A Tempo
Chapter Fifteen: A 'Freaking Cool' Elevator
Finn adjusted his jacket as he made his way through the Upper West Side neighborhood that Jer had convinced him into meeting at after work. He had no clue what his friend was playing at. Finn was well aware that he couldn't really afford anything in Manhattan, much less on the Upper West Side, but after looking at so many apartments, townhomes, and condos throughout the various boroughs, he was willing to humor him.
He sighed. Who would have thought that this whole house hunting thing would be so tough? It had already been a little over a month and it didn't feel like he was any closer to finding a place than when he started. Of course things were going smoothly with Jer's help; he'd been helping Finn as an unofficial financial advisor, although he did keep threatening to start charging him. Luckily he was pretty good at hoarding money, so he actually had a sizeable down payment saved up, and he'd already gotten pre-approved for a loan. He had even made a couple of offers, one on a townhome in Brooklyn and a house in New Jersey, but both had fallen through. He was starting to feel more than a little disappointed; he really wanted to have this done with by the time he saw Rachel again.
It was already going on six weeks of her being gone and he missed her more than he could say. He wanted to call her, but Puck informed him that she was still calling him "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", so he was thinking about just stopping in on her when they went to visit for his mom's birthday in a few weeks. From what he heard, she and the boys were doing well. She was apparently volunteering a lot around town and giving voice lessons to some members of the glee club.
He saw Jer in the distance and waved at him as he walked up. He looked down at himself and immediately felt like an old English professor compared to Jer in his three-piece business suit. He had to dress the part now that he was a senior producer, but Jer looked like he owned half of New York. "What are you letting Kurt dress you now or something?" he joked as he walked up.
"Man, shut up," Jer said self-consciously. "I had a meeting with the partners today."
Finn chuckled before looking up at the massive brownstone they were standing in front of. "So, uh, what's up with this place? I thought we decided I couldn't afford anything in Manhattan, much less this."
Jer grinned and spread his arms out wide over his head. "I know, great isn't it? Just wait until you see inside."
He followed Jer up the stairs as Jer explained, "My friend set me up with this realtor. Apparently, this place just went on the market and, surprisingly enough, it's well within your budget."
He opened the front door and they stepped into the foyer. Finn wrinkled his nose as the musty scent of a house that hadn't been occupied in a while assaulted his senses. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light before he turned to Jer in surprise. "Jer, this entryway is pink."
Sure enough, the entire foyer was painted a light rose from the baseboard to crown moulding. Jer just grinned and motioned him into the living room where the realtor was waiting. "Mr. Hudson," she said, extending her hand. "Mr. Hebert. I'm pleased to meet you both."
"Yeah, you too," Finn mumbled, distracted by the huge room he was standing in. Good lighting, he noted, a huge fireplace, scuffed wood floors, and dark wood paneling.
"So from what I understand, you're looking for a family home?" she asked.
He gave a noncommittal sound in his throat while Jer explained what he was looking for.
"Well, you will find that this particular home has a tremendous amount of potential. It was built in 1868 and boasts much of the original woodwork. There are six bedrooms, four and a half baths, a dining room, a finished basement, and a small garden in the back."
Finn whistled as he spun in a slow circle and surveyed the room around him. "See, lots of room for future little Hudsons to run around in," Jer commented with a chuckle. "Of course, in your case, I don't know how little they'll be."
"So why's this place so cheap?" Finn asked, looking at the realtor. "Did someone die in here or something?"
"No… no one's passed away on the property from what I understand," she said with an awkward little laugh. "The home did belong to an elderly woman, but she lived in a retirement community during her last few years. It's her nephew who's looking to sell and he wants to unload it fairly quickly. He even went ahead and had the house inspected in order to expedite the process." She turned on her heel and led them towards what Finn figured to be the kitchen.
"Yeah, how about you let me do the talking, buddy," Jer muttered as they followed her.
"What?" he hissed. "It was a valid question!"
"Now, the house has been well-maintained," the realtor said, stopping in the doorway to flip on the lights, "but as you can see, it hasn't been fully renovated since 1976."
"Oh my God." He looked over at Jer. "Did I just step onto the set of That '70s Show?"
He wasn't far from wrong. The cabinetry was painted yellow and the Formica countertops were lime green. Of course, the appliances matched the countertops perfectly. And the wallpaper… there was no way for him to explain it without being under the influence of narcotics.
"You can see it's a large space, the cabinetry is in good shape, and the appliances do come with the home. As does any furniture that has been left in the house." She met Finn's eye and smiled brightly. "It has a lot of potential."
He loosened his tie and forced a smile. "Yeah, I can see that."
"That's the way down to the basement," she said, indicating to a door across the room. "There are washer and dryer hookups downstairs." She led them through the dining room which looked out on the small, overgrown garden in the back. It wasn't huge, but it was plenty of room for the boys and Tank to run around in.
