He wishes that she was here. Then this would not be so hard because he does not have a clue how she managed this all on her own. He needs to get Alexis registered for school but with all the options in Dallas, he's having a hard time deciding on which one to send her to. He has websites for Hockaday and other private schools as well as the Dallas Public School System. All the private schools need to have their registration fees and transcripts in very quickly or she will be late in registering for school. Hockaday starts their classes on August 22nd. The Dallas Independent School District DISD for short has already started their school year two days ago. Registering her in this school system would be easy, but it would be easier to find out which school she would be going to if they had a permanent address. They've been at the Crowne Plaza for the last week and a half. He can keep Alexis out of school until she's completely registered in the school he wants to send her to. He's leaning more towards Hockaday just because of the quality of education she will get there will be better than a public school. The tuition is high but it'll be worth it.

The real estate front, however, is not looking the greatest for them. He has looked at some houses in and around Dallas and he was disappointed with what the realtor showed him. He was showing them some houses that were in the range of about 110,000 to about 140,000 dollars.

After a long day of seeing nothing they liked, Alexis and Rick return back to the hotel once more. They're in a suite and Rick's room is separated from Alexis'. He tells her to get ready for bed seeing that it's almost 9 p.m. and he will do the same. But before he does that he makes a call to the realtor. He picks up and dial the number and waits until it connects.

"John, it's Rick Rogers. I'm calling because we need a different plan of attack on how we go searching for houses. The homes you've been showing us are fine but they're just not what we're looking for. What I suggest is that we look towards the higher end of the spectrum price wise. Let's say we can put the cap at up to $400,000. So, while I know its late, but tonight maybe before you pick us up tomorrow morning you can have a couple of houses to show us."

"Rick that's not a problem. I have the perfect neighborhood to show you. Let me do some research and I will have something better to show you tomorrow morning. Can I pick you up around 10-10:30 at the hotel?"

"That would be great John we'll be ready."

"Okay, so tomorrow then have a good night Rick."

He feels more confident now that he raised his purchase price. He's glad that he increased the amount. Maybe they will be able to find some decent houses now. With that settled he pulls up the website for Hockaday schools. The school itself is very modern and caters to opening up a girl's mind to the possibilities that there is more to life than just learning about the subjects they teach. They go deeper into each subject with an emphasis on the Fine Arts. Visual Arts, Performing Arts such as dance, drama, and music are what the fourth graders are introduced to. And looking forward to the fifth grade for Alexis, English and Writing are encouraged more so than other courses. They also have a summer reading schedule that could be beneficial for students. All in all, the school looks like the one that he will send his daughter to. It'll give her a structure and he hopes that she makes friends while she's here. The first thing he has to do though is get her transcripts sent from her prior school in San Francisco over to Hockaday. He has a hard copy but it doesn't include all of her accomplishments that she has achieved. That will be a project for tomorrow being that San Francisco is 2 hours behind them.

He also has to find a job. He glanced at the online postings and really didn't find anything to his liking. If it was down to working for a cookie cutter restaurant he would do just that just to pay the bills. But what he saw advertised on the internet wasn't what he wanted to do. He did, however, have enough cash on hand and the payout from Emily's life insurance policy to buy the house they wanted, and if need be he could find a place of his own to cook in. He wouldn't know what to do if he came to that.

Xx

The realtor arrived in the hotel lobby by 10 am. Rick and Alexis had just finished breakfast 10 minutes prior and were waiting for him to arrive.

"Morning John," Rick said as he extended his hand for q quick shake.

"Hey, Rick. I need to show you some properties. Is it okay if we take a seat in the lounge?"

"Sure."

All three of them walked into the lounge and sat at a long glass table. From his briefcase he pulls out three separate property listings.

"Okay, what I have here are listings from a suburb of Dallas named Preston Hollow. I have three properties to show you they start at 389,000 and go up to 396,000. I'm not sure which ones you're going to like but these are the top end of your price range. Now there are more but they are a lot more expensive. I'm talking millions here. So I'll let you look at the pictures to see where you want to start and then we'll head out.

Rick and Alexis take each folder and look at it carefully. There are three houses and they are going to start with 6926 Royal Lane. And the last one they will look at will be 6631 Walnut Hill Lane. After giving the pictures back to the realtor they all rise from the table and set out for the first address. When they arrived at the first address a half an hour later the house looks appealing. That is until they get inside. The realtor opens the door and immediately Rick knows that this is not the house for them. The outside looks nice but the inside has way too much work to be done to it to be move-in ready. The carpets need replacing in one room, the bedroom he thinks it is, has the ceiling is falling down in it, the bathroom has some sort of stains on the walls the closets need to be repaired in just about every bedroom and whoever it was who was living here last left the laundry room window open and he can clearly see what looks to be like a wasp's nest hanging from under the cabinet near the washer. So, this house is a no-go. They're out of the house and into the next which isn't that far away. They pull up to 6839 Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas and from the outside, it looks like a Ranch type house. It's all one floor not like the last one which was two floors.

"Rick this was just listed three days ago. It has 1419 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, two baths. The yard is not fenced in, but it is pretty large." John tells them.

They walk inside through the front door and what they see immediately is an empty house everything is moved out and all they need to do now is move in if they choose to. The floors in the living room and dining room are parquet wooden floors. But it's the kitchen that really catches Rick's attention. It's basic which is what he likes. There's no center island in the middle of the kitchen to clutter things up but there is an island off to the right adjacent to the stove. He likes the size of the kitchen and the floor is tiled. Being that it's just the two of them it should work just fine. John takes them to one of the four bedrooms. The first one is small but could be used for storage. Then he takes them to the master bedroom and that has him sold. The master is huge and very bright and airy. They look at the first bathroom and find that it's got an updated enclosed shower space but no tub and a single vanity. The second bathroom which would be for Alexis has a tub and a single vanity.

"The sellers are motivated to sell Rick. I'm sure if you make them a reasonable offer they'd most likely accept." John said as he watched Rick's face go from doubting to acceptance in the blink of an eye.

"How much are they asking John?" Rick asked.

"It's listed at 396,000. But I'm sure if you make a reasonable offer they will accept."

Rick looked to Alexis to see what she thought. All he saw on her face was a smile that stretched from ear to ear. So, she must like it too. Decision made.

John, get the paperwork started. Tell them I'll put in a bid of $390,000."

"Right away Rick. I'll give you a ride back to the hotel and I'll have the offer in to them in about two hours. If I need anything I'll call you."

By the time John had given them the ride back to the hotel, Rick was happy in the thought that if his offer was accepted they wouldn't be staying here very much longer. Sure, the house needed personal touches by them but in all accounts, they liked it. Now came the waiting game to see if the owners would accept their offer.

Now all he had to do was get Alexis registered for school and for him to find a job. He would tackle the easy one first.