Chapter 26
After an uncomfortable night’s sleep on an airbed, I woke the following morning with a bad back and vowed to make buying a bed the first thing I did once I’d showered and dressed.
It hadn’t taken me too long the night before to unpack the items I’d brought on the plane with me. The items I’d had shipped hadn’t arrived yet, but were expected in the next couple of days, and I couldn’t wait to see my new home fully furnished with both familiar things from home and new items.
Flipping open my laptop and logging on, I googled furniture stores in Los Angeles. I really had no idea where to start, there seemed to be so many to choose from and I didn’t know which was a good shop and which sold cheap tat! Plus, I didn’t know the areas either. I sighed and leaned against the wall in resignation. Then I remembered Courtney and her offer of assistance, should I need it. Maybe she could point me in the right direction when it came to furnishing a home.
I pulled her card out of my bag and dialled her number.
“Hello, Courtney Smith speaking” she answered brightly.
“Erm, hi Courtney, this is Steph Mahoney” I said
“Everything OK?” she asked concerned
“Oh the house is perfect. I just wanted to ask your advice on something, if that’s OK”
“Sure, ask away!” she said
“I really need to go and buy furniture and I have no idea where to go” I explained and must’ve sounded like a right idiot.
“Aw honey, of course I’ll help you out. There are lots of places and it all depends on your budget” she assured me
“Well, I want a kind of classic/modern look and good quality. I’m not into all that really high fashion stuff, nor do I like the minimalist look, I like a house to look lived in” I explained. Ikea may have been my store of choice before, but now I had the money, I could afford to spend more on my house, although Ikea did do a lot of nice stuff and I wasn’t going to rule out a trip there, that’s if LA had an Ikea!
“Right then, I can suggest a couple of places that you might want to check out – Touch Wood and Cosmeston Furniture – I think they’ll have just what you need” she answered
“Thanks so much Courtney and I’m sorry to have bothered you with such a trivial request” I apologised
“Hey, I really don’t mind one little bit, if you need anything else, just ask” she assured me.
We hung up and I googled the places she’d mentioned. Clicking on their websites, I saw that they indeed did sell the kind of thing I liked, plus they delivered too. She’d been a real help.
With the help of the SatNav, I found my way to Touch Wood and could’ve bought just about the whole shop, but settled for a coffee table, a bookcase (to house my many books, DVDs and CDs which were on their way from England), a dining room table and chairs, a dressing table, two bedside drawers, a large chest of drawers and a couple of mirrors which had chunky wooden surrounds, one of which would go in the living room and one in my bedroom. I just loved the gothic looking wooden candle sconces too, so I bought a couple of those to go in my living room, they would match well with the furniture I’d purchased.
After arranging delivery and paying, I left the shop a very happy customer, and hoped the seven to fourteen day delivery period was more like seven days.
“Now for my bed” I said to myself and climbed back in the car and headed for Cosmeston Furniture.
I found the most gorgeous bed there, and the mattress was so comfy, I’d never have trouble sleeping on it. I couldn’t decide between leather or cloth sofa, so spent a bit of time testing them out before finally opting for a nice brown leather sofa with a couple of chairs. I also discovered that they did more than just furniture; they also did electrical items too. So I got myself a big flat screen TV, DVD player, washing machine, tumble drier, iron, microwave, toaster, kettle, another smaller flat screen TV for my bedroom and a few other kitchen items. Then onto the soft furnishings section, where I picked out bedding, curtains, cushions, towels and throws.
The large items were going to be delivered later on that day; I’d paid extra for express delivery. The smaller things filled the car, I only just managed to squeeze it all in.
“Bloody hell, this shopping business is thirsty work” I muttered to myself and realised that I still hadn’t bought any food or drinks yet. A trip to the supermarket was on the cards next, but first of all, I wanted to go home and unload the car. Luckily for me, there was a Burger King on the way, so I pulled in to the drive through and ordered a chicken burger, fries and a large coke. You’ll have to cut back on the junk food once you’ve settled in otherwise you’ll look like a lard arse!
I found my way home, still finding it hard to believe that this was where I now lived as I parked outside my house, and unloaded the car.
That evening, the house was more liveable than it had been that morning. I’d been to the supermarket, so now my kitchen cupboards were well stocked. My bed, TV and DVD player (with stand), washing machine and tumble drier had been delivered, and all the smaller items I’d bought were now arranged how I wanted them around the house. Shame I was too tired to enjoy that new flat screen. I fell into bed and didn’t wake until mid morning the next day.
~*~
“What the fuck?” I muttered, coming back to consciousness to the sound of banging on the front door. Whoever it was, they weren’t going away.
I dragged myself out of bed, not even caring that I was only in a t-shirt and my underwear, and trudged down the stairs to answer the door.
“For fucks sake Steph, we’ve got to be there in…” he looked at his watch “just under half an hour”
“Shit” I exclaimed, suddenly coming to my senses and realising that today was marriage guidance session day. I supposed the jet lag was finally catching up.
“Well, don’t just stand there, friggin get dressed” AJ said, annoyance plain to see on his face.
“All right!” I yelled louder than I’d planned to and slammed the door in his face.
Arsehole!
I ran upstairs, taking them two at a time, and had the quickest shower in history. I didn’t bother washing my hair; instead I tied it back in a low ponytail. Throwing on a pair on linen trousers, a vest top and a pair of flip flops, I ran down the stairs, fastening on a necklace at the same time. I put some lip gloss and a bit of mascara on and then opened the door to find AJ leaning against the wall with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
“About fucking time” he said and flicked his cigarette end onto my drive.
I just glared at him, how dare he litter my property! Where had that nice guy from a couple of days ago gone?
“I wasn’t that long” I hissed at him “come on then, let’s go get this out of the way”
I followed him to his car and climbed in the passenger side, not saying a word.
“We gonna ignore each other the whole way?” he asked, fixing his eyes onto mine in a way that prevented me from looking away.
“I don’t know…are we?” I answered huffily.
“Childish” he muttered under his breath, not quite quietly enough and I caught it.
“I’m childish now am I?” I asked
“Yes, you are” he answered
“Fine” I said and crossed my arms, turning away
“Fine” he answered and started the engine.
Not another word was spoken during the journey there. AJ was looking at the road ahead and I was looking out of the window, pretending to take notice of my surroundings, but not noticing a thing.
“Well, here we are Mrs McLean” he spat the words out and cut off the engine.
“So we are, Mr McLean” I said in the same tone as he’d used.
He turned to face me, sighed and then got out of the car. I also got out and closed the door behind me, then leaned against the door. He began to walk away and I quickly followed, not wanting to lose sight of him and get lost here.
“Look, can we just pretend this morning never happened and at least try to get on?” he asked as we approached the consulting room where we were due to meet.
“I suppose so” I relented; glad to let go of the hostility “but you were a bit harsh this morning”
“I’m sorry, but I’m a little nervous and I guess I could’ve been less of a dick when you weren’t ready to go” he smiled
“Hmm yeah, and I should’ve been out of bed and ready, and I should’ve asked you in instead of slamming the door in your face, I’m sorry too” I apologised
“We’re even then?” he asked
“Yeah” I replied and we knocked on the door for our appointment.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I was on a roll, so here's the next chapter, hope you like!
