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“So, this used to be a home before it became a school?”
“Yes. This is the main floor,” Vivi said, walking ahead of me. “There are two stairwells. The main one, as you can see, is here. There is a secondary one off the butler’s pantry that leads up to the servant rooms in the attic.”
“So, there is a third floor?”
“Technically, yes, and there is a basement, too.”
Taking it all in, I spotted a large room that was covered with floor to ceiling bookshelves, each, by the looks of it, were hand carved with a gigantic fireplace. Moving on to the next room, I saw a sitting room with a large bay window with bench seating under it and immediately imagined myself curling up there with a good book. There was also another fireplace in that room as well. As we moved along, I saw the dining room that could seat at least twenty or more, the large ballroom, a few more odd rooms that I wasn’t sure what they were for and then there was the kitchen.
It was massive and in need of a complete overhaul. The entire space needed to be gutted and redone. The only thing that could possibly stay was the fireplace, and I wasn’t sure it would be viable.
Vivi and I spent the next hour wandering around the large home, and by the time we stepped back out onto the front porch, I was in love with the place.
I wanted it.
It was a diamond in the rough and I wanted to own it.
“Vivi?”
“Yeah?”
“How much do you think it would cost to fix this place up?”
Vivi squealed, hugging me as she wiggled and shimmied in my arms. Even I had to admit I was giddy about the prospect of taking this place on.
“So, you are going to buy it?” Vivi asked happily.
“Yes.”
“Oh my God, Kali!” Vivi jumped and clapped happily in front of me as I took one more look at the place I was going to turn into my home. I hoped to be happy here. I think deep down I knew I would be, but until I could get Kansas out here, I was going to keep my elation at a simmer.
“Hey,babe,” Kansas said, walking into the penthouse, smiling like a cat that just ate the canary. Heading straight for me, he kissed the top of my head before turning to open the fridge, grabbing a beer. “Where’s the brats?”
“In bed.”
“A little early, isn’t it?” he said, leaning against the kitchen counter. Nodding, I turned and faced him. “They had a busy day at the park with Mrs. Worthington. By the time they got home, it was all I could to feed them, wash them and get them in bed before they passed out.”
Kansas chuckled. “I remember those days.”
It was now or never. I knew the quicker I explained what I wanted, the faster I could get a construction crew out to the house and start the remodeling. I didn’t know how long it was going to take, but if possible, I wanted to be in the house by Thanksgiving.
“Kansas?”
“Yeah?”
“If I asked you to take me somewhere, would you?”
“Where ya want to go?”
“Just somewhere,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure how to broach this subject with him, especially after I shot him down before. I knew he wanted a real house, a proper house as he liked to say, but would he want a fixer upper? Then there was the fact of how much money went into making the penthouse livable for me and the kids. I hated wasting money and to sink more money into another place, just seemed trivial now that I thought about it.
Rethinking my decision, I wavered. Buying and remodeling a house was a major undertaking. I’d heard horror stories about how the stress from such endeavor destroyed relationships.
I didn’t want that to happen to me and Kansas, besides, he seemed happy with how the penthouse turned out.
“Kali,” his gentle voice whispered, as his arms wrapped around me. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing, really. Just an idea.”
