by K L Finalley
"Almost," Mallory said.
"How'd that happen?" Olive said, shielding the sun from her face with her hand.
"Last month, we went into Vicki's office to sign the contract for the new house, right?"
"The house we still haven't seen?" Alex mocked.
"You'll see it at the party," Mallory said. "Anyhow, she said we needed to get the condo ready to sell. So, I tell her we'll be ready in a week. Well, the place was a wreck, but we get home that night and just start going through shit. Jax's looking at her stuff. I'm looking at my stuff. Finally, we sit on the couch and she says let's just get rid of all of it and we did. We boxed all of it up. We're selling everything. The new place'll have all new stuff. We're selling everything from silverware to trashcans out here."
"What if it doesn't sell?" Olive said as she rested on the hamper.
"Salvation Army truck will be here at four to take whatever's left," Jacqueline said from the driveway. "We're taking nothing with us."
"This is the craziest shit I've ever heard," Alex said. "This is good shit. You've got bookshelves and desks and couches."
"Stop bitchin' and sell some stuff, then," Jacqueline said as she and Elet moved the couch from inside Mallory's old house to the driveway.
"Are you serious?" Elet asked as they lowered the floral printed couch to the ground. "Are you really gonna donate whatever doesn't go?"
"Absolutely. We've got new furniture for the new place. It's a fresh start. We aren't taking any of this," Jacqueline waved her arms at it.
"I might take this desk with me. I could use it in my studio. You okay with that?" Elet asked sitting on the desk that was in her office.
"I don't care. But, we better load it while we're out here." she said.
"We can wait on Brett to show up. Then, me, you, him, and Drew can all hoist it up on the truck together. It'll be easier. You sure you don't mind?" he asked.
"Nah, I don't care. We aren't trying to make a buck. I mean, it wouldn't hurt, but we just need this stuff gone."
Yelling to Alex, "Babe, maybe you should call and see if Dom wants to come out and get some stuff for his apartment." Alex nodded. Looking back at Jacqueline, Elet explained, "I know we haven't had a lot of time to talk recently, but you remember that Jo put him out."
"How can I forget," Jacqueline said. "How's he doing?"
"He's a mess, but I think he's getting on with it. I feel for the guy. I'm not sure he knew what hit him. I can't say they were happy, but I can't say he knew this was coming. Now, he's got this empty, sad little apartment. He could probably use some stuff."
"You think Alex would be okay with that? Is that gonna be a problem for her and Jo," Jacqueline asked.
"I don't think so. I think she's on Jo's side, but she's trying to be reasonable too. There's so much shit going on right now. You know the happiest times of our life…" he said as they carried the dining room table from the back of the truck to the driveway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you gonna tell Dom to come by," Olive asked as she prepped the movies.
"I want to, but I don't even want to listen to his whining. It's not like I can make Jo take him back," Alex said.
"What's Jo doing?" Mallory said as she placed the two microwaves side by side.
"Going out, girl. I read her posts. She's going out and doing things. Things Dom would never do," Alex said.
"Do you think if he'd have taken her out more, then they wouldn't be separated?" Mallory asked.
"Nah, I think they probably weren't right for each other and have been forcing it all of these years, because she got pregnant. She was different before she met Dom. He's a good guy, but he changed everything about her," Alex said.
"Are your parents coming around?" Olive asked.
"Hell no!" Alex said. "They wanted us to be those women who married a man, had some babies, and stayed close. Jo was doing what she was supposed to do. They think she's gone crazy. Speaking of family, what's up with you, Mallory?"
"I'm like Jo. I knew things were wrong my whole life, and I tried to ignore it. I don't know why people have always done what Owen said to do. I don't know why I went along with it even though I knew it was weird. We, even, went over to my parents. We offered to pay off the house and my mother told me that she couldn't accept it, because my broke ass brother would never be okay with it."
"What?" Olive said. "Why not?"
"Um, you can pay off our mortgage anytime you want," Alex said.
