The Left-Handed Truth Chapter 26

Chapter 26: How many bathrooms?”

Since that afternoon, we had used every spare moment to be together. But it stirred my interest in finding a permanent home for the three of us. It was four days before Christmas when we were discussing the new home idea around the dinner table.

“Well, the main thing we are trying to accomplish is to find a place we like that’s close enough to both Jimmy’s school and here,” I said. “So far, there aren’t very many homes for sale in this district.”

“Aye,” Angus chimed in, “I’ve been keeping a weather-eye open too, Lad. What does your real estate fellow say?”

“Says it’s a very stable neighborhood and not a lot of turnover. He’s trying to get us to look a little further out … toward Midland even.”

“I know a house for sale,” Jimmy said, looking around the table.

“You do?” Nicole noted in surprise.

“Yeah. Shane Robinson’s dad has a new job. They have to move.”

“When did this happen?” Nicole asked. “I didn’t see any realty sign on their lawn.”

“He just told me yesterday. I think his mom is upset. She doesn’t want to move.”

“Oh, I’m sure she is. She told me she loved it here,” Nicole added.

“Sounds like it just happened,” I suggested.

Nicole looked at me and I could see the gears meshing. I almost knew what was coming next.

“I’ll call her after dinner and we’ll talk,” she said, not looking up from her meal.

“Okay, Lefty,” I grinned. She didn’t dare look at me.

Angus picked up on it immediately and I was sure he’d inform Mary what was going on. The preemptive strike was about to happen.

“Sue is heartbroken,” Nicole said as she sat beside me on the sofa. “Ken is getting a promotion, but it means moving to Cleveland, for God’s sake. Yuck!”

“Hmmm … I’m guessing Cleveland is not your favorite city.”

“I’ve never been there,” she admitted, “but one of my boyfriends was from there as he was a real ass … wipe,” she finally spat out.

“Don’t sugar coat it, Sweetheart, tell me what you really think,” I chuckled.

“Oh, find a new one, Will. Anyway, they have to sell and I told her that we were looking. I’ve mentioned you, but she didn’t know we were engaged. She said she’d feel better selling to someone she knows. I’ve been in their house and it’s really nice. Three bedrooms and a den that could be a fourth.”

“Or an office,” I suggested with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s what it is now. Anyway, she’s going to get her realtor to call our realtor and we’ll talk. I’ll let you know when we can go look at the place.”

“Thanks,” I said with a somewhat condescending tone.

“What? You don’t want to do this?”

“I didn’t say that. I thought we might discuss a few things beforehand. You know, like budget and things that we both want in a home.”

“Of course,” she said indignantly. “Are you suggesting I’m not considering your needs?”

“Nope. I’m suggesting you’ve already got a full head of steam and we need to look at this possibility dispassionately. It’s a major decision and it should be made thoughtfully.”

“Excuse me while I go get a towel to get rid of the cold water you’ve thrown on me,” she said with a disgusted look.

I grabbed her arm before she could stomp off somewhere, angry at me.

“Don’t run away, Sweetheart. I’m not trying to turn you off. I want you to calm down and think about this. You’ve only visited the house a couple of times and been in what, the living room and maybe the kitchen?”

She stopped tugging at my hand and looked at me. I could see her thinking and guessed she was trying to remember what she could about the Robinson’s home. After a brief time, I could see the frustration dissipate and a look of resignation replace it.

“You’re right. That’s all I’ve seen … along with a big back yard and a double garage. That’s it.”

“How many bathrooms?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know?”

“Is the basement finished?”

“Don’t know that either,” she admitted, now showing a bit of a smile.

“Have you written down a list of ‘Musts’ and ‘Wants’ for a new house?”

She shook her head, now recognizing we needed to talk first before acting.

“Why don’t we do that first? We’ll make up a list of the things we have to have in our home, and the things we want to have. Then, when we visit the Robinson’s home … or any other home, we can check off the list and see if it meets our needs.”

“Who taught you that?” she asked, now in a completely different mood.

“My parents. Ask your Mom and Dad how they decided on this house. I’ll bet they did something similar.”

She snuggled up to me. “I’ve got to remember how smart you are,” she said. “I was all set to go charging off and buy a house I hadn’t really seen. Luckily, you caught me just in the nick of time.”

“We’re a team, Sweetheart. We’ll learn to think and act like a team the longer we are together. Being lefties, we will make a formidable team. Unstoppable.”

“Yeah,” she snickered, “unstoppable.”

“Hello, I’m Roger Kreiger from Sentinel Real Estate. You must be Mrs. Carlisle.”

“Ms. Carlisle … and this is my fiancé, William Travers, whom you’ve already met. Please come in.”

“Well, congratulations are in order then. When’s the big day?” he asked cheerily, clearly wanting to set the mood.

“Not confirmed, but possibly in February.”

“Okay then. So, I know why I’m here. Mr. Travers had already contacted me when he wanted to see some houses in this area a month ago. Sounds like you’re getting serious about this now.”

“Yes, we are,” Nicole confirmed. “We e-mailed you our list of things we are looking for in order of importance. I hope you got it.”

“Yes,” he said, pulling out a printed sheet with a copy of our e-mail. “It’s very helpful to me. You’ve set a budget, told me what’s important and I can narrow things down without wasting a lot of your time.”

“We wanted to make you aware of a house in our neighborhood that has just been listed with another firm. It’s over on Cordova Road.”

“Would that be the Robinson residence?”