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“My face doesn’t say that.” I stretch my smile wider. “See? It’s happy.”
His eyes narrow. “Are you quitting?”
“No, I love it here.” And I do. It’s fun. Plus, I can walk Evie to school every morning before work, and I’m home by 6:30 most days. Every Sunday off, and the pay is generous. So generous, in fact, that it’s making the news I’m about to break possible.
“You sick?” He looks even more alarmed.
“No!” Bill was coming out of a nasty battle for his health when I met him, and I hate that he had to go there for even an instant, so I blurt it out. “I’m buying a house. Probably.”
His face sags in relief. “Is that all? I was waiting for the worst.”
I pause a beat to see if he’ll process the implications. When he doesn’t, I add, “It means Evie and I are moving out.”
The rest of him sags now. “Oh. Yeah, I guess it does.”
Evie and I have lived in the small apartment above Bill and Lisa’s garage for two years. In a lot of ways, it’s been perfect. They love having Evie run up and down from our place to theirs as much as she loves doing it. She wanders out to work with Bill in his garden most Saturday mornings. She also spends plenty of time with Lisa in the kitchen, learning how to cook and bake, “just like Auntie Tab did, and now she’sfamous,” Evie likes to tell people.
If ever I had doubted Bill’s affection for Evie, his sad face would convince me now. I hurry to make it better. “I will never, ever be able to thank you enough for giving us a place to live while I finished school. But it’s time to move out, and it’ll make it so much easier when Grace or Tabitha come back to visit. Tab won’t have to stay at the B&B.”
“They don’t mind,” he says.
“I know. But they’ll like staying with y’all even more.” Grace, their younger daughter, is married to my brother, and they always stay in Tabitha’s old bedroom; it’s the only spare room available.
“When did you decide all this?” he asks.
“Maybe ten minutes ago?” At his startled look, I explain. “I saw the listing go up a few days ago. I got preapproved for a loan this morning, and it’s in my budget. I walked over to look at it just now, and . . . yeah. I want it.”
“But . . .” Bill looks like he’s gathering more arguments, but I head them off.
“This is a good thing, Bill. The only reason it can happen is because of all the help you and Lisa have given me.” A generous salary, a cozy apartment for only the cost of utilities, more free babysitting than I can ever repay. “It’s time for us to start the next phase of our lives, and you and Lisa will be a huge part of that.”
He sighs and settles his chin in his hand. “Tell me where this house is, and I’ll try to be happy about it.”
“This part is good news,” I tell him. “It’s on Orchard.” That’s only one block away from them.
He thinks for a moment. “Wait, the fixer-upper that just got listed?”
I nod, grinning.
“But, honey, it’s a du—” He breaks off and clears his throat. “It’s got potential.”
He was about to say “dump,” and I don’t blame him. I’d called the real estate agent back for information on the walk to the store. The place was built in 1920, and it’s only had two owners. The most recent one died five years ago, and the house sat empty until the heirs pulled themselves together enough to list it.
I’ve fantasized about a place Evie and I could call our own since she was a baby. I’ve bought and decorated a few dozen homes in my imagination, never dreaming it could be a reality. Until two years ago, I’d worked as a waitress for Evie’s entire life, and a single mom on a server’s salary couldn’t afford even a single-wide trailer these days.
But I finished a bachelor’s in business this summer, and I have a regular salary, plus the money I’ve scrimped and saved. It’s been two years of shopping at grocery outlets, thrifting all our clothes, and going without a car because we can walk everywhere—work, church, and school—and it’s added up.
“I know it’s the worst house in Creekville,” I say. “But the mortgage broker found a grant that means I can keep some of the down payment back for repairs.”
Bill sighs. It’s a long, tired sound. “Until we all get our angel wings, Lisa and I are your parents now. I wish you’d stay a little longer, save a bigger down payment, and make sure this is what you want to do.”
It’s so sincere that a tiny lump lodges in my throat. I already had one set of amazing parents, even if I lost them way too early. “I got luckier than anyone should when I got you as bonus parents. But there’s a point where I have to stand on my own two feet, and I’m really proud of buying this house. I want you to be happy for me.”
He gives me a smile. “I am. And Lisa will be thrilled too. Butyouhave to tell her you’re moving out.”
I wrinkle my nose.
He gives me a knowing look.
