October 2011
Less than a week after the finances conversation, Booth and Brennan invited Rebecca to lunch on a weekday when Parker was in school. They explained that they had combined their finances, and they wanted her to have a general understanding of their financial situation. Brennan explained that the large nest egg she had accrued was mostly due to her best selling novel series. Temperance told her, "Let's put it this way. We've told the Realtor to show us homes in the $3-$4 million dollar range. We will be paying cash, and it won't put a dent in our investments."
Rebecca was stunned by this, and even more stunned when they revealed what it meant for her and Parker. The two multi million dollar trust accounts. The annual $50,000 Christmas gift. The large increase in monthly child support. And then Brennan told her about the additional offer that was also on the table for Max and Russ. "If you ever decide that you'd like a larger home, or one in a different neighborhood, we want to help you to do that. I sometimes feel selfish having so much when so many people go without basic necessities. But I've made peace with it by doing everything I can to help my family - and you, Brent, and Parker are a big part of our family. Plus, I have a very large portfolio of charities that I support."
Booth's hand was sitting on the table, and she reached over and covered it with hers. "And now I have Booth as a partner. Together, we're going to add to our charitable portfolio." Booth interjected. "And we want to make sure that you, Brent, and Parker can live more comfortably now. We never want Parker to know the extent of our wealth - we don't want to spoil him. But just know that we are here for anything you need." Brennan chimed in with a smile. "Or desire."
Rebecca was almost speechless. "I don't know what to say. Do you realize how much you've just changed my life during this lunch?" Booth chuckled. "Yes, I do. You should have seen my face when she started showing me her financial records last week. I always knew she had done well with her publishing contract. But I was stunned."
He and Brennan looked at each other and smiled. "At first, I didn't want her to share her wealth with me. But you know how persistent she can be." All three of them laughed. "Then she explained her philosophy about taking care of family and contributing to charities. Becks - you wouldn't believe how many charities she has been supporting. Pages and pages of them." He looked lovingly at Brennan. "She asked me to join her in her philanthropy. How could I say no? I can never say no to her."
The following week, they began viewing homes for sale with Marci, Brennan's Realtor. Over the next few weeks, they saw a number of homes. Most of them were very nice, but they just hadn't seen one that they loved. Brennan had told Booth the story about how when she first walked in the door of the apartment, she knew it was the one. Booth had never had that experience because he had never purchased a home, but he said that it made sense. They just hoped that when they found the right house, that they would both know it right away.
At 7:30 on Saturday morning, they were sitting at the table in Brennan's apartment having coffee and reading the paper. Brennan's phone rang and she saw that the call was from Marci. "I hope I didn't wake you up." Brennan assured her that they were up and drinking their morning coffee and she put the phone on speaker so Booth could hear. Marci continued. "An associate in my office has a listing that is going live in the next hour. Temperance - it is a fantastic townhouse. I think it's just what you and Seeley are looking for. There are so many positives. It's an end unit, which means it has windows all along the side. And the windows don't overlook another townhouse across the street - they overlook a heavily wooded park. Plus, it's very large. Several years ago, an architect combined two units to make one large unit."
Brennan and Booth were both getting excited by what they were hearing. Brennan asked the question she knew they were both thinking. "Marci. I'm waiting for the 'but'. I can hear it in your voice. What's the downside?" Marci stammered for a second. "It's out of your price range."
Booth chipped in. "Exactly how far out of our price range?" Marci paused. "The asking price is $6 million." Booth and Brennan looked at each other and he audibly gasped. She smiled at him. "We want to see it Marci. Can you get us in there this morning?"
Because the listing agent was right there in the office, Marci was able to secure the first showing of the day for them, and they agreed to meet her at the property at 10AM. They pulled up to the front of the house and were very taken with the curb appeal. Booth pointed out that they must have had a very good architect and builder doing the work to combine the two units because it was seamless. The front door was centered on the unit with matching large bay windows on either side. Between the bay windows was a covered porch, and there were only four steps up to the porch. The second floor had four evenly spaced windows.
They had only been there for a minute when Marci pulled up behind them. As they walked up to the porch, Brennan told Marci that she appreciated how few steps there were to the porch. Most of the townhouses they had seen in the last few weeks had at least twice the number of stairs. Marci pointed out that the townhouses in this area did not have basements - so they sat lower to the ground. Brennan nodded her head. "That's not a problem. As long as there is sufficient storage, we really have no need for a basement. And I like the idea of fewer stairs to climb coming home after a long day of work."
Marci unlocked the door and then took a seat on one of the two benches on either side of the porch. Her routine was always to wait outside and let the couple walk into the house and explore on their own.
