A/N: This chapter references my story "The Visitor".
Chapter 4:
Throughout dinner they talked about the pros and cons of each of the houses they had seen. And, while all of them had been pretty much in line with what they had wanted, none felt quite right.
"Let's look on the computer again after dinner," Brenda suggested causing Fritz to chuckle, even though his mouth was full.
"What's so funny?"
He swallowed, then grinned, "Do you remember how you dug in your heels about buying a house until after we'd sold the bungalow, and then you went into overdrive?"
"I did not go into overdrive." Testiness began pouring into her words.
"You most certainly did. You were absolutely frantic."
"Fritz, now you're tellin' stories. We just couldn't afford anythin' then but we found this place and I was fine with movin' here."
Fritz laughed out loud at her selective memory. "You were fine with it? Then why did it take over six weeks for you to unpack?"
"It did not take me six weeks to unpack." Brenda's face was turning red signaling that she was now approaching a full-blown snit.
"No, you're right. It didn't. Because I finally unpacked your things for you."
When Brenda heard that, she left the table in a huff. Fritz, on the other hand, sat there chuckling, remembering Brenda's reaction when it finally sank in that selling the bungalow meant that they had to move.
December 26, 2007:
"Fritz, Fritz! Wake up!" Brenda shook a still deeply sleeping Fritz. He lurched to full consciousness.
"Wh… What? Brenda, what's wrong?" he asked as he looked around the still darkened bedroom.
"We have to be out of this house in a week and we have no place to live. We've got to find somethin' right away!" she cried as she turned on the lamp by her bed.
Fritz blinked against the light. "What time is it?"
"It's quarter to six. Get up and go get the paper while I shower. We've got to look at houses TODAY!" she exclaimed as she launched herself from the bed and hurtled toward the bathroom.
"Honey! Honey! Calm down. We don't have to move this minute. Gary-Doesn't-Lie Evans hasn't even called us to set up a closing date yet. Nothing is going to happen right away."
"But it COULD happen," Brenda said as she spun around in the doorway.
"Collin and Troy have got to give notice where they're renting and inspections have to be done. We've got a little more time. Besides…"
"Fritz, don't argue with me! When I bought this house all the inspections were done and I closed in less than a week. Get up! We've got a lot to do today." Her voice trailed off as she disappeared into the bathroom.
For his part, Fritz was still grappling with her minor explosion as he watched her go. When he heard the water running he rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes, slid into his slippers, grabbed his robe, and trudged obediently to the front porch to retrieve the paper.
A blast of December air hit him and he remembered that he had stopped the paper when they had left for Atlanta and delivery hadn't resumed yet. So he also headed for the bathroom and began shaving while waiting for his turn in the shower.
As he was attempting to get the elusive hairs on his Adam's apple he saw his naked fiancée grab a towel and streak out of the bathroom. If he hadn't had a razor blade pressed to his neck he would have shaken his head in amazement. I couldn't get her interested in looking at houses for six months. And now we've got to find one today? Some days, I swear, living with that woman is like living in a blender.
When Brenda had dressed, she immediately headed to the kitchen to look for the paper, but it wasn't on the table or on the coffee table, either. So she headed back into the bathroom. "Fritz, where's the paper?" she asked as she opened the shower door.
"We don't have one. I have to call and have them start delivery again."
"What are we gonna do?"
Fritz turned off the water and, wrapping himself in a towel, stepped out of the shower. "I have an idea. Why don't we go to The Perk for breakfast? You can have one of those chocolate-filled croissants you love. They have papers and those real estate books and we can check them all out while we eat."
Brenda nodded, "Ok. Those books are a good idea," and she turned toward her makeup table.
She didn't even catch the part about her favorite pastry, Fritz marveled.
When they got to The Perk, Fritz bought the papers and collected all the residential real estate books. They scoured the papers' want ads for houses listed for sale first and then turned to the books.
"I think what we should do first is look in the zip codes we know we can afford," Brenda advised.
Fritz agreed, but after an hour of searching, they had identified only two houses that seemed even marginally worth pursuing. Everything else was either beyond their price range, was located in gang territory, was too dilapidated, or was located too far away from where they worked to be practical.
