Author's note: Thank you again for the kind reviews- They are greatly appreciated.
"Austin, I love you, but if you send me one more listing because it's "right next to where someone on the Heat lives" or walking distance to "The Original Pancake House", I will buy this house myself and text you the address after I have called the movers."
Austin looked up slowly from his laptop, raising an eyebrow as he tried his best to plaster on something resembling an innocent look. "I just want to make sure our family is safe, honey. When your mother is award-winning music sensation Ally Dawson, you could have paparazzi tracking your every move! What better way to avoid that than if there is an NBA player just down the street? And being close to quality food is always important."
Ally rolled her eyes, looking back at her own computer as she continued to scroll through more listings. She curled the edge of her mouth, blowing away a strand of hair in a huff before taking a sip of her tea. She clicked on yet another house, skipping past the photos to quickly check on the assigned schools. Austin slowly moved around their small dining table, beginning to gently rub her shoulders as she let out a frustrated sigh.
"That place looks nice," he offered, watching as Ally clicked the back button and continued to scroll.
"It has a big pool with no cover or baby gate, and the backyard is all concrete," Ally said sadly. "And it isn't zoned for the elementary school I thought it was." Austin continued his massage, placing a gentle kiss into Ally's hair.
They had only made it two weeks into their tour before he had stirred in the middle of the night, finding Ally wide awake next to him. She had been chewing on the end of a pen in between rapidly scribbling notes, flipping back and forth between the first and second pages of the small hotel notepad. He had initially assumed it was residual stress from the "polite" but businesslike message the label had given them in response to the "news" about the baby, but as the sleep cleared from his eyes he had caught the word "backyard" at the bottom of the first page. She had started to apologize for waking him, with Austin interrupting her to lightly quip that he could now cross "find their dream house with a perfect backyard at 1:37 AM in Cleveland" off his bucket list.
They had ended up talking for nearly an hour, excitedly adding "must haves" like a backyard with a swing set and space for a grand piano while playfully adding deal-breakers such as "next door to a retirement community". Both columns had only grown as the tour had gone on, with Austin surprisingly being the first one of them to start worrying about school boundaries.
"We've been at this for weeks now, and there's only been one or two places that tick most of the boxes," Austin sighed, continuing to rub his wife's shoulders. "Maybe we should reconsider leasing that place near Stonegate. I know the neighbors might not be ideal, but…"
"Are you seriously telling me you are willing to live a few doors down from Jimmy Starr?" Ally asked incredulously. "Besides, there's no way we can put up a swingset with an HOA like that, and we would just be putting things off for another year…when we'd probably have to move all over again."
"Allllllyyyy," Austin whined, stopping the massage as she turned to face him. "I know we both want this to be as perfect as possible, but our lease is up next month, and you and I both agreed we wanted to have enough time to get things ready for little Austin junior."
"We still don't know if they are a boy or a girl," Ally lightly retorted, placing a hand on her small baby bump. "And even if this baby is a boy, there is no way we are naming him Austin junior. Seeing the slightest of frowns on his face, she quickly added "at least we'll find out for sure next week at the ultrasound appointment."
"Well, boy or girl, I just hope they get their mother's looks...and brains…and talent. Wait, what am I even bringing to the equation again?" Austin joked, moving to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
Ally laughed, getting up herself to move to the kitchen and grab a peach. "Seriously though Austin- I just want everything to be perfect…for all of us."
"I know," Austin replied, draping his arms around her from behind. "It's weird, right? When you and I first went condo shopping after we got married it felt so easy. Now it feels like we have to look at every little thing ten times."
"At least this baby is going to have two people who totally adore him…or her," Ally said, watching as Austin's hands came to rest gently on her stomach.
"Oh, they'll have a lot more than that," Austin said, placing a kiss on her cheek as he moved back to his computer. "Do you remember the argument our parents got into when we first told them we were looking to move to a bigger place?"
"Please don't remind me," Ally said, recounting the look of horror on her mother in law's face after her father had mentioned the house behind him was currently for sale. "Your mom started showing us every house for sale within five blocks of their house, and that started the fight about who got to babysit on which weekends and holidays."
"That reminds me- my parents wanted to have us over for dinner to talk about crib mattresses," Austin groaned. "I'm worried she and my dad have a video they want us to watch too."
"Your parents are sweet," Ally replied, now strangely curious about the volume of mattress education media that might exist. "We should at least…" Ally was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Seeing that it was their realtor calling, she picked up, putting the call on speaker as Austin moved closer to the counter.
"Hi Carmen! I have Austin here with me too- we were just looking at some more places and still coming up empty. Any good news for us?"
