughout, but from the sand we had tracked in, just from the street, I could tell it was a really good thing.
The sound of seaside birds called out as I closed the door and glanced over at the open windows. Even in the heat of summer, that close to the ocean, it was comfortable in the house without the air on. The salty smell that wafted throughout was amazing, and I felt like I had just arrived on some long awaited vacation. Of course, the looming chaos of the next day told me it wasn’t anywhere near a vacation, but for that night, just me and Harper taking on the world, I was going to relax, eat pizza, and enjoy the sounds of our new life.
***
“Just breathe,” Josie said, her hair braided to one side, her blouse billowy and pants reminiscent of some Yogi in a Buddhist temple. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“And you're positive you’re okay with accepting all the furniture and stuff? I mean, literally just jigsaw it in and I will handle it all when I get home. Make the movers do it, I paid them to put stuff in the correct rooms. They have a list.”
Josie smiled, her perfectly tanned skin creating an exotic hue to her perfect reflection. “No way, I’m totally stoked. It’s like moving into a new place, only I don’t have to pay for it. I just get to do the fun stuff. Besides, Harper and I have a big day planned. There’s a playground a block over, and a coffee shop that has the best Acai Granola bowls ever. We’re gonna have a blast.”
I glanced at myself in the mirror propped against the wall, smoothing down the front of my white, short sleeved blouse. I pulled on the ties at the edges of the sleeves, making the shoulders poof. The black wide legged pants barely grazed the floor, and I felt good about my first day outfit, compliments of my best friend before leaving Ohio.