Brenda sank back into her seat, "I can't believe how housin' prices have jumped. What are we gonna do?"
"Maybe we should look at these rental books."
"Do you really want to rent an apartment?"
"It would only be temporary. We've only found two houses to look at and we don't even know if either of them would be ok."
"Earth to Fritz. Earth to Fritz!" Brenda was sitting at the computer. "Are you gonna come look at these listin's of houses with me, or are you gonna stay there in outer space?"
He looked up at her, smiled, and moved to the computer beside her.
As he pulled up his chair Brenda asked, "What are the numbers we need to write down for Carol?"
"These," Fritz pointed at the screen. "The MLS numbers. Every property listed has one. You can just copy them and paste them into an email for her."
"Speakin' of Carol, how do you like her?"
"Fine. At least she didn't say 'Carol doesn't lie' a single time."
"Yeah," Brenda chuckled, "That was definitely a plus. And she certainly liked you."
"Oh, don't tell me you're jealous."
"Nah. She's not your type. I'm just hopin' she's infatuated enough that, if you're determined to do this, she'll find us a great house."
"So you're sure you know my type?" Fritz teased.
"Yes, and it's me."
Fritz tossed his head dramatically, and quipped, "You don't know me."
"I don't? Well, maybe I'd better get to know you then," Brenda took his hand and led him to the bedroom.
While driving home after a weekend marathon of house hunting, Brenda sighed and suggested, "Maybe we should check out one of those bridges. We're probably gonna be sleepin' under one before long."
"That might work," Fritz joked. "But first, I need to know. Have you ever had sex underneath a bridge?"
"No. I make it a policy to only sleep with men who can offer me a bed. In a house."
Fritz laughed and took her hand. "We'll find a house."
"I sure hope we find one soon. Because Daddy and Charlie are comin' and we need to have it all settled before they get here. Are you sure we shouldn't just buy our apartment?"
"Brennnddaaa."
Brenda was at her desk going through her mail when her phone rang. "DA Corning for you on four," Linda said.
"Thank you, Linda," and Brenda punched line four. "Good morning, Steve. What can I do for you?"
"Chief Johnson, could you please come to my office?" His tone was abrupt.
On her way up in the elevator, Brenda thought, Steve didn't sound like he's in a very good mood. I wonder what's goin' on. She was waved into his office as soon as his secretary, Miriam, saw her.
"What's wrong, Steve?"
"Have a seat, please," he replied. As soon as she was seated he asked, "Is Investigations looking into the Dan Hart bribery case?"
"Well, I reviewed the case file and the evidence and I don't think Investigations can help. It's a public relations nightmare for the DA's office, I know. But the evidence is much too weak to win a conviction."
"So, there's nothing that can be done?"
"I don't think so. At least, not with the evidence the LAPD gathered. And I can't see that anythin' was overlooked."
Steve rubbed his chin and stared out his window for a minute before explaining. "Hart's lead attorney, an asshole named Garrett Molina, was shooting off his mouth at the club Friday night. He started out bragging about his brand new Bentley, and continued on to how he had already won the Hart case because the DA's office is so incompetent. I don't like being blindsided. What the hell is this about?"
Brenda had never heard him use crude language. "I'm sorry, Steve. I forgot you were on vacation durin' the PR ruckus. I guess I should have come to you after reviewin' the file. Dan Hart is facin' trial on three counts of bribery. Accordin' to the LAPD, he bribed bank officials for a line of credit to finance a new line of designer clothin' and a designer to develop it. But there's no solid evidence to back up the charges."
"We got an indictment without evidence?"
"The DDA asked for a preliminary hearin' instead so Molina was able to see that our evidence is weak."
"And who is the DDA on the case?"
"Kristin Sorenson. She's new. Her supervisor told me that she told her not to ask for a preliminary hearin' but DDA Sorenson did it anyway."
"And who is the supervising DDA?"
"Andrea Hobbs."
"Well, I guess I need to have a talk with both of them."
"DDA Hobbs is upset because she told her not to go the hearin' route and she disobeyed her. I should have told you about all this last week. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Chief Johnson. I'll take care of it. I don't want you to feel that the role of snitch is part of your job description."