They entered the large foyer and were delighted by the size of the entrance. The bay windows on either side provided a lot of natural light and were an impressive architectural detail. There was a short hallway leading into the house, with a closet on the left and a small powder room on the right.
They walked through the hallway and both stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in amazement. Bones reached her face up and whispered to him. "I want this house Booth. I don't even care how the rest looks. I don't care about the price." His eyes turned to her and he gave a slow nod in agreement. "Now I understand what you meant about knowing immediately." The hallway had opened up to a large room the full width of the townhome and going back at least 50 feet. On the right was a large living room area, and on the left was the open kitchen.
A large dining table sat in the open area before the start of the kitchen, and that area was a floor to ceiling wall of windows looking toward the park. Where the kitchen counters began, the windows continued from the countertop to the ceiling. Brennan loved the placement of the farmhouse sink in the middle of the counter because they would have unlimited views of the park while working at the sink. The windows stopped where the upper cabinets began, and those cabinets wrapped around the back wall of the kitchen. Facing the living room was an island/breakfast bar that included the stovetop and a second sink. Bones could just see them preparing a meal there while talking to guests or family in the living room. It was a huge open area and they both agreed later that it had taken their breath away.
Booth did express a concern about all the windows and really no way to block them at night. Brennan spotted a switch plate on the wall that had several switches. She went over and switched them all on and off. All but one of them controlled different sets of lights, but the last one immediately turned the whole wall of windows opaque. They were both slightly startled, but then began laughing. "Oh Bones. This house." Booth shook his head in amazement.
They finally continued on toward the back and found a cozy, well appointed den/office on the right and a sunny guest room on the left. Just past the den was a bathroom with a shower. A hall ran down the middle between the rooms and it opened out to a room that had been added on to the back. It stretched the width of the house and looked to be a combination family room and sun porch. The entire back wall was floor to ceiling windows, with French doors in the middle. It overlooked a small, well maintained brick patio and garden.
Brennan stood looking out at the garden and then turned to Booth. "I want this house!" They walked back toward the front and walked up the pretty, open staircase at the front of the living room. Turning toward the front of the house, they found the large master bedroom that ran the width of the house and contained the four windows that looked out onto the street - with two more on the side looking toward the park. It had a large walk in closet on one side and a large master bath on the other. Again, the architect had taken advantage of the corner unit and the bathroom had a window looking across to the park. Just below the window was a large jetted tub. Brennen spotted a small remote control sitting on the ledge next to the tub and discovered that, just like in the kitchen, it turned the window opaque.
Heading toward the back of the house, there were 3 smaller bedrooms along the left side, so they each had a window with a view of the park. On the right, at the top of the stairs was an open, roomy reading area with built in bookcases. Beyond that was a room that could be used as a 2nd floor office. Because there was no opportunity for a window, it was very cozy. Next there was a full bath with both tub and shower, and across the hall, just beyond the last bedroom, was a second floor laundry. It had a window looking across to the park, so the room was bright and cheery. A cabinet sat across from the washer and dryer and had a top that opened up to provide a nice area for folding clothes. Across from the laundry was a fairly large storage room. At the end of the hallway they found another surprise. There was a narrow screened-in porch that stretched the width of the house, and a door that led out to a terrace that had been built on top of the addition at the back of the house. The terrace had a three foot tall protective brick wall on all three sides and a slate floor. The wall provided a little bit of privacy, and the terrace had full sun during the heart of the day. There was a tree to the left that would provide dappled shade for much of the terrace in the late afternoon.
After seeing the entire place, Booth and Bones looked at each other and a decision was made with no words spoken. They headed downstairs to find Marci waiting for them at the dining room table. They both sat down across from her and Bones spoke. "Marci. We want this house. I know it just came on the market this morning and they will probably have multiple offers, but we will not lose this one. You know we can pay cash, so that will be attractive to the sellers. Tell me how much over the list price you think will be necessary and we want to write an offer right now."
Marci was excited to help them get the home they had fallen in love with. She had been showing the couple a range of homes and she was determined to find them the perfect place. When she saw the listing that morning, she had a feeling this was the "one", and was thrilled that they loved it as much as she did. But she was afraid there would be a lot of offers, so after a short discussion, they decided to offer $6.4 million. Brennan didn't flinch at the cost. "We will never find a more perfect property. When you walk into a house and immediately fall in love with it as we did, you have to do everything in your power to have it. Thanks to the skills of my publisher and my accountant, this price is well within our means." Booth reached over and gave her a tender kiss. "If our offer is accepted, we'll have a fantastic life in this amazing home Bones." She smiled and her eyes twinkled as she looked into his mahogany ones. "We will."
