Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 17:09:34 EST
From: Tulsadriller7@aol.com
Subject: Route 66 Tour, Chapter 9/?

Disclaimer:  The following story is a work of fiction.  If you
are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man
relations, please exit this page.

ROUTE 66 TOUR
Copyrightc 2003 by Tulsa Driller 7.  All rights reserved.

     This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives
of any specific person or persons.  Any similarity to actual
persons or events is entirely coincidental.  This work is
copyrighted8 by the author and may not be reproduced in any form
without the specific written permission of the author.  It is
assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their
submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any
other site without the written permission of the author.
     PLEASE:  In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist.  My
characters sometimes have unprotected sex.  I hope you use proper
precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last
chapter of this story.

Route 66 Tour
Chapter 9
     To be fair to Doug and, ourselves we drove past the other
two houses he suggested we look at.  One appeared to be a nice
house, but in an uninteresting neighborhood and the other was
going to need a lot done to it - and you could see that from the
street.  However, we did park in the driveway and make our way
around the property.  A.J. was looking in the living room window
when he discovered that someone was living there and was at home.
     The lady opened the front door - wearing only a slip and
house shoes and proceeded to give both of us a piece of her mind.
A.J. apologized, saying, "Doug didn't tell us the place was
occupied and we were wanting to look at the outside before having
him show us the inside."
     "Well, then I suggest that you get back in your car and look
at it from the street.  He's supposed to give me a day's notice
before he shows the house, anyway."
     A.J. looked at me.  "Have you seen enough?"
     "Enough to know that I'm not interested in buying it," and
loud enough the lady could hear us as we walked off the front
patio.
     After we got in the car, we both burst out laughing.
     "To be honest about it, I'd be upset if I walked through my
living room and saw someone peering in the window," I said.
     "You're right, but at least we've seen enough to know not to
come back here," A.J. answered.
     We arrived back on 27th Place and I had A.J. drive up the
driveway and around to the back so we could see if there were
problems getting in and out of the garages and turning after the
car was backed out.  There wasn't, in fact a couple of cars could
still be parked back there and not interfere with getting in and
out of the garage.
     We had a 20-foot tape measure and a legal pad with us and
I'd also picked up my digital camera so we were ready to explore
the place and take measurements.  The first measurements we took
were outside, checking the garage and breezeway, then the length
of the walls on the south and west sides.  A.J. was good at
making drawings and marked in windows and the backdoor, with
measurements for each.  We took plenty of pictures as we went
along, too.
     Going on around to the front, we measured the north exposure
and then walked around to do the same on the east side.  When the
house had been remodeled two years ago, all of the windows had
been replaced with Pella thermal windows.  There was very little
outside trim to have to paint.
     I liked the double doors on the front entrance.  The house
probably sat about 15 feet above the street level and this was
nice as it gave the impression of a park when you looked out the
front, toward the street.  The house across the street was
actually a little below street level.  We later discovered that
there was a small creek behind it.  The house we were looking at
was on the highest point on the street - in this block, anyway.
That was good; there shouldn't be any drainage problems.
     We made quick work of taking inside measurements and writing
them down.  We also listed the pieces of furniture that we might
be interested in.  Most were in the living room, but we later
discovered the suite in the second upstairs bedroom appealed to
us, too.
     In examining the 2 bedrooms on the ground floor, we decided
that the bathroom could be made private for the bedroom in the
corner.  The other bedroom could be used as an office, taking
part of it for a new half bath for guests and putting the door in
the hall.
     We went on downstairs.  The den was nice and comfortable
with a fireplace.  All of the furniture in that room would serve
our purposes quite nicely.  There was a bath with a shower off
the den and a good-size laundry room beside it.  There was a new
Maytag washer and dryer.  A.J. made a note to ask about the
disposition of them.
     There was even more basement than we had thought.  The
basement was under the entire house, we just hadn't looked in a
large, unfinished room on the other side of the room containing
the furnace and air conditioning.  It was easily as large as the
den.
     In that room was a complete weight set with bench.  It
wasn't a cheap brand, either.  There was also a Bowflex machine
and it appeared the plumbing for a sauna had been roughed-in,
too.
     The furnace and air conditioning was new and high
efficiency.  A.J. made a note to find out about utility bills.
We made note of the electrical box and counted circuits.  There
was a good reference sheet on the inside of the cover.  The
person designing the system was better than excellent.
     Back up the stairs and to the second floor.  We had
discovered a laundry chute when in the basement and there were
doors in the hall on the main and upstairs floors for that.
     The master bedroom was large enough to have a king-size bed
(we didn't want one) and a couple of easy chairs, too.  It wasn't
a huge room, but would seem larger when we put our own queen-size
bed in there.
     The master bath had a stool, a bidet, 2 washbasins, a
Jacuzzi and also a steam generator for the large glass-enclosed
shower.  There was plenty of storage for linens and towels in the
upstairs hall.  We were amazed that the second bedroom was almost
as large as the first.  It was turned so the long side was 90
degrees to the other, which made it look different.  The bathroom
had both a tub and small glass-enclosed shower in one corner.
The bathroom and walk-in closet were actually above the two
bedrooms and bath on the first floor.  The only thing that seemed
to be awkward about this whole arrangement was that you had to go
through the bathroom to get to the walk-in closet for the second
bedroom.  That really wasn't a problem, but didn't seem to be as
convenient as having the bathroom and closet side-by-side in the
master bedroom.
     The other discovery we made was that there was a furnace and
air conditioner for the second floor.  It was tucked away in what
appeared to be a hall closet, but the thing that impressed me was
that it was hooked to floor vents and the return air was in the
ceiling.  There were also ceiling fans in both bedrooms on that
floor.
     We already had a nice dining room table that pulled out to
eleven and a half feet, with 8 chairs and a nice china hutch, so
we had no interest in their furniture.  I had a beautiful crystal
chandelier in storage and reminded myself to show A.J. a picture.
In my thinking it was much more striking than the brass and wood
light presently used in there.
     The kitchen was the room that really caught both our
attentions.  Top of the line equipment everywhere.  Gray marble,
black glass and brushed stainless steel was the theme here.  A
huge Amana refrigerator and freezer, Maytag appliances and a
Chambers gas range with 6 burners and two ovens all caught our
eye.  In addition there was a built-in convection wall oven and a
microwave right below it.  There was plenty of storage for small
appliances under the upper cabinets and a moveable center island
on rubber casters.  The floor in here was gray slate; at least
that's what it appeared to be.
