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“I know, I know. I’m not going to go crazy and update the entire place and spend two hundred thousand dollars or some shit. But, if the major repairs took $40,000, I could do the monthly payment thing, use some of the money from my online sales to pay the rest over time, and the big things could get fixed.”
“Just making sure you’re not losing it over there,” she said. “First the cabin’s okay, then it’s a wreck, then you meet some handsome neighbor you’re boning-”
“We aren’t having sex,” I said.
“Fine, a handsome neighbor you want to bone. I’m making sure you’re still being rational .”
“Thanks. I think. Anyway, from what I was able to tell the contractor, the major repairs alone will cost more than what I have. He won’t be able to have a firm estimate until he comes and takes a look at the place, but the general figure was already thirty-five thousand.”
“Yikes. And what does that cover?”
“Replacing the staircase, repairing the porch under the assumption that it doesn’t have to be replaced, fixing the cabinets in the kitchen, stabilizing the kitchen counter, and steam-cleaning the furniture after all the work is done.”
“They steam clean?” she asked.
“No, that was a different service I priced out after I talked with the contractor in town. Anything else will take me way over budget, so I’m hoping for the best when he gets here.”
“When are you expecting the contractor?”
“Around three o’clock today. And yes, I’ll call you once he leaves.”
“Good. I know you’re in the town you grew up in, but you’re a single woman living in a cabin on a mountaintop. That makes you vulnerable, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I appreciate it, Sarah. I really do. Right now, my focus is on repairing this cabin and painting.”
“And your neighbor,” she said.
“And painting,” I said, ignoring her. “Sarah, I’d forgotten how beautiful it was out here. The animals and the sunsets and the trees. It’s inspiring. I’ve already drawn one picture.”
“What was it of?”
“A bird that perched on the windowsill outside. Which reminds me, when all this is said and done, this cabin has the perfect windowsills to have little window box gardens. You know, like herb plants and shit.”
“‘Herb plants and shit.’ You make it sound so mag
ical out there.”
“Shut up. I hate you. Anyway, just some thoughts after all this big stuff’s taken care of,” I said.
“It sounds like you’re preparing to set up camp there.”
I paused as I thought on her statement. In a way, I was. I was slowly settling into a place I’d considered home for years. I was beginning to dig through my grandmother’s room, and with her articles of clothing came memories of us sitting on the porch and talking. I wanted to put up another porch swing like we had before I’d broken it as a kid. And put a couple of rocking chairs on the porch so I could go out there with coffee and watch the nighttime set over the forest.
“I guess it does, huh?” I asked.
“I’ll support you in whatever you decide,” Sarah said. “As long as you have a room for me to come visit. Because I can’t live too much longer without my Amanda.”
“You’ll always be welcome here,” I said. “My grandmother would’ve loved you.”
I felt tears rising in my eyes as I thought about my grandmother meeting my best friend.
“Anyway,” I said. “I should get cleaned up. The contractor will be here in a couple of hours, and I should at least put on a bra.”
“Might be a good idea,” Sarah said, giggling. “Call me right after.”
“Will do,” I said. “Talk to you soon.”
End of Sneak Peek. Would you like to know how this continues?
