As we pull up to the entrance of my little solitary oasis, Don hits the button on the visor and the iron gates swing open. After being completely silent for the entire ride, Alexia appears to snap out of her daze, once she realizes where we are. The look on her face when she turns her head to look at me is either one of horror or shock. Neither are good but I hope she's just surprised that a guy like me doesn't live in a place with bars on the windows.
"Where is this?", she asks.
"H-h-h-home.", I reply, pushing my glasses up.
She says nothing further, just covers her mouth with her hand and turns her body back toward the window. I'm not sure what she's thinking, exactly. She's so hard to read. It's like everything she says is so devoid of emotional energy, yet fueled by it at the same time. I guess maybe she's just tired. Her face certainly looks like it. Shake it off, Eddy boy, you're doing fine!
I hop out of the car as soon as Don opens my door and start walking toward the house. Wait, I'm supposed to wait for her, aren't I? I turn around and take a few steps back in her direction. Chill your beans, she already told you she won't bite, dude! Ok, here we go, she's following. As I slow my pace, she catches up to me and we walk together up to the front door. I unlock it and step inside but she hesitates. Oh, no. Did I do something wrong?
"Who are you?", she inquires with a furrowed brow.
"E-edward."
"Edward…", she coaxes.
"Oh! S-s-sorry! K-k-k-kingston! E-edward Kingston."
"Edward Kingston… I feel like I know the name from somewhere but I can't put my finger on it. You sure are an interesting one, Mr. Edward Kingston.", she mumbles with her finger on her chin.
As she walks inside, I step back as far as possible but her bent elbow brushes against my chest. Whoah, there! Calm your tits! Well, my tits, I guess. My heart is pumping out of my chest again and now, all I can do is try to compose myself as I feel my hairline start to dampen with sweat. Okay, you're gonna be okay, Ed. You got this. Just breathe. I turn away and lean on the wall while I practically rip my shoes off and place them neatly on the shelf by the door.
What now? Oh, that's right! She's hungry. I brought her here for food. Hungry… Alright, kitchen. Let's go to the kitchen. She kicks her shoes off and leaves them right where they are as she walks further into the house, taking in the new surroundings before our eyes come together again. Now is probably not the best time for a tour of my little slice of heaven but if I go ahead and explain the layout now, it'll save time later on. Stick with me and keep your arms and legs inside the tour bus at all times.
To help you achieve a better visual, all of my floors are grey tile that looks like wood. I don't trust carpets. You just can't tell how dirty they are or see the plethora of microscopic organisms and dead skin cells that settle into them. The walls are all a satin finish, very light grey, almost white paint. And the doors and trim are all white. My wood furniture is all white and most of the upholstery is grey, while anything metal is silver. My appliances are all stainless steel, cabinetry is white in every room, and everything else is a mix of monochrome.
At the very center of my home is the music room, which is sound proofed and that's where I keep all of my instruments. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the door. Picture a room the shape of an irregular octagon. It's 22 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The front of the house is basically open on the right side but walking in, there's a 16 foot wall to the left that holds a shoe cabinet and some black and white artwork. At the end of the wall is an arch that opens up into a den area with a fish tank, a closet full of table top games, a full bar, and a table with 6 chairs around it.
It's not that I'll ever need that many chairs but I like to do jigsaw puzzles and the chairs just suit the table nicely. Deeper into the room is my home theatre, complete with popcorn and soda machines. Floor to ceiling blackout curtains truly give it a movie theatre feeling, especially once all the lights are off. But you could always open them if you want to expose the windows. I've always left them shut since there are so many other views of the outside anyways.
To the right of the front door is an open seating area with two large armchairs and a round coffee table, where I tend to enjoy my coffee in the mornings, while watching the squirrels. Behind the seating area is my fabulous spiral staircase, complete with brushed steel banister and glass panel border. In the center of the house, against the right wall, there's a restroom and the laundry room. If you follow the hallway on the right side of the music room, you will come to my study.
It's the room at the back right corner of the house. In there, I have a wall of books, an obnoxiously comfortable sofa with a glass coffee table in front, my computer desk, an easel. An electric fireplace with a mantle sits on the left wall and there's a big closet in there too. I have to have somewhere to keep my extra throw blankets, computer game collection, and all my other nerd stuff. I'd totally be lying if I said I don't have a little collection of vintage comic books in there somewhere.
The kitchen is directly behind the music room, smack dab in the center of the back wall of the house. If you leave the study and follow the perfectly 6 foot wide hallway, you'll run into the kitchen on the right. It's semi closed off but open at the same time. The 18 foot wide arch makes it feel open but just enclosed enough to be it's own separate room. I like lines and divisions. My kitchen is pretty bad ass! The view is stunning and the table is situated in a cut out that's kind of like a bay window.
The 8 foot by 4 foot island greets you as you walk in and the awesome chandelier hanging over it make the marble countertops sparkle. I truly enjoy cooking. And baking is life! There's nothing like decorating a chocolate moose cake with a decadent ganache to make you feel like you've got your shit together. That shit takes skill. Well, skill and a whole lot of practice. And trust me, I've had a lot of practice. In fact, I love eating my desserts so much that I have to work out daily to salvage my poor little arteries.
Not that death by chocolate seems like a bad way to go. I just think that heart attacks are probably pretty painful. The gym takes up the remainder of the bottom floor and it's located at the left back corner of the house. If you leave the kitchen and continue down the hall, yet another archway opens up into a large mirrored room with a yoga mat, treadmill, weights, a squat machine, rowing machine, and a tv on the wall. There's a glass door leading out to the swimming pool and the back yard too.
Sandwiched between the gym and home theatre, there's a bathroom for post workout showers and such. It's basically got all the necessities, a steam room, a walk in shower, a toilet room, a sink with a basket of skin care, a linen closet, and a whirlpool tub to soothe sore muscles. It's quite the set up, I must admit. Yep, I've got it all, here in my solitary oasis. I don't really have to go anywhere and I can enjoy… Oh!
Alexia! I'm so sorry. She's still here, I promise. Come on, Eddy, keep your head on straight. I start making my way toward the hallway, nearly tripping over my own feet along the way but I push my glasses up and nod my head toward the kitchen, gesturing her to follow me this way. Of course, I head straight in and wrap an apron around my waist before she catches up. Once she steps in the doorway, she looks at me wide eyed.
"Do you… cook?", she asks me in surprise.
I simply nod my head 'yes', as I'm sure that using words will probably not be of any benefit to me.
"Here I was, thinking a stranger was offering to take me to a restaurant or something.", she says, sitting down on one of the stools at the island.