six or seven months.”
“Seven and a half,” Wendy said. “But who’s counting?”
“Right. Seven and a half. Exactly. Not a ton of time in the grand scheme of things, I suppose. But I’m a firm believer in going with your gut. I got to where I am today by doing just that. And, not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I’m doing pretty darn well, I’d say. I own a beautiful three-bedroom condo on Russian Hill in San Francisco. My bedroom window takes up an entire wall. Get this, guys. Every morning I wake up, roll over in bed, and
bam!
There’s Alcatraz. I have a decent amount of capital invested in coastal real estate—anyway, you get the idea. I don’t bring all this up to float my own boat. No, I bring it up to illustrate the power of going with one’s gut. And my gut in this case, Danny, Julia…” Randy looked at them both, one at a time, and then turned to a grinning Wendy. “Well, my gut tells me the feelings I have for your mom are the real thing.”
The little grin on his mom’s face bloomed into an all-out smile. She reached across the table and covered Randy’s hand with her own.
Randy flipped his hand over to squeeze Wendy’s hand. With his other hand he pulled the champagne bottle closer. “In light of this, last week I asked your mom to come live with me for the summer. In San Francisco. If things go well, which I fully expect they will, the move will become permanent. In the meantime, we’re looking at the summer as a kind of a trial run. I’ve already paid the rent on your apartment here through September. If for any reason we feel the situation isn’t working out,
any
of us, we simply go back to the way it was. You guys follow?”
Danny and Julia looked at each other. They looked at their mom.
“I’m not sure I’ve made myself clear,” Randy said. “I’m inviting
you two
to live with me as well. One of my closest friends in the world, Mark Jenkins, has two children around your age. He has a real beat on the teen scene, I guess you could say. Anyway, we sat down a couple days ago and made a list of things you kids may be interested in—camps you could attend, sports teams you could join, dance classes, Julia, that you could sign up for. San Francisco is an amazing city full of wonderful opportunities. And I want you two to feel as welcome as your mom. This is a
package deal
.”
“But at the same time,” Wendy added, “I’ve spoken to your uncle Tommy and Cecilia, and they’re more than happy to take you guys in for the summer. I want you guys to have a choice.”
Danny looked at Julia, whose face had gone totally pale. He looked at his mom—she was smiling ear to ear and looking at Randy. At that moment he wanted nothing else to do with her ever again.
“The choice is yours,” Randy said. “I’m a firm believer in presenting people with options. Even children. Choice gives a human being a sense of empowerment.”
“But San Francisco…,” Wendy said, shaking her head. She giggled and squeezed Randy’s forearm, didn’t finish her sentence.
“Now, your mom and I figure it’s only right to give you some time to mull things over. We’ve just thrown you guys a pretty good curveball, right, Danny?” Randy laughed a little, winked at Danny. “It’s only fair we give you time. Why don’t we say Friday. Sound good? Friday we’ll all touch base again and talk more specifically about our proposed arrangement.”
“But do understand,” Wendy said, “if things work out between Randy and me, we’ll be—honey, I’m not being too presumptuous, am I?”
“Baby, you’re not being presumptuous
enough
. We’ll be a family. Plain and simple. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Danny looked to Julia, who was staring at her empty plate, fighting back tears.
Wendy reached out, took Randy’s hand. “God, sometimes I wonder if you’re for real. It’s like any second I’m going to wake up and
poof,
it’ll all have been a
“Seven and a half,” Wendy said. “But who’s counting?”
“Right. Seven and a half. Exactly. Not a ton of time in the grand scheme of things, I suppose. But I’m a firm believer in going with your gut. I got to where I am today by doing just that. And, not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I’m doing pretty darn well, I’d say. I own a beautiful three-bedroom condo on Russian Hill in San Francisco. My bedroom window takes up an entire wall. Get this, guys. Every morning I wake up, roll over in bed, and
bam!
There’s Alcatraz. I have a decent amount of capital invested in coastal real estate—anyway, you get the idea. I don’t bring all this up to float my own boat. No, I bring it up to illustrate the power of going with one’s gut. And my gut in this case, Danny, Julia…” Randy looked at them both, one at a time, and then turned to a grinning Wendy. “Well, my gut tells me the feelings I have for your mom are the real thing.”
The little grin on his mom’s face bloomed into an all-out smile. She reached across the table and covered Randy’s hand with her own.
Randy flipped his hand over to squeeze Wendy’s hand. With his other hand he pulled the champagne bottle closer. “In light of this, last week I asked your mom to come live with me for the summer. In San Francisco. If things go well, which I fully expect they will, the move will become permanent. In the meantime, we’re looking at the summer as a kind of a trial run. I’ve already paid the rent on your apartment here through September. If for any reason we feel the situation isn’t working out,
any
of us, we simply go back to the way it was. You guys follow?”
Danny and Julia looked at each other. They looked at their mom.
“I’m not sure I’ve made myself clear,” Randy said. “I’m inviting
you two
to live with me as well. One of my closest friends in the world, Mark Jenkins, has two children around your age. He has a real beat on the teen scene, I guess you could say. Anyway, we sat down a couple days ago and made a list of things you kids may be interested in—camps you could attend, sports teams you could join, dance classes, Julia, that you could sign up for. San Francisco is an amazing city full of wonderful opportunities. And I want you two to feel as welcome as your mom. This is a
package deal
.”
“But at the same time,” Wendy added, “I’ve spoken to your uncle Tommy and Cecilia, and they’re more than happy to take you guys in for the summer. I want you guys to have a choice.”
Danny looked at Julia, whose face had gone totally pale. He looked at his mom—she was smiling ear to ear and looking at Randy. At that moment he wanted nothing else to do with her ever again.
“The choice is yours,” Randy said. “I’m a firm believer in presenting people with options. Even children. Choice gives a human being a sense of empowerment.”
“But San Francisco…,” Wendy said, shaking her head. She giggled and squeezed Randy’s forearm, didn’t finish her sentence.
“Now, your mom and I figure it’s only right to give you some time to mull things over. We’ve just thrown you guys a pretty good curveball, right, Danny?” Randy laughed a little, winked at Danny. “It’s only fair we give you time. Why don’t we say Friday. Sound good? Friday we’ll all touch base again and talk more specifically about our proposed arrangement.”
“But do understand,” Wendy said, “if things work out between Randy and me, we’ll be—honey, I’m not being too presumptuous, am I?”
“Baby, you’re not being presumptuous
enough
. We’ll be a family. Plain and simple. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Danny looked to Julia, who was staring at her empty plate, fighting back tears.
Wendy reached out, took Randy’s hand. “God, sometimes I wonder if you’re for real. It’s like any second I’m going to wake up and
poof,
it’ll all have been a
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