Chapter 3: Houses Galore

POV: Gabby

Word Count: 3611

February 9, 2009

I never thought I would miss home so much. But after spending nearly a week trapped on a rocking boat sick as hell, being home was so nice. I didn’t even mind the shot I had to get when I got home to get over the flu! Zac even let me sleep in today, so it was after ten when I made my way to the living room.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“You feel better?”

“I have for a few days, that shot was awesome.”

He smiled. “I can agree, I’m glad it’s helped and no more boats for you for a bit.”

“Boo, so…why are you home?”

He giggled. “You gave whatever you had to Isaac. He called early and said he was running a fever, so I called Tay and he said take the day, he and Stella are going to look at a few places.”

“Did Ike and Nicole ever pick a place?”

“Yes. There doing the Vesica Chapel.”

I hadn’t been asked to be a bridesmaid by her, but I knew that Taylor and Zac had their tuxes already. So, I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to be part of her bridal party.

“Any plans today?”

He gave me this trademark smile that said there were indeed plans. “The realtor called this morning, he has several potential places and I told him after noon, we meet him at the office at 12:30.”

“So soon?”

“Five months until the lease is up.”

“Shouldn’t we apply for a mortgage or something?”

“If we find a place yes.”

“Well, I’ll fix breakfast or lunch.”

I fixed lunch for both of us and then got dressed, pants and a long sleeve pink shirt. Leave it to Nicole to buy me girly colors, leave it to Sierra to get super tight pants.

“Love those.” Zac said.

“Figured you would and Sierra had the same thought.”

I’d never even seen the realtor, but we met him at his office downtown. He was very tall, very thin, with long dark hair and green eyes. His partner however was short, plump, and bald. It was a very odd contrast. He opted to drive to we rode with him to the first house.

“I think you will love this. It was built in the late 90’s, features an open concept and remodeled recently.”

The drive wasn’t bad, it was north of downtown near the Gilcrease Expressway. It was in a subdivision and the house was near the back, quiet area. He turned onto North Kenosha Avenue and the house was at the end of the road. I noticed right away the lot size was small.

“How many acres is this?”

“Two and a half.”

It really was small because we’d agreed we wanted a lot of land so we had room and privacy. But he parked and we got out. It was a two story house in a pale color, it wasn’t impressing me and the inside was just as bad. He said open concept but the dining room and living room were split from the kitchen by walls, the master bedroom was downstairs and the rest were upstairs. Added, the rooms were very small.

“How much?” Zac asked.

“Three hundred.”

I just shook my head. “No, I don’t think this is for us.”

“I agree. What’s next?”

“There is one not far from here.”

We went back to the car and the next house was in a more packed neighborhood, same size lot and the house itself was older and in worse shape. Every room was closed off and the bedrooms were all on the right floor, but they were super tiny. We passed again. He then took us to McKinley area, on East Latimer Place.

Again, the lot was rather small and there were dozens of neighbors within a earshot of the house. The plus was it had an above ground pool but it wasn’t staying. The house was newer and open concept but it was two bedrooms and not near big enough for us.

Once we were back in the car Zac looked at him. “I spoke to you right?”

“Yes. We spoke on the phone a few times.”

“No offense but do you have the right client there? Because these houses are nothing what we asked for.”

“It is you sir, I promise. What is not likeable about them?”

“The lot size is nowhere near what I asked for, I asked for at least ten acres. These aren’t even half of that. Added, I asked for private areas or gated communities, these are subdivisions and I can see ten of the neighbors right here. This is not what I asked for.”

He seemed to consult his notes and apparently had written everything down wrong. Perfect. He still had two left and we humored him and saw them but neither of them were close to what we wanted. So he drove us back to the office where we sat down inside.

“What exactly are you looking for?”

“Large lots, ten plus acres. If there is a house there then at least four bedrooms, open concept, ideally with the bedrooms on the same floor.”

“I’d like a garage but it’s not a must have, just space.” I said.