When she got back to her desk, Brenda tried calling Andrea to give her a heads up but there was no answer. She sat back in her chair thinking about Steve's account of his Friday night encounter with Molina, and then she picked up her phone again, dialed David Gabriel, and asked him to come to her office.
"David, I need you to trace registration and sales information on a Bentley currently in the possession of Garrett Molina, Esquire."
"Sure, chief. But can I ask what specifically you're looking for?"
Brenda briefly explained the situation before concluding, "I don't know if there's anythin' there or not, but there definitely seems to be a connection in Mr. Molina's mind. Check it out, would you please? And make it a high priority."
"Yes, ma'am."
"How have things been going?" Dr. Leonard asked.
"Fine," Brenda said proudly, "No flashbacks or nightmares."
"I haven't had any either," Fritz said.
"Have you been taking the medicine?"
"Every morning, and I haven't had any side effects."
"Good. And did you do the assignment I gave you?"
"We both worked on it. I think we're about 90% committed to moving," Fritz answered.
"And, Brenda, are you committed to moving?"
"Fritz is 110% committed to movin'. I'm maybe 80% resigned. I really hate change, and that's worth at least 20%."
"If we were to find the right house, I think she'd be all right with it."
"Are you in agreement on what you want in a house?"
"Well, I want to buy our apartment. But Fritz wants a four bedroom house with a nice yard and I want a ranch style. So that's what we're lookin' at."
"So, you've already started looking at houses?"
"We've looked at several so far," Brenda replied. "As a matter of fact, we're gonna look at some more later on today."
"Then tell me what you think about when you enter the houses and walk around."
"I look at the size of the rooms, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the closet space, that kind of thing," Brenda replied.
"Do you think about Phillip Stroh?"
"No, not at all. But I do have to admit that I notice if the windows have locks on them."
"Good. Being mindful of your physical safety is important. What about you, Fritz?"
"I look at the house and the lawn. I ask about the roof, plumbing, insulation, and the heating and air conditioning equipment. But I don't think about Stroh, either."
"Brenda, I want us to take a look at your feelings about change. Disliking change is normal, but from what you've said, it sounds like your feelings are more intense than most people's. Yet you said that you've handled lots of change in your life."
"I have. I was a military brat so we were always movin' from base to base. We finally settled in Atlanta because my brother was enterin' high school and my parents wanted all us kids to go through high school in one place. But I've moved several times since growin' up."
"Constant moving is certainly difficult for a child, but as an adult, moving was your choice, wasn't it?"
"Yes. My career demanded it so I just did it. But the worst changes have happened since I moved to LA, and lately they've just piled one on top of the other."
"What changes were those?"
"The worst were all in the past year. I found out that Daddy had cancer in December. Then Mama died in July. I had those two lawsuits this past year. And I lost a career that I loved and had taken me years to build, and now I'm havin' to learn an entirely new one. Phillip Stroh tried to rape and murder me, and now we're gonna be movin'." Brenda started to cry.
Fritz took her in his arms and spoke softly to her. "You've had more than your share of horrible things, I know. But you've handled each one like the champion you are. And you haven't had to handle them alone. I've been with you every step of the way. And I'm not going to change."
Brenda nodded, "I know. And if it weren't for you, I swear I would have lost my mind."
"Brenda, you are much stronger than you realize. All of those changes in a brief period of time would be a lot for anyone to handle. But you are handling them. You have a tremendous reserve of strength. And, as Fritz said, you haven't had to deal with them alone. He's been right there with you, helping you and supporting you through it all."
"But sometimes my flashbacks make me think I'm losin' it."
"You're human, and flashbacks are a normal response to the trauma you've experienced."
Brenda nodded and sniffed, "The flashbacks are getting' better. But the timin' of this move is just awful."
"It may not be," Dr. Leonard said. "As hard as it may seem now, this move may go a long way to helping you finally put Phillip Stroh behind you. And wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"That would be wonderful," Brenda nodded.
"I'd like you to keep that in mind, and talk to Fritz about it too. Fritz, this is just as important for you. You've both been affected by Stroh's attack."
"I will," they both answered simultaneously.
