Chapter Twenty-Eight
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
After breakfast on Monday, Franny went to her room, and called her sister’s lawyer, Jess. After a brief hold, Jess came on the phone.
“Good morning, Franny, what can I do for you?”
“I just have a quick question. Who would you recommend locally if someone were in the market to buy a house?”
Jess didn’t hesitate. “Lynnette Barker. She actually has an office two doors down from mine. Right next to the bookshop.” Jess gave her Lynnette’s number and Franny jotted it down.
“Fantastic. Thank you.” She called Lynnette, who picked up immediately and said she’d be delighted to meet with Franny in an hour in her office. That didn’t surprise Franny as she knew it was generally a slow time of year for real estate sales. But she also knew there were still things on the market and it might be a good time to buy because there were less people looking, especially around the holidays.
At a quarter to ten, she bundled up in her warm wool coat, cashmere hat, and mittens. She walked along Main Street, enjoying the warm sun on her face even though the air was decidedly cold. It was a sunny day, though, and no snow in the forecast. She walked along until she reached the real estate office and stepped inside. A very blond woman with big curls and a red-lipped wide smile stood and walked over to her.
“You must be Franny? I’m Lynnette. Come on in and get warm.” Lynnette led her over to her desk, which was an antique pine, dark and shiny with lots of fancy moldings. It sat next to a gas fireplace and the flames glowed merrily. Lynnette gestured for Franny to sit in the leather chair next to the fire and she happily complied. The heat felt wonderful as she shook off her coat and removed her hat and mittens. Lynnette sat behind her desk and leaned forward.
“So, you’re thinking you might want to buy a cottage in the area. What did you have in mind? Summer only or year round?”
“Year round, though I will probably mostly be here in the summer. But I want the option to come anytime. I don’t need anything too big, two bedrooms is fine, and I don’t need to be right on the ocean. I would like a view, though.”
“Okay. What price range did you have in mind?”
Franny told her and wasn’t surprised when Lynnette sat up taller in her chair. “Oh, well, that opens up a lot of possibilities.” Franny knew her price range was wide, but she really was open. “I just don’t want anything too big. I don’t need a lot of room and I don’t want to take care of it either.”
Lynnette laughed. “I don’t blame you a bit. Let’s take a look at what we currently have available.” She pulled up the listings on her laptop and showed Franny a few options. Most of them were much too big. And Franny started to feel disappointed. Since she’d made up her mind that she wanted to buy something, she was ready to do it now. It was frustrating to think there might not be anything for sale at the moment that could work.
“There is this new listing that came in last week. It’s very small, though. It used to be a carriage house that went with a larger property. The owner subdivided it so it sits on its own acre. It is waterfront, though. So, the price is on the high side for the size of the property. It’s really the land you’re paying for.” Franny wasn’t hopeful as Lynnette pulled up the listing. She really wasn’t keen on being on the water, but mostly because all of the waterfront homes she’d seen were so big. Still, she was a little curious to see what this one was like.
Lynnette turned the laptop around so Franny could see and she gasped a little. The house was adorable. It was only twelve hundred square feet, but it had a big wraparound farmer’s porch that looked out over the ocean and the house was set high on a hill, so she didn’t have to worry about flooding. As Lynnette flipped through the photos, Franny saw that the master bedroom was on the first floor and had an attached bathroom. The kitchen was cute and all white and opened into the living room, which was decorated with soft blue walls and had a fireplace that was painted white. The light colors made the space look very beachy and bigger. There was a guest bedroom on the second floor and a loft area that could be used as an office. In short, it looked too good to be true.
“I’d like to see it. Today if possible,” Franny said.
“I think that can be arranged. Let me just call the listing broker. Her office is right down the street and I think there is a lockbox so it can be shown anytime. The owners are out of state.”
Lynnette called the other Realtor and chatted for a few minutes, jotting something on a slip of paper. When she ended the call, she turned to Franny. “Good news. We can go anytime today. What works for you?”
Franny smiled. “How about now?”
Lynnette laughed. “Now works.” She picked up the slip of paper and explained that it had the lockbox code on it. Franny put her coat and hat back on and followed Lynnette to her silver Mercedes sedan, which was parked out back. Fifteen minutes later they pulled off Shore Road and into the driveway of the carriage house. Franny noticed that the main house was closer to the water and far enough away from her. She’d worried on the ride over that the two homes might be too close for her comfort but fortunately that wasn’t the case.
