I emailed Daddy early the following day, asking him only to schedule me for appointments on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays to give myself free days to pack my stuff and plan the move to Magnolia Circle. Rhys and I were sitting in the title company's office five weeks later before the meeting started.
He leaned close to me and mentioned, "I'm looking forward to you keeping up your end of our discount agreement."
"I thought it might be fun if you invited Liz to join us," I replied.
"Liz is a lot of fun to be with, and I'm sure she'd enjoy being part of our little house-warming party," he answered.
Since Rhys acknowledged Liz is a lot of fun; he again reinforced my suspicion that he's fucking her.
Before I could ask him straight out, Liz and the seller entered the room, followed by the assortment of clerks, lawyers and bankers involved. After introductions, the closing clerk began the process of passing an insane mixture of documents between the seller and me for our signatures. I didn't bother to read any of them. The entire process took less than an hour, and as the meeting concluded, the previous owner slid the keys across the table toward me, saying, "I hope you'll be happy in your new home."
"I'm certain I will," I replied with a massive smile on my face.
As I left the title company, I noticed Rhys huddling with Liz; I assumed he was talking to her about joining our private house-warming party. That assumption was confirmed when he texted me a little while later, saying, "Liz is looking forward to seeing you again."
I didn't reply to his text message.
I wanted to spend some time getting a feel for what furniture would fit, so I drove to my new home to take some measurements. As I walked toward the building, a middle-aged gentleman came out of the first-floor unit. His broad smile was a welcome sight. "Are you my new upstairs neighbor?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," I answered.
He extended his hand as he introduced himself, "I'm Richard Stark, but everyone calls me Dick."
"Nice to meet you, Dick. I'm Angel Jacobs," I replied. His handshake was firm, but his hand felt soft in mine.
"Is there a Mr. Jacobs?" Dick asked.
"Not anymore; my divorce was final three weeks ago," I answered.
"Sorry to hear that, Angel," he said.
"How about Mrs. Stark? When can I meet her?" I asked.
"Rachel should be coming out in a second or two; we're headed out for lunch," he replied.
A moment later, Mrs. Stark appeared from the first-floor condo, a buxom fifty-something redhead with an hourglass figure.
"Rachel, this is Angel, our new second-floor neighbor," Dick said.
As I extended my hand toward her, I studied her face. Shoulder-length wavy hair that framed her face was dyed red. Her blue eyes were highlighted by too much eye makeup, and her full pouty lips had a distinct Botox enhanced appearance.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rachel," I said as we shook hands.
"Likewise," she replied.
"When are you moving in?" Dick asked.
"I'm not sure, I may want to paint before I do, and my ex isn't pressuring me to move out just yet," I replied.
"Well, if you need anything, just knock," Dick offered with a suggestive grin on his face.
"Thanks, Dick, I'll keep that in mind," I answered.
"We're going to be late for lunch," Rachel announced.
"I'm sure we'll see each other again," I responded, knowing we'd occasionally run into one another.
As they walked toward their car, I surveyed Rachel's figure, her tits were fuller than mine, and her flaring hips reminded me of a Victorian age lady. I'm sure Dick has pounded her from behind often.
I was excited to see my new home again, and as I walked up the stairs from the small entry foyer, I pulled the floor plan Liz had given me out of my purse. The plan showed the room sizes, window and door placements but didn't show the space between each. I didn't remember to bring a tape measure, so I used the toe-to-heel method to estimate the distances. I needed to measure the space between the two windows in the master bedroom to determine if my bed fit there. I guess in my mind, I was trying to visualize where each piece of furniture would work best. To make the bedroom more to my liking, I decided to change the color of the walls. I did the same with the spare bedroom, which would become my office once I moved in. I spend the better part of two hours alone getting a feel for how the place would look once I settled in.
Over the next several weeks, I contracted with a painter and signed the paperwork for a moving company to get my stuff moved to Magnolia Circle. I even made time to handle a couple of appointments for Daddy during this chaotic period. I ran into Dick Stark a few times on the sidewalk, and every time he made some rather suggestive comments leading me to believe he isn't faithful to Rachel. I ignored his remarks, knowing I didn't want to get into the same kind of situation I had with Chuck, my soon-to-be ex-neighbor. Moving day finally arrived, and early on a Monday morning, four healthy-looking studs came with a large truck. Since I had taken the time to mark those items that would remain with bright yellow sticky notes, the truck was loaded in a couple of hours. As they loaded the last of my boxes, I took a few minutes to reflect on the years I'd spent in this house with Barry. There were some excellent times early on, but toward the end, my memories were more painful. Before locking the front door, the last thing I did was to call Barry and let him know where I'd hide the key.
"We should keep in touch," he suggested.
My reply was emphatic, "I don't think so."
By two o'clock, the moving truck was empty, and my furniture was in place where I'd planned, and I was left with a few dozen boxes to unpack. Before I could start, my doorbell rang. As I descended the stairs, I wondered who could be calling on me since only Rhys, Liz, and Daddy knew where I'd moved to. I opened the door to find Rachel Stark standing there holding a covered casserole dish.
"Welcome to the neighborhood," she said with a broad smile on her lips.
"That's very kind of you, Rachel," I answered as I stepped back to allow her into the foyer.
"Thought you might want something to eat. I know moving day is so hectic," Rachel said.
"Let me show you around," I suggested as I started up the stairs.
I turned left and walked into my kitchen and said, "Let me take that for you."
Rachel handed me the casserole, and I placed it on the stove.
"I've seen your place before, but Dick and I weren't all that friendly with the Simms, so it's been a few years," she offered.
I gave her a quick fifty-cent tour of my place, then suggested, "Why don't you and I have a little something to eat."
"I'd like to get to know a little more about you, Angel," she replied.
As I searched for the box that held my kitchen utensils and plates, I said, "What would you like to know."
"Richard tells me you're recently divorced," she said.
