Your new home (Attn:Walters girls)

The taxi from the airport lets you out a small house downtown (address is about F and 54th) The Realtor is standing there smiling in her business suit. The house in front of you isn't the only one on the market, as a girl third of the houses on the this block are also for sale.

Amy was the first one out of the cab. She had her travel bag in one hand and her iPhone in the other. Looking ever so serious, Amy eyed the realtor, squinted at the big white house in the bright sunlight, and then looked down at the screen on her phone. Nodding at what she saw, Amy shouldered her bag and pushed her red hair out of her face before turning back to the cab.

"This is your place, Mati . . . the first one on your list. It's the big one with the huge yard up against the woods and that gazebo you liked so much."



She swallowed hard as she watched Matilda climb out of the cab. Amy's stomach had been hurting during the entire ride from the airport. It was probably nerves. She was really anxious about this move to California. A new house. A new life. And they were completely on their own. Their lives, their relationship, and their careers were theirs to make or break . . . and to Amy's stomach that sure felt a lot like jumping off a cliff.

The weather is very warm and pleasant, there are soft clouds in the sky. (new moon phase).

Matilda started to climb out of the cab right behind Amy, but then flopped back down in the seat and began fishing around in her purse. "Let me find my money," she said to the cabbie. Matilda pulled out or pushed aside a wide assortment of junk in her oversized purse looking for her wallet, but she had trouble finding it among all the clutter. She came across a compact (that she only used for the mirror), a cell phone, Chapstick (make that two tubes of Chapstick), gum, tissues, and a dozen other things she didn't know she had. Finally, she found her money clip, pulled out two twenty dollar bills, and handed them across the seat to the cabbie. "Can you just wait here and leave the meter running?" she said. "We'll need to go from here right to our hotel, but we want to look at this house first. It will save us from calling for another cab, and we shouldn't be too long." She flashed the cabbie a grateful smile that screamed, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"

Matilda grabbed the rest of her stuff and piled ungracefully out of the car. Some of the junk was still sticking out of the top of her purse, and her poneytail holder was falling out of her hair. She looked every bit the part of a poor traveler who had spent the last two days in cabs and airplanes. Matilda gave the real estate agent a friendly wave and then sidled up beside Amy, grabbing her by the arm in excitement. "Awww, the house is so beautiful. It's just perfect. Don't you think it’s perfect?" she asked, giving Amy’s arm a little shake.

The cabie smiles. "Sure ma'am, no problem."

Amy put on her most dramatically grim expression and turned to face Matilda.

"This house is absolutely horrible!"

She waited for Matilda to react as she knew she would: a little gasp of disbelief, a red face, and then the realization that Amy wasn't serious. This was their little game, and it was a game that Amy enjoyed. But this time Amy couldn't keep her grim face long enough for her ruse to play out. A smile involuntarily spread across her lips. Amy tried . . . and failed . . . to stifle a giggle, so she gave up the game and confessed.

"Just kidding. It is a beautiful house. I told you I loved it when we looked at the pictures." She leaned in, her voice more serious. "But don't get your heart set on it yet. We still haven't seen the inside. We need to be able to say no if it isn't just right."

The Realtor just stared at the initial statement, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes yes, of course you do. But please, let me show you inside, its far better there. The previous owners installed marble tiles and a granite countertop in the kitchen."

She isn't sweating bullets. She sweating missiles. She tries to keep up the pleasant and not terrified demeanor.

Matilda gasped and turned red in the face, but just for a moment until she saw the smile.

"Stop it!" she said, letting go of Amy's arm and smiling.

Matilda didn't mind being teased by Amy. It was such an every-day part of their relationship that she had stopped noticing long ago. And Matilda didn't mind looking gullible over and over. Her love for Amy had so oriented her soul that she just simply believed her, every bit of her, every word, until she saw that smile.

"Yes yes, of course you do. But please, let me show you inside, its far better there. The previous owners installed marble tiles and a granite countertop in the kitchen."

"Oh, yes," Matilda said, remembering that the agent was still there. "Let's go look inside." She locked her arm in Amy's and began pulling her toward the agent. "Be nice," she whispered.

"I was being nice,Mati," Amy said.

She let herself be pulled along Matilda until they were standing in front of the real estate agent. Amy stuck out her hand and put on her most professional voice.

"Hello. I'm Amy and this is Matilda. I was the one you spoke with on the phone. Thank you for meeting us today. Let's take a look."

"I'm Janet from Coulty real estate. Glad to help you find a home in our lovely city. I hope you like it."

She gives you the tour, and while its overpriced compared to where you are from, it is also a lot nicer looking. ANd thats including the foreclosure.

As Matilda dragged Amy through the tour, she was checking off all of the rooms she had on her mental list: kitchen, dining room, parlor (which would be converted to the library), formal living room, and family room on the first floor. On the second floor: master bedroom, office, and two guest bedrooms, plus the unfinished bonus room in the attic. And the basement which was going to be Amy's computer room. Matilda didn't like that the basement was so perfectly suited for the computers. It was awfully far from the her office upstairs. Two people could live in this house and never see each other if they didn't want to. Matilda was sure she was going to miss their cozy little east coast apartment, but the beauty of this house was a some consolation at least.

