No it don't all go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good

Toni pulled herself together quicker than I would have. But, that didn’t shock me. It was Toni after all, the rock.

She wiped her face, sniffling, and looked up at me.

“Geez Ella. I’m sorry. I’m being such a baby. It’s not really a big deal.”

“I think it is Toni. I mean, maybe not to me, but I also have no idea where you’re coming from. But, I mean… If you’re this upset… Well, you don’t get this upset often, and I’ve never seen you get this upset over nothing, so something must be wrong.”

She sighed. “You’ve heard of dog-tired, right?”

“Yeah.” I answered.

“I’m Mom-tired.” She said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Maybe you just need a little break.”

“That’s why I’m here.” She replied.

“Well. How long do I have your for?” I asked, opening the door and getting out of the car. Toni followed suit.

“I don’t know. Not long, probably. Nick’s Mom is helping him with the kids, but his sister is actually about to pop any day now, so she’ll have her hands full with the new grandchild. Which sucks for us, as well. I mean I’m excited that our kids are finally getting cousins, it’s just that Nick’s Mom’s been a huge help…”

We entered the house and were greeted by Cumulus. I went to let him outside while I grabbed plates to eat our lunch on. I hadn’t been hungry, but now I was starving.

“You know Toni… Have you thought at all about moving? I mean you say your house is too small…”

“We’ve toyed with it. I love the house, and we worked really hard to make it what we wanted. The market was holding me back from saying anything, since I didn’t think we could get anywhere near what it was worth. But it’s weird, because someone just told us that if we wanted to sell to let them know, that they were interested…”

“Why don’t you guys move here?” I said slowly. I was kind of afraid of Toni’s answer, I didn’t know if I was overstepping any boundaries.

“Move here?” She asked.

“Yeah. I mean. I could help out some more. You said awhile ago that Nick’s company wanted to transfer him here, to get that promotion. You just stayed for your job. I know you don’t want to be a stay at home Mom, but… If Nick got that promotion, you wouldn’t have to work. I’m not saying stay at home all the time. Maybe you could get a nanny to help a few days a week and be able to go do something for you, you could write that book you always wanted too, or volunteer more like you want… And I’d be in town. I could baby-sit more and some days probably even take the kids with me into work.”

“We could buy a bigger house… Maybe I could even get a part time job, just to help out…” Toni mumbled. I knew she was mainly talking to herself, trying to work it out in her head.

“Look, it seems like this is something you should do. You’re so stressed about the size of your house. Nick’s Mom’s not going to be able to help as much, Nick’s job wants to transfer him, you have someone interested in your house… Who is that by the way?”

“Drew’s Dad, believe it or not. He picked Drew up when he got drunk at our house, and he saw the house. Since he’s splitting from Drew’s Mom, he’s looking for his own place. He loves our house.”

“Well, see, it’s all working out. Even better, there’s a house down the street which the owner’s are putting up for sale soon.”

Toni was quiet for a moment. “It definitely deserve some serious consideration… But Ella, no offense, I’m not going to move here just for you. And while I’ll take a look at the house down the street, I’m not going to buy it just because it’s close to you.”

“I know.” I said. Normally my feelings would have been hurt by the bluntness, but that was just how Toni was, laying it all out on the line. “But, I really do think it’s your style. I’ll call over there and see if we can go over and take a look.”

“OK, but I’ll still have to talk to Nick about it.”

“Oooh, I’m so excited!” I said, getting up to call the neighbor.

We ate lunch and then headed over to check out the house. The neighborhood was really quite perfect. The streets were lined with streets, the houses set far enough apart that you felt like you had your privacy, but close enough together so that you still felt like neighbors. My house was the smallest on the street, but all the houses, mine included had huge front and back yards. This house in particular was massive. It had an attic and a basement, and then the main and upper floors. The basement was finished, perfect for a game room or family room. The main floor had a giant living room, a nice sized kitchen with a breakfast nook, a formal dining room, and then another room which could have been an office, play room, formal living room, den… Whatever. There was also a bathroom and a laundry room, which also served as the entrance to the attached garage. The upstairs held four big bedrooms. The master had it’s own bathroom, and then there was another bathroom off the hallway. The attic was pretty unimpressive. It was just stuffed full of junk, but a good area for storage.

Toni was quiet as she was looking through the house. I could tell she was looking for a reason to say no. I knew she wanted to live close to me, but again, didn’t want to settle on a house just because it was close to me. I think Toni was really looking for their forever home, she always had a dream of raising her kids in the same house, especially since she was bounced around so much as a kid.
“It needs some work.” She said when we left the house.

“What are you talking about? That house is perfect for you guys and you know it! And there’s so much more room to expand if you need too. You could put a bedroom downstairs in the basement, even refinish the attic and have one there, and you still have that extra room on the main floor for a bedroom.”

“How many kids do you think I’m gonna pop out anyway? I don’t need that many bedrooms!” She exclaimed, laughing.

“Yeah. Right.” I said sarcastically. “Because your plans have worked out SO well for you.” I looked pointedly at her stomach. She laughed and pushed me.

“Anyway.” She started. “The house has good bones. I do think it’ll be a good fit for us. BUT, it still needs work. That wall paper has got to go. I would like to replace the floors, the kitchen needs updated, the bathroom could use a lift… I’d like to redo the attic and turn it into a guest room…” She trailed off. “I’ll call Nick. Maybe he can come down tomorrow and take a look at it.”

I knew when she said that, that she really wanted the house. Toni was logical, and she tended to think things through. Normally she would have wanted a few days to think things over, but trying to get Nick down here so quickly… Especially when she was angry at him? She may not have been showing it, but I knew she was excited over the house, and feeling better now that she had a plan in place.

The thing too, is even though she was saying the house needed work, I knew it was only things she WANTED to have done. The house was in perfect live in condition, she just wanted to change things up to make it her own.

Toni went into my bedroom to call Nick when we got back home. I left her alone, taking Cumulus on a long walk. When I got back, she was off the phone, sitting on the couch with her laptop out.

“What’s going on?” I asked, unleashing Cumulus. “Work everything out?”

“He’s coming up tomorrow to look at the house. If he likes it, I’m going to email my boss and see if we can work out my working part time from here for awhile, emailing in assignments and stuff. Nick called Drew’s Dad and we talked about it with him, he was serious about buying the house, so.. Again, as long as Nick likes the house, and the offer of that promotion is still there…”

“Yes!” I said, jumping up and down. “I’m finally going to have friends in town!”

“There’s a couple of things Ella… Drew was there when I called. He wants to come take a look at the house with Nick and I… When he thought he was moving down here, he agreed to let his friend sub-lease his place, so… Well, he had no place to go. He’s been wanting to move down here, and well… We could use the help…”

“Are you saying he may move in with you? Like, down the street from me?” I asked, not sure how I feel about it.

“Yeah. He would help Nick repair the house, we could get it done a lot faster with two of them. He told Nick he wanted to talk to you too. But, there’s something that’s been bugging me… Earlier, when I said you should give Jason another chance? I shouldn’t have said that. I was upset, and I was regretting a lot of things… It’s just. Ella everything happens for a reason. You and Jason didn’t work out, and what I said… I was wrong. If you go for Jason, you’ll lose Drew, and I think that’s what you’re going to end up regretting the most. I mean sure, you’re always going to wonder what might have been with Jason, but… I think you just need to call that water under the bridge.”

I was quiet for a moment. I will admit when she told me I should try with Jason, I had been considering calling him again.

“Yeah.” I finally answered. “I think you’re right.”