They met Carol at the first address she'd given them. After greeting them, she said, "All of these houses that we're going to see this afternoon have pools. I know you're somewhat undecided about a pool."
"I'm more interested in the house. But, as long as Fritz promises to take charge of maintainin' it, I don't mind. But when we first looked online we saw a house with a very small pool and it looked ridiculous. If we're gonna have one, it should be a nice one."
"I admit to wanting a pool, but not if it means we have to sacrifice other things."
"Well, let's check it out, shall we?" And Carol led the way up to the house.
After looking at three houses that didn't appeal to Brenda, she was becoming discouraged and grumpy. As Fritz parked their car behind Carol's she said, "I'm beginnin' to get the feelin that the right house for us just doesn't exist in LA. Or maybe we're tryin' to break some cosmic law by buyin' a house. Besides, these shoes are beginnin' to hurt my feet and I'm hungry."
"We've got two more today and then we won't look at any more until next weekend," Fritz said soothingly. "Just please don't shut down until we've seen both of them."
Indignant, Brenda replied, "I am not shuttin' down," as she opened the car door. "Onward and upward," she muttered.
When they joined Carol on the sidewalk she handed them brochures as she said, "This house is slightly over your price range but the owners are being transferred, so they're eager to sell. I'm sure they'll be willing to deal. As you can see, it's a four bedroom ranch, an average size lot, nicely landscaped, and it has a pool."
The doorbell was answered by Sherrie and Bill Hanson. After introductions, they invited them to look around and volunteered to answer any questions which might arise.
"I'd like to start with the master bedroom," Brenda said. Sherrie nodded and pointed the way.
Brenda was impressed with the size of the room. But she fell in love with one feature of the walk-in closet. "Wow. I love this shoe rack," she said to Fritz. But he was already checking out the master bathroom.
"There's a nice shower but no tub," he commented. Brenda joined him and said, "I was kinda hopin we would find a house with a jacuzzi in the bathroom. I would love a jacuzzi," she said wistfully. But it does have a nice make-up table. Nice lightin'. And twin sinks. Maybe that's as close as I'm gonna get to separate bathrooms."
"We definitely would want to paint these walls," Fritz commented. "I love the fact that the other bedrooms are on the opposite side of the house from the master bedroom." He leaned in and whispered, "Privacy."
"Definitely," Brenda agreed, "Let's check out the rest of the house."
"If I'm banished to this bathroom I guess I'd survive, even though it's on the other side of the house," he said as he turned on the light to the smaller, second bathroom. "This one sure is blue. Blue walls, blue tile, blue fixtures… Blue. Maybe you should take this one. It's got a tub/shower combination."
Brenda ignored him and looked at the second bathroom saying, "We'd have to change all that," before turning her attention to the other rooms. The other two bedrooms were smaller than the master bedroom, but they were both adequate. The closets were quite a bit smaller but would do for a guest bedroom. They both were obviously decorated for children and the walls were painted in bright colors.
When she turned her attention to one of the children's rooms she said, "I like pink, but this hot pink? You might as well have a neon light in here."
The fourth bedroom had been made into a play room but Fritz was especially taken with that room. While it was slightly smaller than the other bedrooms, it had a built-in book case. "Two desks would fit nicely in here. That way we could each have our own space," Fritz said, envisioning a clutter free workspace for himself. "If we put them up against this wall, there would be room over by the window for a day bed. And we could even put a filing cabinet in the closet."
"Come on before you move us in here," Brenda replied dryly. "Let's look at the kitchen." Fritz grinned and followed her. Just as they entered, she spied something that also pleased her. "Look, this little room is both a laundry room and a pantry. That's handy."
The kitchen was a large, galley style with L-shaped quartz countertops and fairly new stainless steel appliances. But, as nice as they were, Brenda didn't care for the cabinetry. "I'm ok with the quartz countertops. But I don't like these oak cabinets," she said as she moved her hand over the grain of one of the doors. "If we buy this house I'd want to replace them."
"That's probably too expensive for us to do right away," Fritz said. "But we could refinish the doors ourselves and put replacing them on our future project list."
"Do you know how to refinish cabinets? Because I don't."
