Page 29 of Taking The Shot

Fly down to get his new family.

Get a cat.

Get allergy medicine– and he chuckled at this one because he was mildly allergic to animals, but for them, he would simply start taking something for it. Anything to make the kids happy to be there. If the kids were happy, then Constance would be… and he needed her to be happy with him – which brought him to the final thing on his list.

Encourage my new wife to fall for me…

“I wish,” he muttered, putting his head down in his hands once more before turning to look out the window, spotting the city of Quebec below, bordering the St. Lawrence River. As the plane circled, he caught a glimpse of the massive new arena, and for the first time since saying ‘I do’ earlier that morning…

He smiled.

Three days later, Keith wasn’t smiling – at all. The final walkthrough of the house definitely looked different than the pictures put online. Someone had come through and gutted the place, removing the light fixtures and doorknobs, and painted the rooms that the children wanted specifically for their themes, and the kitchen fixtures were missing.

The stove, the fridge, heck… even the sink was gone.

“ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME?” Keith snapped, looking at the realtor in shock. “I was coming up here to close on this house, a cash offer, and this is not what I bought. Who removes a kitchen sink? That’s like me saying ‘oh, this is a mighty fine potty, I think I’ll yank it from the wax ring and bolts’…” he snapped, the stress finally getting to him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he breathed deeply, trying to get his temper under control. “I’m just a little surprised, and I’m sure you can understand why.”

The thin little man with the pencil mustache simply nodded, looking at Keith like he’d seen a monster. This would not do because once their photos were scattered everywhere, he sure didn’t need this kid running to the press exaggerating things.

“Can they adjust the price?” Keith uttered in disbelief. “I need to get in contact with a painter and an electrician, and I need to go buy appliances now – that all needs to come off the price before I fork over the money.”

“Of course, Mr. Boucher.”

Keith rubbed his face in disbelief, before turning and bracing his hands against the granite countertops, letting his head fall forward in despair and shock. He wanted to yell, scream, and cryat the same time because Constance was never going to believe him when he explained the delay. Not bothering to turn around, he spoke to the realtor.

“Can you call them now and get an answer? I’ve got furniture being delivered tomorrow, and frankly, I’m terrified the carpet will disappear or sprout legs and walk off, too,” he muttered, trying not to be rude. “This isn’t a bad neighborhood, is it?”

“No sir. It’s one of the nicer ones. I’m just as shocked as you are – but I’ll get some answers for you immediately.”

He nodded and walked away as the realtor called the other office, taking a moment to Facetime Constance. She answered on the third ring, and he saw her smile instantly fade.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I’m honestly standing in the living room, but the kitchen needs updating…” he paused and flipped the screen. “So, the reason I was calling was to see if you want a particular sort of sink, fridge, stove, or microwave – because I’m going to go order all of them and have it installed.”

“You… are… kidding… me,” she drew out in obvious disbelief, making him feel a little more justified in his reaction as he turned the screen back around.

“Hey, the toilets are still here – but no lights.”

“Keith!”

“I know, I know,” he smirked, looking at her as she rolled her eyes. “Also, the kids’ rooms were painted.”

“Oh no. We can just pick a different house,” she said – and Keith looked at the realtor, who looked at him sharply in horror.

“The realtor is working on getting us a discount so we can close immediately – and he knows already that if it doesn’t happen, then I’m not signing.”

“I see,” Constance said quietly – and Keith walked quickly to another room, shutting the door.

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