Page 87 of 7 Miles High
Epilogue
Natalie
One Year Later
How life has changed. A year ago it looked very different. Funny how when you look back the puzzle pieces of life seem to fit so effortlessly. Hindsight has a much clearer lens. What I didn’t know then is what’s meant to be finds a way. You can screw things up royally and still end up together. You can take a wrong turn and still right yourself. Fate has the final say.
I remember thinking I’d never leave Santa Barbara. Not because I was tied to the city so tightly. It was because of my career. Actually, if it wasn’t for that, I would have relocated after the divorce. It was like a pall had settled on the streets and I just got accustomed to it. I didn’t see it clearly until Parker came into my life. That’s when I realized how much it meant to have contentment.
I’d worked so hard to build my clientele, that I couldn’t have fathomed moving. But God works in strange ways. Sometimes he lets a seagull shit on you for dramatic affect and sometimes he brings people into your life that will take you to new heights.
That’s what happened when Bliss and Nicki became my friends. Compared to mine, their business was in another stratosphere. So when they offered me a position, it was a no brainer to take advantage of it. It’s been a wonderful pairing of our strengths. They let me fly free. Once we worked together for a few months, it was obvious we all had made the right move.
The Dubai offer of working in the Arab Emirates ended up going in another unexpected direction. Instead of living there and having an on-site experience, the developers and I came to a new agreement. They wanted my expertise and client referrals and I wanted the cache and cash of being involved with such a world class project. So we came to an agreement. I’d work from Los Angeles and educate my international clients on the wonders of Dubai’s luxury real estate. Specifically this project. It has worked beautifully.
The very best of all the changes to my life was moving to San Juan Capistrano to be with Parker. It’s been a revelation of love to be with a man who cares the way he does. My expectations for men and romance had been based on the one who lied and cheated. What flawed logic that was.
The day Parker and I moved into his new house will be forever etched in my memory. Of course I’d seen other people’s reactions to finally achieving their goal of home ownership. But never had I seen it up close with someone to share the beauty.
That first time you open your own front door. The first night sleeping in your house. The first time you sit in the backyard looking at a glorious sunset. It was a beautiful, meaningful experience. I would watch Parker as he hung pictures or organized his kitchen and think, ‘It can’t get sweeter than this.’
And within a few months I felt like it was my home too. He made me feel like that.
We relish the small things. Although we never know where Parker’s jobs are going to take him, the locale can never beat being in the small home, on a quiet street. Dinner parties with our friends, or holidays with our families, are important moments in time. When we are there the happiness sits with us.
I’m seeing the depth and scope of love. How just being together makes all things palatable. That body in bed next to yours, the conversation around the dinner table. Like the song says, it’s not the moon that excites me. It’s the nearness of him. The big moments ended up to be the smallest ones. Love does that. It permeates your cells and bolsters you in every way. It’s all beautifully emotional.
It’s undeniable that we should be together. He’s for real. Like my dream come true. My perception of what love can be has been changed in every way. It’s bigger and deeper than anything I imagined. Sweet destiny.
* * *
I step into my heels and grab my evening purse, checking to see if I put my cell inside. Okay, ready. One final look in front of the mirror tells me I don’t have toilet paper on my shoe or a hair out of place. Parker loves me in a braid so I’ve worn it tonight. Images of his pulling it in Cancun appear in my mind. Wow, that was an unbelievable night. The first of many.
“You almost ready?” I call through the bathroom door.
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Do you have a stomach ache? You’ve been in there for twenty minutes!”
“No. Just looking over my messages.”
“Okay.”
Weird. He’s a man who doesn’t like to dilly dally in the bathroom. In and out. That’s his style. Oh well, maybe it’s about work.
I walk into the kitchen and get a glass of water. The music playing moves me to do a little dance. After a minute I feel someone watching.
“You are so fucking sexy,” he says, standing in the entry.
When Parker walks in he owns the room. I haven’t gotten used to looking at him. It’s a ridiculous thought, really. A man in a tux is such a reliable pleasure. But tonight there is something extra about the look. Think it’s this expression. I see happiness.
“You look so handsome, baby. Is it absolutely necessary we attend tonight? Come on. I know you’d rather stay at home, and I wouldn’t be opposed to sending our regrets,” I say.
Parker strikes a pose. Arms crossed, gazing up. It’s his Model Man stance. It always makes me smile.
“I have people to see. A red carpet to walk.”
“Oh, well you can’t keep your fans waiting.”
