11. Erik #2
“This is interesting,” Jenny said as Erik followed Sloane’s Volvo to Princeton Avenue. “There really is a lot of variety here for such a small community.”
“Well, we’ve got plenty of farmers, of course,” Erik said. “And there are the local business owners, and folks who take the train to work in offices in the city. A lot of the professors at the community college live in town too.”
“It’s such a special place,” Jenny said thoughtfully.
Erik nodded, stealing a glance over at her.
Is it special enough that she and Gael might like to live here?
He tried to stop his thoughts, but they were stampeding like wild horses and all he could do was let them flash images in his mind of what that life could be—unpacking a moving van, putting a real wedding ring on Jenny’s finger, and heading to the shelter for Gael to pick out a dog.
They pulled up to a house with a For Sale sign out front that was half hidden by rhododendron bushes.
The house itself was cedar shake with red painted trim around the windows and a red front door hung with a pine wreath. It wasn’t a big house, but the deep front yard and the big porch felt spacious and welcoming.
“I like this one,” Gael said firmly, scrambling out of the SUV. “There’s room on the porch for all the guys from the Center to come and sit.”
Erik smiled at that thought. It really was a nice front porch for a gathering.
“You could still walk to work from here,” Jenny said thoughtfully as they headed down the curving path to join Sloane on the porch.
“Yes,” Erik said. “Probably ten minutes or so, not bad at all.”
“Here we go,” Sloane said, opening the front door. “Go on in. I need to take a call from the listing agent for the house I just showed you, so just take your time.”
She swiped her finger across her phone and lifted it to her ear to begin a quiet conversation there in the little entry hall as they filed past her.
To the right of the hall was a sweet living room that had a fireplace with built-in bookshelves on either side of it.
“It’s just like Miss Trudy’s library,” Gael said excitedly. “Do the books come with the house?”
“Not usually,” Jenny told him gently.
“Good,” Gael said. “We can fit a lot of comic books on these if all those other books aren’t there.”
Jenny looked like she was trying to figure out how to remind him that this wouldn’t be his house. Erik wished he could tell her to let the boy dream a little, but it wasn’t his place. Besides, he had an ulterior motive in letting them see how nice things could be here.
While he was watching her, Jenny’s eyes landed on the big window seat overlooking the front porch and the yard and her whole face lit up.
“Oh, wow,” she said, hurrying over. “Look, Gael, there’s room for two people to sit here and read.”
Gael joined her in a flash, and the two of them climbed up without another word and gazed out the window, looking like characters in a fairytale.
“I really like this house,” Gael told her quietly after a moment.
Erik stepped back a little, not wanting to hear her remind the boy that it wasn’t really for them.
Why can’t it be?
“I’m so sorry about that,” Sloane said as she headed down the hall, tucking her phone back in her pocket. “How’s it going here?”
“We love this one,” Gael said excitedly, launching himself off the window seat and running to her. “It has bookshelves and a window you can sit in.”
“A window seat,” Sloane said, her face lighting up. “Yes, that’s one of my favorite things about this house.”
“What’s your other favorite thing?” Gael asked.
“It’s in the backyard,” she told him.
“Can we see?” he asked.
“Of course,” she told him. “First, you can see the dining room and the kitchen on the way.”
“Okay,” he said politely.
What a nice kid, Erik thought to himself, trying not to laugh out loud.
The dining room was very nice—not anything grand, but it fit a table that seated eight just fine and had walnut wainscoting and a view of the rose bushes in the side yard.
“The kitchen has potential,” Sloane said as she led them back.
It was certainly a cheerful space with its white wooden cabinets, even if the formica counters were a little worse for wear. Bright Christmas towels were proudly displayed, and a couple of pretty aprons hung from a hook by the back door.
“There’s a small back porch,” Sloane said, opening the door to it. “And a nice backyard.”
Cold air rushed in as they all followed Sloane out to a nice little back porch with a hammock as well as a wrought iron café table and chairs. The yard was fenced, and also surrounded by arbor vitae that Erik thought would look beautiful with Christmas lights in them.
“There it is,” Sloane said dreamily, pointing to the big maple at the center of the yard. “The perfect tree for a treehouse.”
She wasn’t wrong. Though its branches were bare, it was easy to see the big tree was in excellent health. And it did have a pair of thick branches that would make the perfect anchor for a treehouse foundation.
He glanced at Jenny, but her eyes were on Gael.
The little boy was gazing at that tree, practically trembling. Erik could see it all through his eyes, and it was so much sweeter to imagine what it would be like to be a child here, secure in a treehouse fortress, looking out over the yard and the house, feeling at home.
“I can really picture us here,” Gael said, his eyes still on the tree. “We would be really, really happy in this house.”
Jenny took his hand and Erik felt tears prickle his eyes.
It can’t be this easy.
Can it?
“I’m so glad we found a house that feels like home for you, Gael,” Sloane said fondly. “Anyone else have thoughts to share?”
“It’s perfect,” Jenny said simply.
Sloane turned to Erik, and he nodded.
“Well, buying a home is a big decision,” Sloane said.
“I’ll send you the disclosures, Erik, and if you have any questions let me know.
If you decide you want to move forward, that’s great.
But we can also just plan to see more homes like this one as they come on the market.
It’s natural to want to see more than three homes. ”
“Thank you,” he told her.
“Shall we look upstairs?” she asked.
“Definitely,” Gael said, hurrying back into the house.
They all followed him up to the bedrooms, which seemed just as perfect as the rest of the house. Even the attic and basement, when they got to them, were in pretty good shape.
“This is the house for us,” Gael said with certainty as they all stood on the front porch, watching Sloane close up the lockbox again.
Jenny put an arm around him and Erik felt another wave of pain.
“There we are,” Sloane said. “I’ll email you, and I’m here for whatever you need. Meanwhile, have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon. And congratulations again.”
“Thank you,” Erik told her. “Truly, thank you for everything.”
“Thanks for working with me,” she said with a warm smile.
They headed down to the SUV. Once they were headed back out of town, he stole a glance in the rearview mirror.
Gael’s eyes were fixed on the window, a slight furrow in his brow as he watched the houses fly past.
Jenny was silent in the seat beside Erik’s, her eyes on her hands which were folded in her lap.
Is she angry with me for putting her though this?
Or is she wishing it could be real too?
Are we all sad for the same reason?
As the SUV crunched along the drive past the lake and up to the inn, Erik knew to his bones that he had to find out for sure.
Just not in front of Gael.