When I open the door of my bedroom, Petunia stretches lazily on my bed, blinks her bicolored eyes, and, with great effort, lifts herself up to come over and get some attention.
“Hi, beautiful girl,” I whisper and pick her up into my arms. Petunia is a big tabby cat that I rescued shortly after I moved to town. She looked a little worse for wear at the time, but she’s doing better now.
Of course, no TLC in the world will repair the ear that she lost somewhere along the way, but she’s happy and spoiled, and we love each other.
I’ve just sat down with Petunia in my lap, when I hear the yelling start.
I love June and Annabelle with everything in me. Annabelle is the grandma I always wanted, and June is like a sister to me.
But, oh God, I can’t live here anymore. I’m tired, I’m frazzled, and I’m too old for roommates.
It’s time I found my own space.
“Sarah, can you come look at this please? This old lady has lost her mind.”
“Lost my mind, have I? Well then, why don’t I just call the lawyer and have my will changed.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re just full of it.”
I stare down at Petunia and sigh. “Let’s look through the for rent ads, shall we?”
“This just becameavailable a couple of days ago,” Grace, the nice woman from the rental agency, says as we step out of her car. She was kind enough to pick me up for this little excursion. “It’s a honey of a place, and as of right now, it’s still vacant. Come on.”
I’m doing my best not to get my hopes up. This place isperfect. I can feel it, and I haven’t even gone inside yet.
The main house sits near the ocean, with a long staircase down to the sand. I’ve walked past this house hundreds of times over the years.
Walking the beach is my favorite thing in the world.
I didn’t know, however, that the small building just behind the main house was part of the same property and was also a guesthouse.
“The owner has had this place for a couple of years now,” Grace says as she unlocks the front door, “and he’s always rented out this space. It’s a small, one-bedroom guesthouse with a nice bathroom and an extra space that you could use for an office. It has a full kitchen, as well, and a little back patio where you could sit out with your coffee in the morning and look at the mountains. Unfortunately, there’s no front porch to look out at the ocean that’s only a couple of steps off the front door.”
“There’s anocean view?” My heart leaps when I walk past Grace into the living space and stand at the windows, staring at the little peek of ocean through the trees.
“It’s not a great view because it’s obstructed by the trees, but yes. You can see it.”
“Ocean view,” I whisper and feel like wrapping my arms around myself in a big hug. “Will he let me have my cat?”
“That might be the stinger,” she says with uncertainty. “I’ll have to run it by him. He usually doesn’t accept pets, but he might make an exception for you.”
“If he will let me have Petunia, I’ll take it.”
I turn back and am startled to find Tanner standing in the doorway.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he says with a half smile. “Ithoughtthat was you, Sarah.”
“Tanner, this is Sarah Pederson, and she’s interested in the rental,” Grace says with a smile.
“I know Sarah,” he says with a nod, never taking his eyes away from me. “Would you please give us a moment, Grace?”
“Oh. Well, I suppose so.” Grace clears her throat and slips out the front door, past Tanner. “Just call for me when you’re done.”
“I didn’t realize this was your place,” I say when she’s out of earshot. “If I’d known—”
“You wouldn’t be here?” He tips his head to the side. “Why?”
I shrug, shaking my head. “You know why. It’s just awkward, that’s all.”