Lynnette punched the code into the lockbox that hung on the front door handle. Once she had the key, she unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Franny felt an instant sense of calm and tranquility as she moved into the living room. And when she saw the view out the living room windows, she felt pure bliss. She could stare out that window for hours taking in the rolling waves on the very blue waters of the harbor. The windows were huge and went the full length of the wall, extending from a few inches above the floor to the ceiling. It almost gave the impression that the house itself was on the water.
They walked into the kitchen next and Franny liked that, too. The countertops were a marble-like quartz and the backsplash was all white subway tiles. The top cupboards were a creamy white and the bottom ones and the center island were a really pretty pale blue-gray. The color combination was striking. Franny liked to cook and the kitchen was small but laid out nicely. It had everything she needed.
The master bedroom was as lovely as the pictures and it also had water views from one side. It was a spacious yet cozy room and she knew she would sleep well there. They went upstairs and saw the guest bedroom, which was a little smaller but still very nice and the loft area would make a nice office area if she put a desk there. She had one that would fit perfectly.
They went downstairs and into the two-car garage, which Franny was also happy with. Especially in the winter, she appreciated driving into a heated garage and not having to scrape car windows. There was a basement, too, and they went into it but Franny didn’t get excited about basements. It was dry and had everything it needed to have so that was fine.
When they came back upstairs and walked back into the main house for a final look, Lynnette asked Franny what she thought of it.
Franny smiled. “How quickly do you think they would like to close?”
Lynnette’s eyes widened. Franny knew she’d had no idea how serious Franny was until now.
“We can certainly find out. Would you like to make an offer today?”
“I would like that very much!”
They drove back to the office and Franny offered full asking price. It seemed like a fair price to her and she didn’t want to play any games. She wanted that house. She wrote Lynnette a check for the deposit and signed the offer paperwork.
“I’ll be in touch as soon as I have word. I don’t think it will be long,” Lynnette said.
Franny left and walked a few doors down to the bookshop. She was too excited to go back to the inn just yet. She knew she was going to be on pins and needles all day waiting for a response to the offer. And she didn’t even know if they would hear today. Their offer was good until five o’clock the next day.
She strolled into the bookshop and there were a few people browsing the shelves. Alison, one of the owners, recognized her and came over to say hello.
“Hi, Franny. How are you on this cold day?”
“I’m good. Really good. Do you by any chance have The Lioness of Boston ?” It was the book the book club was reading next. And even though Franny wouldn’t be there, she had thought the book sounded good.
“We do. I read that recently and it’s very good.” Alison walked over to one of the shelves and found the book. She pulled it out and handed it to Franny. “We had a delivery come in yesterday. There’s a lot of new books on the front table that look good, too. If you need anything else,” she suggested.
Franny smiled. “I’ll take a look.” She wandered back to the front tables and browsed a bit. Alison was right. Quite a few of them looked intriguing. She chose another and as she walked to the register, her phone rang. It was Lynnette.
“Franny, are you sitting down?” she said excitedly.
Franny chuckled. “No, I’m buying books.”
“Well, I have the best news! We reached the owner and he accepted your offer. The house is yours!” Franny listened in a daze as Lynnette discussed the time frame and when they could finalize the sale. She mentioned a date two weeks away and asked Franny if that was too soon. Normally it took longer, but as Franny was paying cash that could speed up the process.
Franny felt a split second of nerves at how fast this was moving, but they quickly settled and a sense of joy took over. “Two weeks is fine. Thank you, Lynnette.”
Alison was looking at her curiously as she ended the call. She’d already run up her two books. Franny handed her a credit card. She grinned and felt ridiculously happy.
“Good news?” Alison asked.
“The best. I just bought a house!”
Alison smiled wide and offered her congratulations. “That’s wonderful news.”
“It is. You might be seeing a lot more of me!”
Franny walked out of the bookshop with a smile on her face. She didn’t just buy a house, she was already becoming a part of the community, again. If her sister was watching, she knew that she would be delighted. Though she’d lived in Albany for many years, Franny was a little surprised that she wasn’t missing it, at all. It felt like her future was here, in Chatham.