     After we had toured the house on our own, made measurements
and sketched everything out, we were ready to see if we could
make a deal.  We agreed to call Herbert Flowers as soon as we got
back to the apartment to get his advice on how to proceed on this
since there was a chance they might sell for the amount due on
the mortgage and that we were interested in some of the
furniture.
     The only thing that we couldn't easily check was what kind
of floor was under the carpet in the living room.  I was hoping
it was hardwood and we could use oriental area rugs.  I had A.J.
make a note to ask about that.
     We were ready to leave and discovered that we had been there
over two hours.  After setting the alarm and locking the front
door, we wandered around the yard to look at flowerbeds and other
plantings.
     "I sure like this house," A.J. said as we got into the car.
     "Me, too.  Do you think we can swing the deal?" I asked.
     "I'm sure Herbert will be able to give us some insight on
that."
     "We should be able to finance the difference with no problem
if we have to pay a little more," I said.
     "I don't think grandmother would want us to do that.  My
guess is that she might come up with additional funds," A.J.
said.
     "Herbert was pretty specific about having $450 thousand and
that was supposed to take care of remodeling," I replied.
     "Let's hurry home and call him," he said, clearly as excited
as I was.
     * * * * *
     As we were driving home, we decided that maybe we should
talk to Doug Reynolds before calling Herbert.  After a quick stop
at the grocery store for some fresh vegetables, coffee and orange
juice, we were back in the apartment.  A.J. put the speakerphone
on the table in front of the love seat and was ready to punch the
number when I sat down.
     The number he called was Doug's cell phone number so we
didn't have to go through the secretary, or whatever her title
was.
     "Doug Reynolds," was the next thing we heard after two ring
signals.
     A.J. got right to the point.  "Doug, we just got back home
from looking at the place over on 27th Place again and we really
like the house.  We did a lot of measuring and made sketches of
the floor plan, window placement and checked things out fairly
thoroughly."
     "Good. and.?" he asked.
     I spoke up.  "We had several questions about things.  Do you
have any idea what kind of flooring is under the carpet in the
living room?"
     "Let me get my book," Doug replied.
     He came back on the line.  "Nothing in my notes, so we'll
have to find out."
     "Okay, we want to know about a couple of other things," I
said.
     "What?"
     "What have the utilities been running?"
     We could hear him turning pages.
     "Looks like they have been running from about $200 to $350 a
month, depending on the season."
     That wasn't too bad, considering the square footage and two
systems, I thought.
     "We would be interested in buying some of the furniture, do
you have any idea what they are taking with them?" A.J. asked.
     "They got hit pretty hard when he got laid off and they are
planning to move into a furnished apartment.  They aren't taking
anything with them because, quite frankly they can't afford to
pay storage on it."
     That was too bad for them, but might help us some.
     "What are you interested in?" Doug questioned.
     "Most of the living room, the furniture in the second
bedroom upstairs, the furniture in the den and the washer and
dryer, to begin with," A.J. said.  "We figured we might be able
to offer more than what they would get at a sale and they
wouldn't have to pay commission on it."
     "You might be able to get a pretty good deal on buying
everything, then having your own sale.  These people are pretty
strapped and don't want to damage their credit any more than it
already is."
     That was an idea.
     I had an idea.  "What if we offered to buy out their
mortgage and pay all closing costs and your commission, then find
out what they wanted for the furniture?"
     "I think you would probably buy the house on the spot," Doug
told us.  "They have to get out from under this because the next
payment is going to be due in a couple of weeks.  I'm not sure
they can do that and put down a deposit on a place to rent in
Houston."
     A.J. and I hugged each other.
     "Let me ask you this," Doug said.  "Do you want to work with
the finance company and make a loan application to take over the
payments?"
     "No," A.J. said.  "We wanted to talk to you, and then give
the information to our attorney.  I think we can move pretty
quickly on this and possibly conclude the deal by the end of this
week."
     "You're kidding?" asked Doug.
     "No, we have money in escrow, we just need some firm figures
to give our attorney," I said.
     "Herbert indicated that you had money to buy a house, but he
didn't give me any particulars about it.  I just assumed you had
a down payment."
     "Doug, can you put some figures together as to what it would
take to close the deal on the house and then check with the
present owners about selling us all of the furniture?" I asked
him.
     "Sure, I can do that and either e-mail the figures or fax
them to you."
     "Fax would be okay, but you need to call us before you send
the fax so we can turn the machine on.  We don't have a separate
line for it." I said.
     "I can do that and get back with you in about a half hour."
     "By the way, Doug, how do you figure a sales commission on a
deal like this since the property is selling for the amount of
the mortgage?"
     "It's still 8% of the sale price and you're buying it for
about $387,000, so I'll get about $31,000.  Let me assure you,
you fellows are getting a rare bargain."
     "I know.  I can't believe that we only had to look at one
property and would fall into a deal.  I honestly figured that we
would be looking for at least 6 months and then still not find
exactly what we wanted."
     "Quite frankly, you are only the third people I've shown it
to.  The first people were 'just looking' and not ready to buy.
The second people stepped into the house, saw the large 2-story
living room and that's as far as we got.  They didn't even look
at the rest of the house," he laughed.
     "Well, that's hard to believe," A.J. said.  "But, I guess
that's the reason they build houses with all sorts of floor
plans."
     "You have that right.  Listen, guys, let me get some figures
on paper and I'll see if I can reach the owners on their cell
phone.  Maybe I can get everything together yet today."
     "Okay, we'll be looking forward to hearing from you," A.J.
said.
     I echoed with a "goodbye" and the connection was broken.
     * * * * *
     "Can we call grandmother?" A.J. asked.
     "Honey, you don't have to ask my permission to call Laura,"
I said.
     "I know I don't, but I guess what I meant is if you want to
talk to her, too?"
     "You know I always want to talk to her."  I was about to
bust my buttons, too.  We both needed to tell someone about our
good fortune.
     A.J. pushed the speed dial button and Laura's phone rang
immediately.  She answered on the third ring.
     "Grandmother." A.J. started to say.
     "How are my grandsons today?" Laura broke in.  "Are both of
you on the phone?"
     "Yes, Laura, I'm here, too." I heartily said.
     "What's going on?  You usually don't call until evening."
     "You won't believe this, but we've found the perfect house
to buy." A.J. said.
     I broke in.  "And it doesn't have to have anything done to
it right away.  It's ready to move into now."
     "Tell me about it," Laura said.
