by Anne Hagan
Just as she was about to trundle through the dining area for one last sweep of the kitchen, she heard a car pull into the driveway so she went to the front door instead.
The agent, Rona Harvey, was a bundle of energy, waving as soon as she cleared the door of her BMW.
Janet pointed at the car. “Don’t see too many of those around here.”
Rona smiled big and extended her hand. “Nope, but I like it. Rona Harvey. Nice to finally meet you in person. Janet, I presume?”
“Yes. Please, come in.” Janet stood aside and held the door open for the woman to enter.
Rona trained a practiced eye around the room. “Would you just look at all this woodwork! And, in amazing condition to boot. You said this has been your family home for years, right?”
Janet nodded.
“How’d your parents raise kids here and keep the woodwork looking so good?”
“Actually, I’m an only child and I only just moved back here after several years…away. It’s just been mom for years and before that only me and her.”
“Oh, sorry. This really is a lovely old Craftsman style home. If it’s all in this kind of condition, it should do really well on the market. I think you’ll be very pleased.”
“Really?”
“Mmm, yes. I don’t kid about things like that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like I doubted you.”
“No harm done. Now why don’t you walk me through the rest of this place?”
“It’s only a bath and a half, so that’s a negative,” Rona was saying. “Too, the plumbing I could see was definitely mid-century. Any problems with any of that I should be aware of? You do understand; full disclosure up front is key? Some things we’ll fix. Some things, we’ll let the buyer decide what he or she wants.”
Janet nodded her understanding. “There are no problems that I’m aware of myself with any of the plumbing. Everything seems to work just fine.”
“The garage is definitely a plus on such a small lot and the basement seems dry. It could be finished so that’s a plus. You’re also right out of mid-town. That’s a selling point for a lot of professionals.”
“It is?”
Rona nodded. “Frankly, I’m surprised you’re not keeping it, but who am I to judge or to pass up on a great commission?” She laughed at her own joke.
“When you say great, how much do you mean…I, uh, I’ve been told 6% is standard.”
“It is hon, it is, and that gets split between me and the buyer’s agent if they have one. It’ll still be a good one. It’s Zanesville pricing, yes but it’s still a Craftsman after all and in excellent condition.”
At Janet’s puzzled look, Rona told her, “We should get two fifty, three hundred, easy.”
“Dollars?”
“Thousand.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
###
3:30PM, Wednesday, March 18th
Janet slid onto a bar stool. The Boar’s Head was nearly empty but it was early yet.
The bartender was quick moving over to her. “What can I get you?”
“Bud light draft and a menu please. Is Barb in yet?”
“I think she’s in the back. Can I give her your name?”
“Janet.”
He pulled her beer, passed her a menu then disappeared into the back. Moments later, Barb appeared.
“This is a surprise! I was waiting to hear from you about how it went with the Realtor.”
“Great…you’re not going to believe it.”
“Try me.”
“At first, she had me feeling a little down about the lack of at least two full baths and about the ancient plumbing and such but then she hit me with what she thought we could get for it in spite of those things; $300,000.”
“I told you! It’s a Craftsman, after all.”
“That’s what she kept saying.”
“They’re in demand and built to last. Don’t go worrying your head about that plumbing. When people see those floors and all that woodwork, they’re going to be blown away – assuming that is, that you signed with her to list it?”
Janet nodded. “How could I not? She’s going to put it on that MLS thingy for $329,900, she said.”
“Wiggle room.”
“I guess,” Janet shrugged. “I’ll be happy if it sells for a hundred grand.”
“Oh honey, no, no, no! Don’t even say things like that. You’ll get a good price, trust me and have yourself a nice little nest egg. When’s it going on the MLS?”
“Today or tomorrow. She was headed back to the office to work it all up. There’s already a sign in the yard though.” She took a sip of her beer.
“Great. Keep me posted. Now, are you going to eat?”
“I was planning to. Can you join me?”
“Absolutely but just for a bit. I’ve got some paperwork back there to do before the after work crowd and the dart league crowd hit us.”
“Busy, busy!”
“Always; and,” Barb leaned conspiratorially across the bar, “I have a date to plan for Saturday too!”
###
Someone was knocking on the door. Janet looked at her watch. 8:06 PM. She must have dozed off watching the news.
She levered herself up out of the chair and went to the door. Through the peep hole she could see a small man in a business suit and overcoat. He was holding the Realtor’s yard sign.
Janet unbolted the heavy wood door and yanked it open. “Can I help you sir?” she asked as she eyed the man suspiciously. “What are you doing with the for sale sign?”
“It’s not for sale anymore.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Whatever you’re asking for it, I’ll pay, immediately. Cash, cashier’s check, it doesn’t matter. Just take it off the market. It’s mine.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious.”
“It’s listed at $329,900.”
