Page 32 of August
“If I want to move here anymore,” Bryce told her with a shrug. “I know I’m ready to move out of Tennessee, even though I’ll miss my friends. Two of them are a couple now, and that’s going really well. They’re moving in together in a month when leases are up. My other best friend is moving, too. She’s heading to Michigan at the end of the year for a job. So, things are changing at home, and I’m ready to move and be with Soph, but…”
“But?” she asked, wondering why Bryce was talking toherabout this.
Then, Myra remembered that old adage about it being easier to talk to a stranger about some stuff than a friend or family member because they could be more objective. While she wasn’t a stranger, she also wasn’t close to either Bryce or Sophie.
“But I like LA,” Bryce shared. “I didn’t think I would, and I didn’t at first, but I do now. I’ve been kind of playing it down because I didn’t want to scare her, but I like it there. It’s expensive as hell, so I don’t know if I could actually afford to live there, but I’ve been working on this movie thing, meeting a lot of industry people, and they’ve introduced me to more industry people. I ran this idea I had by a producer, not thinking anything of it, but he liked it and told me that I should write it. So, now I’m working on a new script and going to meetings out there, and I found this cute little bungalow in North Hollywood that’s for sale and needs a lot of work, but I can do that myself.”
“But Sophie’s here?” Myra guessed.
“Yes,” Bryce replied. “I can probably get the loan for the house without her, but that means it would just be mine and not ours, and I’m ready for things to be ours.”
“Sophie doesn’t know anything about this?”
Bryce shook her head.
“I don’t know her that well yet, but I don’t know that you should keep it from her for much longer. If that house you’re selling for your auntdoessell quickly, Sophie will expect you here, right? And I’m sure that bungalow isn’t going to be on the market for long in Los Angeles.”
“No, but I know the seller. It’s a cinematographer on the movie we’re making here in a couple of months. It’s not technically on the market yet because she’s working on another project, but she’ll be listing it soon. Soph hasn’t spent a lot of time in LA yet, so I was thinking about starting there and seeing if she likes it; just getting a vibe from her so that I know how to bring it up.”
“I think you should be honest with her,” Myra said. “I know I wouldn’t like being invited somewhere to check myvibe. If it were me, I’d want to know that you were thinking about moving there instead of having you constantly staring at me, probably trying to gauge my reactions to things.”
Bryce laughed and said, “Yeah, you’re right.” Then, she sighed. “I just don’t want to disappoint her. I told her I would move here, you know? And New Orleans and Los Angeles are very different.”
“She’ll understand. If you love it out there, you need to tell her so that you two can discuss options, and she can do what’s right for her.”
“What if she wants to stay here and I want to move?” Bryce asked.
“I don’t know, but I do think you should talk to your girlfriend about it.”
“She’s my future wife. I’ve got a ring ready and everything. We just haven’t been together all that long yet and have been dating long-distance, so I wanted to wait until after we move in together and it’s been a little more time, but I already know it’s her.”
“Babe?” Sophie half-yelled. “Want to take this to-go?”
She pointed down to the plate in front of Bryce’s seat.
“Yeah, thanks,” Bryce replied loudly. “I could live here, I guess. I can keep flying back and forth to LA. It’s not that big of a deal. I need to anyway until we know what’s going to happen with Soph’s family. I wouldn’t ask her to leave while they’re still around and need her.”
“But the bungalow?” Myra guessed.
“Yeah…” Bryce said with a sigh. “It’s so cute. It’s two bedrooms. I mean, one barely qualifies as a bedroom, but still. It even has a very small pool in the backyard – think overly large hot tub more than a pool.” She chuckled. “We could have an office or it could be a guest bedroom. Maybe it’s too small, but we won’t be able to afford anything bigger there right now, so it could make a good starter home for us.”
“Just talk to her, Bryce,” Myra said with a smile.
“Yeah,” Bryce replied. “So, are you getting sick of the wedding planning stuff, too?”
Myra laughed and said, “I get it. I’ve been there. My ex planned our wedding for over a year. I tried to help where I could, but she had a clear vision, so everyone else had to get out of her way.”
“I wonder if Soph will be like that. I doubt it.” Bryce shook her head. “Your ex? Divorced?”
“Yeah,” Myra replied. “About five years now.”
“Sucks. Sorry,” Bryce offered in response.
“It does, yes, but Myra has a new crush,” Melinda said, appearing out of nowhere next to them.
“New crush?” Bryce asked her with a lifted eyebrow.
“She’s a neighbor. And thanks a lot, Mel.”
