A Move to the West Coast

Lily always wanted to live in New York City so after college she found a job, an apartment and moved from her small hometown to the city of her dreams. She tried not to think about it too much or she knew she wouldn’t go through with it. Her father always told her “no risk, no reward” and she always tried to live by her father’s words. But even her father was surprised that she took such a big step moving by herself to such a big city. He was proud of her though so he helped her pay the rent for a few months. Lily’s mother, on the other hand, was not happy about this move at all. It was dangerous and it was a few hours from home. Lily’s mother said to her “How we will get to you if you are sick or in trouble?” Lily assured her mother that everything would be fine. Lily’s father got the cold shoulder from his wife for quite some time for always drilling that stupid saying into her daughter’s head...”no risk, no reward”...Lily’s mother hated that saying!!!

Lily’s parents went with her to get her settled in New York City and although she was nervous she was also excited. “I’m living in “The Big Apple” and “The City that Never Sleeps,” she thought, “Who couldn’t be excited to live here?“ Everything went pretty smoothly for Lily. She loved her job at a marketing firm, her apartment was comfortable and she even met a few new friends. And one of those friends even asked her out on a date. His name was Jonathon and he worked at the same company as she did but he worked in accounting. They went on a first date...a second date...and before Lily knew it they were exclusive. She fell head over heels in love with him.❤️ He told her he loved her so she thought he felt the same way. Lily was prepared to take Jonathan home to meet her parents. However, at work one day, Lily’s friend told her that she saw Jonathon at a bar with another woman. Lily said “Well, maybe it was just a friend or a cousin or something.” Her friend told her they looked like more than friends and they definitely weren’t acting like cousins.

Lily and Jonathon had a date that evening and she planned on asking him about what her friend told her. Lily was dreading the conversation and she was dreading what his answer might be even more. Jonathon picked her up for dinner and he was acting normal, nothing seemed off at all. She started to relax thinking maybe he would have a perfectly innocent explanation. But when she asked him about it, Jonathon turned bright red and didn’t say a word for a few minutes. Lily could see by his expression that she was not going to like his answer. Jonathon admitted that he was out with an ex-girlfriend who was visiting the city. Lily asked him point blank “Do you still like this woman?” Jonathon admitted “I’m not really sure how I feel right now.” Lily wasn’t going to waste her time on a man who couldn’t make up his own mind. She told him she was not going to be waiting around while he figured it out and left with her head held high. Lily decided at that moment she would get over Jonathon quickly and move on with her life.

Lily wasn‘t kidding either, when she went to work the next day her boss told her about a job opening in California. Her boss said “I think you would be a perfect fit but it’s your decision. You do a great job here and we really don’t want to lose you but the job in California pays $20,000 more.” Lily immediately jumped at the offer. She still loved New York City but it was time to move on. She took the risk and, although she was sad about her breakup with Jonathon, she made good friends, had fun, loved her job and now she was going to be making $20,000 more. She considered her time in New York City a success. Now it was time to take another risk...moving across the county to California! The part she was dreading was telling her parents about the move, especially her mother.

Lily slowly picked up her phone to call her parents. Her mother answered and Lily asked her to put the phone on speaker so her father could be on the call as well. Lily began "I wanted to let you know the good news that I got a $20,000 raise but I will be moving to California." There was silence on the other end of the phone. She figured her parents were in shock. Lily was an only child so this made the situation even more difficult. Her mother said "I don't want you to move so far away, what if you need us?" Lily's father simply said "I am so proud of you, $20,000 is a big raise!” Lily's father knew that he was the one who drilled into Lily’s head her entire life that saying "no risk, no reward." But Lily could tell in his voice that he was sad. Lily ended the call by telling her parents they could come visit her anytime.

Lily arrived in California about two weeks later. She really didn't have time to do any sightseeing because she had to start work immediately. One thing she did do was go to the beach after work each day. She loved just sitting looking at the ocean. It was funny though every day she would see a ship on the horizon. She wondered every day what type of ship it was and what the people on that ship were doing. Everything was going fine and she talked to her parents almost everyday. They seemed to be adapting to her move and they were even talking about visiting her soon. Lily was making friends at work and even with a few people at the beach.

One day she was talking to an older man at the beach and Lily asked him about the ship she always sees in the distance. He said “Oh, that’s a Navy vessel, it’s always there around this time.” He introduced himself to Lily, his name was Fred. He was a man in his early 70’s and he was very friendly. They would often sit together at the beach, chat and watch the ship on the horizon. Finally, one day Fred said to Lily “You know my son Justin works on that ship.” He told Lily a few things about his son. He said “ I might be a little prejudice but he is handsome, polite and an overall great man.” Lily smiled and noted “I believe that since you are his father.”

Lily was busy getting ready for a visit from her parents so she didn’t get the chance to go to the beach for a few days. Then finally she had everything ready for the upcoming visit. She was so excited to see them and show them that moving to California was a good decision. She happily went to her spot on the beach and Fred was sitting there waiting for her. He smiled and said “I am so glad you came today, I am meeting someone for dinner who I want you to meet.” Just then a clean cut, nice looking man was standing beside Fred. “Hi dad, ready for dinner?” the man said. Fred then introduced his son to Lily. “This is the nice young woman I was telling you about,” Fred said To Justin. Lily mentioned to Justin about watching the ship and how beautiful it looks on the horizon. Justin smiled and the three of them talked for a little while before Fred and Justin left for dinner. Lily thought that Justin seemed just as nice as his father.

Lily‘s parents came to California for a visit and stayed for a week. They did a little sightseeing and went out to dinner a few times. They could see how happy their daughter was and enjoyed their time together. Lily took her parents to the beach where she watched the ship on the horizon and she was so happy her friend Fred was also there. She introduced everyone and they had a nice time talking and looking at the beautiful scenery. The next day Lily and her parents said their goodbyes at the airport. Lily promised to visit her parents as soon as she accumulated enough vacation time.

Lily was feeling a little sad and lonesome after her parents left so she went to her usual spot at the beach. While she was sitting there Fred and Justin joined her and invited her to go for a bite to eat. Lily agreed and the three of them had a nice, relaxing time. She was feeling a little better and thanked them for the company. She was starting to walk home when Justin ran up to her and said “I was wondering if you would be interested in going out with me sometime?” Lily was a little surprised, she didn’t expect him to ask her on a date. She hesitated for a minute but then agreed. They exchanged numbers and Justin said he would give her a call to set the date. On her way home Lily giggled thinking to herself “If I get along with Justin as well as I get along with his father then this will be a wonderful date!”

Justin called Lily and they agreed to meet for dinner on Saturday night. Justin asked Lily to meet him at the beach where she always meets his father. When Lily arrived Justin was waiting with a bouquet of flowers. Before going to dinner they sat on the beach and Justin told Lily a little about the work he does on that ship she loves watching on the horizon. They went to dinner and had a great date. As it turns out, Justin was a lot like his father and Lily really liked him. Lily continued to meet Fred at the beach and she also continued to date Justin. Lily told her parents about dating Justin and she said “See mom, everything worked out okay and dad, I want to thank you for the advice because I am so glad I took the risk of moving to California because meeting Fred and Justin is a great reward!”