26
Luckily, it was Sara's night off so she didn't have to explain anything to Ecklie. The ceremony was small, private and beautiful. She wore her dress from the cruise and he wore his white tux. All their close friends were there and Catherine and Jim served as their witnesses. That night, they made love for the first time as husband and wife.
The next morning, she was woken up by a kiss and, "Good morning Mrs. Grissom."
She smiled, "Good morning."
"I know you're probably tired, but we have that appointment at the lawyer's office at eight."
"I'm up."
They had a full day ahead of them. After the appointment with their new lawyer, they headed for a local real estate agency. After they discussed their needs with the agent, she suggested they look at townhouses in gated communities. They looked through several choices, took some virtual tours and narrowed their list to only five. After looking at all five homes in person, they immediately eliminated one because there were two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. They didn't like the idea of having one or both children sleeping on a separate floor. Another they eliminated because the bedrooms were too small. A third, even though they liked the location the best, only had three bedrooms. After thinking about it, they decided they needed the forth bedroom to use as an office. They didn't need case files left out for children to look at.
With only two other choices, and no time to waste, they decided they would talk over lunch and meet the real estate agent at her office in an hour or so.
She held one file and he the other. "I like this one, Hon." She liked that he called her that.
"Why?"
"Because the pool is close, three of the bedrooms are upstairs, the dining area is well-lit and there's a fireplace in the living room."
"But this one has the laundry room right off the master bedroom. There's a Jacuzzi pool in the master bath, three bedrooms upstairs, a fireplace in the living room, carpeting throughout and the walls aren't all white. Besides, even though the pool is a little further away, the playground is really close."
"I thought you liked hard-wood floors."
"I do. But that has to be rough on children's knees."
"Ah. Good point."
"Besides, we'll probably be on the floor with them."
"Another good point."
"And, I like the breakfast bar in the kitchen."
"Okay. That one it is then."
"Really?"
"Yep."
They went back to the agent's office and made their offer. Next stop, the bank. The bank manager was waiting for them. "Good afternoon Mister Grissom."
"Hello, this is my wife, Sara."
"Nice to meet you."
"When we spoke on the phone, you said you were buying a home. Do you need me to set you up with a loan?"
Sara listened to the two men talk about cashing bonds and taking money out of savings, but didn't really fully understand. In the end, after a combination of funds, the decision was made to pay for half of the townhouse up front and finance the other half. After the loan application was completed and approved, they added Sara's name to all of his accounts. As they exited the bank, their real estate agent called to let them know the sellers took their bid.