Ryan
After the show, we had Evelyn, Harrison, Carolyn and Miles back to the house to celebrate. We wanted to be alone, sure, but we were finally in a place where we knew that we had a very long time to be together ahead of us. We partied the night away, laughing, watching clips from the season, drinking champagne and just enjoying our time together. I was shocked at how much I had actually come to like Evelyn, even though Harrison and I regularly shared eye rolls at her expense. When the night was winding down everyone went home or to their hotels and Mira and I went straight to bed. All evening long I’d had some sexy time in mind, but by the time we laid our heads on the pillows, we were both out like a light in minutes.
The next day we woke up to a quiet house. No cameras, and a catered breakfast for our last morning there. We had to put our stuff together, because we were expected to move out of there, even though we had yet to decide where we were living. I packed my bag, chuckling at Mira who had found a gift from Evelyn that morning — all the clothes she had worn throughout the season, and then some. They had done the same for me, and it was a nice parting gift, and I would get some use out of them now that I had someone to share my life with. I looked around the room and sighed, kind of sad to be leaving the place. It was a beautiful home, too big for my taste, but definitely a wonderful place to be.
Nearly every memory Mira and I had up to that point had been made right there in that house, or somewhere nearby. Now, we were embarking on another chapter, away from the reality TV mess and out into the reality of it all — life. The question was, where were we going to make this grand start? I lived in Indiana, where I owned a house and a business. Indiana was where my friends were. I had a life there — the only place I had ever really spent any time at all.
“So, what are we going to do?” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “We’ve left this to the last second, and we need to figure out our plans quickly. I know you are from Indiana, and I know that’s where your life is, but I’m hesitant.”
“Why?” I asked, calmly sitting down and taking her hand.
“Well, my mom is here, and you know how I feel about my mom,” she smiled. “I didn’t watch her get her life back only to turn around and leave her here on her own. It’s just been her and me for my whole life. “
“I’ve never had any intentions of leaving your mom out,” I said softly, moving a piece of hair from her face. “I was actually thinking that maybe you could bring your mom with you. I know she loves her home, but Indiana is great too, in other ways. It’s quieter, things are more affordable, she would have her choice of some amazing healthcare, and there are all kinds of community things she can get involved in. She could cut out the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and meet some people and forge some relationships. She could work if she wanted to, or not. Whatever it is that she wants will still be right there, right down the street from us.”
“I’ve never been to Indiana,” she said. “I don’t think Mom has either.”
“I live in a small town, but everyone is kind, everyone is there for each other, and we all try our best to welcome people with open arms,” I said. “You may even find that you start to make some friends you have more in common with. Whether you know it or not, you have the spirit of a small-town girl.”
“My mom used to tell me that all the time,” she chuckled. “I know that it would be good for her to get out of Los Angeles, and to meet people, maybe even go on a date or something. She has made me her life since I was born and cut everyone else out. I mean, she really didn’t have a choice, she was working two jobs and trying to help me grow up with my feet on the ground. But at the same time, I was born and raised in the beautiful sunshine, the waves off the ocean, the glamor and glitz of Hollywood. I feel like it flows through my veins. I’ve never even thought about leaving here, about venturing somewhere else.”
“But that is part of the fun of it all,” I smiled. “Think about it, you wanted to be free of the disease that held your mother back, and for a long time that has been your lives. It has been nothing but surviving and getting through each day. Now you don’t have to do that, and you have me to stand by the two of you and make sure you’re taken care of. Wouldn’t it be awesome to start fresh in a new place? My company is right there, something I built with my own two hands, and I’ve made it a success.”
“Couldn’t you maybe open a place out here?” she asked. “People in Los Angeles, they are nuts about their cars. They want fast, affordable service, but they also want to know they can trust you. After the last episode airs people will be lining up at your door wanting you to work on their cars.”
“That’s true, the show is great promotion,” I said, but then sighing. “The thing is, I’m not a specialty car mechanic, nor do I do body work very often. I just don’t think that there’s a market for it out here. I haven’t crunched the real numbers, but mechanic shops are a dime a dozen everywhere, especially in big cities. On top of that, with all the custom shops here, most everyone already has their mechanic picked out. It would be a fight to the death for me. Unless you are set on continuing your acting career. I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask you what your plans were.”
