Habitude, page 16
“Do you want to marry him?”
“Yes, but what is with all this marriage talk, Mom?”
“A mom needs to be aware of these things. If he asks us for permission, your dad and I need to know it is what you want. We don’t want to tell him yes if you don’t want that too.”
“In a strange way, it makes sense.” Faith shakes her head.
“Thank you. Now if he asks, I know what to say. You understand we just want you to be happy, right dear?”
“Yes, I know, Mom. Thank you guys for all your help. I’m not sure if I’d have been able to get him on board with the idea of building if it weren’t for you and dad.”
“It sounds like the house is going to be a really beautiful place!”
It definitely is. The house on its own would be beautiful, but with the property, it’s going to be magnificent!”
“I’ve one more question for you, if that’s alright.”
“OK, Mom.”
“Are you on birth control?”
“Mom!”
“Well, I know you were, but I wasn’t sure if you stayed on. I simply want you to protect yourself, and for you to be ready when the time does come.”
Faith tries to hide a little eye roll then she answers honestly. “Yes, Mom. I am on birth control.” Then she adds, “Jonathan and I have discussed wanting children and we both know that we do. That’s as far as the conversation has gone.”
“OK. Thank you for putting my mind at ease.” A sincere smile spreads across her face.
“No problem. Do you have any more questions?” Faith asks in a slightly facetious tone.
“No.”
Diane starts grabbing serving dishes and Faith follows. They bring the food out into the dining room. Faith see’s Jonathan’s eyes get huge and a big grin on his face. She starts to giggle to herself. Her mom notices as well and says, “The way to any man’s heart is straight through his stomach. Jonathan is a prime example.”
Jonathan laughs and says with his hands held up. “You caught me.”
Faith adds, “The funny part is that he’s the one that is usually cooking for me.”
He smiles slyly. “Maybe I was trying to keep from falling too hard for you in the beginning. It was an attempt to turn the tables if you will.”
Frank says, “I’m sure it was a nice attempt, but it appears to have failed.”
Frank and hope laugh, their sense of humor extremely similar. Diane laughs too, loving the sight of her family happily sitting together at the dinner table. Faith sits beside Jonathan, placing her hand on his knee. She puts her head on his shoulder as a quick reminder of how much she appreciates him.
They pass the dishes around, putting a little of everything on their plates. The room gets quiet as they all start to eat.
Once dinner is done, Faith once again helps bring all the dishes into the kitchen, putting the left-overs into containers and placing them in the refrigerator.
Hope comes in to grab a round of beers for herself, her dad, and Jonathan. Her mom gives her a look. To which Hope replies, “What? This is a celebratory beer. To celebrate all the great things Doubt and Jonomeister are doing.”
Diane laughs, “Jonomeister, huh?”
“I’m trying it out. It might work.” She shrugs.
“It sure beats Doubt and Despair.” Diane rolls her eyes.
“Maybe I have to go back to the drawing board then.”Faith starts laughing and asks, “Have you run that one by him?”
“No. It doesn’t matter if he likes it. In fact, the less he likes it, the better.” She laughs with a slightly maleficent tone.
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t think he’ll like it.” Faith shakes her head.
“Good. And it does.”
Faith finishes putting the left-overs away and sees that Jonathan and her dad have gone outside and are sitting around the fire pit. Her dad is getting a fire going.
She grabs a beer from the fridge as well, and she, Hope, and their mom walk out the back door. Taking a seat next to Jonathan, Faith smiles at him. Hope hands the beers to the guys and sits down next to Faith.
Frank hold up his bottle and says, “Here’s to an easy and quick sale, closing and construction. We hope the next several months go swimmingly for you two.”
“Thank you, sir.” Jonathan raises his bottle. The others do the same.
They all take a drink. The brisk October air makes the fire feel that much cozier. The sun is setting, making the sky turn beautiful shades of orange and pink.
Jonathan looks at Faith and says, “I can’t wait to have nights like this at our new house. With that view, it’ll be incredible.”
“It really will be. I thought the view at your condo was stunning, but the view of the coast from that property is even better.”
“Our property”, Jonathan corrects her, “it’s not just ‘that’ property. It’s going to be ours.” As he finishes the sentence he brings her hand to his lips.
“Yes, it is.” She smiles.
Frank asks, “Have you guys gotten an accepted offer yet?”
Jonathan answers, “We submitted one yesterday. In it, we stipulated that they must respond no later than five o’clock tomorrow evening. The waiting is tough, but it will be worth it in the end.”
“Do you mind me asking what the price on that was? Some of the land around Luna Shores is practically dirt cheap. Excuse the expression.” He chuckles at his own dad joke.
Faith isn’t sure how much Jonathan wants to share with them about their budget. It hasn’t come up before now. She knows he’s been open with nearly everyone else they’ve talked to, but she stays quiet and lets Jonathan answer just in case.
