Renting to Own

by Linda Rettstatt

  The house sat on a large, nicely landscaped lot. A tall shade tree graced the front yard. Inside, polished hardwood floors gleamed, and her footsteps echoed as Lily walked to the kitchen. New appliances sparkled. Lily’s house could easily fit inside this home, with room to spare. But she felt no envy. She loved the little house she was renting to own. The cozy living room with its slightly worn carpet, the now-familiar creak in the second step from the bottom, and the maple tree that shaded her bedroom window—all gave her a sense of comfort.

  Voices at the front door, followed by the ringing bell, drew her attention. Lily straightened her shoulders, tucked the folder under her arm, and plastered on a smile to greet the prospective buyers.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Travers, I’m Lily Champion. Mr. Gardner’s associate. Please come inside.”

  The couple walked in, the wife moving to the center of the front room and looking around. “This is nice. I love bay windows. Don’t you?”

  “Yes. I do.” Lily became tongue-tied. She nervously slipped the folder from under her arm and opened it. With stiff game-show model movements, she extended her hand and directed the couple to the kitchen, showing off the appliances.

  Moving mechanically from room to room, the couple trailing behind her, Lily ran through the list of features and gave little opportunity for questions. When they reached the upstairs, Mrs. Travers asked, “Do you mind if we just look around? We’ll find you when we’re finished.”

  “I suppose that’s okay. If you have any questions, I’ll be downstairs.”

  Lily stood at the kitchen counter, reading over the papers Rick had given her, calming her nerves. Lily, you can sell this house. Pretend you do this every day. She closed the folder and marched back up the stairs.

  Lily squared her shoulders and cleared her throat to announce her arrival. “Excuse me. There are a few features I’d like to point out for you.” She focused her attention on Mrs. Travers and proceeded to guide them from one room to the next, quoting square footage, highlighting closet space, attic storage, and discussing the quality bathroom fixtures. “Did I mention the new roof and the double insulation? That should save you about…” She glanced at Rick’s note. “Nine hundred a year in heating and cooling costs.” Lily smiled. “Shall we go downstairs and look around the outside?”

  She finished her tour, and they returned to the kitchen. The couple made an offer much lower than the asking price. Lily did as Rick had instructed and said she’d have to take their offer to the owner. Then she added her own additional comments. “Property in this neighborhood is increasing in value on a daily basis. It would be a shame to miss out on such a fine house by underbidding. But, if you want, I’ll pass your offer on to the owner.”

  Mrs. Travers looked around, her gaze locking onto the new kitchen appliances and straying back to the bay window in the front room. “Could we have a few minutes?”

  Lily left the couple to talk privately and walked around, closing the windows. The Traverses came back with a much higher offer.

  “We’ll let the owner know.”

  “Thank you. When should we expect to hear from you?”

  “By Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Gardner will contact you.” Lily shook hands with each of them. “Have a nice day.”

  After their car pulled from the drive, Lily exhaled and dropped her shoulders in relief. That was almost fun. I could enjoy doing this work—if only I knew what I was doing.

  *

  Bypassing the crowded parking lot at Walmart, Lily headed to Home Depot. Surely they’d have some kind of waterproof paint for Chelsea’s pool. She consulted a clerk who directed her to the paint, but suggested permanent decals that would serve the same purpose. She left the store laden with several small cans of paint, brushes, and a set of waterproof fish decals.

  “Mommy’s home!” Chelsea announced, running to greet Lily in the driveway.

  “Hi, sweetie. Here, you can carry this bag. I’ll get the rest.” She handed Chelsea the lighter bag of plastic decals.

  By the time Lily made it inside, Chelsea had the decals spread out on the table for inspection. “Look, Mommy. This one looks like Nemo! I want this one right in the middle of my pool.”

  “Then that’s where it will go. Hi, Helen. Did she wear you out today?”

  Helen finished peeling the orange she held and smiled. “Not at all. We had a lot of fun. We went to the mall this afternoon and Chelsea kept me company while I got a haircut.”

  “It looks nice. You need a cut like that with summer upon us. I’m sticky from the heat.”

