Chapter 150: The Name Game
"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." – John Howard Payne
"A good laugh is sunshine in a house." – William Makepeace Thackeray
"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." – Iris Murdoch
"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world." – Hans Margolius
She smiled, "Goodie!"
He chuckled, "Don't forget about our list either…"
"Oh yeah! You wanna finish that first?" she asked grabbing the pen and paper again.
"Sure…we can write names after…"
"Ok, go ahead…"
"Mmm…sand…"
"Vaughn, we got that covered."
He smiled, "Ok…
She held the pen poised, "How many bedrooms?"
"Four," he said.
She smiled and wrote it down, "Bathrooms?"
"Mmm…BIG TUB…"
She giggled, "Ok…how about 2 ½?"
"Sure…and we need…air conditioning…heat of course, living room, den, nice big master bedroom – with a fireplace!" he said excitedly.
She laughed and wrote it all down, "Do we need a fireplace in the liv–"
"Yes!" he answered quickly.
"We need a patio – or a balcony…maybe a nice staircase down to the beach…"
"Mmm…I'm liking this…" Vaughn said happily, "We should have a hot tub too…"
Sydney looked over at him, "But we have the ocean…"
He turned to her, "Ocean isn't a hot tub…" he said with a raised brow.
She nodded and wrote it down, "Garage?"
"Mmm…two-car should do it…"
"K, what else…"
"Cable," he said with a smile, "and a fence…"
She chuckled, "A fence?"
"Yeah…so the kids can't run in the street…"
She smiled and kissed him, "Very practical…"
"And we have to have grass…"
She smiled, "Grass noted…and I want an island kitchen…a kitchen that has an island in the middle – marble…"
He smiled, "So you shall have it." He thought a moment, "Can we have a big screen TV?"
She snorted, "Yeah…you can have a big screen…if I can have an island, you can have a big screen."
"Surround sound?"
"Don't push your luck…" she said with a sweet smile. "I should call a realtor…"
"Now?"
"Well, yeah…it's gonna take a while to find this house of ours…"
He smiled, "Our house."
"Yes, our house," she said kissing him, "I'll get the phone book, you think of happy-place names."
"Ok."
She came back in a few minutes later, "Ok," she dialed and waited for the realtor to pick up the phone.
"Simone Moore…"
"Hi," Sydney said cheerfully.
"Hello…can I help you?"
"Yes, my name is Sydney Bristow, and my," she looked at Vaughn, "fiancé and I are interested in finding a house to purchase."
Vaughn beamed over at her, nodding, and whispering, "Nice…"
"Well Ms. Bristow, I'd be glad to work with you. What kind of home did you have in mind?"
"Well, ideally we are interested in a single-family home on the beach, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths…and please, call me Sydney…"
"Ok, Sydney, were there any other things you and – did you say fiancé – were looking for?"
"Yes, Michael and I have a bit of a wish list – did you want it all now?"
"Sure, Sydney, and then I'll see if there is something out there that meets your needs…"
"Great…ok, here we go…" Sydney took a breath, "well air conditioning and heat of course, living room with a fireplace, den, master bedroom with a fireplace, patio or balcony," she stopped momentarily and smiled at Vaughn, "a hot tub…two-car garage…cable, a kitchen with an island…" Sydney stopped chuckling.
Simone asked, "Sydney?"
"I'm sorry…we also need grass…"
"Grass?"
"Yes, grass in the front yard, and a fence – but some of this stuff we can just add to the house…"
Simone chuckled, "Hmm…grass…and an ocean view…Well, Sydney, it sounds like you have some pretty specific ideas. Let me run a property search and I can let you know if there is anything that meets your criteria. Is there a number I can reach you at later today or tomorrow?"
Sydney smiled, "Sure, it's 555-8448."
"Ok, I'll give you a call just as soon as I can."
"Thank you," Sydney said and hung up the phone.
She sat down on the bed again with Vaughn, "Well…that was probably the best call I've ever made…"
He smiled, "It was nice…fiancé?"
She smiled, "Did you mind?"
"Not at all…"
"Good," she said snuggling down into his arm, "You wanna name your happy place now?"
"Sure," he said, "Um…how about right here…'the bed.'"
Sydney chuckled, "I don't think Barnett would find the humor."
"Sealy Posturepedic?"
