Page 68 of Counting the Days

They hugged hello and demanded that Rhea sit. Rhea learned that Wild Eyes lived not too far away in Ojai, and the unknown man, whose name was Han, lived in Manhattan Beach. She also learned that Han was a couples therapist. This explained why Danny had spent so much time talking to him; Han was a very focused listener.

They began peppering Rhea with questions about her new relationship; their romance reigniting at the soulmate retreat had clearly had an impact on the group. Rhea filled them in on thepast two magical months without mentioning the taboo subject of parenthood.

Wild Eyes and Uh-Huh Same informed Rhea they had sadly still not met their soulmates, but not for lack of trying. Han explained he had been married to his soulmate for thirteen years. Han’s husband was in Danny’s backyard, wrangling their children. Han only attended the soulmate retreat to discover new ways to better assist his clients.

Rhea decided to take a risk. It was not every day she had access to a relationship expert, so she looked around to make sure Danny was not within earshot and said, “Han, do you mind if I ask you a relationship question? Or will that make you feel like you’re at work?”

“Oh no, go right ahead….”

“I have this friend who is in a perfect relationship, but she wants kids, and her boyfriend doesn’t. Do you see that a lot?”

“Oh yeah, that’s a tough one.”

Rhea felt Wild Eyes scanning her face for information, activating her clairvoyance. Wild Eyes shot her a look:Your friend is you, right?

Rhea ignored her.

“And what do you usually suggest they do?”

“Well, couples therapy helps. They need to make sure they’re able to communicate honestly with each other. Both of their desires are valid; sometimes just airing out all their feelings and having an open dialogue can help bring a solution to the surface.”

Rheahatedthis advice. They aired out all their feelings in the hot springs and that did not go well.

“Mmhmm…and what if they tried that and it didn’t work?” As Han considered this, Rhea continued, “Like, what if, maybe, the guy doesn’t want kids just because of some solvable psychological issue? Have you ever seen that?”

“Well, sometimes people are afraid to have kids because their childhood was so painful. They don’t want to repeat their parents’ mistakes, but the more inner work they do…they can grow beyond their parents’ limitations and realize they won’t repeat those same patterns.”

Rhea pondered this.

“But is there anythingshecan do? Like, to help him realize that stuff?”

“It’s hard to say without speaking to them, but the more she supports his inner work and shows him the kind of stable, loving parent she would be, that might make the idea of raising a child together feel safer…. They just have to get in communication to discover exactly what the other person needs—”

“Right, yeah, communication, totally. I’ll let them know.”

Wild Eyes stared at her.What are you up to?

“I’m gonna go get a drink. Anybody want one?” Rhea asked.

They declined, and Rhea got up, feeling a pair of wild eyes on her back.

As she walked through the house alone, she felt herself coming out of fight-or-flight. She stopped blinking and was able to take in her surroundings. She noted all of Danny’s solid, well-made furniture and the lack of art or photographs on his walls. His bare walls made her feel relieved. He wasn’t superhuman; he had flaws; he still needed her for something. She imagined decorating their home with framed images of her in her wedding dress, Danny in his tux, and family vacations all over the world with the Lost Boys.

—

The sun was setting asRhea opened Danny’s back door. Reality folded in on itself a third time as she stepped outside his house and inside her vision board. The yard was expansive andimmaculately landscaped in a drought-tolerant fashion. Granite pathways were lined with succulents; cacti jutted out of gravel borders; of course, several garden beds lined the back fence…and the whole thing was surrounded by a ring of olive trees. She saw a fire pit and braced herself for a barrel sauna, but there was none. She was grateful; the yard was so eerily similar to the one on her vision board, a barrel sauna might have given her a panic attack.

There was a white bounce house in the shape of a castle in the center of the yard; child screams poured out of it. Rhea had never seen an upscale bounce house before. Somehow, the air pump keeping it inflated was whisper-quiet. She made a mental note to tell Zoe about it; she had a feeling Zoe would love to own a bounce house if it didn’t make her seem middle-class.

She spotted Danny drinking beer around the fire pit with six other men who were all around Danny’s same age and general degree of handsomeness. Danny saw her approaching and stood up because he was a perfect gentleman.

“They’re a lot, huh?” he asked while pulling a beer out of a cooler, opening it, and handing it to Rhea.

She realized he was referring to his sisters. “Oh, no, they’re lovely.”

He gave her a look.

“Well, they have a lot of energy,” she conceded.