by Bria Marche
“A coffee sounds good. Black works for me.” Lisa sat, looking relaxed and confident.
Yay, finally, a potential renter. Maybe today will turn out okay after all. Abby walked back to the table with one black coffee and sat down. “So, Lisa, tell me a little about yourself and why you were interested in renting from me.”
“Sure… I’m a full-time student at MUSC studying to be a pediatrician. I’m in my second year, and my studies and courses are really keeping me busy. I live with my folks in Moncks Corner, but the drive into Charleston every day is a nightmare. I don’t have the most reliable car either, but if I lived near the university, I could ride my bike to school. My parents are giving me a one-thousand-five-hundred-dollar-a-month allowance to find a place to live while I finish my schooling.”
“That sounds really nice. Congratulations. You seem to be very ambitious.”
“Oh, I totally am. You won’t be sorry to have me as a tenant. I’m quiet because I’m always studying, and I don’t have time to party like most kids my age.”
“Okay, let me show you what we offer, and if you like what you see, you can take the application home with you. I’ll need your parents’ work history, since they’re the ones who will pay your rent. Make sure you let them know that two hot meals a day are included. That should give them a sense of relief that you’re eating properly.”
Abby showed Lisa pictures of the rooms and the common areas and explained the breakdown of the rent charges.
“I’m sure a smaller room with the hallway bath would be perfect for me. This home is beautiful. May I take all of this with me to show my folks?”
“Of course, that’s what it’s for. Go ahead and fill out the application together with your parents and get back to me. My contact information is in the packet. If you want to go ahead, have your parents come along, too. I’d be happy to show all of you the house.”
“Thank you so much. I’m really excited about this, and I’ll get back to you in a few days. I better go. I don’t want to miss my next class.”
Lisa left, and Abby exhaled a deep sigh. “Okay… one down and one more to go for today. Lisa seems promising. I hope she actually moves in.”
The last interview for the day was with Charles, a city employee who had recently gotten divorced. He needed a place to call his own since he had been living with his sister for the last three months.
A man entered Starbucks alone and looked directly at Abby. A smile crossed his face as he walked toward her, held out his hand and shook Abby’s.
Abby stood and introduced herself. “Hello, you must be Charles. I’m Abby. May I get you a coffee?”
“Sure, sounds good. I take cream and sugar.”
Charles Duncan was an average-looking man in his midforties, as far as Abby could tell. He seemed clean cut and polite, almost meek. He fidgeted a bit while she asked him the typical questions.
“So, Charles, you’re looking for a place of your own. Is that right?”
“Yeah, sure am. I can’t live with my sis forever. She has a hubby and four kids in a three-bedroom house.”
“I see. That makes perfect sense. So you work for the city. What do you do?”
“I’m a garbage truck driver for City Waste and Recycling. I just got hired there a month back, but I was a garbage man in Augusta before that. My wife wanted to move here, but now I know it was because she had a boyfriend in Charleston. Now she up and divorced me, and they took off for parts unknown. I make good money, and I’m reliable. I can be in charge of taking out the garbage, too.”
“Oh… thank you, but that isn’t necessary. So you work for City Waste and Recycling?” Abby’s face turned pale, and perspiration popped up on her forehead upon hearing the company’s name. I’m sure he got hired because of poor Mr. Hanson’s fatal heart attack. Will having him live with me screw up my chances for a settlement? Abby’s mind was going a hundred miles a minute. “Okay, let me show you the photos of the common areas in the house, and the bedrooms. Here are the room prices, which include two hot meals every day. If you’d like to go ahead, you can fill out the application, and I’ll get back to you once I check everything out. If at that time you want to go forward, I’ll give you a tour of the place. How does that sound?”
“Real good, so I should fill this out now?”
“Yes, right now sounds wonderful.” I seriously need to get home and have a drink.
Charles left, and Abby decided to walk home. With a good half-hour walk ahead of her, she could fill that time with decisions. She had a lot of thinking to do.