“Oh, you know I loved it, and if something came along I might take it, but I think it’s time I hang up those childhood dreams and start working on something I know will last. I want to go back to school, maybe get a degree in art or even something in business, too. I love art and I love the idea of owning my own business. I think if I got the education and the know-how, I would be able to make something successful come out of that. And, if I happen to hear of a gig that I want to audition for, then heck, I can just dust off my old résumé and print it out.”
“As long as that is what you want in life, I will support whatever decision you make,” I said, kissing her forehead. “I just think that when it comes to auto mechanic places out here, I would drown in a heartbeat. That is my life, everything I did before I met you, and I worked really hard to be successful at it. I really don’t want to throw that away, you know?”
“I understand,” she smiled. “What kind of weather are we talking about in Indiana?”
“I’m near Indianapolis, so we get pretty cold winters, usually a white Christmas, and then the summer really doesn’t get over the high eighties or low nineties,” I replied.
“You get snow for Christmas?”
“Most years,” I chuckled.
“I’ve never actually seen it snow, I mean we have the mountains out here, but I’ve never walked outside in boots and trudged through the snow.” I could tell this excited her. “Oh gosh, I’ve always dreamed of a white Christmas. With a fire and lights and a snowman in the yard.”
“Well, that’s definitely something we can have,” I nodded.
“I guess you’re right about the car stuff, it’s hard to start any kind of business out here, especially if you don’t know people,” she said, with a shrug. “And I have to admit, the idea of a white Christmas pretty much sells me on the idea.”
“Man, I should have started with that,” I laughed.
“All right, let’s do it, I’ll move to Indiana,” she giggled. “I’m sure my mom will be all about it, so we’ll get her packed up and find her a really nice apartment out there. She hasn’t lived on her own since before I was born, so I know she’ll be excited to have her own brand-new place. And I can move into your place, if you’ll have me.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, playfully. “Do you like plaid couches and deer heads on the wall.”
“Oh my God! Please tell me you’re kidding,” she shrieked.
“Yes,” I laughed, pulling her into me. “I do have to admit I don’t have that much in the way of decorations. I was a single guy, remember. But when we get back there we can redo the whole house together and make it our home instead of my bachelor. We can paint, look at the floors and get new furniture. We do have a million bucks now.”
“We should go to an island and have a honeymoon,” she smiled. “We didn’t get one of those.”
“We could have a wedding too, since Evelyn gave you that hot dress you wore. It would be nice, especially since we didn’t actually know anyone in the audience last time,” I laughed.
“Oh yeah.” She leaned back and nodded her head. “I completely forgot that I married a stranger in front of a whole bunch of other strangers pretending to be our friends and family. Funny, I had more fake friends and family at my wedding then I actually have real ones.”
“Me too,” I nodded. “But it was nice of them to come.”
We both laughed and kissed each other, sitting on the edge of the bed, in our first ever bedroom. Now that everything was settled, I wasn’t so sad to leave, and in fact, the excitement was really starting to set in. We had a lot of work to do to get them moved to Indiana, but it would be worth every moment of it.
When we left the house, we went over to see Carolyn and told her the good news. We decided that until we could get her packed up, we would just stay there with Carolyn, and then move everything at one time to Indiana. Miles had already left to go back, so I called him and gave him a heads up. He agreed to help look for a nice apartment close to my house and send us pictures and prices as soon as he got back.
We were both so excited for this new adventure in our lives, an adventure I never saw coming. I walked into a reality TV show a bachelor, happy to be alone, and not at all looking to stay with any girl, not even the one I was about to marry. I found out though, when I opened my heart and shut my damn brain off, I was able to see life a little more clearly. Mira became this force in my life, something that I didn’t want to be without. I had fallen for her in a heartbeat, and I knew it long before I’d admitted it to myself. I always thought that happily ever after was bullshit. My version of the world was how I’d grown up — a dead-beat father and a single mother — but I was wrong. I had finally found my happy ending, with the most beautiful girl in the world.