Chapter 15 - This Time I Called LauraLaura Bennett answered on the third ring.
“Westbridge Realty.”
“Laura, this is Elaine Mercer.”
Silence.
Then:
“Should I be nervous?”
I laughed.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“This time I’m calling because I actually want to discuss selling my house.”
Laura laughed so hard I had to move the phone away from my ear.
She came over three days later.
Alone.
No photographer.
No agreement.
No assumptions.
We sat at my kitchen table.
She asked what I wanted.
Not what my family wanted.
Not what the market demanded.
Me.
I told her I was considering a smaller townhouse.
I wanted a patio.
Two bedrooms.
No giant yard.
Enough room for hydrangeas.
No rushed closing.
No financial contribution to anyone.
Laura nodded.
“Then those are the terms.”
When Andrew heard, he looked worried.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not doing it because of everything that happened?”
“I am doing it partly because everything that happened forced me to think about what I actually want.”
He nodded.
Then he smiled.
“Rebecca is going to lose her mind.”
I did not smile back.
“That is not my concern.”
Word reached her anyway.
Two days later, my phone buzzed.
So you were willing to sell after all.
I stared at the message.
Then typed:
Yes.
She replied immediately.
Unbelievable.
I wrote:
I was willing to sell when selling became my decision.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Then nothing.
For once, Rebecca had no argument.
Because there was none.
May you like
The house went on the market.
With my real signature.
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