Chapter 10
"Kevin, Beth, it was wonderful to meet both of you. We're really excited about this opportunity, and we knew right away that you were our guy, even more so after talking with you. We'll cover all your moving expenses, and if you need any help finding a place let us know. One of the guys in the control booth, his wife is in real estate. We'll expect you on the 21st of July, and then we'll head for Beijing around the first week of August. Our team will be working with the NBC Olympic team, using their set-ups at the venues, so we need to be there to get used to the time change and the area and everything. Our actual job starts with opening ceremonies on September fifth. That will be ten days on air in China before we get back to the States. Then, as we discussed, we'll get you started with ESPN News during the NFL season and see where it goes from there." The producers had laid it all out for them.
"Thank you for meeting with us. You offer is amazingly generous, but Beth and I are going to need to talk it over tonight. Would it be acceptable to let you know first thing in the morning?" Kevin asked.
The producer nodded his head. "Absolutely. Take a look around the town, look at the real estate, talk it over, whatever you need to do, and just let us know. If you're interested, we can give you a list of PR firms around here, including the one we use, for Beth to check about jobs. Also, we can cover her travel in China before we start broadcasting, so that's about three weeks. Any or all of it that she would like to join you."
He and Kevin shook hands as they parted in the hallway. Kevin and Beth said goodbye and headed out front to their rental car. Beth slid behind the wheel before Kevin had a chance to protest. She switched the car from hand controls as Kevin got in the passenger seat. She stated pretty matter-of-factly, "I guess we'll keep looking."
Kevin jerked to look at her. When he did so, he realized that she was joking. Her eyes were dancing with excitement. "Let's go find a house," was all he said, his expression equally as excited as hers.
Two hours later they stood with the relator in front of a gorgeous home. The siding was a light yellow color with bright crimson trim. The lawn was sprawling and perfectly manicured. Inside, there were four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a three car garage, full basement, library, exquisite dining room, and a spacious family room area. Beth and Kevin tried to not appear excited, but as the list price was discussed, they realized it was very much in their price range. They townhouse they shared in Silver Spring had been a graduation gift from Beth's father, and the sale of it added to Kevin's sign on bonus at ESPN and a monetary wedding gift from both of their parents would make a down payment of more than half of the price of the new home. They looked at one another and then the relator and Beth cried, "We'll take it!"
The relator laughed uncertainly about financing since this couple looked so young and inexperienced. Beth told the down payment they would be making, and he quickly changed his tune. "You're sure this is your first real job?" he asked, thinking they both must be trust fund kids.
Kevin explained, "This is my first job, but she's been working and saving for about five years now, plus we just sold our townhouse right outside D.C." The relator nodded in understanding and suggested they return to the office to work out the necessary paperwork for the sale and the mortgage. On the way back he asked them to make a formal offer. Kevin said they would like to pay around $25,000 less than the list price since certain adaptations would have to be made for the house to be totally accessible. The relator felt this would not be a problem, as the previous owners were quite anxious to sell having just built a much larger home in another part of town. When they arrived at the office, the payment was figured to be a rate that they could afford even if Beth wasn't working. They could hardly believe how well this was turning out.
The next morning, Kevin called ESPN to formally accept the job. The producers welcomed him warmly and promised to send him all the necessary paperwork, job listings for Beth, and lists of local attractions including the contact name and number for a local wheelchair basketball league. Kevin thanked them for all their help and said he was looking forward to seeing them again in July. They implored him to let the network know if there was anything they needed in the moving process. He asked them about finding a contractor to make the necessary adjustments to the house, widen doorways, install a shower bench, stairway motorized lift and ramps out front. They said they would include a few names in the forthcoming packet. With that, they said their goodbyes and Kevin and Beth prepared to leave for the airport.