All characters in sexual situations are 18 years or older. Enjoy.
*
"Do you plan on living in the house?" Roger Peddler sat across the table from George and Julie Anderson. They were an attractive middle-aged couple.
She was a tall brunette with a pretty smile, wearing a navy skirt suit that looked off the rack
. He was a
tall man with some gray in his short blond beard, wearing a brown corduroy coat and red tie.
This was the first time he'd met the buyers, and he had a pang of guilt to see them all smiles and eagerness. "My wife and I ... I mean ex-wife and I planned on fixing up the place, but we didn't get very far."
"We have the same plan." George accepted a document from the closing agent and signed it. "We'll live in the house while we fix it up."
"Do you have a son?" Roger signed one of his own documents and pushed it away from him.
"We have three beautiful children, Mr. Peddler." Julie cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Our eldest is married and off in the world. The twins still live with us."
"Are the twins girls?" Roger's voice sounded thin and unsure of itself.
"A boy and a girl." George's voice was more than a little sharp. "What business is it of yours?"
"None, none." Roger shook his head. "This house may test your marriage."
Julie's pretty, curving lips slumped into a frown and she put her left hand on her husband's right hand and squeezed. Her large wedding ring stood out on her delicate fingers. "Our marriage is rock solid, Mr. Peddler. This is not the first home we've rehabbed."
"I thought my marriage was unbreakable too." He took a sip from one of the plastic water bottles on the table. "And how old is your son?" Roger's heart beat in his ears. He knew he was pushing it with this nice family, but he had to know.
"The twins are eighteen." Julie squeezed George's hand a little harder. She wanted him to know she'd had about enough of this.
"Maybe ... maybe ... maybe ..." Roger nodded to himself. "Maybe the house will ignore him."
Everyone in the room buzzed with tension. The seller's agent looked like he'd rather be elsewhere. The closing agent kept her eyes on her papers.
"Watch the boy." Roger looked over at George. "Just watch your boy while you're in that house."
George turned to the closing agent. "Can we sign the rest of the paperwork in a different room? My wife and I would rather not share space with him." He jabbed his finger at Roger.
"Of course." The closing agent stood and ushered them out of the room.
Julie spared a glance back at Roger as they left. He was staring at her butt, shaking his head, and muttering "slut" to himself. In all her years buying and selling homes, this was the most unusual closing she'd been a part of.
~~
"It's got good bones." George looked up at their new house with a satisfied smile. The Victorian mansion had been a beauty at one point, but it had fallen into some disrepair. Nothing too worrisome. There was some rotted siding and peeling shingles. It needed paint. But lots of the original detailing remained. The two turret towers still stood proud on either side of the house. "What do you think, Jules?"
"I'm still in shock at the price." Julie walked up next to her husband, the weeds crunching under her sneakers. She slipped her arm around his waist and squeezed. "We lucked out, honey." Julie kissed George on the cheek and then looked back at the car. "You twins wanna see your new house?"
"Coming." Daniel shut off his phone, slipped it into his pocket, and hopped out of the car. "Wow, we're living here? It's huge."
Daniel was a small, bookish teen. He pushed his longish, brown hair back off his forehead.
"How many rooms, Mom?" Daniel couldn't look away from the house, taking in the old fish scale shingle accents and finely carved geometric shapes around the windows. In all his eighteen years, he'd never seen anything quite like it.
"There are twenty-two rooms, Danny." Julie gave her husband another squeeze and then walked over and stood next to her son. "Seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, four living rooms, a den, a library, a kitchen, a dining room, and, of course, the grand entryway."
"That's twenty-one." Daniel looked up into his mom's warm, brown eyes. "What about the other one?"
"Well, your father and I don't know yet." Julie smiled down at him. "There's a room next to the study that's locked. The seller says he didn't have a key."
"Oh, cool, a spooky mystery." Daniel smiled and nodded with exuberance. "Hey, Britt," he called over his shoulder. "Come and see this."
"In a minute, dufus." Brittney still sat in the back seat of the station wagon, texting her friends. Her long brown hair fell down around her face and did its best to hide her from the world.
A pickup truck drove down the old cobbled driveway and parked next to them. Daniel's older brother, Brad, waved to Daniel with a sardonic flourish from the driver's seat. His wife, Penelope, waved and smiled at Daniel too, with a bit more authenticity. She had her blonde hair up, and she wore an old t-shirt, ready to work. Daniel felt some butterflies in his stomach the way he always did around her.
"Brad's here?" Daniel looked back up at his mom, as if he had hopes that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Of course, sweetie. The movers will be here soon. We need help, right?" Julie patted Daniel on his skinny shoulder. She was mostly oblivious to Daniel's apprehension about spending time with his bully of a brother, and his sweet, beautiful wife. "I hope when you're a man, you'll be as considerate as your brother." Julie walked back over to her husband, took his hand, and walked down the cracked concrete of the front walk. "Let's get this house opened up."
"I'm eighteen." Daniel said under his breath. "I'm a man."
"No, you're not." Brad walked up next to Daniel and punched him on the arm, hard enough for Daniel to know it wasn't playful. "You're still a runt, Danny." Brad hit him again, laughed, and walked after their parents.
Daniel stood in the weeds and rubbed his arm, watching Brad stalk off. His brother was his opposite in m
any ways. Brad was tall, broad-shouldered, and his muscles bulged out of his t-shirt. And he was not nearly as thoughtful as their mom thought.
"He doesn't really mean it." Penelope walked up and gave Daniel a pitying, sympathetic smile. "He's actually very considerate." She patted Daniel on the head like he was a lost puppy, and followed her husband up the walkway.
"He means it," Brittney whispered. She had finally left the car and stood a few feet from Daniel, eyeing their new house. "It really is a monstrosity, isn't it?"
"Our brother or the house?" Daniel looked at Brittney, admiring her quick, friendly smile.
"Both?" Her small, elfin features caught the morning sun as she looked up at windows in the west tower.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Daniel walked off toward the house. "Come on, Britt, let's go pick out our rooms."
"Okay." As Brittney followed her brother, she kept her eyes up on the windows like she had spotted something interesting. But she said nothing more.
~~