Part 14 (2/2)
”You bet.”
They turned into their driveway, stopped the car, and got out. The portable john was gone. The Dumpsters were gone. Holding their carry-on bags, they stood in the yard and looked up at the enormous white elephant they were about to call home.
”Sure is big,” Nick said.
”It will shrink. Watch.” What have I done? Olivia thought.
When the movers arrived, Olivia was ready for them. She directed the men with a roughly sketched floor plan of where she wanted furniture placed. By noon, it was starting to come together. Sort of. To Olivia it seemed spa.r.s.e, without her familiar belongings.
Maybe they won't make the minimums at auction and we'll get our things back! she thought.
”Did you say something?” Nick said, hearing her thoughts in the ethers.
”No. But I was just thinking that this place looks bare.”
”Well, let's get everything all unpacked and then we can see what we have.”
”I'm pretty sure it's going to look really naked, but big bowls of flowers and plants in all the rooms will help.”
”I'd like to see you really naked,” he said and wiggled his eyebrows at her.
”Oh, Nick. You're such a teenage boy. You know, babe, this house is a lot bigger than our apartment was. We don't have nearly enough accessories to make this place look like home.” And I can't afford to buy a doormat yet, she thought.
”Maybe I'll take up painting again and cover the walls with marsh scenes and egrets and magnolias.”
What? Olivia thought and said tentatively, ”Maybe. I didn't know you could paint!”
”Didn't I ever entice you with my etchings back in the day?”
”No, darling. Not me. That must've been some other googly-eyed girl.”
”Oh. Sorry, dear. You know, there were legions of women before you. I practically had to beat them off with my umbrella!”
”I'm sure,” Olivia said, and laughed.
Roni rolled in around one in the afternoon. Olivia went to the front door to greet her.
”You're here safe and sound! How was the drive?”
”Epic,” Roni said. ”I spent the night in Virginia Beach last night.”
”You know, that's where Edgar Cayce spent the last part of his life. The Sleeping Prophet?”
Roni stepped over the threshold and into the foyer. Then she turned and saw the view of the water and Charleston harbor.
”Never heard of him. Holy cow. Well, now I know why you bought this place. This view is a killer.”
”Thanks. I know. The house, however, is a bit of a disaster.”
”Really? Well, at some point, you'll get it all fixed. It's a pretty big house.”
”Not really. It's deceiving because it's elevated. You have to deal with floodplain FEMA maps down here.”
”Right. So, after you survive this audit, you can renovate bit by bit.”
”What audit?”
”The State of New York and the IRS would like to have a word with you,” Roni said, reaching into her tote bag and pulling out two very serious-looking envelopes.
Olivia felt the blood drain from her face and thought she might faint.
”Oh, great. This is just what I need.”
CHAPTER 7.
Ole!
A mountainous range of boxes were piled up in the kitchen all the way to the ceiling. Olivia sighed.
Roni said, ”I got this.”
Unpacking and organizing Nick and Olivia's kitchen consumed the remainder of the afternoon and would take at least one more day to complete. To Olivia's way of thinking, setting up the kitchen was the most heinous part of moving because the kitchen just wasn't a part of her soul. Olivia was good at laying out a s.p.a.ce, but Roni was a natural at organizing anything. Olivia was whirling from room to room, adjusting the distance between chairs and sofas, collecting boxes and packing paper to discard. The number of boxes was overwhelming.
”So, I started to tell you that Maritza called,” Roni said to Olivia.
”Why didn't she call me? She has my cell,” Olivia said.
”She said that she tried, but she couldn't get though. So did I, by the way.”
”That would explain why my cell phone hasn't rung since I got here. This could be a major problem.”
”No kidding. You might have to put a booster on your router, whatever that means.”
”I'll get right on that,” Olivia said, thinking, If cell phone reception is a problem for us, other people must have the same problem. I'll ask the neighbors who to call.
”Right. Anyway, two big things. One, she's looking at a possible house to buy on Nantucket, a big old monster. She wants to know if you'll fly up to meet her next week. You'll fly to Newark or LaGuardia and their plane will take you to Nantucket. It's just a consultation fee, though.”
If she was hired to do the job, the consultation fee was deducted from her other additional charges. It was something she had to do or clients thought they could do the job on their own after watching the Property Brothers a couple of times. They would download software and give a plan to a construction company and act as their own general contractor.
”Well, I think, h.e.l.l yes! I'm repacking as I'm unpacking!” Olivia said, thinking, Yes, thank you, this could save my life for a while.
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