     We babbled on about the house for at least a half hour,
telling Laura about each room, the people wanting to get out from
under the mortgage right away, the location of the property, the
fact that we might buy all of their furniture and everything else
we could think of to tell her.
     Laura had lots of questions and we answered each, either
separately or both of us together.
     "I'd like to see the house," Laura said.  "It does sound too
good to be true."
     "Sure," A.J. told her.  "I can come over to get you tomorrow
morning and we can take you back home tomorrow, later in the
day."
     "I hate for you to have to make two trips in one day.  Why
don't you make reservations for me at the motel where we stayed
on the tour?  Isn't that close to where you boys live?"
     "Yes, only about 4 blocks as the crow flies."
     "That place is nice enough and maybe I'll stay for a couple
of days if that doesn't interfere with your plans."
     "Not at all," I said.  "Why don't you plan to stay through
the weekend and we can take you back home on Sunday afternoon or
evening."
     "I'll do it.  I want to look up some old friends while I'm
there and introduce both of you to them.  They'll be good people
for you to become acquainted with and I've known them since right
after Jim and I were married."
     "Okay, Grandmother.  That sounds great!"  A.J. was enthused.
I couldn't blame him, I was, too.
     "We're getting some information from the realtor, then we'll
call Herbert and talk to him about how to proceed with this
deal."
     "That's a good idea.  He'll have some ideas and lots of
questions, I'm sure," Laura told us.
     We chatted for a little bit about other things, then A.J.
told Laura we would talk to her a little later in the evening and
work out the time one or both of us would pick her up in the
morning.
     "I'm looking forward to seeing this place.  And, I'll look
forward to your call a little later.  Boy's, I'm really happy
about this.  I didn't think you would find what you wanted so
soon."
     "We didn't either, but we think this was supposed to
happen," I told her.
     A.J. agreed.
     We said our goodbyes and sat back.
     * * * * *
     The telephone immediately rang.  A.J. pushed the
speakerphone button after he answered.  It was Doug.
     "I was able to get in touch with the owners and they gave me
instructions to 'sell the place' as they put it."
     "Wow!" I said, A.J. echoing.
     "They are willing to sell all of the furniture to you and
would even be willing to talk about china, kitchen utensils, pots
and pans, whatever.  I think they would be happy to leave there
with their clothing and a few personal effects."
     "You mean that they just want to walk away?" A.J. asked.
     "Guys, just between you and me, this has been a bad
experience for both of them.  They lost a baby - miscarriage -
right after he got sacked.  She lost a couple of months of work
and I think they want a new start with nothing to remind them of
Tulsa or what they've been through.  Personally, I think it's a
mistake, but I'm not their grief counselor."
     "How do we come up with a value on the furniture?" A.J.
asked.
     "I'm going to give you the name of a fellow I know who
handles sales like this.  I suggest that you call him and pay him
for an appraisal.  He'll come up with amounts you might be
expected to pay at a sale and give you an idea as to what to
offer.  He'll probably charge you about 10% of the value to
appraise it.  Quite frankly, that's reasonable."
     I wrote down the man's name and telephone number, promising
that we would call him right away.
     "While I'm thinking of it, the floor in both the living room
and dining room is hardwood and they said it was in pretty good
shape.  They just preferred carpet to bare floors."
     "Most people seem to.  I like nice floors and area rugs," I
said.  A.J. agreed.
     "Now, I've put together the figures you would see on a
contract.  I've checked with the mortgage company for a payoff
without the next payment being made and giving us two weeks to
close.  There are property taxes, which are current, closing
costs, my commission, title search and insurance.  There are no
liens on the property, so there is no threat of a problem to you.
I'm going to suggest 'sellers insurance' even though equipment
and appliances are new.  They can buy this, but we'll make it
part of the deal so you pay for it.  More and more people are
opting for this and if there are any problems in 60 days, say the
dishwasher gives up, it gets replaced at no cost to you."
     I was familiar with this, I'd purchased it on the sale of my
house and a friend had bought it when selling his house.  The 30-
year old furnace had quit a week after they closed the deal.  The
people got a new furnace for free and the air conditioner was
cheap because they 'got a deal'.
     "We'll look this over and send it on to Herbert Flowers and
get back with you as soon as we can," I told Doug.
     A.J. told him we'd turn on the fax machine as soon as we
hung up, which we did.
     * * * * *
     The telephone rang immediately, the fax machine came on and
we had two pages of figures within a minute.
     While I started looking at the papers Doug sent, A.J. called
Curtis Cunningham and explained what we were doing and that we
needed to have some household furnishings appraised.  At first he
seemed reluctant, then when he understood that it was about nine
rooms worth, he was interested.  As Doug had told us, he based
his fee on 10% of what he thought it should bring if he was
having a sale.
     It was 3:30.  He could either meet us at 4 p.m. or the next
afternoon.  Since we had to drive to Oklahoma City to pick up
Laura, we opted for the appointment in a half hour.
     * * * * *
     The next phone call was to Herbert and I think we were both
amazed he was in his office at that time of the day.  We later
found out he was working on our "money" project.
     We explained what was going on and we both could tell that
he was stunned things were moving so quickly.
     "I didn't think you would find a place for several months
and then it would be several more before you could get the
remodeling accomplished," he told us.
     He told us he was going to call Doug to get the owners names
because he wanted to run a credit check on them.
     "Doug told us there were no liens on the property," A.J.
said.
     "Yes, but if you are going to buy furnishings, I need to
make sure those aren't secured or under a purchase contract.
They could be repossessed from you and get the owners in trouble
for selling items that had a payment contract on them," he said.
     I hadn't thought of this, but that's why Herbert was an
attorney and I wasn't.
     "Regardless, I'll tell Doug to talk to them about this, too.
If the furniture isn't clear and you want it, we can deal on
those contracts directly and pay them off."
     "Herbert, in looking over the figures that Doug sent us, it
appears that it is going to take about $425,000 to close on the
house," I told him.
     "Well, you've got that much available, with some left over."
     "Can we use any of the extra $25 thousand to buy the
furniture?" A.J. asked.
     "Oh, probably.  I'm sure Laura would have no problem since
she gave the money to you for the house and this is part of the
house," he laughed.
     I was a little relieved, but knew that wasn't going to cover
the amount it would take to close that part of the deal.
