Chapter 10 – Beautiful In Her Eyes

Carol stepped out of the truck, following Daryl up the steps of the run-down house. The spires and buttresses were certainly original. The fleur de lis on the corner woodworking were chipped. The paint from the porch's white boards were peeling. The blue paint on the exterior was cracked and bubbled. Carol could see the beauty behind the disrepair though. Her mind's eye cued up a vision of how it would look once a fresh coat of paint was applied. She was not however prepared for the sight that awaited her inside.

The rooms were the epitome of disrepair, but still beautiful. The floors were only beginning to be sanded, that she could see immediately. The base boards had been removed and were set up on sawhorses. The Victorian era typical pointed arched door surrounds were cracked. The 1970's era gaudy wallpaper was peeling off. She could see that graffiti marred a few portions of the exposed walls. She could still visualize how wonderful it would look if it weren't in such a sad state. She knew that Daryl felt the same when she spied the smile pulling on his face and the pride in his eyes.

"I got the floors being worked on now. Then, I am going to replace all the sheetrock. Too much damage to really do good repairs. I want to repair the banisters and buff out the original wooden staircases. When I'm done, all the original woodwork will really shine. Glenn and I only put in four hours a day on weeknights after work. Weekends are longer, but it'll get there eventually."

"You don't stay here though?"

"Nah. Gotta rental house now but it's some modern cookie cutter shit. I like the old homes where you can see the history in them still. They're getting fewer and fewer around here, so I thought it was time for me to snatch one up. This one here was foreclosed on. When the bank took it, the owners kinda trashed it. They hadn't kept up with it anyways. But it's gonna be great when it's done."

"It's already beautiful Daryl. It needs work, but I am going to help."

"I know it's a mess, but do you really think it's beautiful?"

"Some may see a mess, but I don't. It's beautiful now and will be more beautiful when done. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Daryl blushed a bit, then continued the tour.

Carol just nodded along with his explanations of his work, as they finished going room to room on the first and second floors to check out the rest of the space. It was truly a grand old house. The rooms were not spacious but were lighted naturally through large windows. She wondered if he planned on opening up the rooms or not. She didn't dare ask though. It wasn't her house to critique. Instead, she soaked in all that she would be working with, thanking the heavens above that her subscription to HGTV had been active until her escape. If Daryl wanted her help, she would certainly give it. She could already visualize some color schemes to make the rooms appear more open. She would finally get an opportunity to embrace her inner Joanna Gaines, and she loved it. She wasn't sure where she would be staying, but any room here would be preferable to her house in Michigan or the streets of Atlanta.

She wandered out of the tiny second floor bedroom she was in and eyed the staircase that led further up. She didn't think Victorian era homes had third floors. Typically, they had no more than three bedrooms and this one already had four. Daryl saw her curiosity. He beckoned her to follow him, and they made their way upstairs. Carol of course had spied the spire and turrets outside, but given the tiny windows in them, she had written them off as being just small sources of light. She was very wrong, that fact came into her mind when she saw the spacious attic laid out before her.

The wood up here was covered in dust and cobwebs. The narrow floorboards were popping up here or there from their desired placement. The windows had a gorgeous view of the neighboring thicket of woods. She was amazed that this little gem sat unused. It was rough, but it was absolutely beautiful. She could see in her mind's eye a way to turn this space into a lofted bedroom certainly more spacious than those below. With some ingenuity, it could actually be turned into a full master suite complete with sitting area. There were only a few items scattered throughout the space. An old seamstress' dress form, a hula hoop and some empty window boxes were all that were present. The items were covered in a thick layer of dust indicating that the recent owners may not have used this space or disturbed the items. They looked far too old to be items a homeowner would keep in the attic for either usage or sentimental reasons.

She heard Daryl give a small cough at the dust he kicked up. She turned to him, seeing he was smiling at her. "What?"

"Never seen nobody so happy to see a dusty attic before is all."

"Is that what you see? A dusty attic?"

Daryl knew he was missing something but wasn't sure what to say. Instead, he just gave a little shrug.

"Do you really want me to help you with decorating and rehabbing? I don't want to stick my foot in my mouth if you have intentions for the space. It's your home Daryl, and I'm a guest."

"You ain't a guest, remember? This is my house, but it's your home. I'm giving you a lower wage in exchange for rent. I asked for help, and I sure could use an eye on decorating. I got the woodwork, but decorating? That's not really in my skill set."

"I see a master bedroom and sitting area with gorgeous views. Can plumbing be run up here?"

He wasn't sure and said as much.

"If it can, a master bath could take up the back corner area. A sitting area could go here in the other back corner leading up a third of the way. That leaves this remaining little section for a walk-in closet. The other space, roughly half of the attic could serve as a very large master bedroom." She finished that thought excitedly, then remembered she wouldn't be living there when it was done. She tried to hide the sullen thought with a smile towards her new employer and benefactor.

Daryl followed her gestures and absorbed her words. He nodded his head along at appropriate times, but his thoughts were racing in response to her ideas.

"I want to restore the bottom two levels, but maybe…maybe this top floor could be a bit of modern meets Victorian? No Victorian had master suites with plumbing. But I like that idea. Let me run it past Glenn and see what he thinks. He's done a bit more on the plumbing side than I have before.

She nodded, then jumped when they heard a banging coming from downstairs. Daryl understood immediately though. "That would be Dale. He's the locksmith. He's here to change the locks out on the house."

An hour later, the front and back doors were rekeyed. Carol had listened in amusement as Dale had talked their ears off the entire time the job was being done. The feeling of being slightly overwhelmed rushed through her when Daryl immediately took the keys from Dale's hand and presented them to her.

"You have the only key, remember? Welcome home Carol Mason. I think you're going to like it here."

"I already do Daryl. I already do."

Photos (unable to put link as FF deletes it. Just insert the dot)

Outside of house:

ibb DOT co/QF3x6v4

Attic:

Ibb DOT CO/vHtxYqW