"Not cabinets, specifically. But I've stained wood before," he explained and immediately shifted his attention to the rest of the room. "This kitchen doesn't have room for our dinette set. But there are bar stools at the end of the counter. That's probably where they eat most of their meals. Come on, let's take a look at the living room and then check out the yard and the pool."
"Our dinette set doesn't suit this house, anyway. But bar stools at the end of the counter would work, I guess."
The living room had a tray ceiling and crown molding as well as a large stone fireplace, and Fritz asked Bill if it was functional as it didn't appear to have been used recently.
"Yes and no," Bill replied. "We used it last year but something plugged the chimney, probably a bird's nest, and we haven't done anything about it," he admitted. "It would have to be checked and cleaned out before it could be used."
"Have you had a problem with birds gettin' in?"
"We've never had one get into the house, and there's a screen over the chimney. We're guessing that a bird built a nest up there, but we don't know for sure. If you buy the house, I'll leave the chimney sweep's business card for you," Sherrie offered.
"Thank you. That would be very helpful. Now, if you'll excuse us, my husband wants to see the yard and the pool."
"Certainly. You can go out through the lanai," Sherrie said and pointed to the French doors at the end of the dining room.
After walking around, Fritz observed, "The yard is in good shape. It looks like they put in a vegetable garden, but I would like to plant a privacy hedge back there, I think."
"Who knew you were such a frustrated country squire?" Brenda asked, tongue in cheek.
Fritz grinned, "Guilty as charged."
"What do you think of the pool?" Carol asked as she joined them.
"It looks perfect for us," Fritz said. "Do you know if there are any cracks or problems with it?"
"That's something they would have to declare and there's nothing written down. We can ask, though."
"That small buildin' over there… Is that a changin' room?"
"No, that's an outbuilding for the lawn mower and pool equipment. Would you like to see it?"
"No, I don't. But Fritz probably does."
While Carol unlocked the outbuilding for Fritz, Brenda walked back into the house. "I know my husband will want to know if there are any problems with the pool," she said to the Hansons.
"The pool heater needs to be replaced," Sherrie replied.
"We had it repaired but that only lasted a month and we were told that we'd have to replace it," Bill confirmed. "We didn't declare it because heaters are not required."
Sherrie saw a frown start to cloud Brenda's face and added hurriedly, "We let the chimney and the pool heater go because when Bill's company was bought out we were afraid that he would be laid off. So we felt we had to save every penny we could – just in case."
"And then when I found out I wasn't being laid off, and was being transferred instead, we didn't know how long it would take to sell this house, not to mention what our new housing costs would be. But both the pool and the structure of the chimney are in good shape," Bill reassured her.
"I see. Well, I guess the inspections would bear that out. When do you plan to move?"
"Bill has to start work in Dallas on the last Monday in April."
Fritz and Carol had returned in time to hear the Hansons' explanation about the pool heater and chimney. Carol waited until their conversation ended, then thanked them.
"Yes, thank you so much for showin' us your house," Brenda added.
"Do you have any questions we can answer for you?"
Fritz asked about the insulation and plumbing and then Brenda smiled, "I think my only questions were about the chimney and the pool, and you were very helpful."
The last house of the day was cheaper, but it wasn't as nice as the Hansons' home. Knowing that they wouldn't be putting in an offer on this house, they both just went through the motions.
On the way home, Brenda commented, "I think you'd move into the Hansons' house tomorrow if they'd clear out the spare room for you."
"That's definitely a house I could be happy in," he agreed.
"Do you want to make an offer?"
"I don't know. Carol mentioned some other houses we could see next weekend."
"Fritz, I'm sick of lookin' at houses. Everythin' is startin' to look alike to me. If you're sure you absolutely have to move, I want to put in an offer on the Hanson place."
"So you'd be ok with moving into that house?"
"I don't want to move at all. But if you really love that house, let's do it. Anythin' to stop this neverendin' house huntin'."
"There really wouldn't be much to do to get that house ready for us."
"Are you kiddin'? There's a lot we'd have to do. We'd have to paint, replace the pool heater, fix whatever is blockin' the chimney and refinish the kitchen cabinets. And I would want to pull up the carpet in the bedrooms and refinish the hardwood floors."
