Chapter 9
Both of us received a message from Sonya early the following week. We took a few days off to just sort of reboot our whole mindset before we started house hunting again. She had a place to show us, sounded really excited about it, so Thursday evening we met her at her office. It was snowing, but the Escalade had no problem navigating the couple of inches of fresh new coating.
The house was listed by one of her partners and hadn’t even been on her radar until she ran across it while looking for another client. The location was in the area Annie wanted, just a bit over our top limit for pricing, and it had been six months on the market. When we pulled up, it was dark out, hard to really get a feel about the curb appeal. But it looked nice, older, two story, partly stone, partly siding. With the snow-covered ground, it was hard to imagine the terrain, and it had a lot of bushes that were bowed with the frosty white stuff.
A two-and-a-half stall garage caught my attention, and the porch seemed to tickle Annie’s fancy. When we went in, a small foyer opened to a large living area, with wide hardwood woodwork and floors as well as custom windows that made it look modern yet warm and homey. The dining area bore an ugly light fixture and wallpaper, but those could be changed. The kitchen was a separate room, badly out of date, but one wall was all windows and sliding doors that led to a deck, also covered in snow.
The yard looked huge. The master bedroom on the main floor appeared large enough to accommodate our entire bedroom set and still leave us room to walk around, plus a huge closet and a so-so bathroom. A smaller room just down the hall housing a couple of exercise machines would be perfect for the baby.
I really liked this place, it felt right, but I said nothing to Annie. After we checked out the second story, we came back to the kitchen.
“This would have to go,” Annie said, making a sweep of her arm around the entire room. “Do you think we could take out that wall?” she asked Sonya, pointing to the one separating the kitchen from the dining area.
“I don’t see why not. They can do just about anything you want as long as you have the right support. You know, that would open up this space and give you a visual all the way through to the front of the house. It would be awesome.”
Annie’s eyes sparkled. “I think it would be, too. Have a nice island with seating, then back here would be all counters and cupboards. If we can afford to redo the kitchen right away, the rest can wait. The yard looks perfect. It’s in the right school district—what are your thoughts, Mike?” She sounded breathless.
I have to say my heart was actually pounding.
“I think it could work really well—maybe. Sonya, do you think we can offer less than asking, like way less?”
She chuckled. “Depends what you mean by way less.”
“Twenty-thousand?” I asked, grimacing.
She looked thoughtful. “Well, considering the length it’s been on the market, my feeling is they would be ready to come down just to get rid of it. I’d try a little lower, twenty-five, the worst they can do is say no.”
I grabbed Annie and squeezed her so tightly.
“What do you say, Annie? Should we make an offer? You get the final word.”
“This is the first place that I feel like I belong in, Mike.”
“That’s exactly how I feel!”
Before we actually put money down, I wanted to have my dad go through it with me. We did that the following evening. Once I had his opinion, finding nothing majorly wrong, Annie and I signed on the dotted line. Everything contingent on the official inspection, but it looked like we were about to become homeowners—if the offer was accepted.
~ ~ ~
They said yes! A roller coaster week followed with offers and counter offers. In the end, we agreed to a price only slighter higher than my comfort zone. If we stayed within the parameters, our loan would cover the remodeling.
My uncle, the one with the landscaping business, had given me some recommendations for a couple of different contractors. The two we talked to told us the spring rush hadn’t started yet. The work would be completed before our move-in date.
It also meant that we would be spending every free minute over there once we closed. Hard to believe that with everything else going on in our lives, we had childbirth classes to squeeze in, too. I wondered—would our lives ever feel calm and relaxed again?
We wanted to repaint almost every room downstairs, and Annie was no help. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; I wouldn’t let her, given the fumes and all. Our friends helped a lot, as did my family. We tore out most of the kitchen in one day. It was kind of cathartic being able to just demolish something and not be in trouble for it. Annie wore a mask at my urging when she insisted on coming over for part of it.
After we’d chosen the design for the kitchen and made most of those big decisions, Annie’s project became the nursery. Yet again, Margo’s generosity gave us permission to splurge. She funded the crib and all the accessories. We went to both baby shops in town and even went shopping down in the valley. Once Annie decided on what she wanted, we placed an order to be delivered a couple weeks later. It all remained in the boxes until the room was finished.
The one thing I let Annie do was some stenciling on the walls. Her doctor said it would be all right if it wasn’t for a prolonged amount of time, and she wore the mask.
As I took off the tape from the woodwork in the living room, Annie called me to come to the baby’s room. Standing in the doorway, a big smile crossed my face. “Hey, you really did a good job in here! Who knew I married an artist?” My eyes surveyed the room. The cheery yellow walls now sported a variety of colorful animals in a couple of clusters. Going over to her, I tucked some hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek, then licked my finger and wiped at a smudge of blue paint next to her eye. “Little Beanie’s going to love her room.”
“I still think it’s a boy—”
Placing my hands on her ever-expanding abdomen, I gazed into her eyes. “It’s getting closer. I still can hardly believe it. Look how our lives have changed in the past year! Unreal.”
“I know.” She sighed and she hugged me.
~ ~ ~
Judging by the number of trips it took for me to haul in all the presents from the baby shower, I would say it was a complete success. It felt like Christmas with all these boxes and bags of goodies. We stashed them in the nursery, which was all put together now, with the baby only a little more than a month away. High chair, stroller, pack ‘n play, swing, all the big things were lined up along the wall. Plus we had blankets, diapers, clothes, (I’d never seen so much green and yellow in my life) and toys, books.
