Beyond the end

Another beach house

Los Angeles
Like every morning Valerie had gotten up quite early and after running around the side streets, she had came back, she had breakfast in a French boulangerie near the Hilton and fully dressed because she had gone to visit a couple of houses by the sea. She had decided to start from scratch: new life, new home, new job. New friends? It was a question that was constantly asking. As soon as she was activated she had tried to contact the Walsh twins, but Brandon seemed immersed in his family life, unbelievable that she had taken an break to get Kelly to work, she was not at Brandon's and already knew that sooner or later she would give in to pressure. When people divide in half between what they want the foundations sooner or later collapse and it's just a matter of time.
Honestly Valerie had never believed Kelly, her love for him, she had hindered him in every possible way, yet those two had always found a way back. One towards the other. Perhaps, she said, it was time to take a few steps back and stop look at them with the eyes of prejudice, with the eyes of those who want what they cannot have. Of course it was that if they had resisted for so long maybe there was a green wood of truth. However, Brandon had given her just enough time for a coffee; while Brenda had seemed distracted to her. Busy.
Valerie had decided to take some time just for herself and not to contact the others right away. She knew that the news of her return to Los Angeles had spread among them and she liked to be looked at each other's shoulders. That they wondered where he was. Above all, David. Donna would not have been happy to see her, she had never had a friendship with her and it was no wonder since she had tried to blow her several times. Not to mention what she had done to her the last time she set foot in California and that she allegedly still didn't know and would never know. About David and Steve. The border of friendship had been crossed on several occasions, even recently. And Malone had decided to put some order in her life. Better to avoid any contact, at least for the time being.
She arrived at the beach on time on the first date. The agent was waiting for her in a suit and tie, mad with sweat. He showed her the apartment that was a few hundred meters from the beach, immersed in an oasis of greenery that kept the house fresh all day. She didn't mind the idea, but she preferred to have access directly on the sand. She wanted to turn the page totally, after Buffalo and the harsh winters of New York she preferred to establish a visceral relationship with the sea and its equipment. Then, if the offer was declined, they headed to the other apartment. This time right on Venice's beach.
"We'll have to wait a few minutes, I have another appointment with a potential client, I'll take advantage of it to show you the house Both at the same time; I optimize the times, is that a problem?"
"No problem, let's wait."
Ten minutes, the potential customer materialized in front of their eyes "Clare?"
"Valerie?"
"What are you doing here?" They said at the same time. "Do you two know each other?"
"Enough," replied Valerie, who didn't know whether or not to be happy with the meeting. She wanted to cut bridges with the past, but maybe the past wasn't of the same idea. Clare, on the other hand, was happy to see her. She too had arrived a few weeks ago and she too had not come to life with any of the guys, before she wanted space for herself, to settle in Los Angeles again, to find new dynamics with her father, to take an apartment of her own. Both liked the accommodation. In a way, it remembered the beach house that Clare had shared with Kelly and Donna.
They would have responded to the agency within 48 hours, an answer that they both knew.
"Where do you have the car?" Clare asked.
"I took a taxi," Valerie replied;
"Come on, I'll give you a ride, so let's talk about the house"
"Maybe we eat something together?" Valerie smiled at her relieved by that sudden closeness.
Clare automatically headed to the Peach Pit, it was a natural instinct.
The two girls stayed staring at the sales sign. The number of the agency. Valerie above all. A sense of nostalgia permeated both. It was the first time they entered those such family-friendly places knowing they wouldn't find Nat. They feared the impact. The sadness.
They pulled the door.
Willy was at the stove. A blonde waitress smiled at both of them and made them sit down. They expected Nat to arrive at any moment. Come out from the back. Hug them tight. Stack a couple of plates. None of this would have happened. And they knew it.
"Tell me about yourself, what are you doing in Los Angeles?" Val asked putting her purse by her side.
"I'm back for my father, he's old now and he's not very well. Age makes itself felt. And you?"
"I really don't know yet. I ended up with New York, where I've spent the last few years, and I didn't know where else to go" Val laughed softly.
"So you don't have a job"
" Not at the moment, you, what are you doing?
" I am an astrophysics researcher. I had quite a bit of experience in Greenwich. I'm at the Los Angeles Observatory now."
"Wow challenging stuff. You know," Valerie added, "it's weird how we're all back here in the end."
They spent two hours telling each other about what they had achieved in time far from California, remembering the time spent with the rest of the gang and the projects cultivated for the immediate future. Although Valerie, on the subject, still had the rather confused ideas.
" what about the house? Do we get it?"
"Would you live together?"
"Why not," Valerie replied, "Clare and the bad witch," Valerie laughed, "we're not 20 anymore, if it doesn't work, everyone on their own way. Then, I'm alone, you're alone. We can keep us company – and she handed her a glass of beer to toast.
Clare accepted the invitation "yeah, why not.."