"We can check, but that might take more time than we have. Besides, I'd rather spend any money we'd have left for furniture."
"But we could look for a floorin' company that could refinish the floors right away," Brenda was adamant. "And I want to get rid of all that blue in the second bathroom."
"I'm more interested in fixing the chimney and replacing the pool heater. Both of those could be expensive. Why don't we paint the bathroom for now and replace the fixtures later? Besides, if I'm going to use that bathroom, I guess I can deal with the blue for awhile."
"Honey, you're not bein' relegated to that bathroom."
"Awww, thank you. I knew you loved me."
"Lovin' you has nothin' to do with it. I just have no intention of keepin' two bathrooms clean."
"Thanks a lot," Fritz grinned, "That makes me feel so wanted."
But Brenda had tuned him out. She was planning out loud. "We can check online for prices for pool heaters but we still won't know what it'll cost to fix the chimney until after the inspection."
"So, you're agreed? We're going to put in an offer?"
"Well, I liked that house the best. And the way you were talkin' I'm surprised you actually got into the car to come home."
That night they went over their finances again, as well as the house's utility bills and taxes, before deciding on an offer.
"I'll call Carol tomorrow and give this to her," Fritz smiled.
Dread, however, had once again built up in Brenda. She knew that the ensuing steps were likely to upend the well-ordered and predictable life she had struggled so hard to acclimate herself to. Nevertheless, she knew she should try to be positive for his sake so she gave him a weak smile. Fritz understood her feelings and gave her a reassuring hug in return.
Much to their dismay, the Hanson's counteroffer was still above their budget, so once again they sat down to figure out what their next step would be. "We have some money in this account that we could move. That might work," he said staring at their bank statements.
"But that wouldn't leave us any money to make repairs or buy the extra stuff we'll need. We'd even have a hard time coverin' our movin' expenses."
"Maybe we could take out a mortgage for part of the selling price. Then we'd have money for the rest of it."
"Fritz, I don't want to take out a mortgage."
"It would only be a small one. We could pay it off in five years, tops."
Brenda saw the logic in this but still didn't want to take out a mortgage. To her, the beauty of Fritz's inheritance from his former father-in-law was that they could buy a decent house without incurring any debt.
After more bargaining with each other, they prepared their counteroffer. Then they checked their calendars for times when they'd both be free to go to the bank in search of a mortgage if necessary.
When Brenda walked back into her office after a meeting with her first level supervisors, Linda handed her only one message. It was to call Fritz ASAP.
"Hey, Fritzi. What's up?"
"I just got a call from Carol," he said excitedly. "The Hansons changed their mind and accepted our first offer. Carol didn't even have time to present our counteroffer. It seems Bill's new boss wants him in Dallas two weeks earlier than they had planned. Apparently they're feeling the pressure to sell quickly. But they're taking all the appliances except the dishwasher, so we have to add those to the expense column."
"So, no more house huntin' and dickerin'? And no need for a mortgage?" Brenda couldn't keep the relief from her voice.
"No. You know, if Carol had given them our counteroffer, her commission would have been larger."
"Yeah, that's true. That was really generous of her."
"We'll have to think of a way to thank her. Oh, and speaking of Carol, she said she's going to arrange for the surveyors and the inspections. The man she uses is certified to inspect chimneys but he doesn't do any repair work. So we'll still have to find someone for that."
"Sherrie said she'd leave the business card of the chimney sweep company they use."
"Ok. And Carol also gave me the number of a locksmith. As soon as the Hansons move out, we'll get the locks changed."
Brenda was relieved that Fritz remembered her concern about changing all the locks. "So that's it, then. Everythin' is fallin' into place."
"I'll call her back right now and arrange to drop off a check for the earnest money. And then we can concentrate on appliances and paint samples," Fritz said happily.
"Well, don't get into shoppin' gear until I can stand up," Brenda cautioned.
"Stand up?"
"Yes. The wind from all your tail waggin' is approachin' hurricane velocity."
Fritz could hardly speak through his laughter. "I love you!"
To be continued…
A/N: Once again I'm asking for your review.
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