Living Without Dreams

Chapter 13 - Moving Day

Rather than the fancy meal Susan had half expected on their last evening at the beach house, Marion had instead fixed hamburgers. She had all the trimmings prepared for their good-bye dinner, and Richard was busy barbequing the hamburgers   on the back deck when they arrived.

"That does smell good, Richard," Greg commented as he grabbed a beer and joined him by the barbeque while the women finished with things in the kitchen.

"It does, doesn't it," Richard agreed. "Marion does this seasoning on the meat which really draws out the flavor I think."

"And hamburgers are just right tonight ... with the children," Greg said.

"I'm glad you approve," Richard said. "Did you get things arranged for Susan's dinner?"

"I did. I called her mother who provided me with the name of her favorite restaurant from when they lived in the area when Susan was young. It's in Venice Beach, so it's quite a drive, but it sounds good," Greg said and he told his friend the name of the place.

"I've heard of that," Richard told Greg. "I hear they're good, but they can be really crowded."

"I've heard the same thing, so I've made reservations."

"For how many?" Richard checked.

"Ten. There will be five of us, and you and Marion, I've invited David Sloane, and Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy. It's a two to three hour drive for them, but they wanted to come when I talked to them about it, so I invited them. Susan doesn't know, so that part will be a surprise for her. I've even ordered her a cake, so I think it will be good," Greg said.

"What about presents?" Richard asked.

Greg shook his head. "I need Susan to drive me everywhere, so I haven't had the opportunity to buy her anything."

"You could get her towels," Richard suggested in a teasing tone.

"And I'm sure she'd appreciate them, but I'd rather get her lingerie," Greg said.

Richard arched his brow. "I'm sure you would. You'll have a much more private suite in the house than you had your apartment."

"True, but that's not why," Greg said. "Susan's been suffering with her self-image since she lost the baby. I'd like to get her something to make her feel good about herself; something nice that she'd enjoy wearing, and to let her know that I don't think any less of her because of it."

"Do you think she's thinking that?" Richard asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure. I know she's internalized it to a very large degree, but I have reason to believe this loss was very hard on her," Greg confided.

Richard considered his friend thoughtfully as he flipped the burgers. "It was only two weeks ago this evening that you lost it, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Greg confirmed. "It seems so much longer ago than that ... it's hard to believe we've been here so little time. Already our lives have changed dramatically."

"And as of tomorrow morning, they are about to change again. Here's to change, my friend," Richard said and they clinked their beer glasses together. "I'll come by the farmhouse tomorrow and take you to the store. I'm sure we'll be able to find Susan something."

"Thank you, Richard. I do appreciate it."

"I know you do. By the way, how did Alex's meeting go with the producers today?" Richard asked, changing the subject to a less emotional one.

"About as I expected. I'll have to court every producer in the land to get my story sold," Greg said. "Alex has meetings scheduled nearly every Thursday from now through January in order to do that."