“Fine. Just tell me how you want it paid and get the sale drawn up. The sooner the better.”
“Can you give me a minute to see if I can get a hold of my agent?”
Chapter 4
Friday Afternoon, March 20th, 2015
“Hey. It’s me. It’s done. I’ve got a check for $300,000 plus after fees and commission in my hand.” Janet sounded like she was in shock.
Barb’s voice came over the line, “That’s unreal. I figured it would sell fast but two days?”
“Two days hell!” her excitement carried over then. “Eight hours! The guy was on my doorstep Wednesday night. This was as fast as they could draw up the sales contract and get a title agency lined up to do the transfer.”
“So how long do you have to move out?”
“He gave me a week.”
“How generous,” Barb said sarcastically.
“I certainly have the money now to hire an Army of movers but I really don’t need to. Most of my stuff is in storage. He says he didn’t want 90% of the furniture I was leaving but it’s part of the deal.”
“I know you haven’t found a place yet though.”
“I’ve barely had time to look. I mean, the for-sale sign went up all of 48 hours ago and I worked all day yesterday. I traded Sunday with Shane so I could be at the closing today.”
“You’re still off tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but I’ll probably have to look at places during the day and it can’t be a late night. I’ll have to be in on Sunday morning by 9:00 or so. I guess I’ll just spend the rest of the day today looking for an apartment or something too.”
“I thought you didn’t want an apartment?”
“Right now, what choice do I have?”
Barb took a deep breath. “Maybe you could stay with me?”
Janet was quiet for a minute, not sure how to respond.
“Janet, are you there?”
“Yes. I was just thinking.
“I mean, I…I,”
“No.”
“No?”
“There is a guest room…I didn’t mean that we’d sleep together again or anything…necessarily.”
“Barb, no. I appreciate the offer, but no. Let’s just stay on this slow and easy path we’re on, okay?”
“Okay.”
###
Friday, March 27th
South Zanesville, Ohio
Janet stepped out of her car and looked at the four story hotel in front of her. She shook her head as she reached into the back seat and pulled out her weekend bag and suit bag with some of her work clothes. She’d come back out for the rest later.
The perky young blond at the counter greeted her with far too much happiness for her liking as she chirped, “Welcome to Extended Stay.”
“You should have a reservation for Mason; Janet Mason, Missy,” she said as she read the other woman’s nametag.
Missy tapped at her keyboard and then looked up smiling, “I’ve got you Ms. Mason. How long will you be staying with us?”
“Not long I hope.”
Missy made a pouty face that Janet didn’t find amusing.
“I’ve just sold my home. I’m here temporarily because there aren’t many places that fit what I’m looking for. I’ll just go day by day for now and check out when I find something.”
“Our rates are a lot better if you do a week at a time and even better by the month, just between you and me.”
“And the ad on this little standup sign right here on your counter,” Janet pointed out. “Day by day will be fine.”
“Okay then. I’ll just need to see some ID.”
Janet reached into her jacket pocket to take out her wallet. She realized as she was opening it and fumbling for her buzzing cell phone at the same time that she’d taken out her badge folder instead of her personal wallet.
Janet said ‘Hello, can you hold on for a minute?’ into the phone at the same time the wide eyed desk clerk exclaimed, “You’re a police officer? How cool is that?”
“Who’s that?” Barb’s asked.
“I’ll have to call you right back.” Janet hung up before her girlfriend could respond. The clerk was standing there holding her badge.
“I’m a Sheriff’s Deputy; a detective, actually. Sorry, I meant to give you this one.” She held up her other wallet opened to the view of her driver’s license.
“This one is fine detective and, I assure you, we run clean operation here, a real tight ship. You won’t find any trouble here.”
“Good to know.”
“I hate that you’re staying in a hotel. I feel really bad about that,” Barb was saying when Janet called her back and explained the situation.
“Why? It’s not your fault. It’s what works best for me right now until I find a house that works better and being here, I’m not all that far from you.”
“From the bar. My house is another 20 minutes past that.”
Janet was pleased that Barb was feeling that her being nearly 40 minutes away was still too far but she tried to keep the pleasure out of her voice. Instead she continued by apologizing, “I’m sorry I had to miss our date Saturday. If I had known that I’d end up staying here, I’d have been with you instead of wasting my time out there hunting for a place.”
“And now you work all this weekend?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“When are you off again?”
“Tuesday. I’ll probably spend the day looking at rental houses again.”
“Maybe I could come with you? I mean, I don’t normally work the bar on Tuesday nights.”
“If you want. We could do lunch or something.”
“I’d like that but it’s my treat. It’s the least I can do since I couldn’t take you out or even help you move.”
“There wasn’t a lot more to move and Dana was a huge help. We got everything else packed up that I don’t need right away and moved into my storage unit. I even gave her the spare key in case I lose one. I’ve, uh, been known to do that.”
