I nodded. “Yeah, it’ll probably be awhile before I can take her out again.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets plenty of exercise in the meantime.”
“Thanks.”
“Joel told me what happened with the show, Gia. I’m real sorry.”
“That’s okay.” I smiled at him. “Just wasn’t meant to be, that’s all.”
“My wife said you haven’t been posting on social media in awhile. You still gonna do that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
I’d barely turned my phone or computer on in days, which was so unlike me. There just didn’t seem to be a reason to. I was enjoying my slow, quiet days at the farm. Doing what I could. Cooking. Baking. Reading. I’d even started knitting a blanket for Carson. But my favorite past-time was getting horizontal with my sexy husband.
“It’s not like youhaveto do anything, right? I mean, Joel’s set financially—”
I cringed inwardly and my discomfort must have shown on my face because Johnny bit back his words, muttering an apology.
“It’s fine. It’s just…” I didn’t even know how to describe how I was feeling. Melancholy. A little lost. But it was a dichotomy because I’d never been happier in love. “I guess I feel a little confused. Kind of like you feel when you graduate high school, I guess, and have to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. But I can’t help but think I should have it all figured out by now. I thought I did, but this thing with the show has me questioning everything.”
“Maybe it’s time for a life reset,” he said, tucking a hand into the pocket of his worn jeans.
I smiled. “A life reset, huh?”
He nodded, looking a little sheepish. “My wife said she read a book about that not long ago, maybe she could lend it to you, if you’re interested? It was a memoir, I think, about a woman in her thirties who’d been living this high-stress life as a corporate lawyer and she got terminal breast cancer.”
“Really? What happened?”
“Doctors didn’t give her any hope, but she wasn’t ready to die. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She figured if the stress had contributed to her illness, maybe eliminating it would help her heal. So, she quit her job, sold everything she owned, and bought a one-way ticket to Costa Rica.”
I whistled long and low. “Wow, that’s pretty brave.”
“Yeah. She said it was time for a life re-set. So, she rented a little place in a quiet village, started growing her own food, learning to live off the land, used herbs as medicine, and just had a real laid-back lifestyle. She didn’t bother with news. Didn’t even have Internet.”
“That’s pretty cool.” I thought that sounded liberating, given how many years I’d been tied to my phone. “How long was she able to live like that?”
“Apparently, the cancer went into remission. That was twelve years ago, according to her book.”
“That’s amazing.” I would definitely be borrowing that book. A life re-set might be just what I needed.
“Yeah, so you see, Gia. It’s never too late to start over and re-invent yourself if there’s parts of your life that aren’t working for you.”
I crossed the distance between us and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, you’re right. Any chance Amy is home now? I’d love to get the name of that book, or borrow it from her, if she’s finished with it.”
“Yeah, she just got home from grocery shopping. She’d love to see you.”
I made my way to their small home, carefully navigating the rutted path with my walking cast. Joel had lectured me about wandering around the property without him until I was at full capacity again, but I couldn’t help myself.
Beautiful, sunny days like today, and a property that belonged on old-school wall calendars beckoned me to explore.
Amy waved from the porch rocker, jumping up when I got closer to the three steps separating the walkway from her house. “Can I help you?”
“I’m okay, thanks. You mind if I join you for a few minutes?”
“I’d love that, Gia.” She waited for me to settle in the rocker next to hers before she asked, “Can I get you a coffee or maybe a lemonade?”
“Thanks, but I’m fine. I just ran into your husband in the stables and he said you were reading a book that might interest me, a memoir about a lady who moved to Costa Rica. I was hoping I could get the name of it?”
