Chapter 1 #2
“Look at the top of the stairs. There’s a stained glass mural there that is beautiful. I’d buy it just for that.” He told him he wasn’t helping. “I had no idea I was supposed to find fault. I know my part now, and I’ll stick to the rules. I’m the bad guy in this buying thing.”
They both laughed and toured the house. When they got to the kitchen, newly remodeled too, they found flyers on the countertop, no doubt ready for tomorrow’s open house. He took one of the flyers and read over the specs on the house.
“It has six bedrooms and ten bathrooms, two half baths. I wonder why so many. I mean, it’s great, but it seems like a lot of bathrooms.” Axel said that they more than likely had daughters, and that’s the way they could make it work.
“Wow, are you saying that a daughter in the house needs their own bathroom?”
“Yes, I am.” They laughed again and looked over the flyer.
“It says that the fireplaces work. And that there are two of them. Also, the furnace is new, as well as there is air conditioning on the second floor for the upper levels. I’m sorry about the rules, but this house is perfect so far.
And the price isnt so bad either. I mean, look at it this way, you’d be able to save money on it by making an offer tonight instead of when a lot of people will be here tomorrow. ”
“I don’t think it works that way.” They looked around the living room and dining area. The dining area was big enough to hold a fourteen-chair dining room table as well as three China cabinets full of things to go with the set of dishes in the corner cabinets.
All the bedrooms were on the second floor, and he loved them as well.
They didn’t go into the master, or what they thought was the master, as that seemed like a private place for them.
The bedrooms were large in that each of them had a king-sized bed in them with plenty of room left over for a couple of dressers and huge walk-in closets.
Each of the bedrooms had an ensuite bathroom, and he understood the need for the bathrooms. At the end of one of the halls was another bathroom.
There had been three on the lower level, with one in the kitchen with a washer and dryer area too.
The basement was finished and had a lovely pool table on one side as well as an entertainment area on the other.
The house was perfect. Neither of them could find fault with the house, nor how it was decorated, either.
“I wonder how much it would cost to have them leave everything where it is? It’s perfect the way that it’s set up, and I’d love to just move in.
” He told him that, as much as he wanted to be the bad guy, he couldn’t find fault with anything either.
“You’re not at all helpful when it comes to house hunting.
I thought that you’d find at least something wrong with it. ”
“Sorry. But if I didn’t already have the perfect house, I’d buy this one and want it just like it is now. As you said, it’s perfect.” They were sitting out on the front porch when the couple returned.
They did indeed know Axel and were glad that he’d been able to help his brother out with looking around.
Penrod introduced himself again and asked about the sale of the house.
The man simply looked at his wife, and he thought, here it comes.
I’m not going to be able to buy this house because it’s already under contract or something.
“I’ll be honest with you when I tell you that we’ve had open houses before.
Nothing much ever comes about with them as people are trying to get less than the asking price.
” He said it was a beautiful home. “Thank you. My missus and I raised up five daughters in the house, but they’re all married now with families of their own.
We just want to sell and go to Florida for the rest of our lives.
Our daughters all live there, and it would be nice to be able to see them when we want. ”
“I understand. I have five brothers and our parents that I love to be around too.” He waited for him to say more. Penrod wasn’t one to chatter on about things when quiet worked best.
“I’ll have to have the open house tomorrow.
But if you want to put in a bid, I’d be glad to take it.
With all the work that we’ve had done on the place, the asking price is what we need.
If you pay that, then I’ll be glad to sell it to you.
” He put out his hand and said he had a deal.
“I thought you’d say that. All right, son.
You have yourself a home. I’ll be happy to sell it to you.
But as I said, the open house must go on, but I’m not going to put much hope that it brings us anything. ”
“I understand.” He did too. If the offer came in to be higher than the asking price, he’d have to take it. It was just the way that it worked. He’d have to wait until tomorrow to know if he got the house or not.
~*~
Lori looked around her apartment and decided there was little to nothing else she could do about it.
It was as clean as she could get it. For the next six days, she had to work doubles, and she had to have her apartment cleaned on her days off, or it wouldn’t happen.
Today, she’d even done her laundry so that she’d not have to mess with it on her work days.
Sitting down in the living room area to put away her sweeper, she thought about her work schedule and decided that it was the best she could do under the circumstances.
It was only open six days a week, and that was all she could work.
After putting the sweeper away, she put away the cooled cookies that she’d treat herself to when she got home from her shift.
They were chocolate chip, not even her favorite, but they would do in a pinch.
Her favorite were oatmeal cookies without raisins, but she didn’t have any oatmeal this week, so would have to do without them.
Putting them into the container, she also bagged up her salad that she’d have too.
This was going to save her so much time that she would be able to wash her uniforms once a week to get them cleaned for the rest of the week.
It was what she’d been doing for the past sixteen months, and it had worked out well for her.
“Lori, it’s your mother. Open the door.” She thought about pretending that she wasn’t home, but when she thought it through, she knew her mom would just come back later. Opening the door, she put a smile on her face even though she didn’t feel it. “What took you so long?”
“I’m putting things away for me for the week. What do you want, Mom? I don’t have any time left today to hang out with you. I’m going to study some, then I’m going to go to bed.”
“What do you have to study? Aren’t you out of school now? I think you’re over eighteen.” She said she was twenty-five. “I thought so. What are you studying?”
“If you must know, I’m studying for my driver’s license.” She asked her why she was studying for that. “I want to learn to drive. One of these days, I’m going to save up enough money that I can buy myself a car, and I want to be able to drive it. You have yours.”
“I do, and fat lot of good it does me when I can’t afford the gas.
Speaking of which, can you loan me fifty dollars?
I have my rent due, and I don’t have it all.
” She told her mom that she didn’t have it either.
That her rent was due at the same time. “See what I mean? You can’t afford the gas either if you can’t spot me fifty bucks when I need it. ”
“This is different. Rent is due at the first of the month, and I’m never late.
I like it that way. It means I have a roof over my head for the next thirty days.
” Her mother rolled her eyes at her, and Lori ignored her.
“What made you short fifty dollars? I’m sure you’re on the same budget that I am.
I know that my rent is due on the first, and I save it throughout the month so that I have enough to pay it. ”
“The lottery is up to over a hundred million. I bought fifty dollars’ worth of tickets, hoping I’d win.
Do you still play those same numbers?” She said that she did and told her mom that spending fifty dollars on the lottery was just stupid.
“I know, I just couldn’t help it. That would go a long way in making sure that I have a roof over my head for a long time. ”
Knowing her mother the way that she did, she knew that she’d be broke by the end of the month, no matter how high the lottery got when she won it.
She just didn’t know how to stay on budget.
Lori knew her mother would also tell everyone that she’d won, and that would be the end of her money, too.
People would be coming out of the woodwork trying to get a piece of the cash.
Lori knew just what she’d do if she were to win anything over five hundred dollars.
She’d not tell her mom for sure. That would just be a disaster.
She’d not only want a part of it, but she’d also tell all her friends how her daughter had won and that she had all the money in the world.
With her mother’s help, not only would she be broke, but she’d be beaten to shit because she wouldn’t want to give any of it away, and that would cause her problems. No, she’d never tell her mom that she’d won anything if she wanted to keep any of it.
Ohio was one of the states where you didn’t have to tell if you won the money. And she liked that about the state.
There were other rules that she liked about living in the state of Ohio and lottery winnings.
She was beginning to learn a great deal about them.
Like you only had so many days before you had to turn it in if you won.
In Ohio, it was only six months before the Powerball winnings expired.
Yes, she was learning a great deal about Ohio Powerball winnings.