If I manage to offend any military personnel, especially Marines, I wholeheartedly apologize. I have several long-time friends that are both active and retired military. I listen to their stories with both awe and gratitude. I'd like to think I have portrayed them accurately. If I have not, please forgive my blunder. I meant no disrespect.
As I worked at my desk, I glanced over at my phone as it buzzed It was a text from my realtor, Kris. ***911*** Whatever it is it can't wait. Picking up my phone, I thumb her icon. "Hey Kris, what's the emergency?"
"Ryan, get here NOW. Take the afternoon off, quit, kill your boss, I don't care." She nearly screamed. "I've got an appointment for a house. I managed the very first showing, it won't get a second one, trust me."
I'd been looking for a place for several months now. So far, if I could afford it, it needed more work than I wanted to invest. If I liked it, it was too damned expensive. If Kris was this excited, it must be pretty impressive.
I told my supervisor I needed the afternoon off and headed for the realty office.
As I pulled up, Kris jumped in the passenger seat. "Head uptown, Bailey district." She instructed.
"I can't afford anything there." I protested.
"Drive.There.NOW!" She demanded.
I followed her rather terse directions. We arrived at the property in about 30 minutes. It was a nice 2 story Victorian with a good sized lot in a very upscale neighborhood. So far, so good.
Kris vaulted from the car. "Move it." She shouted, making a beeline for the front door. By the time I caught her, she was in the foyer.
I glanced around quickly. "Damn, this is nice." I commented. "How far over my budget is it?"
"Look at the rest of it." She grinned. "Then I'll drop the bomb on you."
The full tour took about half an hour, then we reentered the foyer. "Well?" Kris asked expectantly.
"I absolutely love the place." I answered. "No way in Hell I can afford it. It's got to be at least $300-325K."
"$225K, problem is they need to sell by the end of the month." She explained. "The husband has been transferred to Bulgaria or Bolivia or some God forsaken place, they need to sell...fast."
"So there's a burial ground or toxic waste dump or something." I mused. "It's WAY too good to be true."
"Make you a deal." She whispered. "You buy the place. You don't like it or find something wrong, I'll buy it from you. That's how sure I am that this is the chance of a lifetime."
"Kris." I said. "It's everything I wanted, and a few things I never thought I could get with my budget. I'm a little worried about the time frame. Seems like the used car salesman's hard sell, but..."
Kris opened her briefcase, removed the contract and laid it on a nearby counter. "Sign and it's all yours."
I took possession two weeks later. Over the course of the next week, I'd move some things in the evenings, after work. I managed to bribe a few friends to help me move the bulk of my stuff over the weekend. Interestingly, the previous owners left nearly everything behind, including what appeared to be most of the wife's wardrobe. Strange. I boxed the unwanted items and stored them in the detached garage. I'd donate the items after I finished moving in.
Several weeks later, on a Sunday, I spent the day trimming trees and shrubs, generally cleaning up the landscaping. I also addressed a few minor repairs. Caulking windows and touching up some paint on the gingerbread. Darkness put an end to my day, so I showered, had a late dinner then hit the hay.
The next morning, I was sitting in the breakfast nook, sipping my coffee and enjoying a danish before leaving for work when the front door opened, then closed. Startled, I hurried to the foyer only to run headlong into a woman. Before I could react, I was face down on the floor with her knee in my back.
"Who are you and what the fuck are you doing in my house?" She growled menacingly.
"Wait, what?" I sputtered. "I live here, I bought the place a couple months ago." As she backed away from me I got a better look at her. It took me a few seconds to remember where I saw her. "You were at the closing, Molly Jenkins, right?"
"How do you know my name?" She glared, confused.
"As I said, you were at the closing." I explained. "With your husband. You signed the paperwork."
"I've been deployed for the last two years." She growled. "I'm in the Marines, I can't tell you where I was, but I sure as Hell wasn't at any closing. I've only been on U.S. soil for a little over 24 hours."
She stepped towards me, seething. "I ask you again, why the fuck are you in my house?"
Slowly backing away, I attempted to explain. "I have the mortgage paperwork in my desk, I'll show you if you want?"
"Show me." She answered curtly.
After looking at the documents, she took out her phone. "I'll just call my husband, he'll clear this up."
I could hear voicemail come up immediately. She just glared at her phone. "Fuck this." She spat. "I'll call him at work."
"Hello Gina, this is Molly, is Brett there?" She said into the phone. "What?, When? No I don't remember the going away party, I wasn't there. Yes I'm sure, I just got back from deployment. Yeah. OK, thanks."
Molly looked up at me. "He quit his job." She said dejectedly. "Apparently 'we' moved to South America." She all but collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs, dropping her phone onto the table. "I don't understand."
"When did you last hear from him?" I asked.
"A little over a two months ago." She answered. "Told him I was coming home, that I'd see him soon. I should have known."
"Known what?" I inquired.
"He wasn't happy when I was deployed, but I come from a military family." She explained. "My Dad was career. He was killed in Afghanistan when I was a kid. I wanted to honor his memory. My Mom was supportive, but both my siblings thought I was crazy. Brett sided with the sibs. Since you say you saw me at the closing, that just leaves one conclusion."
I sat quietly, wondering if she was batshit crazy, or there was something really wrong going on.
"You see, Mom died about a year ago." She lamented. "In the will, the estate would be split between any of the kids that served. That was me, and me alone. Boy were they pissed. I got the house and all the assets. The only way the house could have been sold was if I sold it, none of them were on the deed."
She still wasn't making much sense, but I wasn't going to piss off a Marine, especially a potentially unstable one.
"You're sure you saw me?" She asked.
"Looked like you, talked like you." I answered. "Your husband was all lovey-dovey with you. I mean her. I only had contact for a few minutes, and I was focused on paperwork, but, yeah."
Molly launched into a cursing tirade that would make a Marine blush. Wait, she IS a Marine, and she's not blushing, so, nevermind.
"That fucking bitch." She spat. "I didn't think she'd really do it."
I sat, looking confused.
"My twin sister Holly." She clarified. "Stole more than one of my boyfriends. Though I could see Brett putting her up to it. What better way to get the house. I'd be surprised if they haven't cleaned the bank accounts out as well."
"Uh, this may be a bit awkward." I said. "There was a lot of what I assume are your clothes left behind when I moved in. I have them in the garage, if you want them. Along with most of the furniture."
"Yeah, that kinda confirms my theory, my sister would rather die than wear anything I owned." She stated. "Can you hold on to them until I can figure this out?"
"Sure, happy to." I assured. "Do you have somewhere to go, can I call someone?"