"Hi guys! Well, I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but I think I have something you might be really interested in. It's a short walk to the water, and in one of the school areas you sent me. Supposedly the current owner is a musician too- it has room that was used as a recording studio. It hasn't hit the MLS yet, but I'm going to the realtor's open tomorrow. I'll take some pictures and get them over to you, and I'll send you an email with the address now."
"Carmen, that sounds great! Thank you so much!" Ally said, her voice now hopeful.
"Thank you, Carmen!" Austin added as Ally hung up, exchanging a hopeful look with Austin.
"I'm taking this as a sign from the universe that it's time for us to take a break," Austin said, raising his head towards the door. "Do you want to walk over to Sedici? I could use some fresh air."
"That sounds perfect," Ally smiled, taking Austin's hand as they made their way out the door into the Miami sunshine.
"Austin?"
Ally stepped softly into the living room, the traces of early dawn doing little to pull the darkness from the room. Austin turned away from the window at the sound of her voice, giving a small but forced smile as his gaze slipped briefly from Ally to the floor before jumping back again. Ally looked at him for a moment; really looked at him- before she could even form another thought she was right in front of him, her hand glancing lightly down his arm before coming to rest in his as their fingers interlocked. Austin's free arm draped around her small form, her head leaning into his chest as she felt a soft kiss land in her hair as his words came out in a modest whisper.
"I just feel like I let you…like I let us down."
Ally looked up at her husband, her eyebrows knitted together as lines formed across her forehead. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek while running a hand through the back of his hair, stopping softly at the back of his neck as she kissed him again.
Many of Austin's fans felt like they knew him to some degree; if she was totally honest there was probably more truth to that than most people realized, given her husband's penchant for wearing his heart on his sleeve and his natural desire to make people happy. She had envied it almost immediately after meeting him back in high school- the easy and honest way he could relate to almost anyone he was talking to, the joy he absorbed and reflected in even the smallest of circumstances. The seeds of that envy had grown into something else entirely, a quiet kind of awe and admiration at how much of himself he was willing to give to those around him. Ally often felt it was a shame that people who didn't spend much time with him could glimpse this, but never got to really see it; the way kindness and selflessness so easily poured out of him, sustained by some seemingly infinite well of generosity that she herself could never fully grasp. There had been signs early on, of course.
Ally honey, the connection dropped out for a second there. Did you say he sang your Butterfly song? In front of a room full of people, just so you wouldn't be embarrassed?
I know mom…isn't Austin a great friend?
He certainly is, sweetheart.
Ally…please explain to me why my store smells like smoky hamburgers?
Sorry dad! It's just that Austin wanted to celebrate his first big check from his record deal and bought us all gifts! He got Dez an electric cart with a grill in the back, Trish her own kiosk right here in the mall, and he got me the actual crystal shoes from Princess Crystal Shoes! He even got you something- I put it under the counter by the register.
Oh, that was so…wait. He got you the crystal shoes? The actual ones? From the movie? The one I took you to six times in the theater when you were little?
Yes! Isn't he a great friend?
He…he certainly is, sweetheart.
It was below the surface; past the sneaker line, the fancy clothes, the slick dance moves, even underneath the megawatt smile and natural charisma made him undeniably Austin. At his core, one of the things that brought him the most joy was making the people around him truly happy…and some of the times he hurt the most were when he felt like he had failed them in some way. Ally knew he had wanted this house just as much as she did, but he also wanted it for them- all of them.
"You did no such thing," Ally whispered, slipping her arms around his waist as she pulled him into a tight hug. She felt Austin relax slightly, a light sigh escaping his lips.
"I just…it was perfect, you know?" Austin replied wistfully. "It sounds stupid, but I felt like that the moment we saw it."
"It's just a house," Ally replied, still holding him tightly. "Even if it was a really good one."
"I know…I just feel like I should have pushed us to offer more, or…I don't know," he said, trailing off. "You know that feeling you get when you know something is right? Like, really, really, right? I had that when we walked in there."
"I know the feeling," Ally said quietly. "I have it whenever I walk into a room and you're there."
Austin looked down at his wife, his face shifting immediately into a broad smile that seemed to lift the heaviness out of the room.
"I am the luckiest guy in the world," he breathed, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."
"C'mon," Ally said, taking his hand again. "It's too early to be out of bed, and I've already been deprived of morning cuddles long enough."
Austin laughed, following his wife back down the hallway as the room seemed to brighten with each step they took.
A few hours later
Hi Ally! This is Carmen. Sorry to leave you an early voicemail on the weekend, but I think you won't mind by the time I'm done. The seller's agent just called me- the house fell out of escrow because of an issue with the financing pre-approval with the other offer. If you guys are prepared to move forward with your offer, the house is yours! I'll try calling Austin too- just give me a call as soon as you get this!