They made a loop, coming back into the living room. They were about the head upstairs when Finn noticed an odd pair of double doors behind the staircase and pointed them out. "Oh, that's an elevator," she said dismissively. "It was installed a few years ago when it became difficult for the previous owner to go up and down the stairs."
"Holy shit," Jer mouthed behind her back and gave him a thumbs up.
They followed her through the second story where there three bedrooms, two joined by a Jack and Jill bathroom, and an extra bathroom off of the third bedroom. Of course all the wallpaper was hideous, the bathrooms needed to totally be scrapped, and the light fixtures were questionable at best. The third floor consisted of two more bedrooms, a bathroom, and even more dicey decorating.
The tour ended on the fourth floor master suite, which would have been sweet had it not been for the wallpaper and scratched floors. Everything was fixable of course, but it was going to take a lot of work. The room was extra large with space for a sitting area. He peeked into the master bath and almost ran out of the room. "I feel like I'm having an acid trip," he commented surveying the wallpaper, which was a dizzying mess of butterflies in various shades of orange and green with metallic accents.
"Yes, but as you can see it is a wonderful space and it has quite a bit of –"
"Potential," Jer and Finn finished for the realtor together.
"Yes… well, I'm going to head back downstairs now." She smiled and turned to Finn. "Feel free to take another look around and discuss things with your partner."
"Oh, he's not my –"
"It's okay, baby," Jer kidded, looping his arm around Finn as the realtor left the room, "we don't have to hide our love anymore."
"You're sick," he grumbled, shoving Jer away from him.
"That's not what Kurt said last night."
"Okay, I thought we agreed we wouldn't discuss what goes on in your bedroom, like, ever. Can we kinda stick to that please?"
Jer snickered as he walked over to the window. "So, what do you think?"
Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "I don't know, man. It needs a lot of work. The plumbing needs to be redone –"
"Just the fixtures," Jer amended.
"– all of the walls need to be stripped and repainted, the floors need to be refinished, the countertops, the electrical, the lighting…" he trailed off and shrugged. "I just don't know."
"Look, I know it's a lot of work. But don't you think the pros outweigh the cons?"
"Like how? I can't bring Rachel back to this mess."
"First, it's not a mess and second, don't you think Rachel would like having some place that you can fix up together and make your own?"
Finn didn't say anything.
"I've already thought this through," Jer continued. "Painting we can do over a few weeks. We can probably even rig up the lighting without electrocuting ourselves. You'll have to hire somebody to do the floors and other labor. But you can save on material by getting with your contractor friend – whatshisname? The one who's babysitting Rachel?"
"Puck."
"Yeah, him. He can get you materials at cost."
"But… what if Rachel says no?" Finn asked. He was trying to maintain a positive attitude and didn't dwell on the fact that Rachel may not even want to marry him, but he couldn't help but worry about it.
"She won't say no," Jer insisted. "And even if she does and you don't want the house anymore, Kurt's and my lease is up in a few months. We can move in here and help you out until you find yourself a new apartment and then we'll fix it up ourselves. Kurt's been talking about ordering a few midgets in a few years anyway."
"What?" Finn looked over at Jer in surprise. After spending so much time with them, he didn't see Jer and Kurt as anything but normal (as normal as Kurt could be, of course), but it still took a large leap of imagination for him to picture them with kids.
"I know. Crazy right?" Jer laughed. "I mean, I don't have a problem with it. It would probably be cool to have a little mini-divas running around, but you know me. I'm still a little bit of a traditionalist, so I told him no kiddos unless we run off to Connecticut first and he lets me make an honest woman out of him."
"What did he say?"
"He just kind of laughed it off."
"Well, did you get him a ring?"
Jer furrowed his brow. "Do you think I'm supposed to?"
"I don't know," Finn said with a shrug. "I've never proposed to a guy before. But, I mean, it is Kurt."
"Damn. And I thought being with another man would be easy."
Finn walked back into the bathroom to leave Jer to his thoughts and shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes fell on the only spot that wasn't an eyesore in the entire room, a large claw foot tub which stood proudly below a window. Rachel would definitely like that, he thought, and he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he could probably fit in it no problem.
Also, the house did have some furniture he wouldn't mind keeping – the dining room boasted a set in good condition, which would save him on another set. The rest he could sell to an antique shop or something and use the money on the remodel. He bit his lip; he was already thinking of the house as his own. He would have to move fast if he wanted to put in an offer.
Jer was right. Sure, he'd seen plenty of nicer houses, but the location was great and this house just had something about it that made him feel like this was the place for his family. He could just hear Rachel arguing with Kurt about paint swatches and lighting choices. And there was that great window up front that would be perfect for a Christmas tree – or a Hanukkah tree – or whatever. And plenty of extra bedrooms. He could make one into a tricked out office for himself and there was one on the third floor that was perfect for a nursery. Idly he wondered what Rachel thought about having another baby, but he figured they would cross that bridge when they got to it.
And the elevator was freaking cool.
He turned back around and smiled at Jer. "I think I'm going to put in an offer."
