Page 65 of Counting the Days

She researched Los Angeles alternative schools and found one that described itself as “primarily outdoor, play-based, self-paced, child-centered, progressive, and fun!” She scrolled through photos of an enormous outdoor jungle gym that looked as if it were built by the Lost Boys: a smiling boy on a tire swing, gleeful children running around covered in paint, a girl laughing and swinging on a rope over a muddy pond. Surely these kids did not mind being raised by people who were “paid to spend time with them,” and maybe Danny would not have to “wrench their tiny hands off his leg in the morning” because they would be so excited to go to their theme-park school.

She forwarded the school’s website to Danny with the subjectWhoa!

And the message:My friend is sending her kid to this school. I had no idea such a place existed…. I wish I could’ve gone here!

Danny wrote back:This looks like kid heaven. Can’t believe it’s a real place.

Rhea smiled. She was finally getting somewhere. Danny could keep the job he loved, and their children could go to school in Neverland.

As she pulled into his Pasadena neighborhood, she prepared herself for whatever side of Danny he had been keeping from her; it turned out to be the side that owned a stunning Craftsman. She stared at the mansion and double-checked the address. With her eyes glued to the façade, she parked in front of a house that made the one from her vision board look like a hovel. It was two stories with olive-green wood siding. The high, pointed roof was smugly covered with solar panels. The wide wooden door stood out on a large front porch, complete with a porch swing.

Rhea pictured Danny driving home from her filthy little wayside shack to this architectural gem. How did he stand being inside her tiny cottage? Why hadn’t he made her drive across town every single time? If Rhea lived in this house, she would never leave.

Rhea watched a few people she didn’t know walk up to Danny’s porch carrying containers of food and a case of beer, and realized she was showing up to a party empty-handed. She had been so nervous about going to his house for the first time she’d forgotten basic human etiquette. She was pulling out of her parallel spot to race to a liquor store when she heard, “There she is.”

She looked up at her beautiful boyfriend. The sun shone onhim as he smiled down at her from his front porch. She pulled back into her parallel spot.

“I didn’t bring anything! I’m so sorry!” she shouted as she walked up his porch steps, showing him her empty hands. She preferred to call attention to the things she was insecure about; that way, they didn’t fester in secret. This rule did not apply to her nose.

“Yourself is more than enough.”

“I just totally spaced—so sorry.”

When he hugged her, his solidity made her realize she was slightly shaking.

“Your house is so nice!” she yelled.

“Oh, thank you…. You look great.”

“I can’t believe I haven’t been here yet, it’s, like, so nice!”

“It wasn’t when I bought it, it’s taken a lotta years to get it here.”

“Well, you did a phenomenal job!”

She had to stop yelling about the house, but she couldn’t. She knew he was successful but had not realized he was this successful. She knew he’d gone to Wharton and had three million TikTok followers but was still unprepared for this.

All wealth made her nervous, but this was deeper. She was standing in front of a mansion she might someday live in while also preparing to meet Danny’s friends, possibly his family,andwatch fireworks; it was all too much. She started blinking.

“Do you live in thisgiant placeall alone?!” she yelled.

She stood next to herself, leaned in, and whispered,Rhea, stop talking about the house.

“No, I live with my wife…and my girlfriend.”

She pretended to glare at him.

“Of course I live alone. Don’t you think I would’ve told you by now if I didn’t?”

“I meant, like, roommates or something. It’s just so big! I can’t imagine living here alone!”

She tapped herself on the shoulder.Shut the fuck up.

“Yeah, when I moved in, I thought it would be fun to remodel an old house, but now it’s done and I’m like, wait, this place is way too big for just me.”

Rhea tried not to take that as an invitation to move in with him immediately. She held a neutral expression as he guided her toward the front door, then he abruptly stopped and turned to face her.

“Man, I’m nervous.”