‘I just don’t see it,’ I sighed, crossing my arms.
‘You’ve got to use your imagination,’ my wife rushed over, grabbing me by the waist. ‘Think of the possibilities!’
‘I am thinking of the possibilities,’ I rolled my eyes. ‘The possibility that we’ll blow all of our savings on building a house that we won’t even like.’
‘Oh, we’ll like it,’ she laughed, slapping my arm. ‘And it’s actually quite a reasonable price at the moment.’
‘Reasonable?’ I asked. ‘You’re telling me there are reasonably priced luxury custom home builders on the Mornington Peninsula?’
She nodded and skipped over to the far edge of the property, a hill that looked down over the water.
‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ she breathed, as I stood behind her. ‘Don’t you want to wake up to that view?’
I glanced up at the sky.
‘That’s east,’ I muttered. ‘We’d be blinded by the sun every morning.’
‘Frank!’ she glared, spinning around. ‘Work with me here!’
‘I’m trying, honey,’ I protested. ‘I just don’t know that it’s a good idea!’
‘You never support me!’ she said, on the verge of tears. I bit back my retort and wrapped her in a hug.
‘Fine,’ I sighed, through gritted teeth. ‘I’ll meet these… contractors who design and build homes.’
‘You mean it?’ my wife asked, stepping back and grabbing my arms.
‘Why not?’ I strained a smile. ‘At least hear what they have to say, I guess.’
‘Oh, Frank,’ she beamed up at me. ‘We won’t regret this.’
‘Right,’ I nodded, already regretting it.
She skipped over to the other side of the plot of land, examining the trunk of an enormous tree. I joined her, running my hand along the bark.
Maybe I could see myself living here after all, I thought. Laying under this tree and its shade, reading a book, throwing a ball for a dog or, maybe, a son—
‘Well, that’ll have to go, obviously,’ my wife said, patting the tree.
‘What an eyesore!’