Remodel Consultation

[Mal and Evie's home. 10:54 am]

Mal's POV

The next day arrived, and I'm going to begin my secret plan. I want this remodel to be a surprise for Evie when she returns back from her business trip. I was alone in our bedroom while Evie was in the bonus room which will soon be her sewing room. Today is her day off, and she was starting to get her room set up. I looked at my sketchbook at the designs I had drawn up.

"There is a lot that will need to be done. And I will only have a week to get it done." I said to myself.

All bathrooms will need to be updated. As well as the kitchen. Carpets replaced with hardwood, and painted walls. And I think the outside of the house could use a fresh coat as well. But my designs are elaborate and going to be expensive. And this extra money will give me the advantage I will need.

I quietly walked around the house, taking a few notes on other things that will need to be changed as well as taking measurements and drawings. As I was sneaking around, I saw the folder that contained all the paperwork Evie got when she was buying the house. I looked through it and saw a few pages that were the floor plans or blueprints of the house. Containing exact measurements for different areas around the house. Perfect, this will greatly help me. But I can't do this all alone. I will need professional help.

I returned back to our bedroom and got on my phone. A home improvement store is not far away. I will need to go there. Maybe I can go right now? I peeked into Evie's room and saw she was still working in there. I returned back to our bedroom, got dressed, grabbed my sketchbook and started walking out of the bedroom and towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Evie asked from her room.

Shit. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't think about how to play this out. I quickly put my sketchbook on a step on the stairs to hide it from her.

"I'm just going to go out for a bit. Maybe do a little shopping." I said.

"Okay. Drive safe." Evie said.

"I will."

I gave her a kiss before grabbing my sketchbook and heading out. I hate having to lie to Evie. Especially since she trusts me so much. But if I want this to be a surprise, I'm going to have to lie.

As I was driving on the road leading towards the bridge into the big city, I realized I must present the winning ticket to the lottery office first. The sooner I do this, the sooner I'll get the money. I pulled into a parking lot and got on my phone to get some information. I learned that I first must have identification and the card, and a receipt on when and where I got the card. I got all three with me in my dark purple jacket that I'm wearing right now. I always keep the ticket in my jacket. It's the best place to hide it from Evie. She loves and trusts me so much, she would have no reason to go through it. And if it needed to be washed, she would ask me first.

I located the office and headed right to it. Once I got there, I had to fill out a form, using my fake identification, and had to wait some time along with other people waiting to collect their winning prize. Once I was called up, I did what they called an "interview". They reviewed the form I completed in the lobby, and noticed that I declined the authorization of allowing them to take a photo of me. My win was going to be published on their website along with a photo of me, my name, city of residence and my prize details. I told them that I was trying to keep this a secret from my girlfriend because I have plans with this money to give her a nice surprise.

Evie has ways of flirting, and I have ways of persuasion. After a lot of talking back and forth, I was able to persuade this worker to not take a photo of me. I don't want Evie to know. And if she were to know, I'd prefer that over people asking for money and the media continuously bugging me. I told the worker that this money was going to be used to remodel my home while Evie is in Paris for a business event. Thankfully, the worker approved it. I was told there was a couple who won ten million dollars near the same time I did. And the story of them would be a bigger one than mine. Which is lucky and a relief.

I was sent back to the lobby and waited for about forty five minutes for my check. I decided to receive a lump sum rather than an annuity. Because I don't yet know what the remodel will cost. However, two things I plan on using the money for: the remodel and paying off the mortgage. The remaining money will be used throughout our life. Perhaps even on a wedding when the time comes.

After receiving my check, I went to a bank to open an account of my own to store my money and keep it away from Evie's eyes. Then I made my way to the home improvement store.

I arrived there with my sketchbook in hand. Although when I walked in the massive building, I didn't know where to go. There were so many departments. I grabbed an ad that was near the entrance displayed on a fancy stand. I looked through the few pages and saw there was a sale going on where you could get up to forty percent off select kitchen cabinets, twenty percent off select bathroom vanities, buy one get one half off paint, save up to seventy percent off installation, man, this truly is the perfect time to do this. I looked up towards the ceiling and saw a banner that stated the store's slogan: do it right for less. And they seem to be living up to that.

I headed to the kitchen department and talked to a worker named Nick. He was very impressed by my drawings. He told me I have great potential for being a drafter. I thanked him and we looked over the drawings and the floor plan of the kitchen I drew up. And with that, he made a model of the kitchen I drew on his computer. He then showed me cabinets and countertops that were close to the ones I wanted. After selecting them, I was shown a sample of a nice marble countertop. And it was perfect.

