Chapter 2
Whitney
My night was restful, and for the first time in quite a while I woke feeling refreshed. I’m looking forward, not back, and it feels good. On Friday I am going to view the cottage, and I really hope it’s what I am looking for. But in the meantime, I have things I need to get done.
Breakfast over and with a hot mug of ginger tea, I take out my laptop and check my workload. Gerald never overloads me, and I’m grateful for that. I check out emails and find nothing except a receipt showing my last work was downloaded from the cloud and it’s in Gerald’s hands now.
The next project I open is a novella, a romance. Oh nice, cowboys on a ranch finding their women. This could be an interesting series, and I’ve had so many non-fiction books of late that this may just spice up my proofreading.
My phone rings and picking it up from beside my laptop I see it's Lee. “Hi, Lee. I hope you are having a lovely morning?” I admit to myself I sound cheerful.
“Wow, you sound better. I’ve got news from the Kyle front,” Lee sighs, and I’m hoping it is not going to sour my morning, whatever she’s going to relay.
“Okay…” Yeah, I’m wary.
“He’s wanting to do therapy with you. I nipped it in the bud when I mentioned I’d had a PI watching him.
He’s not had a physical affair with her, Whitney, but he has had a mental one.
We can prove that if necessary, and it backs up the fact that we are calling this an irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
I made it clear to him that if his reputation takes a hit, it could affect his job, and that’s when he backed down.
He told me he loves you, but he just got caught up in the idea of the woman next door.
I told him it was a shame he lost the best thing he would ever have, all for a woman who would chase another woman's man. What did that say about her morals? That shut him up.”
“Have you filed the petition?” I ask as I don’t want to discuss what Kyle has been doing. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.
“I have, and it goes to court in two weeks. It will be granted Whitney, unless you want to pull out now?”
“No, I’m more than happy to go along with the divorce. I want to be free and get on with my life.”
“Okay. The breakdown I’ve filed can be backed up with the no-fault process.
You are asking for nothing except your vehicle and savings.
He gets the house, his vehicle, and the two bank accounts.
One of which is his savings account. I have no doubt the judge will see this as more than fair, Whitney.
” I can hear Lee scribbling something on her side, and when she sighs, I know she’s going to say something more.
“You could consider asking for half the value of the house, Whitney. I am positive a judge would grant that as you have no dependents.”
“No. He inherited the house from his grandparents. He can have it. I don’t want to rip that away from him.
They loved him, and he loved them. Leave that alone.
I’m happy to walk away with my savings and vehicle.
I’ve a lot saved and can buy a house without a mortgage if I get something small.
I’m happy to just get on with my life, Lee. ”
“Okay. How are you apart from the divorce?”
“I’m good actually. I’m working, and you know I’ve been into town and done a little shopping.
” I look up and smile to myself when my eyes stop at the small Christmas tree I purchased.
“I’m going to view a cottage on Friday. It’s small but looks ideal for what I want.
Open plan, so nice and airy, plenty of light, and it would be all mine. No memories to clog my mind.”
“That sounds nice. Send me pictures, and if you want to buy it, I’ll get Simon to do the legal stuff for you. Make sure you’re not taken for a ride.” Lee giggles, and I know she has a thing for Simon, but I also know he’s great at his job.
“Okay, let him know I’ll be contacting him about this purchase if I like the place.”
After closing the call, I get my nose into my work, and my notepad is filling up with things to fact-check and research.
Seems this author likes to throw facts into the book even though it’s fiction.
The last thing Gerald will want is readers shouting that the facts are inaccurate.
That’s why it’s a good thing to make up town names and not use actual ones.
It stops having to check if there is a well on the outskirts of town, or something similar.
I worked some more on the cowboy novella before needing a break.
I downloaded a new novel by one of my favorite authors, one Gerald knows I love to proofread.
It’s a detective thriller genre and I just love the way it has twists, turns and huge surprises.
There is no wonder he is such a success. His imagination knows no bounds.
Time passes, and it’s not until I have to put a light on that I realize I’ve been working for hours. Missed lunch and dinner. I’m going to have to stop working, freshen up and eat something.
Looking out of the kitchen window while washing the cutlery I’ve used, I see the snow has stopped, and it’s only left a light layer on the ground. It looks pretty mind you, and I can’t help the smile that crosses my face.
Seeing the snow reminds me of when my parents would snowball fight with each other and me. It was great fun, and we would laugh so hard. Then we’d have hot chocolate with marshmallows melted on top sitting in front of a roaring fire, and the TV with a Christmas movie playing.