"She said he wouldn't understand and she couldn't upset him. That doesn't even make sense to me. How's it his business? Why does it even matter? I was hot. I stormed out of there. But, then we got to the car and Vicki called about the house and it's been one thing after another. Then, one day, I was in my office at work and I just realized that this is what matters." Mallory pointed to the ground.
Olive and Alex looked down. They were staring down when Paige walked up. "What are we looking for," Paige said.
"Mallory said this is what matters," Olive said. "We're looking for it."
"This. Us. I'm not begging anyone to care or be a part of my life. I won't exclude my family, but I'm not going out of my way either," Mallory said.
"Amen, sista," Elet said as he passed by with a bookshelf on his back.
"I sent them an invite to the housewarming party, but I'm not begging them or backing down. I'm happier than I've ever been. I'd love for them to be a part of my life, but if they aren't, then they aren't. This is all the family I need."
"Does that include Paislee, because she's gonna need to stay over," Alex said. Mallory laughed. "No, I'm serious," Alex reiterated.
"Did you hear from Zoe's Dad?" Drew asked as he and Brett brought bikes to the driveway.
"Hell no. His broke ass doesn't have the money to go to court and the truth is," she whispered to them, "he doesn't want her full-time. He just says that shit to Owen. The last two visits he's had with Zoe we've paid for. I wouldn't pay for it, but Jacqueline said if she wants to see him and he wants to see her, then we won't let money get in the way."
"Fuck that," Olive said. "Jax, you're too nice."
"I wanna do what's right for her. If he doesn't want to see her, then he doesn't have to. But, he's not gonna say he can't afford to have a relationship with her," she announced as they began to move the desk to Elet's truck.
"I get it," Drew said. "It's not about money. It's about excuses. You want to be a part of her life, then we'll make it easy for you. That way if you aren't, then it was on you."
"Exactly, Drew. Thank you," Jacqueline said before Elet started counting for the desk lift.
"Whatever. I'm glad we won' t have that problem," Olive said.
"What?" Paige asked as she sorted toys. "Have we decided?"
"If we got together more often, this wouldn't be news," Olive cleared her throat. She pulled down the legs of her cutoff jean shorts, stood up on the card table, and said, "We have an announcement." Drew stood up tall on the tailgate. "On September 17th, Andrew Cavanaugh, the children, and I will join in a Celebration Circle."
"Is that like a wedding," Brett whispered and Drew nodded.
"We will unify our hearts and our lives as one. We aren't sending invitations or magnets. That's a waste of natural resources. But, we want all of you to be there, because all of you are a part of our circle. We're gonna work out the details after the baby shower," then, she paused and looked at the street and said, "more people are showing up," and hopped down to the ground.
A yard sale that incorporates households is a bargain-hunters' paradise. With friends helping, laughs were boundless. Children rode bikes they'd outgrown and cried over toys they hadn't played with in years but suddenly wanted when a stranger purchased it.
Jacqueline was thrilled at items being sold until her Italian leather couch was negotiated from the five-hundred-dollar price tag she felt was a steal to the hundred-dollar bill the neighbor had on him.
Brett loaded any item any cash-holding patron wanted. H
e collected all monies after he placed it in the trunk, backseat, pickup bed, or strapped to the top of the car. Paige demonstrated how each kitchen product worked, then she was outraged when the elderly offered less than twenty dollars. On many occasions, Alex had to intercede to make the sale. As the afternoon approached, the crowd waned from the morning rush to more manageable, but still steady numbers.
"When do you have to be out of Mallory's old house?" Elet asked as they sat on the back of the truck drinking water after Mallory's entertainment center was loaded into an old conversion van that smelled of rotten food.
Smiling and placing her hand on his shoulder, Jacqueline looked at him and said, "Well, technically, never."
"What?" Brett said. He was sitting in the truck bed on the wheel.
"We bought her old house and that one," she pointed to the one across the street. "Turns out the guy she rented from was ready to get out of the rental business, so we made an offer. Two for one fifty."
"Are you kidding me?" Elet said.
