Page 28 of Starting Over

“It’s great to meet you also,” I said, my practiced smile plastered on my face.

“Hello, King,” Kristy purred.

“Hey, Kristy,” King said from behind me.

“So how did you two meet? I thought you didn’t know anyone here?”

The jealousy was evident in Kristy’s question.

“My car broke down last night, and King happened upon me. I had been sitting there for thirty minutes without a single car driving by. I was really thankful when he pulled up,” I explained.

“A regular knight in shining leather,” Kristy said. “Well, let’s go inside and see your house.”

King followed behind Kristy and me as we walked through the front door into the living room.

It was spacious, even with the thick staircase that split the room in two. The smaller side would make a nice office.

The floors were wood, though they would need to be refinished. As I walked through the room, I noticed the windows on either side allowed natural light to pour in. A large stone fireplace sat nestled between two windows opposite the staircase. That would be a blessing through the winter.

I walked through to the kitchen and found it wasn’t just empty. It was hollow. There were no cabinets, no appliances; the floor was plywood, and the walls were nothing but studs. Thankfully, the insulation was still intact. Putting up walls wouldn’t take long at all.

Off the kitchen was a full bathroom and a bedroom. Before I walked through those, I needed to see the back of the house. Pulling the back door open, I looked into a mudroom. There were hookups for a washer and dryer here. I prayed the walls were well insulated, or the pipes for the washer would freeze during the winter and burst. That was a mess I didn’t want to deal with.

There was a second door that led from the mudroom to the backyard. Opening that door and looking out, I saw a clothesline attached to the side of the house.

It reminded me of when I was a child.

In Boston, there wasn’t a lot of grass, but everyone had a clothesline that hung in the alleys between the buildings. It was how we kept the apartments cool during the hot summer months, drying clothes in the sun rather than running a hot dryer.

“There is a lot that needs to be done, as I told you before you purchased. I hope you’re not discouraged by what you are seeing,” Kristy said hesitantly, pulling me back to the present.

“No, I knew what I was getting,” I assured her, walking back into the kitchen.

I saw her shoulders relax. I imagined many people who bought houses without seeing them in person might have buyer’s remorse. I wasn’t one of them.

I was in love with this house.

This was so much more than a house, though.

This was a new beginning.

A fresh start.

I wanted this. I just didn’t know if I could keep it.

“Maureen, don’t make any hasty decisions. Stay through the holiday,” King said, as if reading my thoughts.

“Have you changed your mind?” Kristy asked, her voice strained. “I’m not sure how long it would take to find someone else willing to purchase a house in this state.”

Ignoring the woman’s panic, I looked out the kitchen window. I could easily envision the chicken coop I wanted to build, and I had already planned out a garden plot on the side of the house in my mind’s eye. With a greenhouse to sit off to the side of that.

I turned and looked at King. What I was looking for, I wasn’t sure. Permission, maybe? I had told Colleen before I left, I didn’t need permission from anyone to live my life. Yet here I was, wanting a man I had just met to give me the ok to stay and build a life in his town. I needed to know that if I stayed, I wouldn’t be disrupting the lives of everyone here.

“You can stay.”

That was all he said. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that Sal would honor my decision to leave. I just didn’t trust him. I never had.

“At the very least, I’m here until my car is fixed, right?” I asked.

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