We didn't want to be crusaders and insist on our right to live in a neighborhood that didn't want us there. We wanted to find a warm and welcoming home for ourselves and our baby. We kept our faith that somewhere, someday soon, we would find that place, and that it truly did exist.
At last we found a slightly run down community who's residence for the most part were young twenties and rather bohemian in attitude. There was a real experimental feel about the place and we were welcomed with a warm attitude of 'we don't have things figured out- we don't know everything all ready; so why would we tell you that your way is wrong when we don't know which way is right." There were a lot of artist types and even a few that were more or less simply shiftless. It was nothing to write home about- not to my mom anyway- but it felt remarkably like home to us. And we were grateful for the accepting atmosphere.
The house itself had three bedrooms, a roomy kitchen and living room, a porch with a decorative wooden rail and a big square back yard. Nothing was new and quite a few things either needed repair, or would soon but it was far from condemned. We were surprised that we could afford it. We were so exited, we just scooped it up.
We had thought, since the bank approved us for a loan and we found a house, that we could move in quickly before the time came for the baby to come. Wow, were we wrong about that! The process of purchasing a house is so harrowing, and so time consuming that I won't bore you with the details except to say that we felt quite deflated when we realized how long we were going to have to wait. And relieved that we had started as soon as we had.
The pregnancy itself was a healthy one, and physically not as bad as many, or so I hear. I was nauseous a lot, and much warmer than everyone else and had night twitches and muscle cramps. But I was lucky to escape without swollen hands or feet, varicose veins, or a host of other uncomfortable and stressful complications. I ate well, and continued to work. Zoë looked after my health as much as I did, making sure I got plenty of milk and dairy and fresh fruit and of course fiber. Even as my belly grew, the two of us grew closer.
We made frequent visits to the homes of our soon to be neighbors, who were as eager as we were for our new arrival. Actually, their excitement was what helped me forget my misgivings and fears much of the time and embrace my growing belly and changing life.
Dexter and Ilene were the neo-hippie couple across the street. They wore bell-bottoms and leather fringe and bead shirts found at Goodwill. They had a very non-materialistic view on life, and were really big on recycling.
Janice and Menache where kind of hippy-is too, but they bought all the new wave hippy styles. Janice was a potter, and Menache worked in the city. He was a political lobbyist and was paid very well. They were the 'rich couple' on the block. Which meant they were still pretty poor by the rest of the world's standards. They had a little boy who was 2 and a baby girl.
The third neighbor we were close with was Miss Henderson. She was a sixty year old novelist, who pretty much always said what was on her mind. She like me, had a very open attitude toward her sexuality, and even when we met her had two female lovers and one male lover. Miss Henderson had never been married and informed us that she never intended too either. Her hobby was playing the piano and she was quite good. Her three lover's had far-flung interests as well. The man in her life built quality hardwood furniture and was a part time travel photographer. He was a young man of 43. He also was a gardening nut and raised prize winning roses. In his spare time he liked to make macramé plant holders!
Miss Henderson's two female lovers were as different as night and day, and both closer to her own age range. Matilda was the young and feminine one, with shoulder length wavy brown hair. She was 56. Katherine was 58 and full of piss and vinegar. She dressed simply, never putting on airs, never bothering with the slightest bit of make-up, indeed she thought moisturizing lotion was a luxury, which she occasionally indulged in. The first time I met her, I was taken aback. She was clearly a woman- and she had a beauty that was not only external, but seemed to radiate from within. Her long hair she wore pinned up, but she refused to cut it. She was extremely brusque to the point were she seemed rude, and that's what had taken me off guard about her. I thought she must surely hate me, but I found out later from Miss Henderson that she was quite fond of me. It was something I never would have guessed. And I had to learn very quickly to read between the lines with her.
Sometimes a group of us would get together in one of the houses for a game of Rummy. I wasn't very good at it, but I enjoyed the company. Sometimes we would bring Glen or Guy or even Simone or Chase and we all quickly became one big semi-dysfunctional group of mostly artists and free spirits. Simone and Chase were clearly the 'straight men' of the group, but we loved them just as much as the others.
We used to joke that even if we didn't end up moving in, we would all still be close fiends. Which was funny until we almost didn't get the house.
At the last minute the bank informed us that there were some problems that could potentially make the entire deal fall through. We were close to due date, and very tied up with last minute preparations. We were very scared that we just weren't going to be able to balance everything out and be able to salvage our claim on the house. It was Miss Henderson's friend Katherine that pulled us up out of the fire at the last minute. It turned out that she had some connections and she really wanted to see us in the neighborhood. I was so exited when I got the news that things could once again move forward, I considered hugging her, but one look at her told me that was a very bad idea. Instead I told Miss Henderson in private how much we appreciated it, and she passed on the information.
