Page 1 of Dad Next Door

1

QUINN

Looking around the nearly empty great room of my new house, I pulled in a deep breath.

The fact that my house had something called a great room, which was essentially a giant living room with cathedral ceilings, a massive fireplace, and tons of windows, was one of the many reasons I was still second-guessing this purchase a month after the fact.

Soft chimes knocked me out of my daze. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and swiped to answer the video call.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hey.” He settled into his plush desk chair. “Got a minute?”

“I’ve got nothing but time. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. It’s been a while since I heard from you.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I know. I’ve just been…”

“Overwhelmed?” he asked knowingly.

“So overwhelmed.” I blew out a breath and shot him my ‘what the fuck am I doing’ grin. “Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?”

“It’s normal to have buyer’s remorse after a big purchase. It’s a huge change and a big responsibility to own your own home.”

“I keep waiting for the ‘holy shit’ feeling to go away, but it’s still here.”

“Do you want to talk about it, or do you need to vent?”

I smiled. Dad always knew how to talk me down when I was on the brink of panicking. “Vent.”

He nodded, giving me the space to talk out what was currently crowding my already busy mind.

“I know I made the smart choice.” Shifting the phone to my left hand, I crossed the room to the door that led to my walk-out deck. “And I’m still in shock over how much we managed to get the price down from asking, so I know it’s a smart investment. It’s just a lot to go from a decade of renting to all this.”

Dad nodded sympathetically.

Sighing, I unlocked the inner door and pulled it open to let some fresh air in through the screen door. “I’ll be fine, eventually. I just need to get used to it. But anyway, enough about me and my existential crisis. How’s everyone?”

Dad chuckled. “We’re good. Keeping busy.”

Needing to move around, I slipped out onto my back deck. “Always a good thing.” Cutting across the massive structure, I went to check the cover on my hot tub.

I’d checked it last night after I’d closed the hot tub down, but my anxious brain needed to double-check it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dad asked.

“Fine.” I tugged on the ties, making sure they were secure.

“Quinn.”

I paused my tugging. “Yeah?”

“You’re going to be fine. You’re smart, capable, and you worked your ass off to get where you are. Don’t sell yourself short, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.” I stepped back from the hot tub. “Thanks.”

“Call me if you need anything. Even if it’s just to vent or whatever. You might be an adult, but I’m still your dad. It’s my job to take care of you. That includes your mental health.”

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