It’s mysterious the way ideas come to an author when she’s writing a book. Today, I took a nap and woke up thinking about Jason, Maxie’s boyfriend. She didn’t tell him about her inheritance, or where she was going, she simply told him she was going away to think. Jason puzzled over it, but accepted her reason for wanting to do it.

It was a chicken way out, but Maxie wasn’t sure of her own feelings and felt it better to think things through first. Jason is so literal, and he’ll take her word for everything as told to him. Maxie is more the emotional sort. They are whole grain wheat bread and chocolate croissant – with almonds. They are sun and moon different from each other. Part of Maxie finds this intriguing, and part of it worries her. What to do?

So the earthquake finds Maxie just entering the beach house, and Jason working late on a Saturday night in Santa Monica. The earthquake is stronger in Santa Monica, and Jason gets quite a ride on the 12th floor of his office building.

Unknown to either to them, the earthquake triggers a landslide on the Pacific Coast Highway (the highway that runs along the edge of the ocean) and cuts them off from each other. Maxie is cut off from everything. She was going up the stairs with a flashlight in her hand, when the earthquake hit. Jason was working on his laptop in his office with the gorgeous view. not that he ever takes the time to appreciate it, but Maxie has told him it’s gorgeous, so he knows.

Here is where we leave them for the moment. Maxie in the dark on the stairs and Jason suddenly disturbed in his work by his building shaking.

What happens next? I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for another update.

Marilynne