     "But, I've been working on your funds today and I've already
set up bank accounts for each of you with the first two
installments of your 'allowance' in them.  You each have $33,500
in your accounts as of now.  If you need more money, I can fund
it for you with no problem.  What I'm doing is basing the funding
on an annual amount of $300 thousand figuring a third for income
taxes and dividing the rest into 12 equal payments.  This figure
will change as income from the investments go up and down -
hopefully up."
     Again, the figures spun in my head.  That was strange.  All
of the years of working as a corporate accountant, figures were
just that - something you wrote in the ledger.  Yet, when it was
your own money, it took on a whole different meaning.
     "I'll call Doug as soon as we get off the phone and have him
send me everything he has and we'll get the ball rolling on this.
Do you have any idea as to when you can have possession and move
in?" Herbert asked.
     "The people are moving to Houston and are there now, looking
for a furnished apartment.  I honestly don't think they are
taking much more than their clothing and a few personal items.
We're meeting a person who handles estate sales in a few minutes
and he's going to give us an appraisal on the furniture.  Doug
recommended that we buy everything, then have our own sale," I
said.
     "That makes sense.  It certainly will get the present owners
out of the picture right away and give you a little time to
actually decide what to keep and sell."
     "We'll get off the phone now so you can call Doug," I said.
     "Do you have his cell phone number?" A.J. asked.
     "No, why don't you give it to me, then I can find him right
away if he's out of the office."
     "Thanks, Herbert," I said.
     "Hope we hear something from you soon," A.J. said.  By the
way, we're coming to Oklahoma City tomorrow to pick up Laura and
bring her back to Tulsa for a few days."
     "That works out good.  Come past my office and sign the
signature cards and I'll give you each a checkbook.  Just let me
know what time so I can be here," Herbert told us.
     We agreed and hung up the phone.
     * * * * *
     "Did you think yesterday at this time that we would be doing
this today?" I asked A.J. as we were on our way to meet Curtis.
     "I certainly didn't.  Talk about a whirlwind.  I can almost
feel the world spinning around," A.J. laughed.
     As we drove up the driveway, a Toyota pickup came down the
street from the opposite direction and pulled in behind us.  A
good-looking fellow, probably in his 40's got out and came toward
us.  He was about 6' tall, graying hair, slender and well
dressed.
     We introduced ourselves and he followed us into the house.
I'd have to ask A.J. about it later, but my gaydar was pinging -
big time.
     "We want to make an offer on all the furnishings, then we'll
have our own sale," I told him.
     "Oh, okay.  Will you want me to handle that sale?" he asked.
     "Probably.  We understand the people aren't keeping anything
except some personal items and clothing.  We need furniture to
fill the house, but don't want to keep everything they have."
     Curtis had a large briefcase with him and pulled out a
headset, plugging it into a micro cassette recorder that must
have been voice-activated. We started in the living room and he
was spewing out descriptions and amounts almost faster than I
could think about it.
     The recorder was a great idea, as it allowed him free use of
his hands for picking up furniture and other items.
     As he was working, A.J. and I wandered around.  There were
very few items on tables.  No pictures on the walls, only 2
candles on the mantle.  The owners had either packed up what they
were keeping, or didn't have anything to begin with.
     We went into the dining room.  The same thing there.  There
was a set of 6 place settings of Lenox china in a simple pattern
in the china hutch.  Some very cheap goblets and wine stems.  It
looked like Libby, but may have also been "Early Martha Stewart"
as some friends jokingly called her K-Mart specials.  There was
no flatware in the drawers, only six placemats and napkins.  I
wondered if they had ever used the dining room.  Curtis told us
that the furniture was Thomasville, but bottom of the line.
     There were no sheets on the beds in the downstairs bedrooms,
only a cheap bedspread and pillows on each.  The beds didn't have
headboards and the frames, box springs and mattresses were old
and pretty much worn out.  The two dressers and nightstands had
probably come from a used furniture place and maybe had been
repainted, but certainly not professionally.
     There was no furniture in either the upstairs or downstairs
hall.  The linen closets upstairs produced no sheets or bath
towels.  There were sheets and spreads on both upstairs beds and
towels in the bathrooms, but nothing extra.  We discovered that
most personal effects had been removed, nothing in dresser
drawers and only a few articles of clothing in the closets.  The
storage cabinets in both baths were empty.
     The furniture in the basement den was the best in the house.
Well, who could blame them?  That's probably where they spent
most of their time.  There was a very comfortable sofa, two love
seats, three coffee tables and four end tables with matching
lamps on them in the room.  There had probably been a large-
screen TV, and it was obvious that speakers and stereo equipment
had been removed.  The wires were still there.
     When we were through, Curtis told us that the best furniture
was in the den, the master bedroom and several pieces in the
living room.
     That left the kitchen and some things in the breezeway,
including a charcoal grill and a few aluminum chairs.
     Again, the kitchen had been cleaned out of most dishes and
appliances - if they had been there to begin with.  There was a
round dining table and four chairs in one corner.  We hadn't
looked in the refrigerator, but it and the freezer were empty
except for a few things that could be thrown away.
     I apologized to Curtis about the furniture.
     "Oh, don't do that," he said.
     "We thought there was more here than met the eye," I said.
     "Actually, you would be surprised.  This stuff will sell
better than really good quality furniture.  Most people are
looking for things to furnish a new home, like newlyweds, or
maybe a second home - a cabin or weekend place."
     "I hadn't thought about that, but some of the nicer things I
had in my home hadn't sold very well.  In fact that's the reason
I kept a Century dining room table, chairs and china hutch.  It
didn't sell and the fellow was going to take it to an auction.
It had cost $3,500 twenty-five years ago and I sure couldn't
replace it for that now."
     Curtis grinned at me.  "It doesn't always pay to buy the
best.  It looks good and lasts forever, but when you want to sell
it, it might as well be made of wood chips that have been
painted."
     "You got it," I agreed.
     A.J. was still poking around in the kitchen cabinets.  There
was a set of new cookware, heavy aluminum with Teflon lining and
glass lids.  I'd seen it before, but couldn't think of the brand
name.
     "Now, that will sell quickly, and at almost new price,"
Curtis told us.  "It's funny what people will buy and what they
will ignore."
     "We have enough kitchen appliances and gadgets to get us
started anyway," I said.  I kept a lot of things I probably
shouldn't have, but I like to cook and the replacement was going
to be a lot more than they would have sold for."
     "Excuse me for asking. but are you guys."  Curtis was
choosing his words carefully.
     "A couple?" A.J. asked, with a grin on his face.
     "Yes," Curtis said, obviously relieved at the help.