He punched in information and came back with two more and again we left, they were down near Broken Arrow and the first house had eight acres, but the house was huge. He let us inside this one without showing us around, evidently he’d never been here.

The floors were marble and I paused in the foyer. “We can’t afford this Zac.”

“We might can, depends on how much it is.”

“Marble floor throughout the entire level? This is very expensive Zac.”

He just dragged me on through and the tile was expensive, but I had to say it was the right size and there was room for an art studio, music room, plenty of just pure space. The master was the entire third floor, complete level for the master seemed stupid to me.

“I don’t like this.”

“We won’t be far from the other rooms.”

I crossed my arms and just stared at him, he sighed.

“It’s big enough.”

“It’s too big, the house has the right places but really do we need a 600 square foot bedroom?”

“We could always put up some rather x-rated toys.”

“Baby I can put a swing up in the bedroom we have, I don’t need an extra 400 feet for that. It’s going to be too expensive too.”

“We’ll see.”

We returned downstairs and he went over the basic details but I stopped him. “How much?”

“Seven hundred and change.”

I looked at Zac and shook my head, he had told me while we discussed the financial aspect of this house hunting that he felt very confident at 200,000, it wouldn’t mean a super high mortgage. He wanted to keep the payment as low as possible.

“The next house is not far.”

We headed there next and it had a larger lot but the house was just as expensive looking, large rooms and just excessive space that we really didn’t need. Why did we need a living room and two dens? A dining room, eat in, and formal dining room? That was just excessive space. I didn’t even go up-stairs because I knew it was over the 200. It was listed at four hundred, not too far but still too much. He took us back to the office after that and we left for the day.

“I liked the last one.” He said.

“It’s over your budget.”

“But it has space we can do an art studio and a music room, maybe even an office.”

“Do we really need three tables? Our family combined isn’t that huge.”

“Not yet.”

“You set a budget Zac, there is no reason to go over that. We want land not house.”

“We want house too Gabriella.”

“But we don’t need eight thousand square feet Zac. We’d be just as good with half of that, even if you and I both make six figured it wouldn’t be easy to cover that mortgage. You take 400,000 and over 15 years and without taxes or anything you’re looking at over two thousand a month.”

“That’s not much higher than at the 200,000 mark.”

“That’s a difference of right at a thousand Zac.”

“But I like that one.”

“Uh huh and I liked Philbrook but ultimately you were right, it wasn’t right for us. We don’t need a house that is way too big and too expensive.”

“What if we can’t find one at that price range?”

“Then we will look into upping our range but I think we will, it might take time and we have to sign another lease for a short time but it’s worth it to have what we need and want without having an excessive amount of payments.”

Now I kind of knew what he felt like when he had to reel me in on Philbrook. Only a house was much more expensive than Philbrook. He drove us to the store so we could stock up a bit for the next few weeks. I also needed to get a few more canvases for some more paintings for Debbie. We got what we needed and checked out, including picking up a copy of People, because we were on the cover.

It was surreal to see myself on the cover of a magazine, let along one where I was curled up beside Zac, public acknowledgement.

Once we checked out we went to the car. I moved around to put the bread in the back seat and when I came back to help Priscilla was there with her hands on his shoulders.

I could not blame him for her antics on the boat and he’d been very honest with me. But, why she kept on is beyond me. She was trying to convince him that one night would be fine. She was really beginning to bug me, so I walked over and put myself between them, facing her.

“What are you doing?”

“Convincing him that one night with me is worth it. He wanted too so badly then.”

“Then, yes. Now, not so much. He’s told you more than once he does not want you. He left you naked in your room on the boat and then came and crawled into bed with me. So, why would you think he wants to have anything to do with you?”

“He didn’t leave me naked in a room, you really believe he walked away from me?”

“I know he did. He’s smart and he knows I won’t stay if he had. You had your chance, now it’s time to move on.”

She took a step closer to me and I just stood still. “He did not just walk away. You must be blind if you think he changed for a whore like you. You aren’t his type, you’re just the bitch he married for appearances.”