She shot him a look, "No."
"K, fine…then you come up with something!"
She smiled, "Um…well what did you imagine us doing, where were we when you did the exercise?
"Well…we were all over, here, the rooftop with that grasshopper joke, warehouse, coffee shop, train station, I thought of everywhere…"
"Ok…well…you could call it 'The Rooftop.'"
"Yeah, I could."
"Or…um…'The Warehouse?'" she said giggling, "I'm being really inventive…"
He laughed, "I could do something with ice or hockey…"
"Oh! You could call it 'The Rink!'"
He smirked, "Yeah…I could call it 'Iceland.'"
"Ok, that was worse than my suggestions…"
He chuckled, "Yeah…it was…um…'Zamboni?'"
She giggled, "You actually want to tell Barnett you're going to 'Zamboni?'"
"Well…not really…"
"Iceboni!"
He turned to look at her, "That sounds really…sexual…"
She smacked him on the arm, "Dirty boy…"
He grinned, "Um…"
"You could name it one of the places we've visited…like a mission…"
"Yeah…but which one?"
"Well…Nice?"
He smiled, "That was a good time…"
"Cap Ferrat?"
"Well, I know you saved me, but I'm not so sure that was my 'happy place.'"
She giggled, "No, sorry…"
"You know I settled on one image…when I was thinking about you…"
She smiled, "What image was that?"
"You and I on the pier…It all seems to lead back to water…" he mused.
She smiled, "Why is that?"
"I'm not sure…I've always liked water…I mean, as a kid, I loved the beach, and I've always played hockey – frozen water…it's kind of a theme I guess."
She smiled, letting him think, loving how his brow furrowed when he was deep in thought.
"You ever read philosophy in college?"
"Uh…yeah I remember a few vague references from a general degree requirement."
Vaughn chuckled, "Heraclitus said once that you couldn't step into the same river twice because other waters are always flowing in and out of it…that kind of always stuck with me…" He paused, "But it was really puzzling too…because it works both ways – yes, the water is changing, flowing, but in essence, the oceans are all one body of water…so it's all the same ocean – the same water, but when you stand in one part of the ocean, the waves bring new water…I guess I like that it can be both…you can be in one place forever, yet everyplace if you think about it…" he stopped shaking his head and looking at her sheepishly, "Sorry…"
She smiled widely, "Ok, first, that was completely fascinating, and you must do that again…like all the time…and it was really adorable, and attractive, and sexy…" she leaned over and kissed him seductively, plunging her tongue into his mouth. She backed away and rested her forehead on his, "You should definitely wax philosophical on me again…"
He smiled, "I'll remember that…"
"Well why don't you name it 'The Pier.'"
"My happy place?"
"Yeah…"
"Hmm…I'm going to the pier…" he smiled, "I can go to the pier."
"Is that what you think you'll call it then?"
"Yeah…I think so…that seemed way too easy."
"Well…easy homework is good."
"Yeah, but Barnett said they won't all be that easy…"
She looked up at him, "You'll be ok…and I'll help if I can."
He smiled, "I know…thank you."
"What do you wanna do before dinner? I was doing work while you were with Barnett…"
"Mmm…can I just stay in my happy place for awhile?"
She chuckled, "Of course…"
"I want you to stay in my happy place too…" he added.
She smiled, "I'm not going anywhere…"
"You wanna watch a movie?" he asked.
"Sure, you wanna try L.A. Confidential again?"
"No, that's ok…you already watched that…let's watch something happy…keep with that theme…"
She smiled, "Ok, I'll go see…"
She came back, "Ok…cause I'm a cool girlfr–, fiancée," she corrected.
He smiled widely at her, "Yes?"
"I thought this might be a good choice…" she handed him the movie.
"You are cool…and yeah, I haven't scene it…but I wanted to."
"Well, good…cause it's really a fun guy movie, but it's fun for girls too – all the hot men…"
"Hey, you got a hot man right here…" he said slightly hurt.
She approached the bed, and lay down next to him, kissing him possessively, "I have a very hot man, who I love very, very, very much…but I can still admire beauty…" she said with a wink.
He smiled, "I love you too…but you realize, that means I can look too…"
She smiled, "Yes, but I can still hit you when you do."
"True, very true," he said as she snuggled into him as the main title began…
