Page 53 of Wild Abandon

Last night, instead of spending my time on MatchDateLove, I was on Houzz, HGTV, Pinterest, looking for inspirational photos for the main room of Russet Ranch.

Naomi, with her keen eye for design, is helping me shop. We need all new everything for the space. Furniture, artwork, glassware, flatware, dinnerware, bathroom fixtures, rugs—yeah, everything. Well, except for the wagon-wheel coffee table and the picture of Ellie. I like that painting.

We are starting with the basics—throw pillows. Naomi said we needed to find one feature that we will use as a focal point for the rest of the room. Looking at the throw pillows Naomi has in her hands, I twist my mouth and appraise them. They’re pretty with a burnt orange color, but I was hoping for something with more flair. Naomi continues through the shelves, finding sea greens and bright reds and even some purples. They’re all beautiful, and some of the colors are bold, but they’re just not right.

I turn and start sifting through the nearby artwork when Naomi calls out my name.

“Found them!” she exclaims like she knew exactly what we were looking for.

I walk back over to her and take a look at what she has—two square-shaped pillows, each with embroidered peacocks in gorgeous blues, greens, and purples. The pheasant is standing tall with its back to us and is glancing over its shoulder. Instead of the open-feathered peacock we’re used to seeing, this one has its feathers down, draped behind it like a train. The feathers of the bird are a 3D design with blue fabric, each one overlaying the other and cascading down the pillow to create an extra length on the end. The illusion of the feathers falling off the pillow is exquisite.

I know. It’s just a pillow. But this is the first time in a long time I’ve felt connected to anything. This ranch…I can’t explain it. I want it to succeed more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. I want to see it restored again, the way Ed once restored it.

With love.

With hope.

For some reason, this has become really important to me.

So, it’s not just a pillow. It’s the starting point.

Naomi and I find two more coordinating ones with peacock feather embroidery. Next, we move over to the decor area where vases and centerpieces are kept. Naomi picks items that will bring out the colors in the pillows, saying I can scatter the items throughout the room. She also gets two fake flower plants in decorative vases and a couple of candles. I tell her there’s already a pale blue Persian-style rug, and she says I should try cleaning it first before buying a new one. Before we leave the store, we select new wine glasses for the wine tasting, drinking glasses for everyday use, silverware, and anything we can use behind the bar.

The store owner is more than excited with our grand purchases. I pull the envelope out of my bag and pay for the items in cash.

Naomi and I walk the bags outside and pack them into her trunk, which is so full she has to use her hip to get it to close. “You’d better not be planning on buying too much more, or I’ll have to tie you to the top of the car.”

“I want to check out the vintage shop you were telling me about. Then, we can go home.”

Naomi and I walk down the street and make our way into the secondhand store she knew I’d love. Gorgeous trunks, an old piano, and even one of those dumbwaiters with an old-fashioned pulley system are in the front window.

There are so many things I want to buy for Russet Ranch, but they all fall to the side when I spot exactly what I need for the space. In the middle of the room, hung from the ceiling, unlit, is a five-foot-wide brass chandelier with gold leafing and crystals hanging from the arms. It has a similar shape to the wagon-wheel coffee table and will look perfect hanging just above it. The item is huge and expensive and needs a polish, but it’s absolutely perfect.

“Crystal, you are burning through that envelope. I thought some of that was for you.” Naomi is leaning against the pay counter.

The storeowner is trying to rush through the sale before Naomi can talk me out of it.

“Yeah, and I thought you and Jeremy weren’t charging me rent,” I say with a smile. “Look, you’re the one who pushed me to work at the ranch. You should have known the spendthrift in me was going to need to do a makeover.”

With a side smile, Naomi squints at me and shakes her head. “You have someone to hang that thing?”

“Yes. Your husband.” I hand over the twelve hundred dollars in cash and take my receipt.

Naomi and I wait a ridiculously long time while the shop owner wraps up the chandelier. Each piece apparently gets its own special binding. We take the opportunity to head to the paint store and pick out the multitude of paint we’ll need for Naomi’s crazy yet brilliant idea for the back wall.

When we pick up the chandelier, all the pieces are boxed up, and the brass is barren in its ornate beauty. Packing the boxes on the floor of the backseat, we then try to get the frame in, too. Problem is, the chandelier is too damn big, and the backseat is too effing small.

Not wanting to tie it to the roof or have to rent a truck to pick it up, we start to get creative, moving the front seats and tilting the brass in various ways to maneuver it into the car.

I am using my ass to shimmy the thing in when a car pulls up next to us, and a deep voice echoes, “Looks like you need a rescue.”

I stop moving and blink a few times, wondering if I’m imagining things. Nate is in the driver’s seat of his truck with the passenger and back windows rolled down. Out the back window is Willie Mays’s ginormous head and his super slobbery tongue. I stare at the most handsome man I’ve ever met, who thinks I look like a platypus, and he is looking especially gorgeous in a beige long-sleeved henley and knit cap. Yes, he even looks good in a light knit cap.

“Hi!”’ From the sidewalk, Naomi waves at the mysterious stranger in the black Tahoe. “I’m Naomi.”

“Nate.” He waves hello.

“Oh, so you’re Nate. Great to finally meet you in person. I’ve heard so much about you!” Naomi beams and then walks up to the passenger window to properly meet him.