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“Alright, but no later. Mark is eager to sell. I’m supposed to ship him the two suitcases he left under the bed. I’d better take them now. May I?”
“Go ahead.” She waved him toward the bedroom and turned to Rafael, stepping close to him, she murmured. “Oh my God, Rafael, this is a dream come true.”
“How much can you afford?”
“Not sure yet. I’ve never bought a house.”
“You need to come up with a down payment. Usually 10 or 20%, and you take a mortgage for the balance from your bank. I don’t see any problem since you have a good permanent job.”
“Okay, I’ll go to the bank now, check what I have, and how much I can borrow.” A week after starting her job at SAMF, she’d opened a checking account for the first time in her life and deposited her paychecks regularly.
“Good idea.”
“Come with me, please.”
“No, it’s better if you go by yourself. Discuss it with your bank’s financial consultant.”
Dragging the suitcases, Greg emerged from the bedroom.
“I’ll help you, Greg.” Rafael offered. “Arianna has an errand to run. See you later.”
At the bank, the mortgage consultant turned out to be quite knowledgeable. She spent more than an hour listening to Arianna, doing calculations, and explaining her various options.
***
Arianna’s call had Rafael jumping from his sofa and scaling the two floors to her studio at lightning speed.
“The bank consultant was very patient. She explained it was a good thing to own property as proof of good credit, but she suggested I knock down the price by fifteen percent to start.”
“Good idea.”
“Apparently, I’ll have no problem putting a twenty percent down payment,” Arianna recited dutifully. “She offered to be with me during the closing.”
“Fantastic. Let’s have dinner, and then call Greg to make him an offer.”
“Oh my God, Rafael. Can you imagine? I may soon own my dream condo.” Her hand shook as she served him, and the sauce sloshed onto the table.
“Take a deep breath. Are you scared or eager to assume the responsibility?”
“Both.” Her fork in hand, she forgot to eat. “I’m eager to stay here, in a place I love where I feel safe. But I’m also kind of scared of being tied down to one place in case I have to run away.”
“For heaven’s sake, run away from what?”
“I don’t know. What if Julio reappears?”
“I’m here, Arianna. I promise I’ll never let you deal with him on your own. Forget the skunk. He doesn’t know your whereabouts. Don’t let him control you from afar.”
“Right.” She lowered her head and concentrated on her food. “Done. I’m calling Greg.”
“Don’t sound too eager. Keep your face blank. Remember Greg represents Mark’s interest, not yours.”
“Right, right.” While Rafael cleared the table, she called Greg who came right away.
“Greg, I went to the bank.” She handed him a sheet of paper. “This is what I can offer.”
“Huh...kind of low. I’ll talk it over with Mark. Can you write a check as an earnest money deposit?”
Adrianna handed him the check.
