Edna took her name and phone number, then gave her a detailed receipt of the ledger and letters. “One more thing,” Edna said. “Is this all?”
Tamika smiled, happy that she’d gone through and checked all the boxes. “No, there are Bibles and diaries and a few more ledgers and a lot more letters.”
Edna beamed, barely able to control her excitement.
Tamika left feeling very pleased with herself.
Chapter 18
Laura
Laura reached over with her fork and took a small piece of cheesecake. She put it in her mouth and let the rich, creamy goodness ease down her throat. “Hmm, you’re right. Oh, man, that is sinfully delicious.”
Keith, after sipping his coffee, licked his lips then smiled. “See, told you you’d love it.”
“I do. Man, that is so good.”
He chuckled. “I love watching you eat.”
“Stop it,” she said, playfully stealing another small forkful.
“Why don’t I order you a slice?” he said as he looked around the restaurant for their waiter.
“No, no, really. I just wanted a small taste.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?” she asked.
“For this evening. You and me here tonight. Thank you. I’m glad you called me.”
She blushed, slightly embarrassed by the truth. She had called him on impulse, then three minutes later wanted to change her mind. But she didn’t.
“It was an impulse.”
He smiled and raised his wineglass. “Here’s to impulses.”
Their glasses clinked. She sipped, then changed the subject. “So, when do you think we’ll get rain again?”
He chuckled. “You know, you’re something else.”
“Me? Now, why would you say that?”
“Because you are. You’re so incredible. You’re intelligent, talented, fun to be with, beautiful, sexy, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.” He reached over, took her hand and brought it to his lips. Kissing her gently, he looked up into her eyes. “Did I mention how incredibly beautiful and sexy you are this evening?”
Laura blushed. “Yes, I believe you did mention that.”
“Sorry, it’s just that you look so damn good this evening, so…” He paused as she looked away. “Sorry, did I embarrass you?”
“No,” she lied softly. They looked into each other’s eyes. She saw everything she thought she needed, wanted. The desire was there, the hunger, the want, but she still hung back.
“So, what did your daughter say when you told her that you had a date this evening?”
“First of all, this isn’t a date. It’s an evening out with an old friend. And second of all, I don’t usually answer to my daughter.”
“As to whether or not this is a date, I guess that’s a matter of opinion. It is as far as I’m concerned. And as for your daughter, I get the feeling that she doesn’t particularly care for me.”
“She’s a teenager, Keith. She doesn’t particularly care for anyone. So, tell me about this business trip of yours.”
“It’s no big deal. I’m putting together the final investment proposals for my investors who’ll be moving into the area. They’re building an office complex and a shopping center not too far from here. I just have to pick up a few more loose ends and I’ll be all set.”
“That’s right, you’re in real estate. Sounds interesting, impressive.”
“More like challenging.”
“Yeah, I heard that,” she said.
“Speaking of which, you know you still owe me a tour of your house. Is it on the market yet?”
“No, and believe me, you don’t want to see that old place.”
“Sure I do. It’s something you’re involved in so I’m interested. Now, what did you say you needed to get done?”
“There are dozens and dozens of boxes to go through—some to keep, others to just trash. My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents kept everything. The bedrooms, attic and basement are packed with things.”
“What kind of things?” he asked curiously.
“All kinds of things—clothes, furniture, outdated electronics. There’s a grandfather clock, jewelry, books, papers…Can you believe there’s even a Victrola in the attic? I’m surprised there’s not an Edsel somewhere in there.” She chuckled and he joined in easily.
“There are also some ledgers and letters from the original Fraser family.”
“Have you gotten them appraised?”
“No, not yet,” she said.
“I wouldn’t bother. I’m sure they’re worthless.”
“You think?” she asked, amazed by his statement.
“Sorry, but I see this kind of thing all the time. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“If you say so.”
“Now, do you have a removal company yet?” he asked.
“No, we don’t. We’re not at that point yet. Tamika and I still have a lot of family mementos to go through.”
“You know, since I am in real estate, I have a lot of connections. Maybe I can help out.”
“How?”
“I’ll buy the house and land sight unseen.”
Laura started laughing. “No, no way. Nobody just up and buys a house they’ve never seen before.”
“Why not, Laura? Look, I’m not trying to take anyone’s business, but as a friend I need to tell you that you have to be careful. Not everyone has your best interests at heart. There’re a lot of people out here, some with less than scrupulous ideas. I’ll be happy to take the place off your hands intact as is.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. Instead of dealing with all the cleaning out and stuff, I’ll take it as is. I’ll draw up the papers for you to sign and all this will be over.”
“I don’t know…”
“It’s the best offer you’re gonna get, I promise you. Or do the work, put in the needless hours and take your chances that someone will do me better, but I doubt it. Think about it, let me know.”
