Page 73 of Proof

She pulled into Gail’s driveway, where she was greeted by a Bernese mountain dog named Max. “Hey, Max! Remember me?” He bowed down on his front paws. “You do!” She gave him a hug and a cuddle.

From the distance, Luna heard a voice say, “What about me?” Gail came running from the front door. “Sweetcakes!” She threw her arms around Luna and rocked her back and forth. “Look at you! All grown up!” Gail stood back and eyed Luna’s new appearance.

“What do you think?” Luna asked.

“I. Love. It!” Gail was animated. “I can’t believe you’re here. In the flesh!”

“Me either. Ellie couldn’t have picked a better time for me to make this trip.”

“Oh? Do tell.” Gail put her arm around her pal and walked her into the house. “Robert wants to say hello. He’s got a session tomorrow, and the driveway will be jammed with vehicles, so you can follow me. It’s just a few minutes away.”

“No problem,” Luna responded.

Robert was a music producer who worked mostly on commercials. He and Gail had met in Los Angeles several years ago when she was a studio musician. Gail was one of the few people who could play a ukulele, guitar, piano, and sing backup. She was talented and reliable and had steady work, with Robert calling on her frequently. After several months of working together, they went out to celebrate Gail’s birthday. It turned romantic, and they got married. During a trip to Durango, they stopped in Sedona and fell in love with it. Robert was able to set up a studio in their house, where he and Gail continued to work together on jingles. Luna admired their relationship and the gamble they’d taken to uproot themselves from Tinseltown. Los Angeles had lost its charm for them. The influx of celebrity wannabes with little or no talent, the regurgitated television shows, and the superficiality had been wearing thin. It was a leap of faith, and it paid off. Gail continued to give all the credit to Sedona. “This place just called to us. We responded.”

Luna knew exactly what Gail meant. “Most people get messages but ignore them, and consequently, they live frustrating lives wondering when it’s going to be their turn to flourish.”

“I hear ya,” Gail remarked.

“It’s fear. Fear of change. Even if change could possibly improve their lives, it’s still change, and change is scary.”

The two went on to discuss the workshop they’d once attended conducted by Shakti Gawain. She had everyone write down what their dream job or situation would be. After a few minutes, she had them write down what was the worst thing that could happen if they pursued those dreams. She asked them to read their responses over a few times. Then she asked them to write down, What is worse than that? It was a real eye-opener. Really, what was worse than losing your savings? You could always get more money. But your health? Your life? Unless it was a threat to your physical and mental well-being, why not take the risk? If people didn’t take risks, they would still believe the world was flat.

“I really enjoyed that workshop,” Luna mused. “I feel as if it set me on the right course. I have to admit, it’s still dicey trying to discuss metaphysics with people. A lot of people. I used to be defensive about it. Now I toss some science at them. You know, stuff like, ‘we only use a small portion of our brain.’ Then I throw in a dash of quantum physics.” Luna chuckled. “That usually stops them in their tracks. Their eyes glaze over, and they change the subject.”

Gail laughed out loud. “Love it!” They came around the circular driveway in front of the house.

“Wow. So much has grown since I was here.” Luna marveled at the succulents and trees.

“My hobby. Keeps me off the police band radio,” Gail chortled.

Luna and Gail left their purses and tote bags in the entry and walked down a hallway that led to a patio. On the other side was a small building slightly larger than the size of a two-car garage. The exterior matched the main house and was beautifully landscaped courtesy of Gail, a woman of many talents. “The place looks beautiful,” Luna exclaimed, noticing the different varieties of succulents.

“Thanks. I think I’m almost done.” Gail led the way.

“What do you mean, ‘almost done’? It looks pretty done to me.” Luna could not see anything that looked unkept, undone, or out of place.

“I want to add a few more things, but that can be next year’s project.”

“It’s spectacular. I’m not used to seeing this kind of plant life except at a greenhouse.”

“I’m thinking about making tabletop succulent gardens and selling them.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“Yeah, I need to keep myself busy when we’re not recording, or I can get myself into too much retail trouble.” Gail laughed.

“I totally get it.”

Gail opened the door that led to a small lounge area with soundproof glass that separated the engineer booth and the recording area.

“This is amazing,” Luna said with admiration. “You were just beginning to build this the last time I was here.”

“Yeah, it was getting a little crowded in the spare room, so I put on my shop apron, grabbed a hammer, and went to work,” Gail replied.

“You are amazing,” Luna gushed.

“It was either me working on this or having to rent a space. This was the best option. Now if we get musicians from out of town, they can stay at the B&B.”

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