Chapter 36
When they told Tiffany about the baby, they found that she was overjoyed about the thought of a little cousin that would also be like a little brother or sister.
"I get to be the big sister, just like Bruce and Todd were big brothers to me."
Soon after, they started shopping for houses. Casey knew that it had to be a rancher (no stairs) and she was hoping to find something in the same neighborhood Tiffany had lived in before so that she could continue to go to school with her friends. But since Tif was in middle school, as long as she stayed within the range of that school, she'd be okay.
They started searching out houses and neighborhoods that they liked. Some were very pricey and Casey was reluctant to take on a mortgage that she felt was above their means. House told her that he made enough money, but she still felt they would be better off with a more moderately priced house.
The one thing that was in their favor was the economy. With people losing jobs and being foreclosed on, there were more houses available at lower prices. Still, nothing seemed just right. One house had all the amenities they liked, but was way over their price. Another was priced right, but didn't have everything they wanted. Casey knew they might have to compromise on some things, but still nothing felt right.
Then, on a Sunday in early March, armed with a list of open houses, they found it. It wasn't a large house, but it was a rancher. Nice white paint and blue trim on the outside made it attractive at first glance. Entering the front door they found a living room that wasn't huge, but had high ceilings and lots of windows. There was certainly enough room for House's piano and a nice living room set. It also opened into a dining room area.
To the right of the living room/dining room was the kitchen. While still not real big, it had recently been remodeled and all the appliances updated. The kitchen had a small family room coming off of it, which also led to the deck and the backyard. The yard was the only spacious area and Casey liked it immediately, anticipating cookouts with their friends there.
Left of the living room were the four bedrooms. The master bedroom was towards the front of the house and had its own bathroom. There was a small room right next to the master bedroom, actually more of an office size than an actual bedroom. The other two were towards the back of the house and there was a bathroom right between them. They were fairly good sized.
The neighborhood was nice as well. Not as high-priced as the one her brother had lived in, but still a good one.
All in all, the house was exactly what they were looking for. The only question was the price. But their realtor told them that she had inside knowledge that the people selling needed to get out quickly. The man had lost his job and they needed to move out of state where relatives would help them out. They probably wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage past this month.
They made an offer and, to their delight, it was accepted. And since the people needed to leave fairly quickly, they could make settlement and move in within two months, which would get them settled early in May, way before the baby was coming in September.
Casey told her landlord at the town house that they would need to get out of their lease. She knew they would have to pay a penalty because of it, but figured there was nothing they could do about that.
However, the landlord had a waiting list for these town houses and there was another tenant that wanted it. He told Casey that if she could be out by the end of March, she wouldn't have to pay a penalty.
She discussed it with House and Tiffany and they decided that Tiffany could sleep on the sofa for a few weeks until they moved into the new house. It would be a little cramped, but it was only for a short time. At least they knew what they would be doing.
But there was also the matter of her brother's house to deal with. Casey decided the best thing was to talk honestly to Tiffany about it. They went out for lunch when Casey brought it up.
"Tiffany, you need to think about what you want to do with your family's house."
"I need to?"
"Yes, sweetie, technically, the house belongs to you. And I don't want to influence you one way or the other."
Tif was silent.
"And you don't have to decide right now." Casey continued. "We can pay the taxes on it out of your dad's life insurance and social security."
"Why couldn't you do that before?"
"I needed that money to support us. But I don't need it now. Greg's salary – and mine when I start my new job – is more than enough to support all of us. So there's no pressure. If you want to keep it and live in it someday, that's fine. You can do that. If you'd rather sell it and put the money away for the future, that's fine too."
Tiffany sighed. "I don't know what I wanted to do."
"Then don't do anything for now. We'll just keep the house and you can think about it. There's no rush. When you're ready, that's when we'll deal with it."
"Okay." The girl said, relieved.
While Tiffany was pondering this, Casey knew it was time to talk to her fiancé about something that had been bothering her. House had told her about his father's death and his mother, but thus far, she had not met or even spoken to Blythe House. She wasn't even sure if he had told his mother about her and the baby.
As soon as she brought up the subject of his mother, he closed off and tried to avoid the conversation.
"Greg, this is silly! Does your mother even know that we're getting married? Having a baby? Buying a house? That we have Tiffany?"
"None of her business."
"She's your mother! Of course, it's her business."
He pretended to ignore her, but she persisted. "We're about to become parents, not to mention we have Tiffany. How would you feel if Tiffany or our child didn't care about us enough to tell us the most important things that are happening in their lives?"
He didn't speak, but he knew that she was right. Not that he would admit it to her, but the next day, he dialed his mother's number.
Blythe was, of course, thrilled to hear from her only child.
"Oh, Greg, I'm so happy you called! I was going to call you, but I know how busy you are." In other words, she knew he would avoid her calls if he didn't want to talk to her.
"Yeah, well, there are a few things going on here, that I thought you'd like to know."
"Really, dear?"
His voice got very low. "Yeah, well, I'm kinda, um, getting, um, married."
"What, Greg? I couldn't hear you, what did you say?"
He sighed. "I'm getting married."
Blythe was speechless for a moment, then in an excited voice, "Oh, Greg, that's wonderful! Who is she? What's her name?"
"Her name is Casey. Up to a about a year and a half ago, she was a Broadway performer." He gave her a brief synopsis of the situation with Tiffany.
"So you're helping to raise her niece? Greg, I'm so proud of you for that."
"Yeah, well, one more thing: Casey's pregnant, so we'll be having our own kid in September."
There was silence again and this time Blythe didn't speak for several minutes. House was concerned that something had happened.
"Mom? Are you there? Are you okay?"
After a few more seconds of silence, he heard, "Greg, you have just made me the happiest woman on earth."
He chuckled. "Being a grandmother is that important to you?"
"No, well, yes it's very important. But knowing that you are finally going to have a real life and be happy is the best news I could ever have."
House didn't know what to say to that. So he handed the phone to Casey, who had been anxious to say hello to his mother.
"Mrs. House? Hello, I'm Casey and it's so nice to finally talk to you."
Blythe greeted her future daughter-in-law exuberantly and they talked about the new house, the wedding plans and, of course, the baby.
When they finished, Casey said goodbye and handed the phone to House, who said a quick goodbye to his mother and hung up.
"She sounds wonderful!" Casey gushed. "Why didn't I talk to her before?"
"Oh, god, I don't need more women ganging up on me. You and Tiffany are more than enough."
"And what if the baby is a girl?"
"Then I'm seriously screwed."