They drove to Marci's office and spent the next hour putting together and signing the offer. Marci warned them that it would probably take 48 hours or more before they would hear from the sellers. On Monday evening Brennan received a call from Marci telling her that their offer was accepted. "The house is ours?" Booth had never heard that level of excitement in her voice before, and he felt a joy that rivaled the feeling he had when they finally came together that day in the Paris airport.
She put down the phone and gave him a radiant smile. He pulled her into his arms, swung her around in a full circle, and kissed her soundly. "We have our home!" They hugged each other tightly, closing their eyes, and each had their own visions of living together in their beautiful home. They had talked about having daydreams of their life together with Parker in their new family home. But now they didn't have to use their imagination - it was real.
The following week was a whirlwind of announcing the good news to friends and family - and especially to Parker. He was excited to hear about the room they thought he would like, but he was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see it until after the closing in a few weeks. On Friday evening, after picking him up for the weekend, they pulled up the listing on the computer and showed him the photos included on the site.
Saturday morning, they went to breakfast at the diner and then surprised Parker when they announced that they were going to take him to the house so he could see it from the outside. They parked the car in front and walked to the corner and then walked all along the side of the home. They pointed out each window and talked about the room behind it. They explained that they thought he would like the last bedroom because it was slightly larger than the others, and right across the hall from the bathroom.
Parker was awed over the size of the home and could barely contain his excitement at the thought of moving in with his dad and Bones. He was also excited that there was a park right next door. It was a glorious October afternoon, so they all decided to take some time to explore. The park was square - two blocks wide and two blocks deep. The entire perimeter was heavily wooded and had walking paths - some that led all around the park, and others that led into the center. The center opened up to a large circular clearing, with picnic tables and benches scattered around the perimeter of the clearing.
The three of them took a seat on one of the benches and watched the handful of children playing on the manicured lawn. Several families and couples occupied the benches and picnic tables, and they were pleased to see that the park seemed to cater to families - at least during the daytime. Parker asked if he could go play with the kids and they agreed as long as he stayed within their sight.
Booth put his arm around her shoulder and they sat there feeling a great sense of peace as they watched their son making new friends. As they kept their eyes on him, they began to talk about the house, and their ideas for furnishing the various rooms.
"A five bedroom home Bones. What are we going to do with all of those rooms? I know the first floor one will be designated as a guest room, but what about the additional two upstairs?" He looked at her and saw that she had her eyes on Parker. While she watched the boy playing with his new friends, she began talking without turning her head. "I…..have some ideas…"
Booth was startled. He took a quick look over at Parker and immediately turned back to her. "What are you trying to say Bones?" She looked at him and gave him a sly smile. Turning back to watch her son, she continued. "Remember a few years ago, before we discovered your brain tumor?" His body was beginning to buzz. He needed to keep his eye on his son, but he suspected that this conversation might be about to change his life.
"Are you talking about my visit to the fertility clinic?" He saw the smile form on her face as she watched Parker, and he knew he was on the right track. She turned to smile at him briefly and then turned back to Parker. "We were planning to have a child together then. Now that we're together, we will be settled into our new home. We could do it the right way. The natural way." She turned to look at him again with another wide grin. "A child born of love - not science. Well, it's still science, but you know what I mean."
He took a quick look at Parker and pulled her to him and they shared a long kiss. As the kiss finished, they both checked back on Parker and then looked deeply into each other's eyes. "Are we really doing this Temperance?" She chuckled. "I think we are Seeley." That made him laugh and he pulled her closer to him so their heads leaned against each other. They sat there in contentment watching their son playing with his new friends in the crisp autumn sunshine.
She spoke quietly. "I think we need to wait a few months so we can get settled into the house and celebrate our first Christmas. Maybe early in the new year?" She looked up at him and he gave her a quick kiss. "Sounds perfect." He pulled her even closer and felt like he never wanted to leave the bench where they sat.
He realized that he was experiencing the happiest moment of his life. But he just knew there would be more. A whole series of joyful moments with this woman he loved so madly. Piling one on top of each other. He knew at that moment that he was the luckiest man in the world.
I know this sounds like an ending but there's more to come.
Sorry this chapter took so long. I had it almost completed it ten days ago, but I had an accident and had severe burns on parts of my right side and my right arm. I wasn't able to use my right arm to do any typing. It's finally starting to heal and I'm off the pain medication, so I was able to finish and edit the chapter. I have the next one all planned out in my mind, so I hope to get it written down in the next few days.