the Point, but the road passes us now. Sort of symbolic: The road used to end at our doorstep, but now it passes us by.”
“You’re a philosopher,” Carl said. “Which side of the Point is the property that we’re going to?”
“This side, but barely. As a matter of fact, if I can sell it to you, well be neighbors. The Barnes place adjoins ours. But don’t worry, the houses are a quarter of a mile apart, and there’s a strip of woods, a field, and some water between them. The Barnes place is on the mainland; we’re out at the end of the Point Here we are,” she finished. She braked the car and turned in to the long drive that led to the old house. She heard Barbara suck in her breath, and wondered how long an escrow they’d want.
“My Lord,” Carl said. “How big is it?”
“Not as big as it looks,” Rose said. “It’s an odd house, but I think you’ll like it. Besides, if you don’t, you can always change it. The first time I saw it, it struck me that an architect should have it. No one else could make it livable.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Barbara asked.
“Nothing, really,” Rose said. She was parking the car in front of the building now, and she pointed to what appeared to be a pair of long, enclosed galleries, one above the other, that ran the length of the house. “See those?”
“Don’t tell me,” Carl said. “Let me guess. You go in the front door, and there’s an entry hall that goes straight through the house. On each side of the entry hall there’s a staircase, and the two staircases meet above the front door. From there, a hall extends the length of the house in both directions.”
Rose nodded. “That’s it exactly. With another hall on the bottom floor. It gives the place the feeling of an immense railroad parlor car. Every room has one door onto the hall. There’s an incredible view of the ocean, but only from the far side of the house. And I don’t have any idea at all of what to do about it. That’s one of the reasons I brought you out here. Even if you don’t buy it, I can get some ideas on what to do with it in case somebody else does.”
They went into the house and explored it room by room, first the lower floor, then the upper. Rose, following her instincts, did little more than identify the use to which the Barneses had put each room. Finally they were back in the entry hall.
“Well?” Rose said. Carl and Barbara Stevens looked at each other.
“It does have some problems,” Carl mused.
“And they’d be expensive problems, wouldn’t they?” Barbara added.
“Not expensive,” Rose said. “Very expensive. Count on putting in half again what you pay for it, and that doesn’t include the plumbing. Also, it’s going to need rewiring within five years, and a new roof in two.”
“Honest, aren’t you,” Carl said with a grin.
Rose shrugged. “If I don’t tell you now, you’ll tell me later. And I wouldn’t want the next-door neighbors mad at me.”
“And they want how much for it?” Rose could see the wheels clicking in Carl’s mind.
“Fifty-two five. If the floor plan weren’t so weird they could get at least twice that.”
“Okay,” Carl said.
“Okay?” Rose repeated. “What does ‘okay’ mean?” Barbara laughed. “It means ‘Okay, we’ll buy it.’ ”
“At the asking price?” Rose said vacantly.
“At the asking price.”
Rose shook her head. “You’re both crazy. You asked me how much they wanted for it, not how much I thought you could get it for. Don’t you want to make them a lower offer?”
“Not particularly,” Carl said.
“I see,” Rose said numbly. “What am I saying? I don’t see at all. If you don’t mind my saying this, you’re taking all the fun out of it for me. I get paid to write offers and counteroffers, and make everybody think he got a good deal. I’ve never heard of selling a house for the asking price. In fact, I know darn well you could get it for less.”
Barbara nodded. “But it would take time. We don’t want to wait. We don’t want an escrow, and we don’t want to finance it. Well write you a check for it today. Can we move in this weekend?”
Rose nodded. “I suppose so,” she said slowly. “There’s no mortgage on it, so I guess there isn’t anything to it but transferring the title. That doesn’t