Chapter Thirteen
Back home with a glass of chardonnay on the library desk, Abby went over the numbers. “Let me see… Charles will likely take a small room, and Lisa will, too. Actually, two potential renters out of three appointments aren’t too bad.”
Betsy walked in. “Do you always talk out loud to yourself? I thought I heard the front door open. How did it go?” She pulled up one of the wingback chairs and sat closer to the desk, resting her feet on the chair next to her. She grabbed Abby’s glass and took a sip. “Ooh, that’s good.” Betsy jumped off the cozy chair just long enough to open the mini-fridge at the wet bar and pour herself a glass of chardonnay. “Thank you, Charlotte, for always having a nice wine selection.”
“Where were you just now?”
“I was upstairs changing the bed linens. So did anyone bite?”
“We might get two out of three. That’s a positive start, isn’t it?”
“Heck yeah, so tell me about the one that was a no go.”
“Oh my gosh, she drove her Rascal to the interview,” Abby said, almost choking on her wine. “I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. I felt bad, but I think she would have been on to us in two seconds flat. She was handicapped, of course, but she asked why I was renting out rooms upstairs if I didn’t have a stair lift. Who would have thunk? That never even occurred to me. I’m going to have to do more of the initial interview over the phone and make sure everyone is capable of walking up to a second-floor room.”
“Yeah, that could have gotten us in trouble.”
“Oh, and get this… I swear truth is stranger than fiction. One of the other two potential tenants works at City Waste and Recycling. It scared the crap out of me when he said that. It looks like he could be a potentially good tenant, but is that just some more bad karma, voodoo, and juju?”
“Who the heck knows? That is so weird. What a day… and the third?”
“She was perfect, a medical student whose parents will pay one thousand five hundred dollars a month for her to live in Charleston. I’m sure that one will be fine.”
“Okay, then there’s two people, and they want a small or a large bedroom?”
“Most likely small, but it’s a start in the right direction.”
***
All of the bedrooms were ready. The ivory paint looked elegant and rich. Erik was right, and his choice of colors for the rooms was spot-on, and the paint was much cheaper in bulk. Abby added colorful pillows she found scattered throughout the house and used them in the bedrooms. She moved artwork and rugs from other rooms into the tenant rooms to add pops of color as well. She didn’t mind getting by with less in her own room, and Mel and Betsy didn’t either.
That Saturday was the perfect day to show Lisa and her parents, along with Charles, the house on South Battery. All the applications were properly filled out, and the credit checks and background histories came back in good order. With the quantity of tourists walking East and South Battery and checking out White Point Garden, nobody would notice a few people going in and out of Melrose Mansion. The visitors were scheduled to arrive at eleven a.m., the busiest time for tourists to stroll the neighborhood. For thirty minutes, Abby acted as a tour guide, showing the main floor, second floor, the available rooms, and the gardens outside. Erik was right again. Planting that great quantity of flowers had paid off in spades, and the backyard was breathtakingly beautiful. Butterflies flittered about, and hummingbird
s zoomed by like fairies on rocket launchers. Abby invited the group out to the back to sit and enjoy a glass of tea with her and Melanie, Betsy, and Erik.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Lisa, her parents, and Charles. Lisa and Charles are both potential tenants. For now, they’re enjoying everything this house and neighborhood have to offer. You can’t get any more prestigious or beautiful than a home on South Battery.”
“I’ll second that,” Erik added. I’ve lived here almost a month, and it’s beautiful and peaceful, even with the tourists, and having the park across the street is really nice. Betsy is the best cook ever, and Abby and Mel are like house mothers. Anyone would be lucky to live here.”
Abby shot a quick smile at Erik to show her appreciation for his comments.
“Mom, Dad, can I? I really love this place. We can go back upstairs and pick out a small room. There’s only two left, and if Charles wants a small room, too, I’d have to decide now.”
