Mindy ran her fingers thoughtfully over her taut, rounded belly, and felt a reassuring movement in return. She and Bob were both going to miss the old house, but with the baby due in another couple of months, they just couldn’t afford this money pit any longer.
She looked one last time at the room that would have been the nursery. The crown moldings and baseboards were a soft yellow against the powder blue of the walls. She smiled at cheerful clouds that she had carefully hand-stenciled across the tops of the walls, then her smile faded as she saw the rust-colored stain that ran across almost two feet of the wall over the window and ran into the lace curtains covering it.
Bob had come quietly into the room, and put his arms lovingly around her as she leaned back into the warmth of his body. “You gonna miss it, honey?” he asked.
She sighed, and then stood up straight. “Yes, but I won’t miss the repair bills!”
Almost a year earlier, they’d bought the old Sanders house. Two-storied, rambling, the Victorian home had seemed to be their dream come true. “Big enough to start a family in!” was the way Bob had put it. Instead of buying it through a realtor, they’d knocked on the front door when they’d seen the FOR SALE BY OWNER sign posted in the front yard. Jerome Sanders, the owner, had seemed like such a nice fellow. The house, he’d said, was in great shape, only needed cosmetic upgrades. New plumbing, new wiring, great hardwood floors under the ratty old carpet. He’d even pulled up a corner in the living room to show them.
When it came time to get a physical inspection on the house, Jerome had recommended a friend of his that was a contractor. The guy gave the house a clean bill of health.
In spite of Bob’s good salary as a computer programmer and Mindy’s income as receptionist in the firm where Bob worked, the loan officer at the bank was concerned that they might have trouble affording the down payment and monthly mortgage on their first home, and suggested that the house was a bit overpriced for it’s condition and location. Sanders had offered them a “silent” second on the house to make the financing easier.
Then, from the day escrow closed, he refused their calls, and his “contractor friend” also mysteriously disappeared. And their dream house slowly turned into a nightmare.
They quickly discovered that the “new plumbing” consisted of one toilet that had been replaced two years earlier. Unfortunately, it had not been fitted properly, and every time they flushed, a small leak trickled across the cracked and stained tiles of the bathroom floor.
When they pulled up the carpets, they discovered that the “beautiful hardwood floors” had been garishly patched in numerous places with plywood, forcing them to re-carpet cheaply with mismatched remnants picked up at a local carpet outlet. And when a small electrical fire started the first time they tried to run the washer and dryer simultaneously, they knew they’d been had. But by this time, Mindy was pregnant, she’d stopped working, and between medical bills and the loss of her income, there was no way they could afford to move. Mindy offered to go back to work, but Bob said, “Trust me, Mindy. I can handle this.”
Bob started calling in favors from all of his friends. Every weekend at their home was a party of re-construction as Bob and his buddies tore out walls, re-wired electrical circuits, and re-laid pipes that had been thoroughly rusted for more than a decade. He even had a friend in city planning who helped get their plans approved quickly whenever needed. Mindy was contented as she cooked up huge pots of chili or homemade soup to feed her ravenous volunteer crew. The guys usually ended the day downing ice cold beers in front of a ball game or a rented video as Mindy and Bob traded off back rubs for foot massages.
They were finally starting to feel that their home was a safe environment for their budding family when the rainy season started. Within hours, paint was streaking, wallpaper was buckling, and the freshly plastered ceiling was festering and plopping onto the newly laid carpet.
Mindy was more than surprised when Jerome Sanders had shown up at their door in a fit of remorse, wanting to buy back the house he’d sold them eight months earlier. “I know I exaggerated some of the qualities of the property,” he admitted to them, shamefaced.
“Exaggerated!” Mindy sputtered, so livid she could hardly see straight.
Bob pulled out a carefully itemized list of all of the repairs they’d performed since moving in. “These are the actual out-of-pocket expenses,” he said calmly, looking Sanders in the eye. “And this is what it would have cost in labor if we had had the work done professionally, instead of by our friends.”
“I’m sure we can work something out,” Sanders said, growing nervous.
Still steaming, Mindy wanted to know, “Why this sudden change of heart?”
But before he could reply, Bob interjected, “I’m not sure we want to sell.” Mindy kicked him sharply under the table.
Through clenched teeth, Mindy said, “Let us talk it over and get back to you,” while propelling Sanders out the door.
As soon as Sanders had left, Mindy turned on Bob. “What do you mean we don’t want to sell! All we’ve been talking about is how great it would be if there was a way for us to get out from under this albatross!” Furious, she plodded to the bedroom and threw herself, sobbing, across the bed.
Bob came in and sat next to her, placing one hand gently on her shoulder. “Mindy, hon, trust me on this. I’ve been doing some checking up on Mr. Jerome Sanders, and I’m not surprised that he turned up when he did. I think I can handle this situation, and turn it to our advantage.”
Mindy looked up at him tearfully. “I love you Bobby, but I just don’t understand your attitude!”
“All I can say is trust me, sweetheart, and let’s see how things turn out.”
On the day of negotiations, Bob was gone for five hours as Mindy paced the floor nervously. She rearranged all of the dishes in the kitchen cabinet, straightened every picture frame in the house — twice — and reorganized the linen closet according to color. Finally, she heard his car in the drive. Racing to the front door, she threw it open before he could knock. “Well?”
“We made a deal.” Bob told her.
“What deal?”
“He’s taking over the mortgage, forgiving the second, and giving us …” he paused dramatically, “twenty-five thousand dollars cash.”
“But we only put seven thousand down!” Mindy was stunned.
“Plus another four thousand in repairs,” Bob added, grinning broadly, “and another estimated five thousand in labor.”
Mindy did a quick mental calculation. “That means a nine thousand dollar profit!”
“More than enough to get into a new home. And he’s paying the closing costs!”
Mindy was amazed. “How’d you do it, Bobby?” Then quickly, “Never mind, just be my hero!” as they snuggled together in front of their smoky fireplace.
Escrow closed four weeks later, and as the movers were loading the last of the cartons onto the truck, Sanders arrived to claim the keys, his conscientious demeanor totally evaporated. “You two are a couple of inexperienced young chumps,” he told them with a wicked gleam in his eye. Ignoring Bob’s restraining hand, Mindy asked what he meant.
“The house you’ve just sold me is worth twice what I paid you for it. In the next two years, the city is buying out this entire block to make way for a new highway. And I’ve suckered you into losing all that lovely profit!”
Mindy was so furious that Bob practically had to carry her to the car. She was still screaming at Sanders as they drove away. Then Mindy realized that Bob was laughing. She looked at him, and he laughed harder. Then he started laughing so hard that he had to pull over to the side of the road.
“Do you mind letting me in on this little joke?” she asked, thoroughly perturbed.
Bob finally calmed down enough to talk. “Remember my friend in city planning? He told me six weeks ago that the plans for the new highway have been changed to another route, but that the city is keeping the new route hush-hush because they want to keep out speculators!”
Mindy visibly relaxed, the anger flowing from her soft, pregnancy-rounded features. She laid her hands soothing against her stomach. “The baby is kicking up a storm.”
“Not a wonder with the way you were carrying on,” Bob said gently.
“Baby,” Mindy crooned to her belly, “you’ve just got the smartest, handsomest, best daddy in the whole wide world. And you can always trust him!” Then to Bob, “I love you. I don’t know if I’ve told you that lately, but I do.”
“So let’s go look at our new house,” was Bob’s reply. They drove off without looking back.
