And I’ve never been able to be this cool with someone afterward. Usually, we don’t chat beyond the fuck. Although, I don’t ever go on the sort of sex-fest that I went on with Scott after that shit weekend with my family.
His text reminds me that I need to call Kate. She called last night, but it was well past midnight by the time I finished my conference call with my guys in logistics about this project I’m trying to sort out. As I’m about to pull up her number, she calls and I answer.
“Hey, there, Katie.”
She doesn’t groan like she normally does at me calling her Katie instead of Kate, and it’s got me concerned.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes. No. Everything’s fine. I had kind of a crazy morning. Like in what could be an amazing way.”
“Okay, don’t be vague, sis. Spit it out.”
“A friend of mine, she used to be my neighbor, told me about this house that just came on the market. It’s a friend’s house. Now don’t get crazy. It’s not incredible. A little bit of a fixer upper, she said. But it’s in the right school district for Roger, and the neighborhood is really nice.”
“How much of a fixer upper are we talking about?”
“I’ll send you a link on Zillow.”
I pull up my email and skim through the images.
“Here’s the thing,” she says as I peruse what appears to be a really nice place. Not perfect, but nice. “I can’t afford the down payment right now, but based on what my attorney says, I’ll have the money once I finalize the divorce, and between that and my salary, I can pay you back.”
“How much are we talking about here?”
“I can get FHA funding for it, so it’d only be, like, seven-thousand. But I’d need help with the mortgage until I can get it on my own.”
I like the sound of that. Although, anything sounds better than her staying with our parents right now—something that’s still itched at me since I left Georgia.
I inspect some of the information on Zillow. “Two stories, .73-acre back yard… doesn’t look like it’s been on here long.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I mean, I’m not a real estate agent, but I remember when I was buying my place, my agent told me that sometimes if it’s been on there for a long time, it’s because there really is a problem, and that’s the reason no one’s put up an offer yet. But that price does seem really low for the area. Definitely a red flag, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much.”
“She says they want to sell it quickly. They have a few showings already, but they managed to book me today. I’m going to run over there and look, so please just get ready if I call, because they want a quick offer.”
“Well, don’t go racing into it. You want to make sure it’s actually a good deal before you wind up with a place that might need a little more than a few quick fixes, you know? But fortunately, if you need to make an offer, you still can get an inspection done in your due diligence period, so don’t sweat it too much.”
“I will, I will. But look at that yard. Isn’t it beautiful? Roger would have a place to play. I could even put a little swing and a play area up for him. Can’t you see it?”
“That would be really cool,” I admit. And it’s not just something I think would be nice for Roger. I can tell by her enthusiasm that it’d be just as good for her. She needs something to be excited about, something to give her some hope about their future together.
“There’s even room for a kiddie pool when he gets older. I mean, Mikey, I’m talking about a place where I can start a new life. Where I can put the past behind me. I feel like this is somewhere I could spend my future.”
It kills me to hear her enthusiasm return like this, because I’m scared as fuck that this place might not live up to her expectations. Maybe I’m just a pessimist. Or maybe I’ve had my own hopes dashed too many times by contractors overselling products and designs to be jumping head over heels about this yet, but for her sake, I hope she’s right.
All I want right now is for her and Roger to have a life—a real life where they can be happy together—where they can put Lyle and all that fucked-up shit he did behind them and move on.
“I know. It could be amazing, Kate, but I want you to be careful and be on the lookout for a con. Check it out and if you like it, put in an offer. I can wire you however much you need for the down payment. We can work a repayment plan around that. I have the money for it, so don’t stress about thinking you’re gonna need to pay me back right away.”
“Are you sure? It’s not too much?”
I can tell by the way she says it, it’s like when we were kids and she would ask to use a toy. She doesn’t want to hurt my feelings, but she also wants this so bad.
Even if I didn’t have the money, I would be doing everything in my power to get it to her because I love her, and she deserves this.
And because, as pessimistic as I am about this being a great opportunity, I want to believe that maybe somehow she deserves this, and that it might be a situation of her being in the right place at the right time.
