Destroy Rebuild

“Hey babe?” I heard Alex call from the kitchen as I fastened Will’s onesie after changing his diaper.

“Yeah?” I called back.

He appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame, his arms folded across his chest.

“You wanna get out of the house today?” he asked. “I know we have a lot of packing to do since we go back home tomorrow, but do you want to go somewhere and do something?”

“Sure,” I nodded as I lifted Will and perched him on my hip, my hand hovering over the back of his head. He’d started showing some of his neck strength by holding his own head up, but I was still overly cautious. “What do you want to do?”

He shrugged and took a few steps towards us. “I was thinking we could go back to Venice Beach if you’re up to it.”

“Of course,” I said with a small smile. “Do you want to leave now?”

He nodded, a smile slipping into place over his mouth.

I grinned, a tad excited about seeing the beach twice on our trip and handed Will to Alex as I pulled out our outfits. It was a windy day for mid-October in California and the breeze had a slight chill to it. I pulled out some high-water skinny jeans, a white tank top and a black cardigan for myself and a pair of jeans and a jacket for Will. After getting us both dressed, Alex loaded us in the car and headed for Venice.

On the ride there, Alex pulled out his phone and after touching the screen a few times he pressed it to his ear.

“Hey, Greg,” he said after a moment. “It’s Alex Gaskarth. Yes, I just wanted to let you know we’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Ok, great. Thanks, man. Bye.”

“Who is Greg?” I asked after he hung up and slid his hand under mine, my fingers falling in between the spaces of his.

He looked at me briefly and grinned before saying, “A realtor.”

My eyes widened. “Why are you talking to a realtor?”

“I hear they’re specialists in real estate,” he said sarcastically before shooting me a wink, and I knew any other questions of mine would go unanswered until we met up with that Greg guy.

Soon we were back within the Venice Beach city limits and after turning off the main street into a seemingly quiet neighborhood, Alex pulled into the semicircle driveway of an olive green bungalow style home. The patch of green grass between the driveway and the street was home to a very tall palm tree. I looked around us in pure awe at the beautiful home, glancing up at the second story windows that were adorned with bamboo shutters.

“Wow,” I whispered. “What are we doing here?”

Alex shrugged as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Checking out the house.”

“To buy?” I nearly shrieked.

He sighed and turned the car off. “Just try to keep an open mind, ok?”

I looked ahead of us at the high-priced sports car that was also parked in the driveway. “Does the Ferrari come with it?” I muttered as I opened my door to get out.

As Alex was removing Will from his car seat, the driver side door of the Ferrari opened. A man, probably around Alex’s height and inching towards his fifties, climbed out and I secretly wondered how he fit in the low car. He smiled cheekily as he hurried over to us, using a handkerchief to wipe beads of sweat from his forehead. I was smacked in the face by the cigar smell that hung like a halo around him when he greeted us. Obviously, he was very well off, and I couldn’t help but figure it was because the houses he sold were very expensive. I glanced at the front door as he shook hands with Alex.

“This is my girlfriend, Whitney,” Alex nodded towards me as he adjusted Will against his chest.

Greg looked towards me and engulfed my hand in his large one. “I hear you’re going to be the hard one to impress,” he laughed heartily.

With a nervous laugh, I said, “Well you seem to have caught me off guard. I wasn’t prepared to be picky.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the slightest grimace as Alex cleared his throat. “Well, let’s just take a look and see what you think.”

I glared mildly at him as Greg lead us to the front door.

We walked under an arch onto the covered porch that stretched down the length of the house. The concrete floor was spotless, like it was just poured the day before. There were no scuff marks where furniture previously sat, and the dark brown painted wood of the railing looked brand new. Greg pulled out a key and opened the arched front door.

We walked into a large foyer and were met by a tall staircase that led to the second floor. Straight ahead of us, what seemed like half a football field away, I could see two sets of French doors on either side of the wall with sheer drapes covering the windows. Mahogany hardwood floors sparkled beneath our feet and I almost felt bad that I didn’t take my shoes off before entering. The house was huge. The open floor plan only made it seem that much bigger.

“Over here to the right we have what I would use as a dining area. You can set in a nice ten top and still have plenty of room to maneuver around,” Greg smiled.

Alex asked a question I wasn’t paying enough attention to to comprehend – something about square footage. I was frozen in the foyer, looking into this house that Alex brought me to. I imagined what it would look like if he and I were sitting on a long sectional black leather couch, watching a show as Will and another little boy ran in the front door and slung their bookbags by the staircase before coming to tell us how their day at school was and us surprising them with a walk to the beach. The thought made me blush. We’d never discussed having another baby. Then again, we never discussed potentially buying a house in California either, but here we are.

“You ok?” I heard Alex ask and I jumped when he touched my arm, pulling me out of my daydream. I nodded and followed him into the kitchen.

“Very spacious, with all new stainless steel appliances,” Greg said once I’d joined them.

The kitchen was something I would be envious of if it were in someone else’s home. The double standing oven looked shiny and fragile. There was some cabinet and countertop space between it and the two door refrigerator with two separate freezer drawers attached underneath it. The black and white checkered tile meshed well with the black cabinets. A huge island stood in the middle of the kitchen with a rack hanging from the ceiling that I assumed was to hang pots and pans from. I wasn’t much of a chef, but I would definitely learn how to be if it meant cooking in there.