“You two are pretty close, aren’t you?”
“Me and Dana? No, not really. She’s just being nice. She is Mel’s wife after all and though Mel is funny about socializing with anyone else in the department, she does care. I can’t say as I blame her though. Anyway, Dana came around with her that day after Mom died, if you remember, and she’s just kind of popped in and out since.”
“I’m not so sure she’s just being nice. If you think about it babe, aside from her parents and Mel’s family, she doesn’t have anyone to hang around with that’s around her age – which I assume is a bit younger than Mel and I.”
“And just how old is that?” Janet prodded. “I put Mel at about 35-36.”
“You’re good. We’re the same age. We graduated the same year.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question.”
“It’s enough. I’ve got a few years on you and I think Dana too.”
“I’m 32. Dana is a little older than me; 34 or 35.”
“Do you think?”
“I’m sure of it.”
“All the same, she needs friends and, I don’t care what anyone says, Faye Crane might be a nice person, but she does not approve of Dana or her relationship to her daughter. That’s got to be a hard family dynamic for her.”
“How…how are your parents about you being with women? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to…I don’t mean to pry…God, this is awkward…”
“It’s okay and they’re okay with it. I’m a big girl. They decided a ways’ back, not long after I came out to them, that they were going to accept me for me.” Her voice grew wistful. “Of course, Lisa helped a lot. She was such a gentle, loving soul. Everyone that met her liked her.”
“Of course.”
Chapter 5
Wednesday Morning, April 1st
The ambulance screamed away from the curb. As soon as Barb could get her mother up into the back to be with her father, she raced to retrieve her own car where it was parked cockeyed in the driveway.
The ride to Genesis, only a few miles away, seemed to take an eternity in the traffic that was already heavy so early.
Tomasz Wysocki was a strong man laid low these days by a failing heart. He’d always been fond of fatty food, a staple of life in Polish families, but he’d managed to keep his weight down and he’d avoided most other vices in his life taking only an occasional beer and shot with his brothers at family gatherings and never smoking.
It irritated Barb that such an otherwise healthy man could have so many of the respiratory and blood pressure problems that he’d been having over the last several months and now this. She was almost sure he was having a heart attack. She thanked her stars that she’d stayed with them in town the night before after finally going out with Janet for a quiet evening but she was already regretting going back out and meeting her for breakfast and not being there when her father woke up feeling so poorly.
By the time she got to the hospital, the ambulance was sitting in the emergency drop off circle empty and her parents had bypassed the waiting area for a trauma suit somewhere beyond it.
“An ambulance just brought my father in,” she managed to get out to an intake nurse at the desk. The woman pointed straight ahead.
“I’ll buzz you through. Take the first left and follow the signs for trauma.”
Barb half jogged through the double doors as they swung open and hustled around the corner and down the hall. Half way to a busy nurse’s station, she was met by her mother.
“They’re working on him and don’t want anyone in there.” Tears streamed down her face.
“It will be okay. He’ll be okay,” Barb said, trying to sooth her. She said a silent prayer herself.
A nurse appeared at her side. “There’s a private waiting room just two doors down. We’ll come for you as soon as he’s stable.” She walked them to it and then quietly took her leave.
“I’m so sorry mom; so sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Barbara, you can’t blame yourself. You just can’t. These things are going to happen no matter what. If you hadn’t been in Zanesville last night, you’d have been at home down in Morelville and it still would have happened. You’d have been even further away this morning but you wouldn’t have blamed yourself for that. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“I know, I know…oh God, daddy…” Barb wanted to be strong, to be there for her mother but the last tragedy had taken all the strength she had. After losing Lisa, she had none left.
Minutes seemed like hours but only 35 minutes or so had passed when a doctor entered the room.
“Mrs. Wysocki?”
“Yes?” She looked at him tentatively, the fear evident in her eyes.
“I’m Doctor Czer. I’m the on call physician for the E.D. Your husband is going back to the surgical suite right now. He’s got a blockage that won’t wait.”
“You’re doing the surgery?”
“No ma’am. I’m not a surgeon. Doctor Lindt will be performing the procedure. She’s the best we have. He’ll be in good hands.”
Barb felt the world spinning.
###
“You didn’t have to come,” Barb said to Janet. “You should be at work.”
“You were there for me.”
“Is this a friend of yours, dear?” Barb’s mother asked.
“Yes, I’m sorry. Mom, this is Janet. Janet, this is my mother Amy.”
Janet extended a hand, “I’m sorry to have to meet you under these circumstances Mrs. Wysocki.”
“Thank you,” Barb’s mother said taking Janet’s hand and holding it in both of hers. “I appreciate that and it’s good of you to come but you can call me Amy. I already feel so old.”