are buyers who won't request an inspection?” I ask doubtfully.
“Well, yes. Snowy Valley is a tourist town. And this house is on Jingle Bell Lane. And sure, it’s a little rundown, but Filson did a lot of improvements. And the gingerbread trim on the front of the house along with the big porch… well, it makes it just a peach of a place. I think I can get this on the market and get it right back off.”
Even if we can't close by New Year’s, I think if everything is in writing that maybe the bank might be forgiving. Or maybe that's just hopeful thinking.
“Do you think I can get a fair price for the place?” I ask.
“Sadly, the market has been down the last year and a half or so, which isn't ideal but if you want to sell quickly, we’re going to have to list this place aggressively.”
My heart sinks. “Meaning low?”
She nods. “I think with what you owe on it and the market value, you can still come out ahead with a few thousand dollars.”
A few thousand dollars won’t be enough to float the soup kitchen. But it will cover a month or two of rent while I find a new job.
“Right. Well, thanks, Shirley. The goal here is to sell and sell soon.”
“Can I ask…” she says clearly being nosy, “why do you want to sell? This place is such a gem. You could hold onto it and in a few years, it might be worth a pretty penny.”
I swallow. “I told you I didn't want to talk about that. I've just decided to sell and it needs to happen immediately. I'm not going to be picky as far as the buyer is concerned.”
The hope is that I can pay off all the existing debts and hopefully have a little nest egg even if it's a meager one.
“In that case, I’ll get back to the office and start pulling this all together. Since Christmas is only a few days away, I suggest you enjoy yourself. But if there’s a buyer who wants a showing, do you think you can accommodate that?”
“Sure, that's no problem.” I bite my bottom lip, not wanting to cry in front of this woman. But the reality of the situation is hitting me hard. I’m really going to have to say goodbye to Granny’s home.
“Hopefully we'll have good news soon. I'll send you the link once this is online,” Shirley tells me as I walk her to the door.
Once she is gone, I slowly walk around the big house where I grew up. The round kitchen table, the staircase that leads to the bedrooms. I naïvely imagined myself raising a family here. But now I know I don’t care where I live as long as it is with Filson. And I don’t know if that is possible anymore.
The look in Filson’s eyes slew me and I wish more than anything, I hadn't betrayed his trust.
I head into the kitchen to make a pot of tea, thinking maybe something warm might lift my spirits. Just as the kettle whistles, someone knocks on the door. For a moment, I have a hopeful crazy thought that it's Filson changing his mind. That he’s back for me.
But as I reach the door and pull it open, I see it's not the man who I love. It's Annabelle, Isaiah, and Jody.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“We came to see you,” Jody says, giving me a quick hug.
“I was just making tea. Do you want some?”
“Sure, that sounds great,” they say, and we head into the kitchen.
“I really wasn't expecting company. Who's serving soup?”
“It's the afternoon break,” Jody explains,
“Wow, the day is flying by.” I almost began to explain the Filson and real estate situation, but I decide against it. The last thing Filson would want is more people involved in our drama. Luckily, I'm not required to entertain my friends because Isaiah clears his throat.
“We’ve come here on a mission,” he says.
“I don't know anything about it,” Annabelle says. “I was walking over to see how you're doing after last night and ran into these two. Looks like everybody is dying to talk to you today.”
Isaiah speaks up, “Here's the thing, Maple, we love you. We do. We've been working together for a few months, and Jody and I had been working with your granny a lot longer and I know the food soup kitchen was your granny's baby, but it's kind of ours too.”
Jody nods. “Yeah,