“We’re hoping to get the land for under a hundred thousand. The timing is quite perfect since I recently received a large bonus. Utilizing that, our all-in budget is a million dollars.”
Frank slaps his knee, “That’s a great price for the land, and a huge budget, even for building an entire house.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking if there’s excess, we may end up purchasing new furniture. It would be nice to have a set we’ve picked out together. Our current furniture doesn’t work cohesively.
Faith thinks about it for a moment realizing that he’s right. They would clash horribly if used together in the same space.
“We haven’t discussed what we’re going to do with the money from my house either. Using that might be an option as well.”
Jonathan looks at her and says, “Faith, that’s your money. You choose how to spend it, but I don’t want it to be on anything for our house. I told you I’m paying for it.” His tone kind, with a slight sternness to it.
Realizing this is the first time her parents and Hope have heard about that aspect of their plan, Faith changes the subject. “So Dad, no game tonight?”
“No, the Stallions got beat by the Meteors. They were so close to going to the playoffs this year too.” The disappointment in his voice hangs in the air.
“I’m sorry, dad. There’s always next year.”
“That may be true. It’s bound to happen at some point, right?” Frank says hopefully.
“Exactly.”
We should all go to a game next season. That would be fun!”
“It would be.” Faith looks over to Hope, trying to telepathically say to her that tickets for them to all go to a game is a good gift idea for Father’s day.
Frank looks at Jonathan. “Do you watch baseball?”
“I never really got into the sport itself. My aunt Suz didn’t facilitate any extracurriculars for me. I like the game, though.”
Frank shakes his head, “You’re going to love watching it at the stadium. The atmosphere is out of this world. Nothin’ like it.” He wears a look of nostalgia.
“I’ve heard that. Kansen Corp does a company-sponsored trip to a game. I’m usually so busy with work that I’m unable to go, though.”
Diane sounds concerned when she says, “You have to live life, Jonathan. It passes you by in the blink of an eye.”
Faith smiles, placing her hand on his and says, “We’re working on that, Mom.”
Jonathan adds, “Faith has not been shy about telling me that same sentiment as often as she can, ma’am.”
Diane smiles, “Good.” Watching the two of them reminds her of her husband and her when they first started out.
Hope stands and says, “Well, this has been a blast, but I should really get going. I’ve got some shows to catch up on. See you all here next week, same time, same place.”
She turns to walk towards the house, and Faith stands to walk with her to her car sensing that something is bothering her sister.
Faith touches Jonathan’s shoulder and says, “I’ll be right back.”
“OK.”
When they are far enough away from the fire pit area so that no one can hear, Faith asks, “Is everything OK, Hope?”
“Yeah, of course. I’m happy for you guys.”
“But…”
“But nothing. I’m joyful and glad that all your dreams coming true.” She says with sarcasm practically dripping from every word.
“That sounds so genuine. I could hardly tell it wasn’t.” Faith says, returning the sarcasm.
Hope laughs and says, “I’m better at it than you are.”
“You keep telling yourself that. But seriously, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just that I see the two of you, and it makes me feel like I’m behind. Like I should be where you are. On a side note,” she points a finger towards Faith, “I worry that the two of you are moving too quickly.”
“It’s OK to feel like that, but you’re not behind. You are running an entire business while going to school, Hope. You should be proud of how far you’ve come. As far as moving too quickly, trust me, I’ve had concerns about that, too. All I can tell you is that Jonathan has never wavered. He’s never made me believe by his words, actions or otherwise that this is too soon for anything. Besides, you’re the little sister, I’m the one that’s supposed to be over protective of you.”
“Yeah, you know how I am.” She gives Faith a sideways glance.
“I do, and I love you for it.” Faith wraps her arms around her sister, squeezing hard.
“Eww, cooties! Get off me!” She over exaggerates her movements to escape Faith’s grasp, then smiles at her. “I love you too, and I’m grateful you’re my sister.”
“Aww, you do love me?”
“Yes, of course. But can I say something without you getting mad or upset or anything?”
“Yes.” Faith braces herself for what might come. Hope doesn’t mince words, and at times, that can be hard to take.
“Protect yourself. Do something to invest the money you make from your house. Something to create a safety net in case things change.”
“That isn’t a half bad idea, little sis.”
“I know. I don’t like the idea of you selling your house, and then if something happens between the two of you, you’ll be asking to sleep on my couch.”
“Oh, so you trying to protect me is actually you just trying to keep me from crashing at your place.”
“Precisely.”
Faith hugs Hope once again. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now let me go. I’ve got homework and shit to do.”
“OK, fine.”
Hope gets in her car and drives away.
Chapter 27
Inexactitude
Noun; lack of precision
Late Monday morning Brian calls them both with the news of the accepted offer. Faith’s excitement built until they were able to have dinner at Jonathan’s place that night. It was his attempt at making Saturday night up to her, but also to celebrate the good news.
On Wednesday evening, Brian came over to Faith’s house to take pictures. By the next day, the listing was on all the websites, and showings were already being scheduled. He wasn’t kidding when he said the market was picking up.
