We get out of the car, taking in the dilapidated house. I’m a little worried it’s one stiff breeze away from falling down. Farrah signed papers for the place this afternoon and invited us out to celebrate. I’m doing my best to be excited for her, but this doesn’t feel safe.
She comes bounding out the front door with the biggest smile on her face. “I’m so excited you guys are here!”
“Farrah, honey…” Gwen trails off.
“Okay, I know it’s a mess, and it’s practically unlivable, but come inside. It has so much potential, and I can fix most of it myself.”
“You can?” I ask as we follow a bouncing Farrah through the front door.
“I learned how to do a ton of repair stuff a while back. I got pretty good at it, which is why I bought this place.” She moves into an eye-watering wallpapered room. “This is going to be my library. I can refinish the floors easily enough and build myself some bookshelves.”
“After the wallpaper comes down though, right?”
Farrah giggles. “Definitely. I have some crazy design tastes, but that psychedelic pattern is too much even for me.”
Her enthusiasm becomes infectious as she takes us through the house. Her ideas for all the rooms match her aesthetic perfectly. The more she talks, the better I can see her vision. Her reasoning for buying this house makes sense now that I can see how she’ll be able to customize everything she wants.
“I’ll need to fix the roof first. It’s got a major leak over the kitchen,” she tells us when we’re back out on the front porch. We grab a few camping chairs from Farrah’s trunk and take them to her backyard, where the view of the mountains is spectacular. This house might be worth it for the view alone.
“Please tell me you’re not doing that one by yourself,” Gwen pleads.
Farrah laughs. “It wouldn’t be that hard, but no, I’m going to hire someone.”
Gwen dramatically clutches her chest. “Thank god. I thought we’d have to have an intervention.”
Farrah smacks her in the arm. “I’m stubborn, not stupid.”
“You can really fix this place up by yourself?” I ask, a little in awe of her.
She slowly nods her head. “I used to live in this really shitty apartment and had all kinds of things break that the super wouldn’t fix. I finally decided to learn how to fix it myself and found out I really liked doing it.”
“Fair enough. I’m sure Holt would be willing to help though, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
Gwen laughs. “Look at you, pimping out your man like any respectable wife would.”
My cheeks heat, and I cringe. “Should I have asked him first?”
“Oh, honey, no.” Gwen reaches over to pat my arm. “I was teasing you. I meant that as a good thing. I thought it was cute that you were volunteering him because you already knew he wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
I breathe out a relieved exhale. “Thank god. Sometimes I still worry that I’m going to mess this up royally, and with all this stuff from Hannah’s mom, I’m terrified Holt’s going to tell me I’m too much drama.”
“That isnotyour fault,” Farrah says firmly.
“I know, but it’s still happening because I came into the picture. It’s hard not to shoulder some of the blame.”
“Kathy has put you all in a shitty place.” Gwen shakes her head. “She could have handled things differently, but she chose to go the nuclear route. That isn’t on you.”
“Which is easy for us to say,” Farrah acknowledges. “But it’s totally different when you’re the one dealing with the fallout.”
“So true.” Gwen nods. “How are the girls taking it?”
“Lauren’s happy she doesn’t have to deal with Kathy’s bullshit anymore, and Lee Lee seems to feel similarly. Though I think they’d both like to spend time with their grandparents again if Kathy stopped acting so horribly.” I sigh. “Anyway, let’s talk about something else. Like the sparks that were flying between Farrah and Knox at school pickup the other day.”
Farrah lets out a strangled laugh. “Those sparks are as dangerous as dynamite. God, that man pisses me off.”
“Is he still saying shitty things to you?” Gwen asks.
“No, but I get the most scathing looks. I have no idea what I could have done to cause such an angry reaction.”