Yeah, I miss my parents. They were killed in a highway pileup coming back from an anniversary vacation they had planned for three years. I’ll always be grateful to Kyle for being there at that time. He was a rock when I needed it. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want this to be a nasty divorce.
Time for bed. I’m not pulling another all-nighter.
Both the projects can wait until tomorrow, and I’ll work on them over the weekend.
I want to keep Friday clear so I can view the cottage, and if I put an offer on the place, I can look around town for things I may need.
Nothing like forward thinking and planning.
Friday morning and I’m waiting at the cottage property for the realtor to arrive. I’m so excited to see inside, but the yard is not as bad as I first thought it was from the image I’d seen of the place.
The door to the house next door opens, and a man exits wearing a checkered shirt, jeans and carrying a work bag. He looks up and frowns when he sees me standing here.
“You okay? Do you need anything?” He steps toward me as he asks.
“No. I’m going to look at the cottage, and I’m waiting for the realtor to arrive,” I explain, and as I don’t want to get into any dispute or cause any affront, I answer with a gentle smile.
“Ah, it’s a nice place. The inside is well maintained from what I remember.
But the yard needs a little work,” he holds his hand out to shake, “Names, Clem. Not Clemence, or Clement. It’s just Clem.
No idea what my mother was thinking, but it is what it is.
” He gives me a playful smirk, and I can’t help but laugh and give him a handshake in return.
“I’m Whitney, and no short version of that I don’t think. I’ve been called Whit now and again, but I like my name, so stick with Whitney when I can.”
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Whitney. Time to get to work.” Clem tips two fingers to his temple as he walks away and jumps into a Ford Ranger.
Now, he’s a good-looking man. Tall, broad shoulders, short hair, and it’s more than obvious to see he’s not scared of physical hard work. He has a swagger to his gait, which had caught my eye, but hey come on, Whitney, stop ogling the man and think about the cottage.
An hour later, Lou is looking at me, waiting for my opinion of the place.
It’s a lovely cottage, and I can see myself settling in with no effort.
It is single story with no basement. Which is okay with me as I’ve always felt basements are a bit on the spooky side.
Three decent-sized bedrooms, one with an ensuite, which is the one I would choose for my own.
Another bathroom for the other two bedrooms. Which is cool when Lee or anyone comes to visit.
The open plan of the kitchen, dining and living area is perfect.
It is not as light as I thought it would be, and I wouldn’t need an abundance of furniture either.
There is room in one corner of the living area I can place a desk and work without encroaching into the seating area.
There is a small utility which was not mentioned previously, but enough room for a washing machine, dryer to sit above it, and a tall cabinet where I can keep cleaning materials.
I look at Lou who has patiently waited for me to think about what I’ve seen. “I’d like to put an offer on the place. With the carport needing a little attention, and the state of the yard I’d like to place an offer of $275,000. That would not be a mortgage. It would be a single and final payment.”
“Okay, Whitney, I’ll put the offer forward.
I think it’s a little lower than they wanted for the place, but with it being a non-mortgage purchase they may go for it rather than waste weeks waiting for a mortgage to be put in place.
I’ll let you know as soon as I get a response.
But I’ll speak to them today, and I’ll do my best to get it for you, Whitney.
” Lou locks the cottage as we leave, and I flick my eyes over the messy yard.
Yeah, it’s going to take some manual labor to get it cleaned up.
Back at the cabin I write a list of furniture I think will look nice.
What I would need if I am successful with my bid.
It will leave me with very little in the bank.
I have $300,000 at the moment, and I hope they accept my offer as the $25,000 left will be needed to set myself up and maybe hire someone to help with the yard.
The next two days fly past, and Monday morning I get a call from Lou.
“Hi, Whitney. The owners have accepted the offer. We just have to make sure any and all inspections are completed. I’ll organize a home inspection to be done.
It will be at your cost, but we can sort that when I see you next.
It won’t take long, as I’ve already put in the request for it to be done.
I’ll call you again later in the week. But I think you can say all will be good, Whitney.
Congratulations on the offer acceptance. ”
This is exciting, and the quality of the cottage shows it has been looked after.
Maintenance should be low, and hopefully the inspections will pass with flying colors.
I have a few boxes at Lee’s house, and I’m sure she’ll bring them over for me, or have them shipped.
It's mainly clothes and a few trinkets, a photo album, and my parents’ paperwork that I’ve never had the nerve to go through.
But I will once they arrive. I’ll make myself move forward, which I know they would want for me.
Once more sitting in front of the fire I allow my mind to wander. The cottage, divorce, my job, and creating a new life for myself. It all feels like an enormous change, but a needed one. It’s how I’m going to face moving forward that matters.