  “I found a place for us to go to dinner. Why don’t you go upstairs and change, relax a bit. We can leave around six.”

  “Great. I have so much to tell you about today, but I need a shower before dinner.”

  *

  The outdoor patio at the Buckeye Tree restaurant afforded a view of a golf course and allowed for a pleasant breeze.

  “Have you ever eaten here before?” Helen asked.

  “No, I haven’t. It’s quite nice.”

  A waitress appeared with three glasses of water and menus, placing a child’s menu in front of Chelsea. “Welcome to the Buckeye Tree.” She announced the specials and asked for drink orders.

  “I want root beer,” Chelsea said and added, “please.”

  “I’ll have iced tea,” Lily said.

  Helen frowned. “Lily, we’re celebrating. You could at least have a glass of wine. I’ll have a white wine.”

  “Okay. I’ll have the same. And could we have the spinach artichoke dip appetizer, please?” Lily asked.

  The waitress jotted down the orders. “Coming right up.” She smiled at Chelsea. “You can use those crayons to draw on the paper table covering.”

  “I can write on the table?” Chelsea asked, her eyes widening.

  “You can write on this table because it’s covered with paper,” Lily said. “Don’t try this at home.”

  Lily’s cell phone rang. She fished it out of her purse and looked at the screen. “I’ve got to take this.” She stared at the phone open. “Hi, Rick.”

  “Lily, how did it go today? Any problems?”

  She enjoyed the warmth of his voice. “It went well I think. How’s your father?”

  “Having some tests. They don’t think he had a heart attack, but he may need an angioplasty.”

  “You’ll be staying longer?”

  “Not if they do the procedure tomorrow and it goes well. I’ll call if that changes. I just thought I’d check in.”

  “The Travers made an offer. I said they’d hear from you by Wednesday, once you were able to talk to the homeowner.”

  “Great. Leave the file on my desk. I’ll take a look at it when I get in. Thanks for covering that for me, Lily. I owe you one.”

  “Just doing my job.”

  “Say ‘hi’ to Chelsea for me.”

  “I will. Goodnight.” Lily closed the phone and dropped it back into her purse. She looked at Helen’s face. “What?”

  “You’re smiling.”

  “Huh?”

  “I said you are smiling. And blushing a little. Whoever you were talking with put a smile on your face.”

  Lily felt warmth spread up her neck.

  “Who were you talking to, Mommy?” Chelsea asked.

  “That was Rick, uh, Mr. Gardner, my boss. Just checking in to see how the showing went today.”

  “I like Rick. Auntie Helen, he bought me ice cream before dinner. And he let me hold his hand all the way to the store.”

  “Oh, really?” Helen responded to Chelsea, but her eyes fixed on Lily.

  “He’s a nice man, and he likes kids. Once he’d promised her ice cream, I could hardly say no.”

  Helen laughed. “Hardly. I can’t wait to meet him.”

  The arrival of their dinners saved Lily from further discussion about Rick. But not from the warmth that filled her as she thought about him. Perhaps working alone with a single, attractive man wasn’t the best idea.

&nbs
p; Chapter Seven

  Chelsea fell asleep on the sofa, her head in Lily’s lap. Lily ran her hand along the child’s soft arm.

  “Want me to carry her up to her room?” Helen asked.

  “I’ll take her. Looks like you wore her out today.” Lily eased from beneath Chelsea’s head and slid her arms under her body. The child slumped against her chest, resting her cheek on Lily’s shoulder. “She’s almost too big for me to do this anymore. I’ll be back down. I’m going to work on a hearing tonight.”

  She laid Chelsea on the bed and removed her jeans and tee shirt, then tucked her under the covers in her Beauty and the Beast underwear. Lily grinned. Her daughter was always a walking advertisement for Disney.

  Chelsea’s eyelids fluttered as she settled into the pillow. Lily kissed the sleeping child’s forehead and smoothed her hair back. “I love you.”

  When Lily returned to the living room, she went to the desk in the corner and turned on the computer.

  Helen stood and stretched. “I’m going upstairs and read. I’ll probably get through one chapter before I’m as unconscious as Chelsea.” She squeezed Lily’s shoulder. “Don’t stay up all night.”