     "We are," I said.  "Newlyweds at that," I grinned.
     "Excuse me, but you don't look like the typical gay couple I
deal with."  He was still a little uncomfortable.
     "We have an age difference, I guess, but I don't think it's
going to be a problem," I told him.
     "If anything, I may have trouble keeping up with him," A.J.
teased.
     We all laughed.
     "Well, fellows, that's grand.  Good luck and a lot of
happiness to you," he told us.
     "Thanks," we replied, almost together.
     "As I see it, if you want me to do a sale for you, we could
schedule it in a couple of weeks.  I would suggest moving
everything you don't want into the garage and I'll bring in
tables and we'll put everything out, price it and go from there.
I'll charge you 30% of the sale price on everything and ask that
you pay me $450 for appraisal on the things you've pointed out
that you want to keep."
     That certainly was fair and we'd have other things to add to
the sale that were in the apartment.
     "I forgot to ask about the drapes in the living room, dining
room and bedrooms.  Are you going to keep those?" Curtis asked
us.
     "They aren't that bad.  Certainly we'll replace them later,
but they don't clash with anything.  They are new, or at least
were bought for these rooms, I think," I added.
     "Not a problem.  They are of fair quality and were custom
made by a professional shop."
     "Maybe we can add them to a sale you're having when we
replace them down the road a ways," A.J. put in.
     "That's fine.  I'll sit down at the computer, make a
detailed listing on a spreadsheet and can either email you the
file or fax the report to you.  You can mark the stuff you want
to keep and we'll settle on a date for the sale as soon as you
know what your possession date is."
     Curtis packed his briefcase back up and started to leave.  I
remembered that we hadn't looked in the large basement room.  We
went down to look at the exercise equipment.
     "Good stuff," said Curtis.  "Again, it won't bring much on a
sale.  If you guys are into working out, I'd keep it.  You've got
everything you need for a home gym except a treadmill."
     "We like to walk outside whenever we can, and the hills in
this part of town will be good to exercise on," A.J. said.
     The three of us walked back up the stairs and let Curtis
out, telling him goodbye.
     * * * * *
     A.J. and I went into the living room and sat down on the
love seat.  We just sat there and looked around, then started
pointing various features out and discussing them.  It really was
a neat house.  The remodeling was well thought out and although
there were a couple of things that didn't seem to fit, the
project had been done correctly.  We both liked the fact that you
could stand in the upper hall and look down into the living room.
     We were soon on the way upstairs to look again.
     "I can hardly wait to rip up the carpet and see what the
instruments sound like in here," I said.
     "We might be able to do that next week," A.J. said, giving
me a kiss.  I returned it, wondering if the present owners loved
each other as much as A.J. and I did.  Somehow, I doubted it.
     "Yeah, we'll have to see if they need to be refinished."  I
had another thought.  "I wonder if maybe we should have a
moveable platform built for the organ?  One that's on rubber
wheels."
     "What about the cables?" A.J. asked.
     "Not a problem.  There is a power cable on the console and a
15-wire round computer cable that runs to the four amplifiers.
It just needs to be protected that someone doesn't step on it."
     "Oh, I thought it was a great big, thick cable," A.J. said.
     "You mentioned screening the doors with a facade of pipes,"
I said.  "How about a wall that goes up about 8 feet with a
platform that ties it to the bedroom wall?  It would screen the
doors; we could put the organ speakers on the platform and screen
them with the facade of pipes."
     "Are they easy to find?" he questioned.
     "Sure.  Every organ serviceman has stuff they've taken out
of churches.  Most are glad to get rid of them so they don't have
to store them," I said.  "I'll show you those pictures of the old
studio again."
     We walked through the house again, standing in each room,
our arms around the other's waist.  Just standing there and
taking it all in. having a hard time believing our luck.
     * * * * *
     There was a call on the answering machine from Doug Reynolds
when we got home.  A.J. and I both needed to use the bathroom
before returning it.
     "Is this what you want to do?" I asked as we walked back
into the living room.
     "Yes, but only if you are satisfied," A.J. told me.
     "Let's do it.  I think this is a good deal and it certainly
has what we need in the way of space."
     A.J. and I exchanged a kiss.  "Call him," I said.
     Doug told us, "I've talked to Herbert and we're ready to
start the paperwork to close the deal if that's what you want to
do."
     "What about an inspection for termites or structural
fitness?" I asked.
     "The company that did each of them two years ago has updated
their certificates.  It's already taken care of," Doug said.
     "Okay, just happened to think of it now," I said.
     "When are the owners coming back to town?" I asked.
     "They will be here on Friday afternoon.  They have some
things stored that they want to pick up and will rent a one-way
trailer.  It's more than will go in their two cars."
     "Do we need to meet them?" I questioned.
     "They actually don't have to be at the closing, because they
are signing their interest over to the mortgage company.  I don't
know what the reason for that is, but I guess they had some kind
of agreement to do that."
     "The reason I asked is that Curtis is preparing a listing of
the furnishings and we should know later this evening what the
estimated sale value of it is.  On closer examination, a lot of
it isn't very good, but Curtis said that usually sells better
than the expensive furniture."
     "Is there anything else in the house that they want to take
with them?" A.J. asked.
     "I'll have to find out for sure, but I don't think so.  I
think they reached an agreement with the mortgage company to let
them have the house if it didn't sell by the end of the month.
Since you are buying it, the mortgage company doesn't have any
claim unless you wait until after that to close; it could change
everything because they could demand a much higher price."
     "Get on the closing," A.J. said, sounding concerned.
     "Yeah, Doug, we don't want to screw this up," I laughed.
     "Quite frankly, the mortgage company is relieved because of
all the legal implications if they were to take the property
back.  All they want is the money due them."
     "We're going to Oklahoma City tomorrow, probably in the
morning, to get my grandmother and bring her back to Tulsa for a
few days.  We're going to see Herbert while we're there.  Is
there anything that you need to have us take to him?" A.J. asked.
     "Yes, it will save us FedEx-ing some things back and forth.
I'll drop a contract off at your apartment on the way home.
You'll need to sign it at his office where it can be notarized,
and then return it to me.  He can have the checks prepared and I
can have everything back tomorrow afternoon instead of Friday or
Monday.  In that case, you actually don't have to go to the
closing, either, and the house will be yours tomorrow afternoon."
     "That's simple," I said.
     "There isn't really a formal closing on this deal.  We give
the mortgage company the checks they need along with the signed
contract and that's it.  If you were financing the house with a
mortgage company, it would get a lot more complicated.