Three weeks later
"Well, you could have done worse," Kurt commented when he came downstairs.
Finn chuckled wryly from his spot in the middle of the bare living room where he and Jer were snacking on sandwiches. He had figured it would take forever for the deal to go through, but his realtor hadn't been lying when she said that the old lady's nephew really wanted to get rid of the place. Apparently he owned his own island or something and really didn't have the time to mess with an old townhome in Manhattan.
He was still waiting for all the paperwork to go through before he could officially call the house his, but he had a key so he could come and go as he pleased. He'd already been there the night before and randomly started ripping wallpaper off in a manic episode of buyer's remorse. He even got so nervous that he barfed in the downstairs restroom before he realized that the water was still shut off. He was still kicking himself over that one and had plugged in several air fresheners so the entire house wouldn't reek of vomit on top of the smell dust and old people.
"Just think of it as a clean slate," Kurt said, crossing his arms and looking up at the light fixture with a wrinkled nose. "We just have to, you know, wipe the slate clean first. Thoroughly clean."
"With Clorox!" Jer contributed, his mouth full of pastrami on rye. "Or some acid. But not the kind that they were on when they put up the wallpaper in your bathroom. That was the good kind."
"Yeah," Finn agreed.
"Well, apparently you've already started ripping off the wallpaper. I suggest you start priming the walls and leave it at that until Rachel decides which colors she wants on the walls."
"Well, how about –"
"No," Kurt cut him off. "You don't get a say-so anymore. You're practically a married man now, Finn, and you'll just have to leave the decision-making to those who are equipped to make them."
"But I'm paying –"
"Of course, I'll have to give her some pointers. Like we're definitely going to have to paint over this wood paneling. It's much too dark and closes up the room."
Finn turned to Jer and smiled at him. "I'm so glad I bought him a house."
"It takes the pressure off of me," Jer grumbled.
"So, Finn, have you decided how you're going to do it?"
"Um, I was thinking one room at a time."
"Not that. You do realize that this time next week we will be on our way to Lima, Ohio where the indelible Widow Kutner is waiting for you to go sweep her off her feet. Please tell me you weren't planning on just going up to her and winging it."
"No… I have a plan," he said before taking a big bite of sandwich so that he wouldn't have to make something up for Kurt's benefit. Of course he didn't have a plan! The only thing he could think of doing is going up to her house like a creeper and falling down on one knee. Or maybe he should ask her to dinner first. But all they had in Lima were Breadstix and an IHOP.
Yeah, this proposing thing wasn't looking like it was any easier. At least he still had the ring.
"Well, for the love of all that is holy, don't do anything as cliché as falling down on one knee. And don't take her to Breadstix or IHOP. As questionable as they may be, Rachel does have standards."
"Ooh, I know!" Jer exclaimed. "How about you have the kids spell it out or something?"
"That's not a bad idea!" He grinned and fist bumped Jer for the good idea.
"Okay, how about something that doesn't involve kidnapping," Kurt sighed. "Unless you plan on telling Rachel why you're borrowing her children. Besides, do they even know how to spell?"
Finn paused. "I think so. I mean, Michael should."
That was something he should probably find out about his future stepsons. He was probably going to have to help them with homework eventually. Was he allowed to use a calculator when they started algebra? Maybe he'd just let Rachel handle homework duty and he'd just wash the dishes or something.
The more and more Finn thought about it, the more he kept picturing the life he was going to build with Rachel and their sons. He knew full well that they weren't his children biologically, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be the best dad in the world for them. He was going to be there for them; he was going to take them to Disney World, be there for their soccer games, walk them to school, meet their teachers, talk to them about girls (specifically about what could and couldn't happen in hot tubs), and all that other good stuff.
He was now convinced that there was no way that Rachel was going to say no to his proposal, especially after he told her about the house. Sure, he'd be spending the next thirty years of his life paying for it and he had some really renovations to work on, but it was all going to be worth it in the end.
He couldn't help the small smile the formed slowly on his face. As Kurt had said, by this time next week he would be on his way back to Lima. By this time next week, Finn would be on his way back to Rachel.
Author's Note: Do not even get me started on this chapter; Finn was being unusually difficult. And Kurt and Jer did not help at all. I'm now mad at all of them. And so is Rachel. You all should be too.
Approx. three more chapters and an epilogue coming up; I'm getting kinda nervous to tell you the truth… I'm really going to make a mad push and try and have AT done by the season premiere! That wouldn't have been a problem if the boys hadn't had been such d-bags this week, especially on such a short chapter, but who am I kidding? I can't stay upset at them for long. (Rachel can though; she holds mad grudges.)
Also, to any actual homeowners, I have no idea what buying a home entails, especially in New York. I usually try to be as thorough as possible with my research, and I'm asking for a little willing suspension of disbelief on this one. I'm well aware there's probably no way Finn could afford a brownstone on the Upper West Side, but let's play pretend, shall we?
Disclaimer: Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I'm just manipulating it for my own nefarious (and strictly nonprofit) purposes.