Wishing We Could Start Again.

“Wait, what!? You mean move? Actually move to a different city?” I know I must have looked like an idiot, with my jaw nearly on the floor. Dr. Samantha chuckled. “Not permanently Alexander, just for a few weeks. Look at it as... a change of scenery. Rent a small apartment somewhere, get a simple job to keep yourself busy. I’d think some regularity and a new area will do you good. You’ve been thinking about Summer ever since you got out of rehab.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “Don’t deny it Alexander, I’ve know you long enough to know I’m right.” I slumped back in my seat, knowing she was right.

I’d made an appointment with Doctor Sam, my therapist for rehab, after Jack and the rest left. I’d thought she’d be really disappointed in me, but she just nodded, asked me what happened and told me things like this happen. She reassured me I wasn’t the only person ever to make a mistake and I didn’t feel as guilty as I had before. That was until she suggest I’d move to another city.

Apparently the idea behind it was for me to get my mind of off Summer. To have a little normality and regularity for a little while. Life like the rest of the people, like Doc put it. I still didn’t really get it, but seeing I’m still under her official care, I didn’t really have a choice.

“So you want me to move to a different city?” I asked again, just to be sure. “Yes, I think a little dose of the ‘ordinary life’ will do you good.” She chuckled again, which made me think she was doing this mostly for her own amusement. I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You’re punishing me, aren’t you?”

Doc showed me one of her biggest and brightest smiles. “Of course not Alexander, I truly think this will do you good.” Yeah... I’m not suspicious of her at all....
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“What do you mean ‘I’m moving to L.A.!?” Was the first thing Mandy screamed when I told my friends. “Relax!” I laughed. “It’s only for 3, 4 weeks tops. Docs orders.” “Why? Does she think you aren’t getting enough sunshine here?” Mandy replied sarcastically. “Nope, Doc just told me to get a change of scenery, Cali was my own choice.” “Why L.A.?” Rian asked. “Well, like Mandy said, I’m not getting enough sunshine here.” I grinned, earning myself a playful punch from Mandy.

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And that’s how I ended up at LAX 3 days later, with 2 small suitcases and the key of my new apartment in my pocket. Okay, it wasn’t officially ‘my’ apartment. One of Jack’s cousins had recently moved in with his long-term girlfriend and was still looking for a buyer. Thanks to Jack I could stay in the apartment for the next 4 weeks rent free. Place to life: check. Next on the list get a simple job to keep myself busy and stay on the down low.

It was nearing 4 p.m. when I finally set foot outside the airport. I decided to find the apartment first, do some exploring after that and start the job hunt tomorrow. I threw my bags in the back of a cab and gave the driver my new address, all together the ride took about 20 minutes.

My new home for the next four weeks was a quite spacious 2-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a 4 storey’s building right in the middle of the city’s centre. There was a average size living room that lead to the kitchen and, more important, a small balcony, where I had a spectacular view of the ocean. Almost all the walls were painted an off-white, except for the master bedroom, which was a light sky blue and the smaller bedroom, which was a bright blue/greenish color that reminded me of the ocean.

Adam, Jack’s cousin, had left most of the basic furniture, like a couch, a table and the beds, at the apartment, together with the TV and most of the kitchen supplies. The result of this however was that the rooms looked rather impersonal and a bit... cold, at the white walls and light colored furniture to the mix and the whole thing brought back memories I’d been trying to forget for the past year.

I contemplated whether or not I should decorate the place a bit so it would stop reminding me of the small bedrooms at the clinic, but seeing I was only going to stay for a few weeks it seemed like a waste of time.
I did however closed one of the ocean colored curtains at the left side of the room to add a little spec of color.

I dumped my two suitcases on the unmade bed and decided to go out and grab a bite, seeing there was no food in the house, and unpack afterwards. At least, that was the intension, in the end I ended up wandering around the city till somewhere in the early morning. When I eventually got home I collapsed on the unmade bed, not bothering to undress with a quick promise to myself to unpack tomorrow, before going out to find a job.
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It’s been 3 day since I started my new, yet temporarily, life. Results: The apartment was a mess, job hunting was a nightmare and I still hadn’t unpacked. When I woke up around noon that day the first thing that came to mind was coffee. I stumbled to the kitchen, still half asleep, only to come to the conclusion there wasn’t any coffee in the house. So I quickly got dressed, stuffed my phone and keys in my pocket and began my quest for a cup of half decent coffee.

Thankfully that quest only took me ten minutes when I discovered a small bookstore right around the corner of the apartment which also happened to sell the best coffee I’ve had in ages.

I ordered a cup and sat down at a table next to the counter. I took a sip of coffee and studied my surrounding. The shop was quite small in the front, but was nearly twice as large in the back. The front part functioned as a coffee shop, while the back part contained dozens of different sized bookcases and a small cash register. The walls were probably once a bright yellow, but had now faded to a light sandy color and the furniture, like the bookcases, was a mess. Chairs and tables didn’t match, it kind of looked like the owner had randomly picked up some different chair and table from a flea market and put them in the store. But the whole mix had quite a charm to it. It gave the room a comfortable, homey feeling.

The shop was almost empty. Besides me there were only three other customers and two employees.
My gaze drifted across the room and eventually landed on the girl behind de counter in the book area. She was sitting on a chair behind the register, reading a book, occasionally taking sips from a steaming mug. When a customer came up to her, she put down her book and smiled. Apparently the guy was asking her something, because she nodded and started pointing to the shelves behind her.

“Pretty ain’t she?” A voice came from behind me. I turned in my seat and saw the guy behind the counter looking at me. He looked to be in his late 60’s, with gray hair and a friendly face. I shrugged. “Uhm ueah, I guess.” The man smiled and looked at the girl. “Really lifesaver she is, that one.” The elderly man chuckled. “How so?” I asked, taking another sip of coffee. The man turned his gaze back to me. “I own this place, used to be my mothers, but she left it to me after she died, since I basically grew up here. Even met my wife here, 40 years ago, and we’ve run this little place together ever since.” His smile faded a little. “But she got very sick couple months back and I had to divide my time between taking care of her and running this place on my own. That when she came to the rescue.” He chuckled nodding towards the girl.

“She came here 4 months ago, it was around lunchtime, which is rush hour for this place, and I had people standing here wanting to pay for their coffee or looking for a specific book, I was alone and in over my head. That when that little sunshine over there walked in and saw me struggling, so she asked if I needed some help.” The man shook his head laughing. “Took me 10 minutes to explain her how everything worked and another 5 to offer her a job. Turned out she needed some help too. She’s a photographer, but had been out of a job for several weeks, you should have seen the smile on her face when I offered her to stay. Never seen anyone getting so happy over a simple job.”

“I can imagine actually, job hunting is the worse.” I said, finishing my coffee. “You’re looking for a job then?” The man asked. “Yeah, but only for a short time, I’ll be leaving town in a few weeks, most people don’t hire for such a short period.” “When you leaving?” I shrugged. “Four, maybe five weeks.” The man looked thoughtful. “Can you make coffee?” “Sure.” “Well, I’m looking for someone who can help out for a few weeks. Doris needs surgery soon and I wanna be there for her during the recovery, which mean I won’t have a lot of time to come down here and I don’t wanna leave Sunshine here all alone. The hours are okay and the pay isn’t much, but the job is yours if you want it.”

I nearly jumped of my seat. “When can I start?”