I just slapped her, pretty sure it wasn’t the adult thing to do. She looked stunned and confused, as if she didn’t expect me to do anything.

“You made the mistake of cheating on him, if you really wanted as badly as you keep saying then you would have kept your pants on back then. He has moved on and he’s done with you. It’s time you do the same thing, because I will not tolerate you coming around and trying to intentionally piss me off. You know we’re married, you know we’re happy. Move on.”

She looked at Zac like he was going to save her or something.

“She’s right. If you wanted to be with me so badly then you should have shown it years ago when we were dating. I’ve moved on and there is nothing between us anymore. You are just another blonde. I’m happy with Gabriella and I’m not going to do anything to screw that up.”

“You’re sure? You really don’t want to be with me, not even for one night?”

“I’m sure. I don’t want you, not even for the night.”

I had to admit that she really did look hurt by that, but she couldn’t keep coming around and trying to make him do things. It wasn’t fair to him or her. She finally nodded.

“I really hope that you aren’t lying and that you are happy. I wish that..I could change how I was toward you but I can’t.”

I didn’t move even as she moved away and not until she was clearly not going to turn around and attack or anything. Then I helped finish putting the things in the car and then we headed home.

“Canvases! I forgot them.”

“It’s okay, I think since you need so many that we need to go to a different place.”

We unloaded the car and put up the items and then headed to this other place, which was a craft store, they had items in bulk and turns out they’d be cheaper than the way I was buying them. I got several sizes, because Debbie had said the more variety in size shows abilities, but I didn’t want to get anything super huge unless I had too. I also restocked on paints, brushes, cleaners. He instructed me to keep the receipts which once we were back home I put the receipt in a box that I had marked for just this kind of thing.

I started dinner and he sat at the counter to make some salads.

“How long will you be gone for fools?”

“It’s seven days, Sunday to Saturday next week and it’s we, not just me.”

I looked up from my board that had raw chicken. “We?”

“You think I’m leaving you here and going that far away? No way.”

“Zac, I’m not a helpless child here.”

“I know that but I also know that Damien scares you quite a bit, Max while he’s probably out of the picture is stronger than you physically and if Simon takes the notion he can over and I am pretty sure he’s stronger as well. It’s not that I think you are helpless it’s if they all come here at the same time…I’m too far away to help you or even be there quickly. Besides, I have to leave Saturday and that’s Valentines.”

“Saturday?”

“Driving down, Taylor and Isaac are flying but I figured if you and I were both going the car would help. I wouldn’t be as afraid of you exploring El Paso, I know being there would be boring.”

“Would Stella and Nicole be mad?”

“Nope. Stella and Nicole both went the year I met you. They hated it. Of course they were stuck there with nothing to do. Carrick and Austin are coming, I think Weird Al is coming too.”

“I guess I could take some canvases, find a spot. Or draw a lot more of you…”

“How many nudes of me do you possible need?”

“Never enough.”

“Besides, you’ll get to hear the new music and take a camera.”

“You really don’t want to leave me here?”

He tore some more lettuce. “If you really don’t want to go and think you’ll be fine. Then I will go but I’ll worry quite a bit. I won’t make you go with me.”

“I think I’d be fine at home. I don’t know this Weird Al dude and I mean damn, I’ve been around Carebear and Austin for MONTHS.”

He really didn’t look happy about it, but he said he’d go with me. Yet, as I cut up the rest of the chicken and began cooking it I saw his point of view. Max knew where I lived and therefore I was sure that Simon knew as well, which means Damien probably knew. What if they did show up? He had the kale ready for me when I needed it and I tossed it into the pan.

I knew what would happen if they showed up. I’d have to call the police and that was assuming I was able too. I really didn’t want to spend any more time in a hospital, but I didn’t have the disk and I’d been able to decipher the disk and give the police every name on it, surely they were following up. Which means unless Simon just wanted me for himself, they had no reason for me.

If they came for me, it wouldn’t be to hurt me.

