We spent almost all of January getting the house ready to sell. In my mind I had begun calling it Faith's House. It seemed to make leaving it easier. We gave all of Faith's clothes and things to Goodwill, as well as some household goods, like our bed. We went to Cambria every weekend. By the end of the month two things were sure: Our house was on the market and we had bid on a house just outside of Cambria.
Every trip to Cambria had us sharing Melissa's apartment. It saved us money but it made any "extra" activity between either woman and me, impossible. She lived in a one bedroom apartment. Melissa and Karen shared Melissa's bed. Matt slept in a sleeping bag in the living room and I got the couch. Either they didn't play while we were in Cambria or they found a way to be very quiet.
Matt and I watched the realtor pound in the sign in the front yard of Faith's house. "For Sale". It was February first. Open house was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The house was ready.
Matt was excited and a little scared. "I don't have any friends in Cambria."
Karen asked him how many friends he had on the first day of school when he started kindergarten. He said none. She asked how many he had now. He brightened and said, "Lots! I can make friends in Cambria, too!"
I asked, "How fast can you make friends in Cambria?" Friday evening we drove up and took Melissa to dinner. She was bursting to tell us something.
She made us wait until dinner was over then she said, "I've been promoted! You are looking at the new manager of the winery, retail division." Naturally, we celebrated.
On Saturday morning the realtor called us and said our bid on the house just outside Cambria had been accepted. We spent three hours doing paperwork to get the house into escrow. I think the word escrow really means, "A legal way to cause stress and anxiety over a major purchase." The seller wanted a sixty-day escrow. That suited me fine. It gave us sixty days to sell the old house. We put the money from Karen's family down.
The rest of Saturday was spent out at the house, measuring windows, rooms and making plans. The house had a big kitchen with commercial appliances. The original owner was a chef and had only the best in his kitchen. I wandered around the half acre of land with Matt while the ladies did what they did inside. The owners were there and talked with the ladies as they measured and planned.
When Matt and I came back inside the husband asked Matt if he would go out to the barn with him. Karen said it was Ok and Matt went. The door closed and Karen asked, "Can Matt have a dog?"
"Is there a dog in the barn?" I asked.
"There are six. A momma dog and five pups. Mr. Faruggio wants to give Matt his choice, as a gift."
"What kind of dog?"
"Lab." Mrs. Faruggio answered. I nodded. Karen kissed me and thanked me. Melissa kissed me too.
Mrs. Faruggio said, "We know enough about you folks to feel really good about you living here. Knowing one of our pups will stay too makes me feel good."
We followed Matt and Mr. Faruggio to the barn and met our new dog. He had already been named, by Matt. "Notte" was our new dog.
Mrs. Faruggio asked Matt why he named the dog "Notte."
"Because Notte means night in Italian!" We all laughed. Notte was black.
When we went back to Melissa's apartment her phone rang just as my cell rang. I answered my cell. It was our realtor at home. Melissa answered her phone and spoke to the realtor's husband. The message was the same. There were three bids on the house. The first bid was at the asking price. An hour later another couple bid fifty thousand over asking. The third bid was a hundred ten thousand over asking price. I said, "Accept the bid that you're sure will be able to qualify and get the money. We need the house to close within sixty days."
The realtor said, "The final bid came with their loan qualifying papers for more than what they offered. They have the loan!"
"Sell! We'll be back Sunday night and can sign everything Monday."
We hung up the phones, shared the details and whooped around the apartment. Instead of the delivered pizza we had planned I took us all out to the Sow's Ear, a celebrated restaurant in town.
Matt went to the restroom while we were at the Sow's Ear and while he was there we talked. Melissa said, "Karen, I have a favor to ask. I want to take Nick and run away for the rest of the night. You and Matt can have my apartment."
"What do we tell Matt?" Karen asked.
"I have a friend I need to visit. She's very reclusive and only wants Nick and me to visit. We'll be back in the morning."
"Ok. You Ok with the plan, Nick?"
"My imagination has taken off. I don't know, for sure, what this is all about, but I surrendered back near the end of the year, remember?"
Matt came back. Melissa saw him come out of the bathroom and held her cell phone to her ear until he was back. She explained about her friend and asked if I would go with her to visit. I said sure. We took Matt and Karen back to the apartment and got some clothes for Sunday. Melissa picked up a pre-packed suitcase and we were gone.
Melissa's parting words were, "If there's an emergency, we have cell phones. Please, don't have an emergency!"
She drove. Less than ten minutes later we parked at the Fogcatcher Inn. She checked us in to the room she had reserved. No sooner had the door closed than Melissa dropped her suitcase and stepped close to me.
"I probably shouldn't be, but I am scared. I've dreamed about this for years, almost half my life. I want to be perfect for you. I want you to love me."
"Nothing to be scared about. I've loved you since the day your mother said, "My period is late."
"That's not the love I mean. I mean the man-woman love, sex."
