Chapter Twenty-Eight
ELLIE
8 years earlier
My heart beat against the inside of my chest so hard that I gasped for air a couple times as I picked up the pen. I was sitting at a table next to my realtor about to sign the final paper transferring ownership of a 1921 Victorian farmhouse from the state of Virginia to me.
* * *
Before Dylan was born, I quit my part-time job at Pizza Rama and when the time came to start working again, I opted for my first office job; a receptionist at an interior design company. The hours were easier to manage, and they allowed me to work from home a few times a week to save on childcare costs. When I wasn’t able to work from home, my boss was nice enough to let me bring Dylan into the office. She set up a small nursery in one of the unused conference rooms for me and said I could use it anytime I needed to. She was a young mom herself and intimately knew the struggles of keeping a job and raising a baby. It was one of the reasons she hired me; I don’t think she took pity on me, but she wanted to give me a chance since no one had given her that type of opportunity when she was in my shoes.
I saved every penny I could, putting at least half of every paycheck into my savings account and using the other half to help with bills at Dad’s house. Fortunately, Dad allowed me to stay at home and raise the baby, so I didn’t have to pay rent somewhere while I saved. I worked my butt off for nine years and managed to climb the ladder in the interior decorating world, quickly making my way from receptionist to one of the top designers on the East coast. I travelled up and down the coast frequently for high end jobs, bringing Dylan along every time. My goal was to save up enough money to buy my dream house – I had my eye on it for as long as I could remember – an abandoned property about thirty minutes from Dad’s house.
* * *
Once the meeting with my realtor had ended and I was in possession of the keys to my dream house, I happily skipped down the sidewalk to my store front design shop like a little girl. The smile stayed glued to my face for the rest of the afternoon until I clicked off the monitor and closed the shop. I grabbed the keys to my old ‘97 Chevy Cavalier from my purse and headed to the parent pickup line at Oakhaven Elementary School.
I was still smiling when Dylan threw open the passenger side door and flopped down into the seat, backpack still strapped over his shoulders.
“Hey, Mom.”
he said coolly.
“Hey, how was your day today?” I asked.
“Eh, it was alright. What about you?”
he answered, expecting a long answer based on the cheesy smile on my face.
“I’m so glad you asked! As of today, we now own the old house I’ve been wanting to remodel for forever. I was hoping you wanted to go over there with me after dinner to check it out. What do you think?”
“Sure, sounds good to me. What’s for dinner though, I’m starving!”
Dylan said, hoping we would grab a burger from his favorite fast-food place in town.
“Grill Shack?”
I said with a laugh, knowing he would say yes.
“You know it!”
Dylan clapped then buckled his seatbelt thinking about that juicy burger he’d been craving all day.
After dinner, the two of us drove over to our new house – our new house, just the thought of it gave me chills – we were ready to explore and find the newest adventure that awaited on the other side of the big oak door. We made it a celebration, drum rolling it out on the front door before unlocking it. This was a big accomplishment, and it was finally ours – a house we could call our own.
I had always dreamed of owning a Victorian home; a big wrap-around porch with a porch swing and a wrought iron fence surrounding the yard. Only this was a massive undertaking.
I bought a fixer upper.
It’s kind of a dump.
But this was one of the reasons I loved it, and it was also why I was able to afford it on my own. The bones of the three-story, light blue farmhouse were good – it just needed some – ok, a lot – of work on the inside.
The first thing I tackled was the kitchen. Nothing extravagant, but Dylan and I painted the cabinets, switched out the appliances and installed a new sink faucet. Small changes that made the house livable. Slowly, and in between client jobs, I worked on painting the walls in each room, upgrading the bathrooms and decorating. But mostly, I spent time outside. The gardens and the creek were my happy places. Dylan and I would spend hours outside planting flowers, berry bushes and fruit trees or splashing in the creek.
It was my sanctuary. A place I could call home. And it didn’t hold all the memories of the times I lay on my bedroom floor talking to Lee on the phone. Here, I could build new memories with my too-cool-for-mom son.
Today, I sit on the porch swing and think of all the things we’ll do at this house as he grows up: watch him and his friends run around in the dark playing man-hunt, peek out the front door as he says goodnight to his first girlfriend, help him put on his tie for prom, celebrate graduation, a backyard wedding. I smiled at the thought of all these things but then I caught my breath when the realization hit that I wouldn’t be celebrating these moments with his father by my side.
I took out my journal and wrote a letter to myself. I like to document the times when we have big milestones – it’s like I’m on the phone with Lee, telling him all about my week during our weekly phone calls.
June 7th
This is the first summer in our new house. Dylan and I have already painted the kitchen, the living room, his bedroom, and my room. I’ve slowly been buying decorations for the house; I think you would have liked it here. I know you were never really a country boy, but being out in the country is so peaceful. I love that everyone knows everyone here. This is probably the dumbest thing ever to like about a place, but I love that when you drive down the road to get to our house, it’s almost like a one-way road and everyone stops at one end to wait, taking turns to drive by and then waving as they pass.
There’s one school for each of the age groups and they’re all named after the town. We live in Oakhaven, Virginia, population 1200 (1202, if you count us as the newest residents).
I can’t wait to celebrate all the little moments here. I wish you were here with us.
Love Always,
Ellie