“The doctors have a whole list of things that he needs to change. Your dad’s not too happy about some of it, but he promised me that he’d do it so he would be with us for a long time to come.”
That was a huge relief.
“I checked out the properties for you. Either Zander has expensive taste or the cost of living here is ridiculously cheap,” Mom shared.
I three-wayed her in with Mr. Voorhees. Zander hadn’t paid his property taxes on the New York condo and owed association fees on three of them. Other than that, they were clean, so I directed Mr. Voorhees to accept the deal.
He still wasn’t happy, but grudgingly agreed when my mom pointed out she knew where he lived. I decided she was one woman who should never get Paddy’s number. She might have him off a few people.
I was in a better mood when I returned to the set and began to enjoy acting the rest of the afternoon and evening.
◊◊◊ Tuesday January 10
Mr. Voorhees had arranged to meet me at lunch to sign the settlement with Zander. Last night, between scenes, I’d done some research on the properties I was obtaining. The more I learned, the happier I was that I’d taken the deal. Zander had put some thought into where he’d bought property.
The apartment in New York was in the Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca, so called because it is in the Tri(angle) be(low) Ca(nal). It might be the best place to live in the city. He owned a light-filled loft-type apartment in a rehabbed industrial building. Tribeca was in lower Manhattan and was noted for being an exceedingly affluent section of the city. It had low crime, tons of transit, superior schools, and easy access to the waterfront.
Whistler, British Columbia, is a two-hour drive from Vancouver. Whistler and Blackcomb used to be two separate world-class ski resorts that had combined to become the largest ski venue in North America, with 8,100 skiable acres.
It wasn’t only the size, it was also the topography that made it amazing. On a single top-to-bottom run, you could drop 5,200 feet—that was the second-longest vertical drop for a ski run on the continent.
If Whistler was the ultimate winter ski vacation, then Mykonos Island in Greece looked to be the summer party destination. It was Greece’s answer to Ibiza, Spain, where the rich and famous went to play. By day, there were 25 beaches packed with bronzed bodies. By night, there were superclubs where you could get your party on until dawn.
The adrenaline junkie in me was intrigued when I found a website that showed other activities besides soaking up rays and partying. Not that those weren’t fun, but I was looking for some other experiences. The site listed a bunch of alternatives, including mountain biking, flyboarding, wakeboarding, and wakeskating. Then there was speedboats, fishing, and SCUBA diving. It looked like we could certainly fill up our days there.
The one property that seemed out of character for Zander was located in Monte Carlo, Monaco. That just seemed to be more of a grown-up type of destination. Not that the young and rich didn’t go, especially when they held their annual Grand Prix race. It somehow looked to be more cultured than could be expected of Zander.
I’d watched enough James Bond movies to dream of going, though; I think the casino was featured in three of those films. And I saw the appeal of its location on the French Riviera, with sun-kissed beaches and the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
Monaco intrigued me. Some random facts I learned were that it was a principality; coffee was expensive; you didn’t tip; children learned English in elementary school; it was very hilly and about the size of Central Park in New York City. Of all the properties, this was the one I most wanted to visit.
The final property was Zander’s condo in LA. When I looked the address up, I got a happy surprise: it was within walking distance of the USC campus. Of all the places in LA for a Hollywood playboy to live, that wasn’t what I expected.
He’d requested a six-month lease-back to give him time to find another place. My first thought was that it would be perfect timing because I could ask Tracy to move into it when she started school in the fall.
◊◊◊
Lexi was talking to my Aunt Bonnie when I came down for breakfast.
“Where are the two farmers?” I asked, referring to my uncle and grandmother.
“Sleeping. They didn’t have any chores to do, so they slept in.”
I looked at my phone, and it was 8:30. With the two-hour time difference, that meant they were seriously catching up on their sleep. I had a feeling they’d both been up late last night worrying about my dad.
“What’s your plan for the day?” I asked.
“Lexi was telling me about the Malibu Country Mart. I thought I would drag John out of bed and make him go shopping and take me to lunch.”
“Both Mom and Brook went and enjoyed their day. You might want to feed Uncle John a beer or two as a reward,” I suggested.
She gave me a look.