“Well, Don, what do you think?” Lisa’s mother asked.
“I say sure, let’s go back upstairs and pick a room.”
“Well… I guess I will, too, then. Lisa, choose whichever one you want, then I’ll take the other.”
“Are you sure, Charles?”
“Yep, for sure. I wouldn’t mind either of them.”
By twelve thirty, pleasantries had been exchanged and hands gratefully shaken. The deals were done, and there would be an additional two thousand dollars a month coming in, along with Melanie’s one thousand four hundred dollars to help with the household expenses. Abby would take down the ads tomorrow and rewrite them. Three large bedrooms with private baths were all that remained in need of tenants.
***
“Abby, I’d be happy to drive you to the places you’ve posted your ads. I overheard you telling Mel you needed to write new ones offering just the three large bedrooms now.”
“I couldn’t impose on you like that, Erik, but I appreciate the offer.”
“It isn’t an imposition or I wouldn’t have offered, but to be honest, I’m out of things to do around here, and I’m kind of going stir-crazy. How about it? I’d love to take you out for lunch afterward.”
Abby’s inner voice was telling her to keep her distance, at least until her life was back on track and her finances were in the black, but her heart told her something entirely different. Erik was just about the nicest, most sincere and polite man Abby had ever met, and she was secretly dying to go somewhere with him away from the house. A little friendly interaction wouldn’t hurt, would it? It would just be a friend offering to help another friend and then having lunch afterward. No different than what Mel and I do together.
“Abby? What do you say?”
“Um… sure, why not? Give me a half hour to put myself together.”
“Good, it will be fun. You can pick wherever you want to go for lunch.”
***
The inner courtyard of Eliza’s Secret Garden on Meeting Street was one of Abby’s favorite places. The intimate antique brick outdoor cafe held only six tables and was a place unknown to tourists. Ivy climbed the walls, and ornate wrought-iron sconces lined the inner walkway leading to the garden seating area. She couldn’t wait to show the city treasure to Erik.
“Wow…”
“No kidding, right?” Abby said, turning back to give him a smile as he followed her closely through the darkened walkway. The sconces were all that lighted the path.
“How did you know about this place? There aren’t any signs along the sidewalk.”
“You know,” she said with a laugh, “you have to be an insider. I grew up in Charleston. I know all the quirky and cool secluded eating establishments. I haven’t been here for a few years and almost forgot about it, but it’s still as beautiful as I remembered.”
A hostess greeted them as they entered the inner courtyard. She led them to a cozy corner table for two. A server waited with two glasses of ice water when they sat down.
“Talk about service. This place is amazing, and gorgeous. The name suits it perfectly. So if you love this place so much, why did it take a few years for you to come back?” Erik took a sip of water and waited for her response.
Abby thought carefully about how to answer. She didn’t want to talk about her private life, but not saying anything would make Erik even more curious. She fidgeted with the tablecloth as she tried to quickly come up with some logical reason.
“Is something wrong? You’re a closed book for sure, but I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I was just making friendly conversation.”
“I’m sorry… memories popping in my head, that’s all. I moved away for almost two years. Actually, I’ve only been back in Charleston for a few months.”
“Really? Where did you go?”
The waitress came by, welcomed them, and handed them menus. She recited the daily lunch special, took their drink order, and said she would be right back.
“I lived in the US Virgin Islands for close to two years. Something different but not different enough to need a passport, foreign currency, or a translator,” she said lightheartedly, hoping he wouldn’t dig deeper.
“That sounds awesome. I bet you had a great time living there. I’d love to travel more extensively than I have, but my job is my income. No work, no pay, and definitely no play.” He chuckled.
“Where would you like to go?” she asked, trying to redirect the conversation to him.
The waitress returned with their drinks and took their food order. “Would you like the umbrella raised? I see the sun is making its way in this direction.”
“Sure. Thank you,” Abby said.
