The next two days seemed to crawl.

But they did pass and at 5:55 PM on a Wednesday, Brad's plane touched down at San Diego airport. I waited impatiently at the gate to see him exit the plane and come up thru the hanger. He was smiling from ear to ear the moment he saw me and I had a small tear stream down my face. I could tell that there was something deep in the recesses of my body, mind and soul. "Was it finally L-O-V-E", I thought to myself?

Brad and I piled into the Suburban. He had not brought much in the way of luggage and I wondered why. Perhaps he was not being presumptuous, and perhaps he was being gentlemanly; but I had a moment of fear enter my heart as if he was hesitant about a long stay. In a second thought, I figured that he packed lite on purpose, and would buy what he needed per the stay. After all, he did carry a "Black" American Express card. Writing for a living had made him a small fortune. There was no doubt in this.

He unpacked when we arrived at Casa Amor. He was floored at the house itself. Much like myself, years ago, he gazed at it with astonishment and had a comment about every room. We had plenty of space for Ryan and Brad to have their own rooms; and at least for now, I insisted that Ryan ave his own. Yes; I know, Isabella and Ryan were moving in, but they were not married. In this, there were boundaries in my home. It would have been no different in Asheville, and I demanded it so here at Casa Amor.

After Brad settled in and took a shower, I showed him the room I had prepared with a desk for him. I had actually taken the time to buy a desk and remove the one; temporarily, that Silvio had in the house. My goal was to ship it to my home in Asheville at the end of the summer; hoping that Brad might follow. Plans, plans! But would they work?