     "We need to talk to A.J.'s grandmother about picking her up,
but we'll probably be back here in time for a late lunch.  We can
bring the things Herbert gives us to your office before we eat,"
I told him.
     "That works for me.  We can firm this up when I bring stuff
to you later.  I'll call before I leave the office."
     "Maybe you can have a drink with us, then," A.J. said.
     "That sounds good.  I've worked so hard on this deal," Doug
laughed.
     * * * * *
     We had no sooner hung up than the phone rang again.  It was
Herbert.
     "Have you talked to Doug about what's happening on the house
deal?" he asked.
     "Yes, and we're bringing the paperwork he's preparing with
us tomorrow, but we need to find out when Laura wants us to pick
her up," I said.
     A.J. added, "Doug said that if we carry the paperwork, the
house could be ours by late tomorrow afternoon."
     "That's right," Herbert said.  "Doug faxed me everything I
need and I can cut the checks needed to give the mortgage company
and other fees that need to be paid.  It's almost a done deal.
If you carry the paperwork back and forth, it just speeds
everything up a couple of days."
     "We need to check with grandmother about picking her up, but
I think we can come see you, pick her up and be back in Tulsa to
give Doug the closing papers and checks, then have a late lunch,"
A.J. said.
     "Are you guys going to be in shape to show Laura the house
after you have lunch?" Herbert asked.
     It took me a couple of seconds to realize that he thought we
were going to celebrate by having a liquid lunch.  He was
probably right.
     "We'll try not to get carried away, but we do have reason to
celebrate, don't we?" A.J. asked.
     "Yes, and I wish I could be there to join you.  Do you have
pictures of the house?" he asked.
     "We took a bunch with our digital camera today.  We'll print
up the best ones and bring them along," I said.
     "Great, I'm anxious to see them.  Then, maybe I can make a
personal inspection sometime soon after you get moved," he said.
     "Let us call grandmother right now and we'll call you right
back," A.J. said.
     "That's fine.  I'll be here for another half hour, or you
can call me at home.  My number is 555-9684," he told us.  A.J.
wrote the number down.
     "We'll call you before you leave there," A.J. told him, then
pushed the button to break the connection as soon as Herbert
acknowledged what A.J. said.
     * * * * *
     Within 20 seconds we had Laura on the line again.  Ma Bell
was making a little money off us today.
     After we exchanged greetings, she listened as we brought her
up to date on our house deal and was especially interested that
we were going to see Herbert and hand carry the necessary
paperwork to finalize our purchase.
     "Can we pick you up about 11 o'clock?" A.J. asked.
     "That would be fine.  I can be ready earlier, if need be,"
Laura said.
     "No," I broke in.  We'll still be back in time to take the
paperwork to Doug and then the three of us can go to lunch."
     "I called my friends and they invited us to go to dinner on
Friday night, so if you've made any plans you'll have to cancel
them," Laura told us.
     "No plans," I said.  "I'm writing it on the calendar right
now."
     After saying our goodbyes, A.J. broke the connection and
called Herbert again.  We made arrangements to be at his office
at 10 o'clock.
     We hadn't much more than hung up from talking to him when
Doug called again.  He was ready to leave his office and would be
at our place in about 20 minutes.
     "How about we have that drink at your place, then I take you
out to dinner?  I'd like the chance to get better acquainted with
both of you."
     "That's fine with us," I said as A.J. nodded his head.
     * * * * *
     We decided if we were going out to dinner, we should
probably look a little more presentable.  We took turns in the
bathroom and I reminded A.J. when we were trading spaces that we
would soon have a big bathroom with two basins and could shave at
the same time.
     "Yeah, and don't forget the bidet," A.J. teased.  "I can
hardly wait to try washing out my asshole after you've deposited
a big load up there."
     We hugged each other and shared a kiss.  I would like to
have taken him back to the bedroom and stripped his clothes off
right then, but we didn't need to keep Doug waiting.
     Both of us shed the Levis and pulled out Dockers and polo
shirts.  It was amazing what washing ones face, putting on fresh
deodorant, a squirt of cologne and clean clothes would do for
you.
     A.J. had just started filling the ice bucket when Doug
knocked on the door.  Good, he was dressed just like us.  We had
picked the right outfits for the evening.
     Doug also liked his martinis as we did.  He chose Bombay
Sapphire Gin and A.J. and I drank our usual Beefeaters.  We had
one bottle of Tomolives left.  These are pickled green tomatoes,
but look like olives.  A.J. speared two on a toothpick for each
of us.  When Doug bit into his, he got a pleasantly surprised
look on his face and wanted to know what they were.
     I told the story of my discovery.  I hadn't been able to
find them in Wichita, but some friends found them in their
grocery store in another city and I usually bought 6 bottles each
time I visited them.  I hadn't looked for them in Tulsa, but
surely someone here stocked them.
     Doug was going to look at his grocery store and said he
would buy some for us if he found them.
     The three of us had a great, relaxed visit.  It turned out
that Doug had a lover, who was away visiting his parents, both of
which were going to have to go to an assisted living facility.
Doug and Tom lived about 3 blocks from our new home.  We found
out that there were at least six other gay couples that lived
within two or three blocks.
     "We're going to have to watch out, otherwise the area may
get the nickname of 'the gay ghetto'," Doug laughed.
     He wanted to know of our plans for the house and we told him
that the first project would be to make the downstairs bathroom
accessible only from the corner bedroom, then to turn the other
bedroom into an office, but put a stool and lavatory in one
corner, with an access door from the hall.
     "Sounds like you've solved that awkward problem.  When I
looked at the house, I thought it was a poor arrangement, with
the two bedroom and bathroom doors opening into the living room.
I hadn't really thought it all the way through."
     He thought our idea of concealing the two remaining doors
was a good one and that organ pipes would certainly add interest
to the room.
     "So, are you going to move next week?" Doug questioned.
     "If we get everything signed, sealed and delivered, we'll
probably start moving furniture that we don't want into the
garage over the weekend.  The first project will be to rip the
carpeting out of the living room to see if the floor has to be
refinished.  If it does, then we'll rip the carpet out of the
dining room and possibly the hall, then have the floors
refinished before we do anything else," I said.
     "Let me give you the name and number for a fellow who does
excellent work.  He's reasonable and will be in and out of there
in two or three days time," Doug told us.
     "It's going to look pretty bare to begin with and I think
we'll be taking our time buying furnishings," A.J. said.  I shook
my head in agreement.
