For a moment, Sheila’s mind wandered as she watched the little girl tug at her mom’s hand toward the kitchen.
She’d always thought she’d have children by now, but she and Dan had never been blessed that way. No matter how many times Dan swore it wasn’t the reason for their separation, the fact that he was married less than a year after their divorce to a new wife who was already pregnant left her aching.
She took comfort in helping families find the perfect home to raise their children. That would have to be enough.
She could so easily picture herself walking her children to school on pretty days. She’d cut back on the hours she worked in a heartbeat for something like that.If I had a daughter, I’d have snatched this house right up.
People came in a steady flow, giving her plenty of time to talk with each of them. It was really a perfect open house.
During a lull of activity, she checked her emails. Natalie had sent the details on the Christmas Tree Stroll. A photograph taken from above showed how many trees there were, and she couldn’t begin to count them.
Sheila recognized Orene in one of the pictures. Smiling broadly, she was standing with a woman holding a sign that readDUCK THE HALLS WITH A CHRISTMAS SONG THEME. Their team had decorated their long-needled pine with colorful decoys wearing festive wreaths, and a garland of shiny red and green shotgun casings and colorful feathers. A handwritten note below the picture said, “‘Deck the Halls’ performed on quacking duck calls played from the tree skirt.” Sheila had to admit that was innovative.
She scrolled to the entry form. Each team could have up to eight people on it. All decorating would be done on a tree of preselected type and size. There were lighting requirements, which also included a “no open flames” clause.That sounds like a rule that must’ve come from a prior incident.
Each entry should include a sign no larger than twenty by twenty inches with a name that helped describe the theme of the entry.
TREES WILL BE JUDGED ON [A] UNIQUE DESIGN AND CREATIVE USE OF LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS; [B] STORYLINEOR THEME; [C] DISPLAY AND PLACEMENT OF DECORATIONS; AND [D] OVERALL PRESENTATION.
Sheila went back to the email, to which Natalie had attached about ten pictures. Each tree was more unique than the last.We’re going to have our work cut out to come up with something better than these.
“Excuse me?”
Sheila looked up, surprised she hadn’t heard the customers walk through the living room on the walnut hardwood floors. It was the first couple she’d greeted, at the very beginning of the open house. They’d left earlier; that they’d come back was a good sign.
Sheila stuffed her phone into her pocket. “What do you think?”
“This house is perfect,” the wife said. “You’re right about that master suite. It’s amazing. And that tub. Oh my gosh.”
Sheila had draped the thirsty white robe she’d treated herself to on her last visit to the Greenbrier over the freestanding, fully jetted tub.
The champagne and fresh berries and a copy ofThe Shell Collectorpositioned just so on a table with turquoise and real gold in the acrylic overlay couldn’t go unnoticed.
“Buy the house, and I’ll throw in the champagne bucket and robe,” Sheila teased.
“We’ll hold you to that!” the woman said. “Where did you find that table? It’s stunning.”
“A local craftsman makes those. I can give you his information.” She owned three of them. This one, another with sapphire-like gems and silver inlays, and one with tiny pine cones floating in acrylic in a wide knot right in the middle. They didn’t go with anything in her house, but she hadn’t been able to resist them.Now they’d found their place in her open-house arsenal of tricks, and she was pretty sure she was keeping that guy busy with all the cards she handed out.
Sheila tried to resist celebrating before the deal was done. “Any questions I can answer for you before I close up shop here?”
The husband and wife looked at each other, and then he spoke up. “We’d like to make an offer.”
“Wonderful.” And there it was. What a way to end the year. “We can do the paperwork here, or meet at my office.”
“We’re ready to work it up now.”
“Just let me take down the Open House sign, and we’ll get this taken care of.” Sheila jogged out to get the sign and balloons and tucked them in the back seat of her Mercedes. It only took a moment, and she was back, locking the door behind her. “Okay, this is so exciting. It’s a magnificent home.”
Three hours later, she’d presented the sellers with the offer and they were tickled pink, and since the buyers had a prequalification letter, there wasn’t much worry that things wouldn’t go smoothly. She called to congratulate the couple and discuss the next steps.
It had been a long day with the open house and the deal, but well worth it.
She unlocked the door to her house and walked inside, kicking off her shoes and hanging her purse on the coat tree. After a quick shower, she pulled out a mason jar of salad from her refrigerator, added a few cooked shrimp, and sat in front of the television to eat dinner with a glass of chardonnay.
In a couple of weeks, she’d be in Chestnut Ridge. This would be one of the last quiet evenings she’d have until the new year,since she’d moved the holiday party for the office to next week. That would keep her busy.
She picked up her phone and started typing in a list of things to pack. A gift for Orene. Two probably. A thank-you for letting her stay and a Christmas gift. She’d seen the cutest teapot in an antique store a few weeks ago while she was looking for a new punch bowl for the open house. She’d immediately thought of Orene then. Too bad she hadn’t made the purchase. She hoped it was still there.