As Nick was reconfiguring the model of the kitchen I have now to the new kitchen I will have so I can see what it will look like, I felt my phone ringing in my pants pocket. I took it out and saw it was Evie. Oh no. I've been gone too long and now she's worried. What do I say? I have to accept the call. I don't want to worry her more. I excused myself and accepted the call.

"Hi, Evie." I greeted.

"Mal? Where are you? You've been gone for some time."

"I know. I'm...out shopping." I said as I walked down an aisle that had kitchen cabinets already built in boxes.

"Shopping for what?" Evie asked.

I really hate lying to Evie, but I have to.

"Well, I'm not really buying anything right now. I'm just browsing, that's all."

That part is true.

"Okay. I just want to call and see if you're okay. I'm alright with you going out. But I still worry about you, you know?"

"I do. And I appreciate that. I love you, Evie." I said.

"I love you too, Mal. Please be home before dark, okay?"

"I will."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

I held my phone up to my chest and sighed heavily. I believe she bought it. I put my phone away and walked back to the desk where Nick was.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Although I didn't tell you that this remodel is going to be a surprise for my girlfriend. She's going to be in Paris for a week for a business trip, and I want to surprise her with this remodel when she returns back." I said.

"That's very nice. I'm sure she will love what you are doing." Nick said.

"I'm sure too. She'll leave in two weeks. Will that be enough time to get everything ready by then?" I asked.

"I believe so. And to remodel your kitchen and bathrooms won't be any longer than a week either. I think everything will fit in your schedule." Nick replied.

"That's good." I said as I sat in the chair across the desk.

"I finished the new model. This is what your kitchen will look like."

Nick turned his computer monitor around and showed me the new layout and look of the kitchen. And it looked magnificent.

"Oh she will love that for sure. And I love that. Let's do that." I said.

"Excellent. Now, do you want new flooring as well? I think it stated that in your drawings." Nick said.

"Yes!" I said.

I looked at a drawing of the kitchen in my book and saw that I noted white flooring. But I think I'm going to go with light gray flooring. Add a little more darkness to the floors. I told Nick what I want and he showed me some samples of light gray flooring. I selected the one I liked the most and he updated the model. We went over some smaller details like storage options and door handles, and then one last big thing which was a kitchen island. And after everything was covered, Nick updated the model one more time and showed me the perfect kitchen for me and Evie.

"Oh my god. Yes!" I said.

"Perfect?" Nick asked.

"Perfect." I replied.

Absolutely perfect. Nick printed out a picture of the model as well as some other information about the kitchen. Style of cabinets, floors and prices. The price of the kitchen remodel was totaled to be just over twenty eight thousand dollars. A price that will be totally worth it.

Nick led me to the bathroom department to do the same thing as we did with the kitchen. Another worker, Andrew, rendered a model of what the new guest bathrooms will look like. Very simple. Not a lot of change. Just updating in there. But the master bath will be more in materials and price. But like I said, worth it. The style and colors from the kitchen will be used in the bathrooms. Because when you are remodeling a house or even building a house, you want the kitchen and bathroom to have the same style.

After choosing everything that was close to the bathroom in my drawings, that includes the vanity, shower, and tub, the cost of that will be around eighteen thousand dollars. Oh, I am so excited. Andrew printed out the info for me and put that and the kitchen info in a folder. One that I will have to keep out of Evie's sight. After I was asked if there was anything else that can be done for me, I said yes. There is more to the kitchen and bathroom remodel. I told Andrew that I want new flooring around the house, as well as new paint, and different little odds and ends.

He took me to the flooring department. The flooring guy was on a lunch break, so Andrew helped me with it himself. I showed him the floor plans of the house and that greatly helped with the cost and how much flooring I'll need. I looked at the different types of hardwood flooring. There's going to be a lot of gray in the house with the kitchen and bathrooms, so I probably should choose something different than gray flooring. I saw this nice whitewashed hardwood flooring and instantly liked it. The floors were a little over three dollars a square foot, which added up to be a costly price with the space our house has, but I didn't mind.

I was in the store for another hour, selecting things that I like. Paint, light fixtures, and even some small furniture and decor they had. After I was all finished, I made the payment arrangements and got the remodel to be scheduled in two weeks, the day when Evie leaves. Evie will leave in the morning, and I got the remodel to begin at noon. The whole thing is going to cost about sixty thousand dollars. The best sixty thousand I'll ever spend in my life. Because nothing is too good for my Evie.