She nodded and smiled. “Okay, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Now where were we? Ah yes, I remember,” he said, then slid the dessert plate forward. Laura smiled as she picked up her fork again.
Chapter 19
Tamika
“Mom, where are you?” Tamika called out excitedly after seeing her car parked out front.
“Down here,” Laura called out from the basement.
“Guess what? I have incredible news.” Tamika quickly cut through the kitchen and went down into the basement. Large and gloomy, it always seemed musty, damp and slightly chilly. “You’re never gonna believe what I just did.”
“We’re over here.”
Tamika walked over to her mom and Keith. They were sitting on one of the old sofas with dozens of books and boxes laid out around them. “Hey, sweetie,” Laura said, handing Keith another book.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Tamika, you remember Mr. Tyler from the Fourth of July party.”
Tamika half smiled.
“He wanted to see the inside of the house. He thinks he might be able to get us a good price on it, plus clear out a lot of these old things.”
“Hello, Tamika. How’ve you been?” Keith asked.
“Hi,” she said, then paused.
“So, what’s this exciting news?” Laura asked.
“It’s no big deal, I can tell you later,” Tamika said, then turned to leave.
“Uh, listen, I have to get going anyway,” Keith said. “Thanks for the tour. This is truly a remarkable house. Think about what I said. I’m serious. I’ll be happy to take care of everything for you.”
“Thanks, Keith. I’ll walk you out.”
Laura walked Keith upstairs and to the front door, then turned to see Tamika standing waiting for her. “So, okay, what’s the incredible news you have for me?”
Tamika paused, realizing that she wa
sn’t as excited anymore. “Nothing, just that I found some ledgers in the attic. Did you ever get them appraised?”
Laura shrugged. “I think my grandmother did that once. I remember my mother talking about it. The appraiser wanted to buy them, but he told her that they were basically worthless.”
“Historical value alone, they could be priceless.”
“Historical value?” Laura questioned, slightly impressed. “Since when are you interested in historical value? For that matter, since when are you interested in history?”
“Have you seen those letters?”
“Not lately.”
“They’re amazing. They talk about the Civil War and slavery and all kinds of old stuff. And one of the ledgers has a roll call of the property they owned—cows, land, buildings and slaves. The names of the slaves in it included birth dates and dates of death, children and everything. It’s amazing. You should see some of the entries.”
“So, what are you saying? You want to get them appraised?”
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea,” Tamika said, omitting the part that she’d already taken them into the antique shop in town.
“Fine, do it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course, they’re yours too. You’re part of the Fraser family. That makes them yours as well.”
“Okay,” Tamika said.
“Sounds like you’re turning into a history buff,” Laura said as she began flipping through the mail on the foyer table.
“I wouldn’t say all that. It’s just interesting since it’s about our family.”
“Like the cemeteries?” Laura asked, looking up.
Tamika yielded and nodded. “Yeah, okay, like the cemeteries.”
Laura nodded, then handed Tamika a card. “Another postcard from your dad.”
“So, what was he doing here?” Tamika asked, following her mom into the kitchen.
Laura smiled. “Keith and I had an early dinner in town and he wanted to see the inside of the house. Since he’s in real estate he suggested that he might be able to help us out.”
“How? What kind of help? I thought we were selling the house on our own, not with a Realtor company. For real, wasn’t that the whole idea of having a specialist come over? Speaking of which, she came by earlier after you left.”
“She came by? What happened? What did she say?”
“I think she had some good ideas. She gave me this.” Tamika handed her a sheet of paper she’d been given along with her added notes. Laura glanced over it quickly.
“Paint, clean, trash, garden, okay.” She looked at Tamika. “Wow, this is a lot to do. What do you think? Can we get all this done?”
“No,” Tamika said. Laura sighed heavily, assuming that Tamika was still in her mood. “There’s no way we can clean this whole place and paint everything by ourselves—not without help—so I got these.” She pulled a couple of business cards out of her pocket.
“What are these?”
“I stopped by the hardware store when I was in Elwood. I got some paint samples and some business cards. We can get one of these companies to paint the outside and inside, then have a cleaning service come in to finish up stuff we can’t do like refinish the wood floors. All we have to do is go through the family boxes and personal stuff.”
Laura smiled. That was exactly what she’d planned. “Sounds great in theory, but it’s still a lot of work, not to mention expensive,” she said, looking at, then shuffling the business cards.
“I guess we can paint the inside of the house and maybe get one of those big trash containers and just start pulling stuff out.”
Laura nodded. “Or maybe, I guess we can just turn it over and let someone else bother with it.”
“Turn it over to who?”
“Whom,” she corrected. “Keith.”
“I thought we were selling it ourselves.”
“I know, but maybe he could do better for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he saw all this stuff we have lying around and offered to help.”
“How exactly?” Tamika asked.
