I parked my car, quickly checking my appearance in the rear view mirror. I fluffed my hair a bit, adding some extra volume to my natural waves and ran my hand gently under my eyes as to clean up my smudged mascara. I'd worked a long shift but I still wanted to look nice when I walked through the door. I smoothed the large wrinkles from my mustard yellow waitress uniform and grabbed my belongings as well as the meal I'd brought home for us from the diner. I made my way into the courtyard, giving a friendly greeting to a few of our kind neighbors before climbing the flimsy stairs to our current residence. I stood in front of our door, fumbling for my keys to unit 7B when Lindsey opened the door to let me in.
"Hey beautiful, I missed you today," he immediately took my bags from my hands and gave me a sweet kiss hello. "Sit down, I'll handle of all of this. You've had a long day."
I briefly watch him move about, admiring how handsome he is with his scruffy face and somewhat wild hair, clad in only his jeans as he puts the essential items I've purchased into the fridge. He takes such good care of me.
We have just moved to Los Angeles, wide eyed and in search of fame and fortune, and I really think that we will find it. Lindsey is so talented and no matter what happens, I'm so in love with him. It's going to be us against the world, but I just know that we can make it.
Our apartment is tiny and quite bare, but I know I can make it home. I've decorated it a bit and I'm sure I'll find some other little treasures along the way- especially after we get our Buckingham Nicks album out and things begin to take off for us. I'm sure they will. But for now I'm content with our first little home. We have each other and that's really all we need.
I quickly wash my face and change clothes, wanting to escape the smell of the fried foods that I'd been serving all day. Lindsey had carefully portioned out the dinner I'd brought home onto our plates and I joined him at the small table. He was so attentive to my every need, conversing with me about my day and telling me about a song he's working on. I was deliriously happy.
I suppose we've only been here for a few weeks but I've managed to find a job for some extra income and Lindsey has dedicated himself full time to music. We did okay for ourselves in our band but we both knew to make it big we had to head out on our own. It's certainly not easy but it's the only way. We're broke, busted and disgusted- and we learned the hard way that agents can't be trusted. But we're going to make it. I can just feel it. Our California Dreamin' is becoming a reality.
After we finish our meal he throws on a shirt so we can head out for our nightly walk. It's quickly becoming a staple of our evenings. I was desperate for a bit of fresh air so we drove to the coast and took a stroll along the beach. The smell of the ocean air and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore calmed me. He held my hand as we strolled along, chatting idly about our big plans for the future. We'd been down here a couple of times a week and I was just in love with this area. Things felt so tranquil, so serene. The path we walked lead through a gorgeous neighborhood and I'd stopped to admire one house in particular every night. It was an Italian style villa, considerably larger than anything I'd ever imagined living in. The lawn was immaculately manicured, the large Italian Cypress trees giving an illusion of a grandeur lining the long cobblestone driveway. I stopped at the ornate wrought iron gates and gazed in, wondering who lived there, and what their life was like.
After a few moments we began to walk back towards our car, the street lights clicking on above us. Lindsey pulled me close, reading my thoughts. "Someday, baby, I promise." He kissed my hair. "I'll build you a kingdom in that house on the hill."
We returned to our old car and I headed east on Sunset, the windows cracked as the cool California air streamed into my car and blew my hair. Lindsey's seat leaned back and he rested his feet out the window as we drove back to our modest apartment. I listed contently as he hummed a tune he was clearly working out in his head, his hand instinctively drifting to my leg and I felt him absentmindedly rub figure eights on my bare skin with his calloused thumb.
We returned home and he immediately sat down and pulled his guitar onto his lap as I curled up next to him. He continued to work out the same simple tune in the car and I watched it grow into an amazingly intricate guitar part. Eventually I pulled out my journal and began to write a bit. We worked side by side until my eyelids became heavy and I closed the book, sitting it on the floor beside our bed. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he continued to play.
I must have dozed off at some point but I woke up wrapped in Lindsey's arms. He'd taken my shoes off and covered us both with a blanket. I hit the switch on my alarm to off before it could make a sound and wake him and I got up to dress for my first of today's two jobs. He slept soundly while I readied myself, his guitar never out of arm's reach. I knelt on the bed and kissed his cheek goodbye. There was nothing that I wouldn't do to please this beautiful man and to make our dreams come true.
