Chapter 44
Three weeks later, they’d seen fifteen houses, and not one was the right house.
Every house had some flaws that Court couldn’t see past. She was so picky it was driving Stephanie up a tree.
Everything had to be just right, and she was completely against remodeling to make it perfect.
And God forbid they even look at anything new, they weren’t built to code according to some information Court had gotten years before.
After yet another house with too much yellow that was way too close to the neighbors, Court admitted, “I’m sort of tired of looking. I don’t think we’re going to find our house.”
Stephanie bit her tongue. She’d found their house seven times over.
She could see the potential in so many of the houses.
Including the one that had a huge deck that she’d love to spend her evenings relaxing on.
That house had been far too close to a school, something that anyone else would find a positive. Just not Court.
Instead of acknowledging her pickiness, Stephanie said what needed to be said. “We can’t just stop anymore, Court, the condo is already sold. If we wait too long, we’ll be homeless.”
“But what if we rush and end up buying the wrong house? What if we find out there are termites or, even worse, cockroaches? I can’t handle bugs, you know that. You know what kind of house doesn’t have bugs? Condos.”
“Some do.” She sat down next to her and took her hand in hers, still feeling that same tingle she felt the first time they touched.
For months, she had expected that to go away.
Now she was starting to think it never would, that the magic between them would never dissipate. “What’s going on in that head?”
“What if it isn’t the bugs? What if I have no idea what to do with a house?
I’ve never lived in one. I mean, with my mom, we always lived in high-rise apartments.
What if I can’t keep the lawn alive? I mean, I can’t keep a plant alive.
Isn’t a lawn just a big plant in the end?
We would be the only ones in the neighborhood with a dead lawn. ”
“You’re not doing this alone, Court. I’m there too. Maybe it’s my fault the lawn dies or there are bugs or the roof needs shingles.”
“Shingles? I haven’t even thought about those. I don’t know anything about shingles.”
“Me either, but I don’t want to learn about them with anyone but you.” Stephanie leaned into her, letting herself feel Court’s erratic heartbeats and quick breaths. “Do you want to talk to Ty?”
“No, I can handle this on my own.” She said, her stubbornness showing.
Instead of asking again, she let Court prowl around the kitchen for a few minutes before stating, “I’ll drive.”
Twenty minutes later, they were parked in front of the single house that seemed completely deserted.
Ty’s car was gone, and there had been no movement in the house since they parked five minutes before.
When she had put the car in park, she had tried to get out, but Court had stopped her.
Since then, they had sat in silence, like she couldn’t make herself take the last step out of the car.
“You can just walk. Don’t think I’ll be upset if you just go for a walk. To think a little.” She was now seeing how much a little time alone helped Court. Far more than a deep conversation. After all these years, she knew the answers. She just needed to take the time to process it.
“It’s not the best neighborhood.” Court said, but opened the door.
Getting out herself, she looked around the run-down neighborhood. It had never occurred to her that this was a dangerous place. But it probably was. “Ty wouldn’t buy in a bad neighborhood.”
“Yeah, she would, she sees the good in everyone. Sometimes I wish I had that attitude.” Defeated, Court stared down the street towards the park. “Not everyone is good.”
Stephanie hated when Court dwelled on that part of her past. All she wanted to do was make everything better, but knew that wouldn’t happen. As the weeks went by, she had learned to know when she was thinking about it, and tried her best to make it better.
“Not everyone’s bad either.” She glanced at the door, hoping that Ty would wander out of it. Court wasn’t going to get the peace she was looking for without Ty talking to her. That was obvious how easily the woman just walked away from her.
Sitting on Ty’s front step after ringing the doorbell, making sure the woman wasn’t home, Stephanie pulled out her phone. Who knew how long Court would be gone? How much time did it take to relax enough to decide on a house?
Of the fifteen, Stephanie had been more than willing to move into anyone of them, but even from the beginning she didn’t feel that Court’s heart was in it.
She went along willingly and even pointed out her favorite parts, but in the end, she found fault.
It was like Ellis searching for a man. There was always just something she couldn’t live with.
One house had been the width of the hallway, which had to be a standard size, but she complained it felt claustrophobic.
Another one had a smell she just couldn’t live with, though there had been no odors in the house.
Stephanie had to walk through it again to find it and came up empty. It was all irrational.
At first she had thought it was because the houses were split level, which might remind Court of her parents’ house, so she moved onto two-story ones like the Ellis’s.
Those were the ones she felt were too close to the neighbors or were haunted.
Which was only one of them, and Stephanie had felt it too, but she’d never admit that to her girlfriend.
Which made her think they had moved too fast, Court wasn’t ready. The condo was sold, but that didn’t mean they needed to find a forever house. There were rentals all over the city they could move into until Court was actually ready. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Pulling out her phone, she clicked on the app they were using to find a house and hovered over the rental button.
But she didn’t click it, because the houses for sale near her location were showing up before her eyes.
The neighborhood wasn’t nearly as nice as they had been looking for, but it was closer to their jobs.
Which meant a shorter commute for both of them.
They could even bike it if they wanted to, or she could. Court would never ride a bike to work.
“I think we should buy the brown one. I can live with the little hallways. You loved that one the best, right?” Court walked up the sidewalk, hands still in her pockets, but the world didn’t seem to be pressed to her shoulder.
