Chapter 23
A couple of days later and I was back home in England. If I was going to move to LA, I had to make the necessary arrangements first, like find a place to live. There seemed to be so many different areas in LA, and I really had no idea which was a nice place to live and which was a place to avoid. But one thing I did know – I wanted to live by the beach.
I got in touch with an estate agent in LA (recommend by AJ) to help me find somewhere. I didn’t want anything too big or fancy, I know I could afford it, but this wasn’t going to be a long term move, so why bother finding my dream house?
I opened up my laptop to check whether she’d sent me any details. She’d been bombarding my inbox with stunning looking houses, but I hadn’t seen any yet in which I could imagine myself living in. They’d all been a little too grand for my liking.
“Let’s see then” I said to myself as I signed in to my email account.
Just as I’d suspected, there were eight new messages all from Courtney Smith, my estate agent. I clicked on the first email and noticed she’d attached details of a couple of houses. I opened the first link but right away ruled that one out; the house was painted bright pink! I like pink, but come on, a pink house was just going a little too far for me. I tried the next one, it looked promising until I got to the bathroom pictures and saw that there was only a shower cubicle and no bath. No good, I do like a soak in a nice hot bubble bath from time to time. I deleted that email and moved on to the next one, same again, all no good.
When I got to the sixth email, I was ready to just email her and tell her to forget it. Were there any houses I liked out there? Or was I just being too much of a fussy cow? But then I clicked on the details for a house which had an appealing sound to it, it was in a place called Redondo Beach and from the outside, it looked like the kind of house I could see myself living in. I wondered how far away I’d be from AJ? I knew he had a place in Santa Monica (which I’d ruled out because I wanted somewhere quieter). So I checked it out on Google, it was about twenty miles away, which was very convenient. I didn’t want to live too close to him, but we needed to be close enough that we could meet up for our ‘marriage guidance sessions’. I snorted at the thought of those sessions. What exactly were they going to achieve?
“Let’s see if the house is as good on the inside as it is on the outside” I said to myself and clicked to view it.
The house was a cute little two storey dwelling which had a gorgeous view of the beach. It wasn’t cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than some of the houses I’d looked at. The photos depicted a modern kitchen with built in appliances, dining room, living room, downstairs toilet, upstairs there were two decent sized bedrooms (one with en-suite shower room) with built in wardrobes and a lovely bathroom with a claw footed bath. Out back was a small enclosed garden with a patio area, but the view from the front of the house was what impressed me. The house was in an elevated position so enjoyed extensive views of the Pacific Ocean. I wondered if it was as impressive in reality as it was in the photos.
I wonder if AJ knows the area at all? Wouldn’t hurt to ask!
I looked at the rest of the house details she’d sent me, and although there were some other nice houses in amongst them, they didn’t have that ‘something’ I was after. I emailed her back about the little Redondo Beach property, and I also forwarded the details onto AJ. He was the only person I knew who lived in LA, so I’d have to listen to his advice whether I wanted to or not.
I spent the next couple of hours sorting through my possessions, deciding what to keep, what to bin and what to take to the charity shop. I’d already called up the letting agent to tell them I’d be moving out by the end of the month.
The day flew by and before I knew it, I’d spent almost the whole day up to my elbows in packing things up. I decided to take a break and made myself a sandwich and flipped open my laptop.
Two new messages, one from Courtney Smith and the other from AJ, I clicked to open his message.
From: Jizzle78@live.com
To: SMahoney@live.co.uk
Hey Mrs McLean,
Good thing I brought my laptop to work today!
I’ve looked at the house details and I like it, I hear the area is pretty decent too. If you want, I could go and look at it for you after I get done for the day. It’s not too far and it would be a good excuse to take a ride on my new bike.
I’ll call the agent and arrange a viewing.
Catch you later
Your loving husband, Alex
I scowled at the screen, loving husband indeed! But then I had to smile, he really was being a big help to me and I was grateful for that. I sent him an email back.
From: SMahoney@live.co.uk
To: Jizzle78@live.com
Hi Alexander
It’s Miss Mahoney thank you very much!
Thanks so much for all your help, you really don’t have to put yourself out for me, but I am grateful.
Don’t work too hard, lol.
Steph
I hit the send button and opened up the other email, she just wanted to arrange a viewing for me, and so I replied to inform her that she’d be getting a phone call about that from a friend of mine who was helping me out.
I was woken from a lovely dream by my phone ringing. Looking at the bedside clock, I noticed it was 3am, who the hell was calling me at 3am? It had better be good.
“Hello” I answered groggily
“Oh shit, sorry, I forgot it’s probably really late there isn’t it?” came that husky voice I’d come to recognise.
“Yep, it’s just after three” I yawned
“Well, I just thought I’d call to tell you I’ve been to see that house you showed me” he explained
I yawned once more and then sat up straighter in my bed “Oh AJ, thanks so much for doing that for me. What’s it like?”
“It’s got a great view…it’s a little on the small side though, but it’s up to you” he said “I told the agent you’d get back to her tomorrow”
“Thanks AJ, you are a star” I replied gratefully
“Anytime babe” he said
“Night” I yawned
“Night Steph”
I drifted back off to sleep with images of a beautiful sandy beach, waves crashing on the shore, and a couple walking hand in hand barefoot.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next bit. As I have no idea about places in LA, please excuse that fact :)
Chapter End Notes:
I know, bit of a boring chapter, but let me know what you think :)
