AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve got three appointments for you this afternoon, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of the agent for the fourth. Are you game to stop by now and get going?”
“I’m crossing the street to your office as we speak.”
“I’ll meet you in the parking lot,” she says before hanging up.
As I jaywalk across Main Street, I see Anna leave her building. She seems exceedingly happy. I hope everything works out perfectly for her little family and she never has to face some of the bumps I’ve had.
“My car or yours?” I ask as soon as she sees me.
“Let’s take mine. I’ve been kind of nauseated lately and I’d hate to make a mess in yours.”
Beth was sick for the entire nine months of her pregnancy so I’m not without sympathy. “How far along are you?” I ask.
“Nine weeks. It’s taken longer than we planned, but we’re thrilled to finally have a baby on board.”
“I think the only way to make it happen faster is to not be trying,” I tell her, remembering Beth’s reaction to finding out she was pregnant with Sam. She was not pleased.
As we get into Anna’s Honda, she says, “I know of two girls who got pregnant at sixteen in the back of Buicks. Even though I think it had more to do with their age than the kind of car, I still avoided guys with Buicks. Having said that, when Chris and I were trying, I almost suggested we get one.”
Beads of sweat form on my forehead. Sammy will be sixteen in just a little over three years. “Tell me about the houses,” I say, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Anna reverses out of her parking spot. “One of them is a fixer upper, but it’s got so much charm it might be worth it. The other two are move-in ready, but their price tags reflect that.”
“We sold our brownstone for a decent amount, so I’m good with whatever the price is so long as it feels like home.”
We drive quietly for five minutes when Anna pulls into a long driveway surrounded by trees. The house is a log home with two stories and huge windows. “I love this.” I can’t help the excitement I feel. It’s so different from anything I’d imagined us in.
Anna says, “There are five bedrooms, three baths, and over two acres of woods. You’d have your own dock and boat slip.”
After getting out of the car, we walk the flagstone path to the front door. As soon as Anna opens it, we’re hit with the smell of chocolate chip cookies. “I’m ready to make an offer.” I’m only semi-teasing.
“Don’t you dare fall for the chocolate chip cookie game. That’s an old realtor’s trick to make the house immediately feel like home.”
“Do you use it?” I ask.
She smiles widely. “I take my bread maker to showings and hit you with the aroma of baked bread.”
I release a subconscious groan. “That would work on me, too.”
We spend the next forty minutes touring the house that I will from this moment on think of as my own. There’s even a hot tub on the deck, and the view is unparalleled. “I’m not sure I need to see the other places,” I tell Anna.
“But you’re going to,” she says. “I totally get feeling like this house is the one that was meant for you, but I want you to at least know what your options are.”
“I don’t want to lose this place though.”
“I’ll call the realtor and tell him you want to come back for a second showing with your daughter. He’ll know you’re serious then and he’ll keep me in the loop about other interest.”
The next two houses are nice, but don’t do for me what the first one did. I ask Anna, “Can I show Sammy the log house?”
She lifts a finger in the air before making a quick call. Moments later, she says, “The earliest would be ten thirty in the morning. Does that work?”
I nod my head. We’ll have to get a later start to Milwaukee, but I don’t think Sammy will mind once she sees this house.
Anna drives us back into town. I say goodbye to her before walking across the street to Bride’s Paradise. I can’t wait to tell Sammy about our new place.
As soon as I walk into the shop, I’m met by the sight of my daughter standing in front of a mirror with a bride’s veil on her head. She looks so much like her mother, even though I never got to see Beth as a bride.
Sammy catches my reflection in the mirror and calls out, “Dad, you’re early.”