We walked through the living room and back to the other side of the foyer to a space about as big as the dining room. We learned it was built to be a lounging area with a couch and a chair or two and a coffee table. It seemed cozy enough.

“Ready to see the master bedroom?” Greg asked.

Alex and I exchanged glances and nodded before being led back into the living room and down a hall to the left. At the end of the hall, an open door gave me a peak into the bedroom that I could already see was twice the size of our room at home. It was incredibly spacious – almost too spacious – with two walk in closets and another set of French doors that led to the backyard. The bathroom was as big as our current kitchen. The double vanity sinks with marble countertops were stunning. The mirror was lined with light bulbs like you would see in a Hollywood dressing room. A linen closet was wedged between the sinks and the jacuzzi bathtub that was big enough to fit four people. On the other side of the bathroom was a walk-in shower with glass doors and two separate rainfall shower heads attached to the ceiling. The shower was about six feet long, and Alex winked at me when we made eye contact.

Once we were finished in our bedroom, we went back into the hall where another bedroom was placed just a few feet away. It was considerably smaller, but still a good sized room.

“This could be a great office area,” Greg suggested.

“I was actually thinking about making this a music room,” Alex nodded. “Have a little desk in the corner where I could write. All my guitars and plaques and memorabilia.”

“And all your football stuff can go in here, too,” I smiled.

“Sweet,” he nodded. “I finally get my man cave.”

Greg showed us the simple full bath that was across the hall from the bedroom before leading us upstairs. On the second floor, there were three more bedrooms with a bathroom strategically placed between each one. They were all equal in size. Alex suggested we use one as Will’s room, one for any possible future children, and one as a guest room. Again, my mind wandered to the future and us raising our children in the house. The thought was almost enough to sell me on it.

Once we were back downstairs, Greg showed us what he considered “The Killer”. We walked through one of the sets of French doors onto a patio that extended the length of the house. A huge amoeba swimming pool sat in the center of the backyard with concrete poured around it, leaving a good bit of green grass. A privacy fence enclosed the yard and way off in the distance I could see ocean. Greg was right – the backyard killed any chance of a buyer turning this house down.

Once we were back inside and migrated to the kitchen, Alex handed Will to me.

“I’m just going to talk numbers with Greg for a moment if you want to look around some more,” he whispered while Greg ran to his car to get his briefcase.

“Are you about to buy this house?” I whispered back.

He paused for a moment before saying, “Do you want me to?”

I shook my head profusely. “I really think we should talk about this first, Alex.”
He nodded. “I agree. I’m just going to get a ballpark estimate and we can discuss whether this is a good idea or not later.”

I fell silent as Greg reentered the house. Absentmindedly, I slowly paced around the living room, bouncing Will in an effort to keep him calm. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the ground of the patio.

About half an hour later, Alex joined me as he crouched down beside me.

“Care for a soft pretzel and a sit on the beach?” he smiled.

---

“So what did you think about the house?” Alex asked as he chewed on a piece of pretzel.

I lifted the canopy on Will’s car seat to shield his eyes from the blinding sun as he snoozed in front of us. The wind was whipping my hair around like crazy and I lifted my sunglasses up to keep it out of my eyes.

Honestly, it was technically my dream house. I’d always wanted to live in a home styled as that near a beach, preferably on the west coast. Granted, I always thought I would be able to afford it, and having someone spend all their money on it for me made a significant difference.

“I loved it,” I nodded. “I truly, truly did. But don’t you think it’s a little much?”

Alex shrugged. “Not really. Is it not what you want?”

“Are you kidding?” I giggled. “Of course it is. It’s perfect. But I’m not an idiot, and I know it’s pricey.”

“Meh,” he shrugged again.

“How much is it then?”

“Don’t worry about how much it costs.”

“How much?” I asked again, my voice more demanding.

He shook his head before saying, “Why are you so concerned about this?”

“Because you’re considering buying something – with the intention of pleasing me, I’m assuming – that costs more than my life is worth and I’m not going to be able to contribute to help pay for it. So before I tell you whether or not I want it and before you spend all this money on it, I want to know how much it is. If you don’t tell me, I’m going to say no,” I huffed.

He stared at me for a moment before muttering, “$700.”

I couldn’t hold in my gasp. “$700,000?!”

He nodded, pinching off pieces of pretzel and tossing them to the side. “And your life is priceless, so don’t you ever say that shit again.”

“Alex,” I shook my head. “That is too much money to spend on a home. Are you crazy?”

“No,” he whispered. “I know that it’s a lot, but I don’t care. I fell in love with that house and I could tell by the look on your face while we were in there that you did, too. I can see us having a family there. I mean, sure, we’ll be a family no matter where we are, but I know we both would love to do it here. We can walk to the beach whenever we want. It’s a little touristy on the strip but in town it’s pretty quiet. We would be in a nice neighborhood, and I hear the school system here is pretty awesome.”

He paused for a moment, but when I just stared at him silently, he continued.

“Look, Whit, I’m not trying to convince you to do anything. I’m just letting you know this option is here if you want it.”

I nodded slowly, still trying to get over the price of the home. “Can I have some time to think it over?”

“You can take as much time as you need, figuratively,” he nodded. “We would need to put in an offer soon if we really want it."

I nodded, taking a bite of my own pretzel and staring out at the waves. “I’ll let you know soon.”

Notes