“Wait, hang on. Just gotta—”
Leo is a terrible multitasker. If I ask him a question while he’s chopping an onion, I have to repeat myself three times.
I hear the front door rattle. My heart thumps, and I took toward the deck—Where is my dad? Is this an intruder?—but then the door swings open and there is Leo.
He has a backpack on his shoulders that he slides off as soon as he gets inside.
“You’re here!”
I toss my cell on the couch and throw my arms around his neck. I feel his hands press into my back, holding me firmly to him. I breathe in his Leo scent—comforting, like an old bookstore. My heartbeat slows.
“You’re here!” I say again. “Why are you here?”
Leo releases me and nods to my dad, who has just come inside. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Dad pats him on the shoulder. “Not at all,” he says. “Glad you’re back. I’m gonna go to bed. I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
He kisses me on the side of my head and then carries on up the stairs, leaving us alone. I take Leo’s hand and lead him down onto the couch.
“When did you leave?” I say at the same time he says: “I got the job.”
I see the smile on his face—the slow spread of it. My eyes go wide.
“Babe. That’s amazing.” I put my hands on either side of his face. “I’m so proud of you.”
He leans his forehead down to touch mine, then pulls his head back up.
“So, listen,” he says. He takes my hands off his face and holds them in his lap. “The shoot starts soon. Really soon. I have to be there for prep next week.” He looks at me, trying to read how I feel about this. I’m happy for him, and I know he—we—need this. But I’m also aware of how Leo is long-distance. And what this means for our family.
“I guess we’ll take a break from the clinic for the summer? We can’t afford it now anyway.” I feel a ruffle of irritation from Leo.
“I actually had an idea, not sure if you’ll hate it,” he says.
I shouldn’t have brought up the clinic, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. “OK.”
“I was thinking maybe you’d come out to the beach for the summer. You can work remote, and your parents will love it, you won’t be alone, and you can come to New York for a few weeks.”He pauses, let’s go of my hands. “The extra money might be really nice.”
I know it bothers Leo that we don’t have more. And it always hurts me when I see him up at night, hunched over his computer, like he can will the funds into our bank account from out of his fingers.
“What extra money?”
Leo gets sheepish. He closes one eye and looks at me. “I thought we could Airbnb out West Hollywood?”
I don’t say anything, and he jumps in with more.
“We’d find great tenants, obviously. I figure I’ll give it a deep clean, maybe patch up some paint spots. It’s a good excuse to fix some things.”
We’ve been talking about those renovations for two years, and we’ve never done a thing about them. It would be worth it to rent for that possibility alone.
“You’ve really been thinking about this.”
Leo shrugs. “It’s just an idea. It would help.”
The thought of a stranger sleeping in our bed is instantly terrible, but then a moment later, fine.
“I like it,” I say.
Leo’s eyes brighten. “Really? Honestly we could probably make five grand.”