“The last time I left the United States was for spring break in Cancun during college. I’d love to go to Spain or Italy. I should have said Sweden, right? That’s my native land anyway. Actually, the Caribbean sounds wonderful, and I don’t mean Cancun.”
“Yeah, it is pretty wonderful. There’s something to be said for a laid-back lifestyle, even if it isn’t forever.”
Erik could tell by the sadness in Abby’s eyes that her last sentence held more meaning than she was letting on. He thought it best to let it go for the moment. “So do you have any siblings, and where do your folks live?”
Abby took a bite of her grilled grouper. “Nope, it’s just me, no siblings… or parents.”
Erik’s brows furrowed with concern. That news startled him. “I guess that wasn’t what I expected to hear. Do you have any family nearby? Are you close to any cousins?”
“No… I’m not really close to anyone other than Mel and Betsy, but how about you? I know your parents are in Orangeburg, but what about brothers or sisters?”
“Yeah, my family is pretty big, and we’re all within an hour of each other. I guess I’m fortunate, now that I think about it. We always get together for holidays, birthdays, barbecues, you know, that type of thing. You ought to come meet them sometime. My family isn’t rich, but we can put food on the table, and there’s a lot of love in our hearts.”
“That sounds really nice. How many siblings do you have?”
“I have two brothers and three sisters. It was actually perfect growing up. The girls helped out Mom, and we boys helped out Dad. We all had chores. You know, the typical things, but when we played sports, we had an entire team once the cousins showed up.” Erik laughed at the fond memories. “I’ll tell you some good stories sometime.”
She looked into his green eyes, holding his gaze for a few extra seconds before speaking. “I’d really like that,” she finally said.
“So how about walking through the park for a bit? We have to burn off these calories anyway.” Erik winked at her, making her heart thump faster.
“Okay, and thanks for lunch.”
“Thanks for introducing me to this beautiful place. Let’s do it again sometime.” Erik got up and pulled out her chair.
He’s gorgeous and a gentleman? How did I get so lucky? “Erik, do you think it’s possible to turn the backyard into something this
gorgeous? I mean, if I got permission.”
He looked around before they headed back through the walkway, envisioning the backyard at the mansion looking more like the beautiful secret garden before them. “Yeah, I think we can. All I’d have to do is build a pergola off the kitchen, add more water features, larger plants, and some garden art. Having outdoor lights strung through the pergola and glowing at night would really add a magical touch. I could start on it right away—if you got permission, that is. Otherwise, I’ll start taking in other jobs in the area.”
“That’s fair. I’ll let you know.”
They parked a block off South Battery. In that area, it was first come, first served for parking. As large as the homes were, to even have room for a driveway was a bonus. Walking White Point Garden was nothing new for Abby. She had done it every day for more than fifteen years growing up. She loved to watch the beautiful yellow-crowned night herons nest high in the trees. They stayed in the park all year long, caring for their young as they grew. As Abby and Erik strolled the pathways, she pointed out the birds to him. The live oaks were as magnificent as always, just one more reason Abby loved everything about Charleston.
Chapter Fourteen
That night, alone in her room, Abby went over the finances. With the two new tenants paying the first month’s rent in advance, along with a small security deposit, Abby thought she could afford to have Erik start improving the backyard. She didn’t want to admit it, but she enjoyed seeing his happy face every day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sure, he lived there, but if he had an outside job, she would see far less of him. She lay in bed and imagined him kissing her with his full lips. His mouth would search hers, lingering on her lips and tasting everything she had to offer. His hands would find the perfect spots to caress. He had that sun-streaked wavy blond hair that barely brushed his shoulders, and a manly scent that took her breath away. Erik was everything she wanted in a man, but he didn’t know her past or that she was still married and would someday inherit the Melrose fortune. She worried about being vulnerable again only to be blindsided and humiliated once more. She was torn between letting go of her insecurities and keeping up her invisible wall. One thing Abby knew for sure was that she liked Erik Christiansen a lot, and he seemed to like her, too.