"Not at all," she said and took a big gulp for her bottle. "Wanna go look inside?"
"Hell yeah. What are you gonna do with them?" Elet questioned as they walked across the street.
"That's the big debate. Flip one and rent the other or rent both. I think they are both potential money makers."
"What kinda work do they need though," Drew asked.
"Glad you asked that, Drew," she said as she opened the door to the house across the street. "This is the three bedroom two-bathroom version of Mallory's old house. See, when we got our house..."
"The one you didn't let me see..." Elet interjected as he looked around.
"It's a surprise. I wanted you to see what I can do," she said to him. "That house had new carpet, but I didn't want it. It's huge. It's bigger than these two combined. I had that carpet pulled up and laid here. The new house had fixtures we didn't want. They've been moved here. Toilets. Sinks. Counters."
"What else have you done to new house?" Elet asked as he walked through the house.
"I don't even know where to begin," she said.
"This is a nice house. You could probably get a thousand bucks a month," Brett said.
"Maybe twelve hundred. It's a good spot. Nice little house," Drew agreed.
"How's the roof?" Elet wondered. "Did you check?"
"I had the contractor from the house check," she said.
"The contractors I never met..." Elet said as he glanced at the backyard. The yard was surrounded with a wood privacy fence, but barren. He opened the sliding glass door and slid it along the rail.
"They came highly recommended..."
"By whom," he asked as he slid it.
"The realtor, Vicki. You've met her. I checked with references and the licensing agencies."
"Uh huh. What'd they do?" he asked again.
"We didn't gut it, but almost did." She started counting off on her fingers. "We put in a new roof..."
"What kind," he asked.
"Shit's about to get serious," Brett said and sat on the carpet.
"Hold on, I have a list. I knew you'd ask all of this. It's a composite poly..."
"Okay, it's a green roof. What else have you done?" his arms were folded.
"Had the chimney, gutters, and roof ventilation redone," she went back to counting things on her fingers. "Let's see. We had hurricane grade windows installed. Had the garage outfitted with an organizational system. Had my home automation system put in."
"There it is," Brett said. "The defining Jacqueline moment."
"The light thingee," Drew said as he slid down the wall and sat on the carpet.
"It's not just lights. We're wired up. I can control the garage, the lights, the thermostat. I can open the skylight. I can..."
"We know...we know...you can do it all from a magic pen. What about the important stuff?" Air conditioners? Plumbing?" Elet pressed. He wanted to know what work was done.
"Yep. We upgrade the air conditioner from one single unit to two dual zoned units. I got a generator off the side of the house. We went to tankless water heaters."
"Nice move," Elet complimented as he folded his arms.
Proud, she went on. "Yesterday, they finished up the pool, the outside bath, the decking, the lights, the fence, and the floors."
"There's a pool?" Brett got excited. "Parties are at your place from now on." He high-fived Drew.
"What kinda floors," Elet pressed.
"Cork," she said.
"Nice. Kitchen and bath, too?"
"Kitchen, yes, but baths are ceramic," she said.
"Well, it sounds nice, but seeing is believing. It's not just about the quality materials you picked. It's about installation," Elet said.
"I can't win for losing," she said.
"Hey, you should've let me come over."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you sell the condo?" Paige asked. "The last I heard there were two bidders."
"It was crazy, but we finally sold it. It closes on Friday. Next week's gonna be a mad house. That's why we're doing this, then heading out of town," Mallory said.
"Wait, what?" Alex said. "Who does that?"
"Girl, we are packed and ready to go," Mallory was bagging towels as she told them. "That's why we have Abbie. We're taking the kids to Disney until Thursday."
"You have too much to be doing to go out of town," Alex said.
"What's left? The condo's sold and most of the stuff is done at the house."
"Which person won?" Paige asked.
"The Chinese investor. I think Jacqueline was rooting for the hockey player, but foreign money won," Mallory shrugged her shoulders and took ten bucks for ten movies.