Mati sat close to Amy as they all gathered around the dining room table and talked house history and price with the agent. Matilda tried to pay attention, but she zoned out at the first mention of numbers. She trusted Amy to do what was best, so she spent the rest of the time casually examining the room, following the line of the intricate crown molding with her eyes and wondering what kinds of conversations were had around this table over the years.

Amy was generally pleased with the house as well, but she kept up her stone face in preparation for the negotiations. Amy was used to not being taken seriously because of her age, so she tried to preempt any age-related interpersonal obstacles by overcopensating and being exageratedly serious. As they set at the table and talked, Amy could tell that Matilda was totally spacing, so peridoically during the discussion Amy reached under the table and poke her in the leg. Amy didn't care if Matilda was paying attention, she just wanted to watch her start when she poked her.

When they got to the part in the discussion about the furnishings, Amy asked, "The furniture that was left in the house is beautiful. A lot of these look like antiques. Who did they belong to?"

The realtor, if possible, smiles wider.

"Ahh, i'm so glad you noticed. While we can't confirm it, we do beleive that they belong to Mr. James Marshal the third, grandson of James Marshall the first, the creator of the California gold rush. While Mr. Marshall's father was born James Marshall the second, we cannot confirm the father, as that was left blank on the birth certificate."

Matilda snapped out of her most recent daydream when Amy poked her. She listened to a little bit more of the conversation, and when it reached a lull, she asked, "Since the house is unoccupied, we could move in right away, right?"

Amy shot Matilda a dirty look and poked her again under the table. She didn't want them to seem too eager; it was bad for business. But Amy looked at Matilda again and could see how excited she was. The dirty look on her face melted into a rare smile. This was really important to her . . . to them, and Matilda didn't ask for much. In fact, she was very, very understanding, the glue that held their relationship together.

Amy stifled her smile. "Assuming everything on the title search, survey, and inspection work out . . . we'll take it."

"Of course, give me a minute and I'll make the calls neccessary." She goes into another room and is barely containing her excitement about having sold a home in this market.

She comes back a minute later. "Alright, they'll be by in an hour. What else might you be interested to know about the house or the neighborhood?"

"Yay!"

Matilda couldn't contain herself. She threw her arms around Amy's neck and kissed her cheek three times. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for agreeing to this. Thank you!" She kissed her again on the cheek, and didn't let go of Amy's neck.

shouldabeenadog wrote:She comes back a minute later. "Alright, they'll be by in an hour. What else might you be interested to know about the house or the neighborhood?"

"An hour?" Matilda made a face. "I need to tell the cab guy to go on without us then." She kissed Amy's cheek one more time for good measure and then ran out to the cab. She paid the guy what was on the meter plus a generous tip and then sent him on his way. Before going back inside, she stopped and stared at the house from the driveway.

"So," she mused, "this is going to be our new home. It's going to be great!"

Amy's smile returned involuntarily at being kissed. She also turned very red in the face, and was obviously ready for the kissing to be done when the agent returned.

"Um . . . yes . . . an hour would be fine."

She watched Matilda leave the room, and when she caught her eye on the way out Amy mouthed, "You're welcome."

An hour passes, and the people do all the things they need to do to make the girls happy. Anything to sell this house dammit. Anything.

Matilda passed the hour of waiting by walking through the house and imagining what the place was going to look like once they had moved in and made it there own. She sat next to Amy during the rest of the negotiations with her mouth shut. She heard them talking about the closing details, but didn't pay very close attention. When it was all said and done, she whispered to Amy, "What does that mean? How long before we can move in?"

Amy passed the hour working on her iPhone, getting some work done. After the final discussions were over . . .

When it was all said and done, she whispered to Amy, "What does that mean? How long before we can move in?"

Amy turned to the realtor. "I can have all of the due diligence finished on our end in a few days. And since we are paying cash . . . how soon can we move in?"

"Well, I see no reason why you can't move in as soon as your dilligence has been done and the cash in my hands. A few days at the very most."

"Great!" Matilda exclaimed. "We can just stay at the hotel until then."

The idea of making yet another round trip back to the east coast sounded like a horrible idea to Matilda. She had had about all the travel she could stand.

"I'll call for another cab." Matilda grabbed Amy's phone and practically skipped into the other room to make the call.

Amy offered up her phone without even looking Matilda's way. She rose from the table and shook hands with the agent.

"Thanks for being so quick with all of this. We'll be using a bank check to pay for the house. I'll send it to you by currier tomorrow. Here is our address at the hotel." Amy handed over a blank business card with their hotel room number written on it. "We'll wait to hear from you."

"Absolutely Miss. Thank you for purchasing your home from us. I hope you like it here!"

Narration:
The two of you leave the house together, and its strange, the second you step out of the house, the world seems different for a half-second, like all the color was drained out, and then things are back to normal, and you get the in the cab and drive to your hotel.