Page 126 of The Man I Hate

Labeling it COVID-19, the flu, or a spiritual awakening didn’t matter. I saw that changes needed to be made in me, and the way I was living life. That’s all that was important.

It was now time to implement those changes.

“C’mon, Old Man,” I complained. “The freeways are going to be bumper to bumper if we wait. She said to be there at noon.”

“Fuck her,” he shouted from the bathroom. “My nose hairs are unruly.”

“You’ve had two months to fix your nose hairs.”

“And you’ve had a lifetime to fix that nasty-ass beard you wear, but you haven’t. Fuck off, I’m almost done.”

“Which one is this?” Anna asked.

“The one in Playa del Rey that your friend told you about. 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and the back yard is sand, straight out to the beach.”

She mussed her hair. “The expensive one?”

“It’s a little pricey, but the view? It’s gorgeous.”

She rubbed her hands together. “It’s too much money, but I’m so excited to see it.”

“I’m not excited one bit,” Hap said as he walked out of the bathroom. “Sand gets in everything. In ‘Nam, I got that shit in the tip of my Johnson. Ended up with an infection that—”

“We don’t need ‘Nam dick stories,” I said with a laugh.

He patted me on the shoulder. “I’m excited for you.”

“For us,” Anna clarified.

“For us,” Hap agreed.

We drove to the home in question, arriving 20 minutes after we left. It ended up that bad traffic wasn’t all that bad.

Anna’s friend, Giselle, was waiting in the drive.

From the street, the modern-looking 3-story contemporary home was attractive. A detached 2-car garage was connected to the home by a covered breezeway. Beside the garage was a wide concrete driveway that would easily allow parking for 10.

“Has a big garage,” Hap said. “Lots of parking, too.”

Anna laughed. “Not having covered garage space is something I’ll have to get used to. My home in Oklahoma has a 3-car garage. Here? Most homes don’t have a garage at all.”

“You’re lucky to get a 1-car garage in Southern California,” I said.

The realtor, a friend of Anna’s from before the pandemic, led us into the home, pointing out the various flooring used, the choices in trim, and the type of marble countertops used in the recent remodel.

The home was breathtaking, as was the view.

She, Hap, and Anna continued through the house, moving their way toward the kitchen. I stood dead in my tracks and stared through the glass wall that faced the beach.

“Are you coming?” Anna asked over her shoulder.

I dreamed of watching the sunsets from the living room with Anna resting her head against my shoulder. Listening to the waves crash ashore from the deck while drinking a glass of wine. Walking from the back deck to the beach, barefoot through the sand, with the woman I loved. Taking morning jogs along the beach with the Old Man.

“Come here,” I said.

She turned around and walked to where I stood. “What are you doing?”

I gestured toward the beach. “Look.”