"Did she include the doors and the bed?" Paige asked as stood by the woman browsing the wine glasses.
"I didn't know she wasn't taking them. She loves those doors and that bed," Alex was surprised.
"They won't fit. Those doors won't fit on the front of the house and the bed is too tall for the bedroom. She was going to sell them, but the buyers wanted them. It was part of the bidding war. They earned an extra mil," Mallory said putting five dollars in her pocket for Zoe's old books.
"You know you're bougie when you say mil," Olive said.
"Can't believe she's leaving 'em behind," Alex murmured.
"Listen, we're getting a new one. It's still koa and this set will have nightstands. The whole thing arrives on Friday morning," Mallory quipped.
"There's too much going on," Alex said.
"Nah, it's fine," Mallory shooed the idea away.
"How's the new house look? Have you gone by there?" Paige asked wrapping up all six of the goblets.
"I don't make the twice daily trip Jax has been making, but I've been. And, it's amazing. I'm not into all the stuff she wanted to do. I don't care about her automation thing, but I do love the other stuff that I know she thought about me when she did. Like, I love the cork floors and how she's redone the bathroom and my closet space and my office. I mean, it really is everything I've ever wanted. I don't know. I can't wait for y'all to see it."
"We should have the baby shower there," Olive suggested.
"Well...I was gonna ask, but I didn't know if you wanted to do it in Brandon," Mallory shrugged her shoulders. "We can't wait to have things at the house. Zoe went on and on about wanting us to entertain like Miss Paige and Mister Brett."
"Such a little cupcake," Paige blushed. "Alex, what do you want to do?"
"Not have it at my parent's house!"
"Do you want to have it at the mansion?" Olive said in a British accent.
"Sure, I'll get better stuff," Alex said readjusting in her chair.
"What?" Mallory said moving boxes.
"If we have it in a nice place, people'll think I expect nice stuff and I'll get nicer stuff. It's true. Tell her Olive Oil."
Olive nodded her head. "Hell yeah. If you have a party at the trailer park rec room, people show up with shit gifts. You have the same people but have the pa
rty at the grandma's house and you get gift cards. I promise you."
Considering this phenomenon, Paige said, "Who knew?"
Mallory turned to look at her and shook her head. Half laughing at Paige, she turned back to Alex and said, "When do you want to do it?
"Before she's born," Alex said as she rubbed the giant belly that she could no longer hide. "All I know is I want her out on June thirteenth."
"Not a lot of time. We do have a lot going on, huh?" Mallory shifted her weight to her other hip and tapped her front tooth. "What's the first Saturday in May?"
"The one before Mother's Day?" Olive asked.
"It's gonna have to do," Mallory said. "We got the one before Easter with a housewarming party."
"Yeah, I guess you do," Paige realized.
"See, you heathens," Mallory pointed to them, "didn't even realize that our party is Saturday night and Sunday is Easter."
"Hey, do you need us to do anything? Bring anything?" Olive asked.
"Nope, just yourselves. We ordered a cake and food. We got servers and people to clean before and after. We aren't doing anything and neither are you," Mallory said.
"I like the idea of that," Alex said. "We need to do that for the shower."
"I saw that you even have hotel rooms," Paige said.
"Out of town guests," Mallory rattled off as she looked for the guys to load her couch and loveseat into a family's truck.
"Who's coming from out of town?" Olive asked.
"Jax's family said they were coming," she said as she called Jacqueline's cellphone.
"Are you serious?" Alex sat up in her chair. "I've never met them."
"I've spoken to Jacqueline's mother on the phone. She's not like her at all." Paige said.
"We rented a floor, so if you want a getaway…" Mallory said.
"Hey, honey. Where's the truck?" Jacqueline said as she approached Mallory.
"Over there. Get some rope, so it doesn't fall out," she said as Jacqueline walked away.
"I'll be glad when this is over and we can just relax. Just us cruising around the bay on the boat," Mallory dropped into the canvas chair behind her.
"Boat?"
"She didn't tell you. She got a pontoon boat."