“Maybe we can fix it ourselves,” Jackson said with confidence. “That’d probably save a bunch of money.”
“Oh, I doubt we can attack something that big all by ourselves.”
“But I’ve got Dad’s tools, and I can look for how-to help online.”
“I don’t think so, Jackson. That’s the only bathroom in the house. The best plan is to get someone in here—and get it fixed fast.” She looked around the kitchen, which was in need of a good scrub, new paint, and probably some new linoleum to make it more sellable. “But don’t worry, there will be plenty of other work for us to do in here. And don’t forget, we haven’t really seen the condition of the exterior yet. Not in daylight anyway. There’s probably more work out there.”
“Well, I want to help with everything, Mom. I think this place is totally awesome—even just like this. But it would be cool to make it even better.” He went for his second sandwich. “I can’t believe it’s really ours. Our very own house—and it comes with a great big ocean!”
Again, she felt the guilt ... but didn’t want to burst his bubble. Not yet. “It was incredibly generous of Poppa to leave it to us.” She lifted her tea mug up like a toast. “Thank you, Poppa,” she said reverently. “And Gammi too.”
“Yes,” Jackson echoed, clicking his glass against the mug. “Thank you, Poppa and Gammi. We’ll take really, really good care of it.” He downed the remains of his milk, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I wish you’d had a chance to know them.” Wendy stood to clear the table.
“I feel like Idoknow them.” Jackson hopped up to help. “Or like I’mgettingto know them. Just being here in this house—it’s like I can feel them here. Not like ghosts or anything weird or scary. But like we’re part of their family. It’s pretty cool, Mom.”
“You know, I can feel them too.” She rinsed a plate, feeling a mixture of sadness and comfort washing over her. “And I know they’re both really happy that we’re here.” She smiled at her son.
“Where’s the dishwasher?” Jackson asked.
“You’re looking at ’em.” She pointed to him and then herself.
He laughed. “Okay then.”
“But I’ll handle it tonight. You go finish unpacking and make up your bed with some fresh sheets. They should be in the laundry basket you just brought in.”
“Want me to put more wood on the fire first?” he called from the living room.
“Yes, please! The wood-box is just outside the—”
“I already saw it, Mom.”
As she washed a turquoise dinner plate, she knew that some things, including these colorful Fiestaware dishes, would be going home to Cincinnati with them. Then, seeing that everything in the kitchen cupboards was coated with dust and grime, she decided to start washing everything. Poppa had never been much good at housekeeping, and guessing by the supply of paper plates and Styrofoam cups, he’d probably lived a fairly spartan life here at the cottage.
As she emptied the packed cupboards, she decided to do some thinning too, boxing up old worn items she wouldn’t want to take home or even use while here. She was just getting the dishes replaced in the freshly cleaned cabinets when Jackson returned.
“I got my stuff all put away, and I put the box with your things in that spare room,” he told her. “What’s next?”
She closed the last cupboard door. “I still need to unpack and change sheets ... and do some sorting in the downstairs bedroom. You can just relax if you want.”
“I turned on that old TV,” Jackson said, “but it doesn’t get anything.”
“No, they never had cable. It was just for watching movies,” she explained. “Not that we ever did much of that, but Gammi had some old VHS movies.”
“Movies on tape?”
She nodded. “Definitely old-school.”
“Cool.”
“And did you see Poppa’s record player in the living room?”
“Like for vinyl?” Jackson’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah, it’s that massive wooden cabinet beneath the front window. It has an old turntable inside, as well as a radio. Poppa liked his music. He kept his vinyl records inside the stereo cabinet. I’ll bet they’re still there.”
“Epic cool. Can I play one of them now? I mean, if they’re there. Do you mind?”