     We had a second round of drinks, and then went to a really
good oriental restaurant for dinner.
     * * * * *
     After Doug dropped us back at the apartment, we stripped
down to our shorts and sat in the living room to talk about the
day.
     This was Tuesday evening.  The last two days had been a
blur, having been given the money to buy a house, then finding
exactly what we wanted immediately. and at a bargain basement
price.  The best part was that the place needed very little done
to it before we moved in.  If the floors needed to be refinished,
that would be done before moving anything in.  Might as well get
the dust out of the way first.
     To say we were excited would be an understatement.  We were
elated!  A.J. hauled out the pad with measurements and the list
of furniture and we were just starting to discuss it when the
telephone rang.  It was Curtis and he wanted to verify our email
address to send us the spreadsheet file.  He used Quattro Pro,
also, so we could read the data with no problem.
     After he hung up, I accessed our account and the file
arrived shortly after I logged on.  I downloaded it and started
it printing so we could look at it together.  He had grouped it
by room and had two columns of amounts.  The first column was for
the things he thought we wanted to keep for ourselves and the
second was the "sale" column.
     It was no surprise that there wasn't a great deal of value
to what was going to be sold, but it still came to a reasonable
amount.  We weren't out to make any money on the deal and we
could pay the present owners an amount that was fair.  Actually
the things we wanted to keep weren't priced that high, a reminder
as to what I'd run into at my own sale several months before.
The total Curtis said to offer them was close to $19,000, taking
into consideration his commission on the sale.  We decided that
this wasn't that good of a deal for us, but would help them out
as they had already taken a severe beating on being able to get
out from under the mortgage.  We decided to go with it and A.J.
called Doug to have him make an offer for us.
     * * * * *
     After printing about a dozen pictures to show Herbert and
each of us having a couple glasses of port wine we decided that
we were tired.  We need to be up early and on our way to Oklahoma
City by 8:30 since our appointment with Herbert was a 10 a.m.
     After brushing our teeth and taking care of other bathroom
needs, we stripped and crawled into bed, wrapping ourselves
around each other.  We must have been really tired, because I
didn't remember anything after a passionate goodnight kiss.  A.J.
told me the next morning that he was the same way.  We must not
have moved because when I woke up about 5:30 to pee, we were
still laying in the same position as we went to sleep.  As I was
making my way back to the bedroom, A.J. sleepily stumbled into
the bathroom to do the same.
     The next thing we knew, it was 7:15.  We lay there and idly
played with each other, not trying to achieve a climax, just
loving looking and feeling each other.  We did, however,
stimulate each other almost to orgasm with our hands and fingers,
kissing each other passionately.  When it was time to shoot, we
swung into a 69 and finished each other.  It wasn't the greatest
sex we'd had, but we weren't out to win any contest this morning.
     After getting out of bed, I headed to the kitchen to start
the coffeepot and pour orange juice for us.  A.J. was shaving as
I stepped back into the bathroom.  I set two glasses of juice on
the counter and brushed my teeth.  Somehow, cum-flavored orange
juice didn't appeal to me.  Then I thought of the Anita Bryant
orange juice commercials of years ago and started laughing at the
idea.
     "What's so funny?" A.J. questioned.
     I told him and we both had a good laugh at the idea of her
advertising cum-flavored orange juice.
     We dressed casually for the day, made the bed and
straightened up the apartment and were ready to leave by 8:15.
Both cars needed fuel, so we drove them to a Phillips 66 station
about a mile from the apartment, then returned mine to the
parking lot at the complex.  That way we didn't have to fill it
later.
     It seemed like we had driven back and forth so many times in
the past few weeks that both cars should know the way with no
help from us, but of course, that wasn't true.  Traffic was heavy
this morning and not all moving at the same speed so A.J. was
continually going back and forth from using cruise control to
speeding up or slowing down to avoid traffic problems.  There had
been talk of making this turnpike 6 lanes and I could certainly
see where it would be helpful this morning, although there was no
guarantee that slower traffic would stay in the right lane.
     We arrived at Herbert's office just at 10 a.m.  He had just
parked his car and walked into the building with us.
     It didn't take long to get the paperwork signed and
notarized and receive the envelope containing the checks and
other papers to go back to Doug.  Herbert then had us sign the
signature cards, and had set it up so each of us could sign on
both accounts.  I don't know how he had accomplished it, but had
new personalized checks for us with both names printed on them
AND... our new address!  He also had TransFund Cards for each of
us, Bank of Oklahoma's answer to an ATM/Check Guarantee card.
     We showed him pictures of the house and he was suitably
impressed.
     "I had no idea this deal would happen so quickly," he told
us.
     "Thanks for connecting us with Doug Reynolds," I said.
     A.J. agreed.  "He is tremendous to work with."
     "It's really interesting how all this fell together.  Doug
just happened to have the right listing.  If you had worked with
another realtor, this deal probably wouldn't have come about,"
Herbert told us.
     We agreed.  Things that were supposed to happen just did.
     * * * * *
     We picked Laura up just before 11 a.m.  She had two small
cases and a garment bag, which probably contained suits and long
dresses.
     Of course, we were all glad to see each other although it
had been less than 48 hours since we'd told her goodbye on
Monday.
     We had barely gotten started down the street when Laura
announced that A.J.'s parents were getting ready for another
trip.  "You'll never guess where they're going this time?"
     I was sitting in the backseat and leaned up to join the
conversation.
     Laura started laughing.  "An African Safari in Kenya."
     "What?" A.J. laughed.  Soon all three of us were laughing.
     "Well, Mother might be able to find a bridge game, but I
don't think Dad is going to be able to find any appliance stores
to visit."
     I, of course, had not met the parents yet, but from what I'd
been told, I didn't think a safari was "their thing" to do.
     "When are they leaving?" A.J. asked.
     "Friday morning.  They just called me last night to say they
would be gone for two weeks as they are going to Cairo before and
Cape Town afterward.  Can you imagine?" she asked.
     "No, quite frankly, I can't.  They certainly are out to
experience everything they can this year, aren't they?" A.J.
asked.
     "I was counting up last night.  This is the 11th trip
they've taken this year.  They've been to Hawaii twice, Cancun,
the Bahamas, England, Europe, Alaska, Toronto, Singapore, the
Virgin Islands and Mexico," Laura told us.
     "And I bet you that they can't tell us anything about any of
the places," A.J. laughed.