“He offered to buy the house as is, everything still inside.”
“What? No way.”
“We won’t have to do anything.”
“Did you say yes already?”
“No, I didn’t,” Laura said as Tamika sighed her relief. “Although I didn’t say no either. This place eats up a lot of cash in taxes and upkeep. The property rates have gone up, thanks to new growth in Elwood. People are starting to find Fraser again.”
“Still, we don’t have to sell it to him.”
“He does this for a living. He takes abandoned buildings and old homes off the owners’ hands. So basically he cleans out old houses all the time, trashes everything, guts them, then puts them back on the market. It’s a service he offers.”
“And what does he get out of it?”
“He helps people.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes.”
“You believe him?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I believe him. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, ’cause he’s lying.”
“Tamika!”
“So that’s what he wants to do with our house.”
“It’s a possibility, yes, and working with him you’ll get back to Boston that much sooner. All I have to do is sign a contract and he’ll take care of everything. We just pack up whatever we brought down and drive off. That’s what you wanted, right?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? You wanted to get back home to Boston.”
“I know but maybe you should know more about what he does before you sign anything.”
“He’s willing to take care of everything, and to tell you the truth, I’m just about settled on letting him do it. That way I don’t have to think about it or make any decisions. I’m so sick of being responsible, of making decisions—what to cook for dinner, where to go on vacation, how many, how much, what, when, where, how—I’m sick of it,” she ranted.
“Okay, fine, I’ll make the decisions. I’ll take care of everything. Just give me your credit card,” Tamika said. Laura looked at her as if she were crazy. “Mom, I’m serious. You’re always talking about me stepping up so I’m doing it now. So let me.”
“You want me to hand over my credit card to you?”
“Yes, and before you say anything, I won’t be going on any shopping sprees like before.”
“You mean when you used the emergency credit card and threw a party at the house with your boyfriend?”
“That was before and, yes, I’m serious. I can do this. I want to do this. I’ll write up a budget, get quotes and take care of everything. All you have to do is say yes.”
Laura looked at her and shook her head skeptically. “Well?” Tamika encouraged.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” she said. Tamika nodded. “So, what are you up to now?”
“Nothing. I just got in and I wanted to—”
“That’s right, I almost forgot. You mentioned Elwood. You went there today?”
“Yeah, Jaleesa took me over.”
“Jaleesa?”
“Your friend’s daughter from the other night.”
“Oh, right. How did you get there? I know she’s not driving at her age.”
“I took the bike from the garage,” Tamika said.
“So, what did you think of it?”
“It’s nice. A lot bigger than Fraser definitely. It’s like a small city, way bigger than I thought.”
“That’s for sure. So, what did you think of Fraser?”
“It’s small, kinda empty. But when I was in Keith Tyler’s office he had all these plans and pictures of proposed buildings and—”
“Wait a minute. What were you doing in Keith’s office?”
“He wasn’t there, but I guess you know that already. I was there with Jaleesa.”
“Really?”
“Anyway, he has all these pictures in his office. Did you know that he’s in the middle of this huge court case about taxes and he had some kind of foreclosure company that had been cheating people and taking the equity out of their property?”
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“I read it online.”
“You found out about a tax problem online?”
“No, Jaleesa told me that part. Her mother told her—well, maybe more like she overheard them talking about it.”
“You spied on him?” she asked.
“No, I talked with his daughter, then went online. I can’t help it if his own daughter talks, and whatever’s written online is in the public domain. That means anybody is free to check it out. Good or bad, it’s there.”
“Okay, fine, but going into his office was…”
“It’s not like I broke in. Jaleesa took me. She wanted to show me the pictures of the houses he has. Did you know that he was in the middle of maybe trying to buy this house from Grandma and he maybe even sold this house already?”
“Maybe? What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
“I can’t prove it but he has a file and pictures of our house dated back before Grandma died. There was a half-done contract and everything. He sold the house already.”
“Tamika, you went into his files?”
“Jaleesa let me see them. He’s broke, Mom, and he’s trying to scam you.”
“What?”
“Jaleesa told me that he and her mom argue all the time ’cause he doesn’t pay child support and she had to go back to work and even gives him money.”
“It makes him a jerk, not broke. Tamika, I’ve seen his car, his jewelry, his clothes. There’s no way he’s broke.”
“I think he’s fronting.”
“Tamika, I think that since you don’t care for him you’re probing just to find something.”
“I can’t help it if it’s already out there.”
“I’m seriously considering turning the house over to him.”
“You can’t. You always say that you know better and that I can’t see things clearly because I’m only sixteen. Well, I see exactly what he’s up to. You can’t see it because you like him. You always want me to trust you when it comes to my boyfriends. Well, it’s your turn to trust me. I see him like you saw Justin. They’re both losers and users.”
She Said, She Said Page 17
