Was I completely nuts? I must be to do what I was doing! I’d kissed goodbye to my family and friends and was now on a plane destined for Los Angeles, where I’d be calling home for the next few months.
I suppose I could’ve just rented a home there, but where was the fun in that. If I’d rented a place then I probably wouldn’t have been able to do what I wanted to do, like paint the rooms the colours I wanted them to be and things like that. No, I wanted to be able to put my own stamp on the place, no matter how long I called it mine. Plus it was another item on my list ticked off. I was finally going to own my own home. I was getting through the list with ease so far. How many were left now, I mentally went through them, hmm…
1. Fall in love
6. Road trip across the USA
9. Swim with dolphins
Wow, five down and five left to go.
I couldn’t quite believe how quickly the house buying had been. Was buying a house in America really that easy, or was the fact that I’d paid in full and had a few million in the bank a factor? Anyway, the house had been vacant when I agreed on the sale and so I was able to move in whenever I was ready, which would be in a matter of hours.
Oh my god, I’m actually moving to Los Angeles, I must be fucking crazy!
The plane journey seemed to pass by pretty quickly, thanks to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, which I’d bought in one of the airport shops whilst waiting to board the plane. By the time the plane touched down in Los Angeles, I was head over heels in love with the main character, Edward Cullen (along with millions of other women throughout the world no doubt) and wondered why it had taken me so long to find this book. I made a mental note to buy the DVD once I’d bought myself a new TV and DVD player.
‘Welcome to Los Angeles’ the sign at the airport said, and I wondered if I really would feel welcome here. Would I make friends? I hadn’t really given it a lot of thought when I’d rashly decided to up sticks and move here.
What if I hate it here?
I snapped out of that negative thought. Life was what you made it and I intended to live mine to the full. Plus, a road trip across the USA was on my list of things to do, maybe after everything was sorted with AJ, I’d be able to make it a reality.
I grabbed my bags and loaded them onto an airport trolley, then wheeled it outside into the warm late afternoon sunshine. The Dollar car rental place was close by thankfully, and I made my way over there, the sun beating down on me and spreading a feeling of warmth through my body (that plane had been a little on the chilly side). It was really convenient that they did a collection service, so I wouldn’t have the trouble of getting it back. I’d arranged to hire a car for a week, which hopefully would give me enough time to organise myself in my new house and buy a car of my own.
“Would you like an upgrade Miss Mahoney?” asked the bronzed girl behind the desk “for an extra…”
“No thanks, that’s plenty big enough for me” I replied, cutting her off. I really didn’t see the point in hiring some huge gas guzzler when there was only going to be myself in it. No, I was sticking to the Dodge Caliber, which in my opinion was more than enough car for now.
“OK then, well if I could just see some identification and your drivers licence first please” she asked and in no time I had signed all the relevant paperwork and was handed the keys.
After loading my things into the car and adjusting the seat to a comfortable position, I set the SatNav for my new home address and set off. The drive shouldn’t take too long according to the little screen, maybe 20 minutes or so. I took the ramp onto the Pacific Coast Highway and travelled a few miles, passing by Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach. Then I took the Redondo Beach exit and followed the instructions until I arrived where I wanted to be.
Eventually, I pulled up outside my new home. From the outside it looked exactly how I’d imagined it would look from the photos. I wondered how the inside would look, but was positive it would live up to my expectations, and if it didn’t, I’d soon have it looking how I wanted it to. The Estate Agent was waiting outside with the keys, like we’d arranged.
“Hi, I’m Courtney Smith” she said extending her hand “So good to meet you Miss Mahoney, I’m sure you are gonna love it here”
“Hi, call me Steph and thanks” I replied “it’s lovely”
“If you have any queries at all, just give me a call” she gave me a warm smile, displaying her bright white teeth and handed me a card out of her bag “right, here you go, it’s all yours”
“Thanks again” I replied and took the keys from her.
She said goodbye and then climbed into her rather flash looking sports car. Must be making a good living, I thought to myself and wondered if I might get myself something like that. I had always fancied owning a convertible, but with the couple of crappy summers we’d had at home in the UK, it would’ve been a waste. Plus, I couldn’t have afforded one until my lottery win.
I opened the front door and stepped inside. It had that kind of new house smell to it, even though it wasn’t a new build. Maybe the previous owner had re-decorated ready for selling, or something like that. It immediately felt welcoming.
You’re gonna love it here Steph!
I was finally here, in my own home. I ran around the house from room to room, more excited than a child on Christmas morning as I checked it out. It was mine, all mine.
I stopped exploring my new house and pulled out my phone to call AJ and thank him for everything he’d done for me. Unfortunately there was no answer, so I left a message to tell him I’d just got here and would speak to him soon. I called my family and friends and sent them photos via my phone so that they could see the view from the house, and what a view it was. The sun was beginning to set over the ocean and cast an orange glow over the gently rippling waves, it was beautiful.
Looking out from the front steps at the view before me, I didn’t even notice the motorbike pull up in front of the house, nor did I see the rider get off and walk towards me.
“Hey” he said, and I nearly jumped a mile. Standing there in front of me, bike helmet in hands and wearing a leather jacket, tatty jeans and sunglasses, was AJ.
“You scared the shit out of me” I answered, holding my hand across my wildly beating heart.
“Sorry” he laughed “so, what do you think?”
“It’s lovely” I replied, not really able to put together any other words in that moment.
“I guess you’re wondering what I’m doing here” he asked, and removed his sunglasses to reveal his chocolate brown eyes.
“Come to think of it, yeah, I am wondering” I replied although I was glad to see him.
“Well, I knew you’d just arrived and that you wouldn’t have had chance to eat or anything like that, so I brought McDonalds” he revealed a brown bag from behind his back “sorry I couldn’t carry drinks though”
“Thanks, I am quite starving” I smiled and eyed up the bag “but I’m afraid I have nowhere for us to sit and eat…”
He interrupted me “just here is fine”
And so we sat there on my front steps, eating burgers, fries and donuts, watching as the sun finally set. It was kind of romantic in a way.
“Well, I’d better get going, leave you to unpack and whatever. Don’t forget, our first session of marriage guidance starts the day after tomorrow” he said as he got up and stretched, revealing a bit of toned looking stomach and that bloody awful ‘69’ tattoo, although his tattoos weren’t as repulsive to me as they were at first.
“Oh right yeah” I replied kind of dazedly
“If you want, I’ll come and get you, seeing as it’s gonna take a bit of time for you to get familiar with the area” he smiled down at me, still sitting on the steps.
“Sure, that would be great, thanks AJ” I added
“See you Steph” he said and strode off towards his bike, putting his bike helmet on and throwing his leg over the powerful looking bike. He zoomed off like a bullet from a gun, off into the distance and I suddenly felt a little chilled.