But there was something about how she said which one they should get. It was because Stephanie liked it best, not because it felt perfect for them the moment they walked in. That was what she wanted, a feeling this was where they were supposed to be. Both of them. Together.
Dismissing the idea of the one she suggested, Stephanie smiled at her and hoped she didn’t think she had lost her mind. “What do you think of here?”
Court looked around the house and frowned.
“I am sure that Ty doesn’t want us to move in with her.
I mean, the twins are hard, but not hard enough to invite us to move in.
We did okay that day watching the babies, but not every day.
And I don’t think I’m ready to live in a house with one baby, much less two. But if that’s what you really want.”
Her words stopped her cold. That wasn’t what she was saying at all, not even close. But she loved that her mind had gone there. They're moving in with her friend to help with the babies. Who other than Court would think along those lines?
“Not with her silly, in her neighborhood.”
Again, Court glanced around, only this time she analyzed the house to the left and then right before turning to look at the ones behind her. “You want a nice neighborhood in time. This isn’t that. I mean, I think Ty has the nicest house here.”
Getting to her feet, Stephanie headed down the sidewalk. “Enough people like us move in and it will be a nice neighborhood. Ty’s house isn’t the only one fixed up there are two houses on this block that have been improved, and four for sale.”
“There’s another one on the next block.” Following, she pointed out, not arguing it anymore.
Looking around, she saw the houses, but not Court her eyes were on the park.
It was so close. The run-down neighborhood hadn’t been the reason Ty bought the house she did.
It was the park. And she saw what every other house they saw was missing, Newberry Park.
Something they hadn’t even known was on the list of must-haves.
Court tore her eyes away from the park, only to turn her attention to her feet. “Did you want to look at the brown one again?”
“Do you want to?” She asked, seeing that Court wasn’t interested in this neighborhood. It was too close to her past.
“It would be better than the others.” Court said, but was walking away from her.
“If you’re sure, I can set it up, but when will you have time?” She followed, more concerned.
“Tomorrow, after work, though. Rebel is getting suspicious about my being gone all the time. There are only so many appointments I can have before she gets worried.”
“You’re not telling her about looking for a house together?” She asked in surprise, didn’t she tell the Ellis sisters everything? Why would she keep this from them?
“Not until we decided on one. Because Rebel will become an expert instantly on what we need. Her opinion is important to me, but not about where we spend the rest of our lives.”
“Have you told Ellis?”
The first thing Stephanie had done after agreeing to move in with Court was tell Jordan. Her friend had been nothing but supportive, even if she thought they were rushing it. She had also been a good sounding board about her frustration over Court’s indecision.
“No, she's even more opinionated than her sister. It’s better to ask for forgiveness with those two, not blessings.” Court walked down the sidewalk a few more feet and looked at a blue house that had been fixed up.
Stephanie followed, but let her do what she needed to do. “Have you told Ty?”
“She’s never home.” Looking back at her house, it was still quiet.
“Just today, what about before today?” Stephanie pressed, wondering if the reason she hadn’t found anything was that she was hiding their house search from her friends.
“Stephanie, I didn’t not tell my friends because I’m ashamed of what we are doing.
I didn’t tell them because I wanted this to be about us.
Not them, and they make everything about themselves.
The only person I have talked to is James Ellis, because he has more experience than anyone else about owning a house.
That, and he was a garbage man, so he knows this town like no one else. He told me what to look for.”
“What are you looking for?”
“The house I see our kids take their first steps, have game night, get ready for prom. The house we live our life in.”
“We’re having kids?”
“One day I hope so.”
“Me too.” Her heart squeezed at the thought of their kids.
“What kind of shingles do you think are on this house?” Court was looking at the roof of a one-story house with a two-car garage and peeling paint.
Looking herself, she knew without much knowledge of shingles that these were not good, “Old.”
“It looks empty.”
“It looks abandoned, Court.” Stephanie corrected, because the grass was so long it was taller than her knees.
Instead of answering, Court went through the long grass around the house to the back door. In her hand, it turned without resistance. Grinning when it actually opened with a loud squeak. Was it a good sign that they didn’t even lock the door? It couldn’t be.
Even from where she stood, she could smell the distinct smell of an abandoned house, the mildew and the stale air. Nothing like any of the other houses they had seen so far. Nothing that she’d consider was an option.
“It smells.”
“It’s just the carpets. We pull those out, and the smell goes with it.” She said as if she had ever done that.
“We?” She squeezed as she glanced around the room. There was a lot of carpet. When would they have time?
“Or we hire it out. Can you see dark hardwoods in here?” Court moved into the kitchen, a dingy, dark kitchen.
Looking around, Stephanie was lost. “I can’t.”
“New cabinets or paint them?” Opening a door to one, a spider crawled out, and Court didn’t even react. So much for her hatred of bugs.
“I thought we agreed, no fixer upper.” Stephanie said this was beyond a fixer upper, this was major. The last house they looked at had needed just paint, this was going to take a lot of time and energy. Did she have it in her to do all that was needed? Did Court?
“We did.” Pulling her into her arms, Court spun her around. “But…”
“This is our home, isn’t it?” She was seeing the potential, but mostly she was seeing how much Court was falling for this house.
“Yeah, I think we can make this into us. The bones are good.” She said, as if she knew what that meant.
Stephanie laughed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Court kissed the side of her head. “I don’t, but I want to one day. Ever been to a home improvement store?”