Walking on Water

The river rushes over our toes as we walk the last few yards from the boat to the shore on our own. Deep in my throat, "good-bye" growls at the punk rock gushing through the adjoining apartment walls. Through clenched teeth, "farewell" to the Sunday morning soccer fans, “Weta! Weta! Weta!” at the top of their lungs. The dumpster, perpetually open, smears it’s stinky fingers up my nose for nearly the final time.

At this point in the journey, it’s really about patience. The flood of phone calls and emails have stopped. The forms have been filled out, initialed, and signed. Now we wait for “turn around times.” We wait for “drawing docs” which involves no drawing at all, but takes two full business days to accomplish. We creep along the two-way, glassy surface of what could be a whole new life in full view of the old one, knowing that one wrong step could plunge us back into the drink.

“Funding” is when the lender actually cuts a check but that still doesn’t garner me keys! Oh no, thank you very much, not in the great state of California. No! You have to wait a whole other day. A cooling off period. Really? In case I get cold feet after two years of this goat-rope and want my money back at the last minute? Right. Totally happening.

The loan is not “recorded” until the next day when we receive our keys. I envision a bench full of turtles in powder wigs, an enormous rubberstamp held aloft for 8 hours (plus or minus) that reads, RECORDED. It crashes down over our signature blocks, and that’s when we’ll be on the warm sand, more worried about how to keep the house then how to get it.

I am trying to stay positive, trying to think about pumpkins seeds going into the ground. Imagining my hands turning the orange gourds carefully on the vines in the garden out back. I see my friends’ faces, red with margaritas. We argue about movies, music, books, TV and what we’d produce ourselves if we could only get read. Not sure how all that’s going to happen without furniture. I know! I’ll believe that the furniture will find me.