  “I won’t. Sleep well.”

  Lily set the recorder on the desk, plugged in her earphones and popped in the tape. There were places she had to rewind and review, but for the most part, the voices were clear. She’d soon finished the entire hearing and sat back in the chair, rolling her neck to loosen the tension. The clock on the computer read one-fifteen. The tape took her nearly four hours to complete. Lily felt her smile broaden as she calculated how much money she had just earned.

  Energized and past the point of sleep, she poured a glass of milk and carried it out to the back porch. Crickets chirped as she looked up at the night sky littered with stars. She often thought about her mother in the quiet of night. Bits of memories would flash across her mind’s eye—chasing fireflies, her mother’s hands holding the jar while Lily and her brother dropped the insects inside. Her eyes filled as she remembered her last birthday party with her mother, wearing a paper hat as she carried a brightly decorated cake bearing seven candles. The way her mother had smiled, telling her to make wish. If she’d known what the following month was to bring, she’d have changed that wish.

  Her thoughts turned toward her father. Her chest hurt when she recalled the change that had taken place in him—Daddy, before and after. He’d been happy, fun-loving, a family man. He and her mother laughed and teased, rarely fought. In the blink of an eye, her mother was gone. An aneurysm had burst in her brain. Her father became sullen and distant, eventually turning to alcohol to numb his broken heart. He left his two young children to raise themselves.

  Her Aunt Natalie stepped in for a few years, but she married and move out of the country just as Lily was entering adolescence. When Lily found the courage to tell her father she was pregnant, she had hoped he would understand, offer support. Instead, he had flown into a rage and called her awful names. She had one month until high school graduation. He told her that, once she graduated, she was on her own.

  Lily sighed. Being on her own was getting old. No—being on her own alone, that’s what wore her down. If it weren’t for Helen, she would never have survived.

  *

  In the morning, giggles and the scent of spice greeted Lily as she entered the kitchen. “What’s going on here?”

  “We’re makin’ waffles with cimanum.” Chelsea knelt on a chair, watching Helen drop batter into the electric waffle maker.

  “Cimanum? Well, that sounds delicious.” Lily took a mug from the cupboard and poured coffee.

  “Yup. And Auntie Helen let me stir the batter.”

  “It looks like you’ve done a good job. Good morning, Helen.” Lily sat at the table.

  “You look rested. I hope we didn’t wake you.” Helen flipped a waffle into a pan, replaced the foil cover to keep it warm, and refilled the waffle maker.

  “I should be rested. It’s after nine o’clock. I never sleep this late.”

  Chelsea grinned. “I wake you up when I get up, but Auntie Helen was up before me. Mommy, can we go to the park today? When we come back, we can paint fish in my swimmin’ pool.”

  “I was thinking of going to the zoo, but if you really want to go to the park…”

  Chelsea’s eyes widened. “No. I wanna go to the zoo. I wanna see the monkeys.”

  Lily tweaked the child’s nose. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “Okay, breakfast is served.” Helen set a plate before Chelsea and passed a plate to Lily. She added banana slices and warm buttery syrup.

  “Is it good, Mommy?”

  “This is the best waffle I have ever tasted.”

  After breakfast, Helen helped Chelsea shower and dress for the zoo while Lily cleared the dishes. She went upstairs and packed a spare tee shirt for Chelsea, sunscreen, and antibacterial hand wipes in a backpack. Returning to the kitchen, she added bottled water and a few packs of snack crackers.

  “All set to go?” Lily asked when Helen and Chelsea came downstairs.

  “In a minute. I have to say goodbye to Pepper,” Chelsea said.

  Lily grinned at Helen. “This could take a while. I think the cat knows what’s coming, and he hides.”

  Chelsea went to the pantry and returned with the cat hugged against her. “Be a good boy.” She kissed the cat on the head and released him. Pepper stretched and leaped onto the window ledge.

  *

  The temperature hit eighty by two o’clock. Helen stopped near a refreshment stand. “Who wants an Italian ice?”

  Lily fanned herself with the baseball cap she’d been wearing. “Great idea. There’s a bench in the shade.”

