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Three weeks after es were dropped

It's been three weeks since the charges were dropped against Beck and o We've already instituted so e in our life that so believers of "clean slates" and we decided that we needed to si a new life

We also need to leave California behind

"The best feature by far," the Realtor says as she sweeps her ar roo deck, "is the beach access and panoramic Gulf of Mexico view"

I watch as Beck walks to the sliding glass doors that lead out but I don't follow I can see the view fro in the kitchen, which sits behind the living roo A boardwalk picks up at the bottom of the deck stairs and extends out probably fifty yards over the dunes and down onto the beach The sand is white, soft looking, and the gulf waters off the Florida Panhandle are shades of light blue to turquoise, which gets progressively darker as the water gets deeper I turn my back on the Realtor and Beck, and take a sloalk around the kitchen, trying to envision what it would be like to live here I've lived in California my whole life and it's very different here Flat and hot Aused to, but as Beck says, I can walk around in a bikini all the time and he's not opposed to that

A hand on my hip and Beck is back with me briefly before he pushes past me into the kitchen He looks at the For his hand over one of the doors The three-story, narrow cottage is just 1,380 square feet and was built in the early eighties It's very dated

Very, very dated

"The cabinets aren't ashed," he observes

I nod down to our feet "Linoleum"

"Curling in slightly at the edges," he adds

The Realtor scurries over, fearing the loss of a sale on what is a lovely little beach house but definitely a fixer-upper "I'm sure the oould have the floors and cabinets redone if that's a sticking point"

Beck looks at rin back at hi no verbal coe

I turn to the Realtor "The floor's perfect as is and we can paint the cabinets We'll take it"

Four es were dropped

Life on St George Island is good Beck and I raduated fro The hardest part is not seeing Caroline and Ally, but that's about to be re the up of the place Caroline is staying for a week and then she's going to leave Ally with us for another three weeks of fun in the Florida sun, most of which will be spent at the Disney theme parks

Beck's work life has taken a decidedly different turn, and while he still has his fingers in some very important pies, his days are completely flexible He prefers to sleep in late with s and we'll play in bed for an hour or so We have a late breakfast and then he works from his home office, which is the third-floor loft

The sale of The Sugar Boas finalized last month Like our decision to leave California, Beck wanted nothing left that reenious deal with the owners of a start-up coies, who had apparently approached hi in their project to create software that could read facial expressions Beck was highly interested in this and it got his coar Bowl to thee for 50 percent ownership in their start-up as well as full ownership rights to the patents to the software, since he'd be developing it This was a good deal for theuarantee it could even be done, whereas The Sugar Boas a solid business that only needed maintenance It would provide theood life while Beck worked in his office creating this aram

I hear the front door open and then the sto into the kitchen

"Sela," she yells out before throwing herself into my arms

I pick her up, give her a quick hug, and then set her dohere I exaroo inches since I last saw you"

She bea to be tall like atree, which is weird, because Mommy's on the short side"

My eyes flick over to Caroline as she walks in and she gives et her height froe suitcases in his hands Caroline and I hug it out with a little bit of tight clutching and rocking back and forth, because it's so good to see each other

This week is going to be areat but extremely hot state of Florida has an abundance of activities, attractions, and beautiful coastline to explore But we also have business to get down to

Beck and I are going to work on Caroline hard to get her to leave California andleft back there except Dennis, who's been keeping a close eye on her for us

Caroline pulls away fro in the decor Beck and I furnished it with a coastal the ships, and miniature indoor palm trees

"But you need to do so," she says as she looks down at the linoleum floor I believe it probably started out as a creas done in four-inch squares and running on a diagonal Over time the mocha brown has faded to a tan color and the creamy white has yellowed