     "Right," said Laura.  "Betsy played bridge the whole time
and Jim visited every appliance store he could find and probably
told the owners how to run it."
     "They could stay home and do that," I said.
     "Sure, but then they couldn't brag to their country club
friends about having gone to all these places," Laura said.
     "The sad thing is that some of their friends have gone on
these excursions with them and haven't learned anything about
where they've been, either," A.J. told us.
      "Well, enough of trashing them and their trips," Laura
said.  "I want to know more about the house, how you found it.
the whole story."
     So, for the next hour we told the story, interrupting each
other, adding to what had been said and answering Laura's many
questions.  I pulled out the pictures to show her, but she
declined.
     "I want to see it through my own eyes.  I only look at
pictures if I can't see the real thing," she said.
     I'd have to remember that.  Although pictures were
meaningful, they really didn't do justice to the view they
represented.
     Doug's office was on East 15th, close to the Broken Arrow
Expressway and we found it with no problem.  A.J. took the large
manila envelope in to give to Doug.  He needed our signatures on
two more documents so A.J. came back to the car to have me go
inside.
     "Don't forget to have utilities changed and you probably
should call your insurance agent and get coverage on the house,"
Doug told us.
     We had already thought of this, but hadn't done it.  We
could take care of that after lunch.
     "I'll have all the papers and legal documents for you about
4:30," Doug told us.  "Is it okay if I drop them by on my way
home?"
     "Sure.  A.J.'s grandmother is visiting us for a few days,
but we should be at the apartment at that time."
     * * * * *
     We went to the Brookside area, on South Peoria for lunch at
a really good bistro.  I'd eaten there once before and the food
was good.  The lunch rush was over, so we were able to relax and
enjoy the meal and conversation with each other.
     Our new house was only a few blocks away and it didn't take
long to drive there.  A.J. took a route that would bring us to
the place from the east, because you could see the house as you
came around a curve.  Coming from the west, you couldn't see the
house until you were at the driveway.  He stopped a couple of
houses away so we could enjoy the view, then inched his way up
the street and turned into the driveway.
     "This place is beautiful," Laura said.  "In fact, I think
that Warren and Margaret Traumen lived here at one time.  They
were friends of ours years ago and we got acquainted with them
through some other friends."
     We had parked and were getting out of the car.  I had the
key and unlocked the door.  A.J. helped Laura into the front
hall.
     "I remember the hall and this stairway," Laura said, with
some excitement in her voice.
     We led her into the living room and she was astounded.  Of
course, it didn't look the same because it was now a two-story
room.  Clearly, she was impressed.  "What a beautiful room and
it'll be so great for entertaining," she said.
     The next stop was the dining room.  "This room used to be
paneled up to the wainscoting," we were told.  They've made the
room a lot lighter than it used to be."
     The kitchen was the next stop and she was properly
impressed.  She especially liked the "panty area" which was a
double unit of built-in cabinets that had plenty of storage for
canned goods and everything else you could think of.  The unit
had several sections that swung out.  I hadn't realized how much
food storage there was until today.
     We walked back into living room from the hall at the back,
showing her the bedrooms and our plans for the remodeling that
needed to be done to make one bedroom and bath, turning the other
bedroom into an office and adding a hall half-bath for guests to
use.  Laura agreed with our ideas and we could tell she was
pleased with "her room".
     The next stop was the basement and Laura had no problem with
the wide stairs.  I was glad that there were rails on both sides.
Again, she was impressed with what was there and loved the den
with it's own fireplace.
     We went back up to the back hall, going into the breezeway
and looking at the garages.  When we were back inside, we walked
to the front entry area and went up the stairs to the second
floor.  Again, I was glad that the stairway wasn't carpeted and
had a nice wood rail on the wall.  Laura loved the view into the
living room from the upstairs hall.  We proudly showed her our
room, bath and walk-in closet.  "Now what are you going to use a
bidet for?" teased Laura.
     A.J. turned red and I laughed.  End of discussion.
     We went into the second bedroom and Laura agreed with our
thoughts that it wasn't the best arrangement of bedroom, bathroom
and walk-in closet.  She thought it was possible that there might
have been three additional rooms upstairs before they were taken
out to become part of the living room.  She was positive she had
been there before but told us that the house was certainly more
stunning than it had been years before.  A.J. being the historian
he is, told her that he was going to try to trace the history of
the house.
     When I pulled a drawer open in the closet of the smaller
bedroom, I discovered the house plans.  There were two sets.  One
was probably the original and the second was as the house now
was.  There had been two additional rooms on the second floor,
but the arrangement now was completely different than original.
     We took the plans with us to look at later.
     Going back downstairs, we walked into the living room again,
pointing out the furniture we wanted to keep.  Laura agreed that
there were only 4 pieces that were worth keeping.  We were
curious about the floor under the carpeting.  A.J. went out to
the garage and found a hammer and screwdriver.  Quickly working
in one corner of the room, we soon were able to uncover about 4
square feet of flooring.
     "Looks good to me," I said.  A.J. was also excited at what
we were seeing.  Laura walked over.
     "If the rest of the floor is in as good of shape as this,
there won't be anything we have to do to it," I said.  The floor
would have to be cleaned, buffed and waxed.  It didn't appear
that there was a high-gloss varnish on it and that was fine.  We
could call Doug's friend to see if he could clean the floors and
wax them.  This meant that there would probably be carpeting to
sell from the living room, dining room and downstairs hall.  We
would leave the carpet in the bedroom and office.
     We went back to sit down and talk some more.  Laura was just
as excited about the house as we were.  She was in agreement
about buying all the furniture and keeping what we wanted.  Then
she wanted to look at the kitchen again.
     "I never had a large kitchen like this.  I know you will
enjoy this."
     We hadn't shown her how the wall between the dining room and
kitchen folded back into panels.  We unlatched them at the top
and bottom and opened the rooms into one.
     "This will be great for large parties, especially if it's
cocktails and buffet.  There won't be any traffic problems with
this wall opened up."  Laura was really impressed.
     She hugged both of us.  "I don't think you could have found
a better house if you'd had it designed and custom-built.  This
is just grand.  Congratulations to both of you, my favorite
grandsons."
     We were proud, too.  "Laura, thank you from the bottoms of
our hearts.  I don't know how we can possibly repay you for what
you've done for us."  I said this with tears running down my
cheeks.
     She hugged each of us again.  "Just love each other and take
care of each other. forever!" she told us.
     * * * * *
     (to be continued)
            * * * * *
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