  “You grab the bench, I’ll get the ice. Chels, you want to help?” Helen looked around. “Lily, where’s Chelsea?”

  “She’s with… I thought she was right there with you. Chelsea!” Lily shouted.

  She and Helen each turned in a full circle, looking through the crowd.

  “Chelsea,” Lily shouted again, her voice cracking. “Omigod, Helen. Where is she?” Her heart thudded against her chest.

  A security officer approached. “Is something wrong?”

  Panic tightened Lily’s throat. “My daughter. We can’t find her. She was right here.”

  “Okay, calm down. What’s her name?” the officer asked.

  “Chelsea. And don’t tell me to calm down. She’s only four. Chelsea!” Lily screamed.

  People slowed and looked at her.

  “Ma’am, can you describe her for me?” The officer ushered Lily to the bench.

  “She’s got blonde hair, all curls, and blue eyes. She’s wearing… Helen, what’s she wearing? I can’t think.” Lily’s body shook.

  “She’s wearing blue denim shorts and a pink tee shirt with a mermaid on the front. And pink sneakers,” Helen said calmly, putting an arm around Lily.

  The officer spoke into the walkie-talkie he’d removed from his hip. “We have a lost child. Four-year-old girl, Chelsea…” He continued to give the description. “The mother is with me in front of the aquarium.”

  Tears blurred Lily’s vision and her body shook. Helen sat beside her, rubbing her arm.

  The security officer stooped in front of her. “Ma’am, do you have a picture of your daughter?”

  Lily’s hands trembled as she removed her wallet and fumbled for the photo she carried, handing it to the officer. “I can’t just sit here. I have to look for her.”

  “You should be here in case she comes back. I’m going to show this photo around, see if anyone’s seen her.” The announcement came over the loudspeaker, and a man’s voice gave Chelsea’s description.

  Helen hugged Lily. “You need to stay calm. She couldn’t have gotten far, and you know how curious she is.”

  Lily clung to her, fear gripping her heart. “I also know how friendly she is. What if someone…what if Tyler followed you here and took her?”

  “Lily, it’s
okay. Come on, look.” Helen pried Lily loose and pointed.

  A woman with a baby in a stroller walked toward them. Chelsea had one hand on the stroller, walking alongside.

  Lily flew from the bench and dropped to her knees, pulling Chelsea against her. “Oh, God, thank you.” She looked up at the woman. “Thank you.”

  “Mommy, you’re hugging me too tight.” Chelsea wriggled to free herself.

  The woman smiled. “She was in the aquarium, watching the sharks. I noticed she seemed to be alone, so I asked if she’d show me where her mommy was. Then I heard the announcement. She led me right out here.”

  “Thank you for noticing.” Lily fixed her eyes on Chelsea. “How many times have I told you not to walk away from me in a crowd? I was so scared.”

  “I was looking at the big fish.” Tears brimmed in her blue eyes.

  Lily stood, clutching Chelsea’s hand. She turned to the woman. “Thanks again for bringing her out here. I was frantic.”

  “I know how I’d feel if I turned around and Jack was gone.” She nodded to the infant in the stroller. “But I guess I have a year or so before he can just walk off.” The woman looked at Chelsea. “You stay with your mommy from now on. Okay?”

  Chelsea nodded and tightened her grip on Lily’s hand.

  The security officer walked over and handed Lily the photo. “I’ve called off the search. I see we have a happy ending.”

  “Thank you, officer. I’m sorry I made such a scene.”

  “No problem. I have two kids. I understand. You ladies have a nice day, and you—” He looked down at Chelsea. “No more wandering off, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Helen ran her fingers through Chelsea’s curls. “Well, you gave us quite a scare.”

  Chelsea began to cry. “I just wanted to see the fish.”

  “It’s okay, honey.” Helen bent to hug the child. “We’re not mad. We’re glad you’re all right. Have you seen enough of the zoo for one day?”

  Chelsea nodded and rubbed her eyes with her fists.

  “I think we should go and get ice cream, cool off a little.”

  Lily hiked the backpack onto her shoulder. “Great idea. Maybe by the time we get to the Dairy Dream my insides will stop shaking.”