Jonathan and Faith head to Stephen’s office on Friday evening for a meeting with him and Michael, a project manager with Amethyst Bay Construction.
As they walk through the doors into the reception area of office building, Michael holds out his robust hand to Faith first. “You must be Faith. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you as well, Michael.”
He then reaches out to shake Jonathan’s hand. “Stephen gave me a little bit of information, but it’s sounding like you two are coming up on some exciting times.”
“We are. We will be closing on the property right before Thanksgiving.” Jonathan says.
Happy at this, Michael says, “Which is perfect timing for us, really. We will be able to get permits started, and there’s a possibility of breaking ground on your closing day.”
“That would be great.”
Stephen walks into the reception area smiling and greeting them. Then suggests, “Why don’t we take this into my office.”
Once he’s sitting behind his desk, Stephen opens their file and then the plans and rendering, displaying them on his computer screens.
Michael looks through them, bringing a couple of things to Jonathan and Faith’s attention that they may not have noticed. He discusses flooring and other options for every room. Once he gets a feeling for what they like, he grabs some samples from his shoulder bag. Michael addresses Faith for most of the questions.
By the end of the meeting, Michael has nearly every finish and fixture laid out on a large table. Faith takes a picture of it, wanting to remember exactly what this all started out as. Jonathan smiles, even though he’s letting her make most of these decisions, he’s loving watching her. He’s still very much involved and interested, but he’s happy to see Faith in her element with all of this. He knew she would be.
They sign a contract with Michael, which stipulates all pertinent, but tentative dates. All three of them will meet at the property next week to discuss placement and if a walk-out basement is an option. Michael will perform a survey and do everything else needed to get the ball rolling for permitting and design finalization. They will need to keep him up to date on the status of the closing, and if everything goes well, they have plans to break ground in the afternoon right after the closing.
Jonathan and Faith will hopefully be able to move into the house in July. Nothing is set in stone still. They can make changes to the layout and any finishes, but they are locked into using Amethyst Bay as their contractor.
The two of them leave the meeting having a better understanding of what their expectations should be for construction. Although, right now, it’s hard to imagine the lot going from the pristine piece of earth that it is, so far untouched, to having trees cleared, a large hole dug, and a house built on it. They spend the evening at Jonathan’s condo.
The next morning, Faith receives a call from Brian with news of a couple of good offers they’ve already received. With there still being so many upcoming showings, Brian advises Faith to set a day to go over them all. She decides that Wednesday will be a workable cutoff. Brian tells her he will let all of the realtors know that she will be considering them all on that evening and they will find out within twenty-four hours. Then they set up a meeting for Wednesday.
“Multiple offers that’s really great, Faith!” Jonathan is happy for her. He finishes stirring the scrambled eggs on the stove.
“Yeah, it seems silly now that I had been so worried before.” She takes a sip of her orange juice.
“You didn’t know.”
“No, I didn’t. I should probably start packing and looking into a storage unit.”
“I will pay for movers. Is there anything besides your essentials that you would like to bring here from your house?” Jonathan plates their breakfast. Setting down Faith’s plate in front of her, he joins her at the island.
“I don’t think so. Your kitchen is fully stocked, and you have enough furniture.” She looks around. “I don’t think there’s much I can add.”
“Well. If there are things you’re fine with getting rid of, you could do that. It will save you money since you’ll need a smaller storage unit.”
“That’s true. Maybe I’ll try to sell some of it.”
Jonathan does the math in his head, “You know the closing could be close to Christmas depending on the offer.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“We can make it work. I would love for our first Christmas together to be here at my condo. It would be better in our house, but that isn’t an option.”
“I think reality is starting to set in that I’m going to be living here.” She takes a deep breath.
“Well, you’ve been staying over enough; it should kind of feel like home already.”
Faith thinks about that a moment, then admits, “It doesn’t really.” Realizing that may not have sounded very nice she adds, “It might help once more of my stuff is here.”
“Is there something I can do to help?”
“I’m not sure. I think I’ve had it in my mind for so long that I have my house and you have your condo and that, eventually, we will have our house so this place may always feel like yours.”
“I get it and I’m sorry.”
“It isn’t your fault. Building simply takes longer, but it will be more than worth the patience.”
“It will.” Jonathan thinks back to all the things Michael had laid out on the table. “Michael seemed to have a good grasp on what we want.”
“Yeah.” Faith pulls up the picture she took, “I’m really glad I took this. I’m sure my parents would like to see this too.”
“They would. I think they appreciate being included so much in this.”
“Thank you for helping facilitate that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to tell them everything.”
“I have no reason to hide anything.” Jonathan shrugs it off like it is no big deal.
“They ask a lot of questions though.”
Jonathan holds up his finger. “Only because they care.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” She says, grateful that he gets it.
They finish their breakfast, and as Jonathan is cleaning up, he says, “Would you like to get a start on packing your things today?”