We were set to move in the following weekend. The kitchen gleamed. Annie cried when she saw it. The cupboards were a medium walnut color, trimmed with brushed silver handles. The counters weren’t granite, but you would never know. They looked so good but saved us a bundle, so we could get the stainless steel appliances we wanted. The counter tops were in a pattern of browns and beiges that went beautifully with the hardwood floors and cabinets.
The painted surfaces were a pale grayish-green, the whole room oozing calmness and freshness. With the removal of that wall, it opened into a vast space, basically empty but with so much potential. And for a house warming gift, we were getting new furniture from her mom. Now that the snow was gone, I could hardly wait to be able to get a grill and drink a beer out on the deck.
~ ~ ~
We were on a push at work to finish a job we’d labored on for months. Late Friday morning, my boss Dave came over to where Dalton and I were puzzling over a problem with a component we’d created. After greeting us with his usual pleasantries, he said, “Guys, we need this part completed so that Brett and Travis can finish theirs. If you don’t complete it today, you’ll have to come in tomorrow.”
I threw Dalton a look. I had to be off on Saturday, the big moving day. He knew that.
“We’ve got it, Dave. No problem,” Dalton quipped, and Dave patted his shoulder with confidence and walked away.
“Glad you think we’ve got it. I absolutely can’t work tomorrow! What if we don’t figure it out?”
Dalton huffed out a breath. “Let’s break for lunch, clear our heads, and attack it again this afternoon.”
Four hours later, we were no closer to figuring it out. The component consisted of many very intricate working parts which we painstakingly labored on for ages. It operated perfectly until we put it into the case that protected everything, then nothing worked. Take it out, it worked perfectly, slip it in—nothing.
“Ah, dammit!” I griped, dropping it on our work table.
“Whoa, Mike, be careful! If we mess up the internal mechanism, we’re so screwed.”
“Sorry—I need to call Annie and tell her I won’t be home. She’s going to kill me. We’re supposed to be packing tonight.” I went to the break room for a little privacy and waited for her to answer.
“Hey, honey.” I rubbed my forehead, my fingers shaking, the frustration weighing heavily. “I’m held up at work tonight.”
“Mike, get home! You know how much we have to do!”
“Annie, if we don’t figure this problem out tonight, I have to come back tomorrow!”
“You can’t! We’re moving!”
“I know, but there’s a push on this job. I don’t have a choice!”
“That’s ridiculous—talk to your boss.”
“I can’t do that, I don’t have a choice—” Silence—she hung up on me. “Annie? Jesus!” Coming out of the bathroom was Callie. My hand gripped the top of my head. I knew my face was on fire.
“That sounded all warm and fuzzy. Sweet, understanding wifey—” She gave me a sideways look, her lips curling upward. “The offer for the drink still stands.”
Spinning around, I went out into the project room, shoving my phone back into my pocket as I joined Dalton. He glanced up at me, then did a double-take.
“You all right, man?”
A lump resided in my throat as I nodded. I turned away, just in time to see Callie pulling on her coat from across the room, giving me this sympathetic smile and a wave. Of course, Dalton saw her, too. I wanted to puke.
Grabbing the menacing part out of Dalton’s hands, I growled, “Let me take another look at this damn thing!”
“What’s going on between you and Callie?”
“Nothing!” came my terse reply, narrowing my gaze at him and hoping he understood that I wasn’t talking about it. Slowly, I turned the shiny metal case in my hands, examining every inch of it. Then I took the inside mechanism, still working, and slowly slid it into the case. I swear I felt a little catch or something. Then it didn’t work. Eased it out, slowly, same almost undetectable catch. It was working, again. “Oh my God! There’s something tripping it when it slides in. Dalton, how could we have missed that?” He took it from me, and concurred as he repeated what I’d done.
“A hundred times doing the same maneuver, and we didn’t pick up on it until now?” It took us another half hour to pinpoint the problem and fix it. We placed it on Dave’s desk as we left for the weekend.
When I got home, I found Annie sitting on the floor in the kitchen, randomly throwing pots and pans, covers, Tupperware, whatever she could reach in her present condition, into a box. She looked rather pitiful. I couldn’t help but smile as I crouched down next to her. “Here, let me help you up. I can do that.”
I kissed her cheek, not sure what her state of mind was at the moment. When she smiled back and held out her hands for me to help her up, relief washed over me. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her, so glad to just be home. Her arms around me made the world go away for a while. No project stress, no urgency about the day ahead, no Callie—just us.
~ ~ ~
My hand smoothed over Annie’s lower back, rubbing gently across, then up and down as she lay on her side next to me in bed. She occasionally moaned her appreciation, finally saying, “Mike, I’m going to just let you keep doing that all night, okay?”
I chortled. As much as I loved my wife, I was as tired as her after moving day. It was all I could manage to give her this little bit of comfort.
“I’m going to be sleeping in about ten seconds, babe, so you better enjoy the last couple moments.” With a big effort, she rolled over to face me, kissing me on the ear and then on the cheek.
“It’s the first night in our very own house, and we’re too tired to consummate the relationship.”
I laughed out loud, nuzzling my face into her neck. “I love the way you put things.”
In the next instant, I drifted off.
I awoke the next morning to a gentle tug of the drawstring at my waist. Keeping my eyes closed, I felt her fingers move slowly over the top edge of my bottoms, pushing them down until she finally settled on the scar on my belly. Those wandering digits lingered there. The area was always a little sensitive, but her touch was barely perceivable. She had to know I was awake. My breathing was a little uneven, but still I didn’t open my eyes or speak. Next it was her mouth on that slightly jagged line, then her tongue. By the time we got up that morning, our relationship as it stood in the new house had been thoroughly “consummated.”