“Do you get your own room at this place or do you share?”

“I usually share with a brother and there is usually an extra room. They were actually giving us the larger bedroom because it has a queen, but I may tell Carrick he can bunk with me.”

“Where is he going to be now?”

“Sharing with like Taylor and Austin, it’s a bunk bed type deal.”

I tossed the kale and chicken together, considered it. He would be far away and it would take time, but at the same time I didn’t always want to rely on someone else. I’ve been doing that my whole life. Yet, this wasn’t like needing a place to sleep or a warm house, this could mean the difference between being alive or being killed.

“I don’t have to remain there the whole time?”

“No.”

I plated the kale and chicken and when I sat the plate in front of him I smiled. “Count me in then. Besides, you’ll need help driving.”

He smiled and took the plates to the table. “I knew you’d go.”

“It’s still four more days, I could totally change my mind.”

I got drinks and met him there and we had dinner. I was cleaning up when the doorbell rang, neither of us expected guests so he got it.

“Hey Lucas, didn’t expect you over.”

“I was in the area, figured your car was here and you both should be home.”

“Just finished dinner, come in.”

I found it mildly weird that he just dropped by, but I really didn’t know how they usually were and Zac didn’t seem worried.

“Hey Gabs.”

“Hey Lucas, how are you?”

“I’m good, how about you two?”

“Zac thinks he’s won some epic battle, I agreed to go to Fool’s instead of staying home.”

Zac just smiled. “No battle. I just assumed, you don’t have too.”

Lucas smiled. “You could hang out with us crazy people. I’m sure we won’t mind.”

I smiled at him. “You and Andrew? I mean, I could totally get the scoop on Zac here from you two.”

“You could always tell us all the details he won’t.”

“Don’t count on that.” Zac said.

“I don’t kiss and tell. Although the realtor probably thought I was nuts.”

“Realtor?” he asked.

“We went to look at some houses today, called the guy a while back but he took us to wrong places. Not enough acres, house was too big. I still like the last one.”

“Too expensive, he just didn’t show us what we wanted. So, new search later.”

Lucas shifted. “So things are going well?”

“Definitely. Even with Priscilla lurking but maybe she’ll back off too.”

“She better, not dealing with her bullshit anymore.” I said.

“Feisty. I think she just wish you would give her a second chance.”

“She doesn’t deserve that, I gave her two years and she fucked up. I don’t do second chances.”

“Can’t blame you.”

I finished cleaning and Lucas watched but still talked to Zac about some childhood memory of biking, but I heard the comment about me being in the kitchen where I should be. I also heard Zac’s quick retort that I was only there because I wanted to be, not because he expected it. Lucas didn’t really stay much longer after that.

“Does he seriously think women belong in the kitchen?”

“You heard that?”

“Yeah. I heard him loud and clear.”

I sat down beside him and he put his arm behind me. “Lucas was raised in a family that was that way. His father was a firm believer that a woman’s place was at home, the whole barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen stuff. But his mother was fine with that, she often said it was her choice to be that way. It’s really no shock he thinks that.”

“I know that’s how Simon thought too. When we were home it was my job to do everything.”

He kissed my forehead. “Not with me. I have no problem cleaning or cooking, I did it when I was single I can do it now.”

I picked up the magazine and we both looked at it and read the article. It was well written, captured what we said and explained without being overly done. It made no mention of the miscarriage what so ever and Zac found the video which was even more surreal but true to the word, the question was cut and edited, so nothing was mentioned. I was pleased with my first ever interview and video.

“So, driving to El Paso?”

“Yep. It’ll be fun.”

“I bet it will be. But, that’s days from now and I know this week you guys will be busy, so bed calls.”

He kissed my forehead again. “Isaac is sick baby, he’s not going to be there for at least three days. Taylor and I agreed to go in but not super early. So, bed calls but in a totally different manner for me.”

I giggled. “I think I like your idea better.”

We headed to the bedroom but sleep didn’t find us for a few more hours.