Francis checked out of their little motel and they all headed to their new home. Once there, they located the boxes of clean sheets, blankets and pillows, made the beds, prayed together and all quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Francis dreamed of walking through a dense pine forest with the most delicious smells and bird songs and one very loud woodpecker, pounding and pounding...and there was Julie by her bed, yelling, "Mom, mom, didn't you hear me knocking? I went to take a shower and the handle broke and water is going everywhere! Help, it's getting everything wet and I don't know what to do!"
A slow leisurely wake-up with a nice cup of coffee was off the plate, so to speak, this morning. Mark, being roused by this time, helped search for the water shut off valve. They found it in the small basement off of the kitchen and turned the water off. They then called the electrician and the plumber, which was on the to-do list anyway; it just happened earlier than they had planned. Then they went to work, mopping up the mess before getting ready for the day.
The plumber didn't have an opening until the following day, but the electrician, Horace Kippleton, was there within the hour. Horace was around 50 and wore his pants almost up to his ribcage with his button down shirt tucked into it and had his hair so greased down that he must've cornered the market on oil. He knew some of the history about the house and started droning on about it. "Mrs. Long, you know this house was built in 1878 and the original owner was actually the one to install the electricity. And after he died, the real estate people updated the electricity about the same time the plumbing was installed. Yup, the real estate company has rented it out a few times over the years and so they have kept up with the repairs pretty well. Yup this is a solid old house." Who knows what else he said! If the doorbell hadn't rung at that time, the little family might have fallen back asleep right there on their feet! Having the water off and Mr. Kippleton working on the electricity, they had ordered in again and were quite happy the food had come at that particular time and rescued them from a long lecture!
Horace set to work checking out the electricity while they ate on the back porch. Mark had pancakes with blueberry syrup, Julie had a sumptuous cheese and ham omelette and Francis had 2 eggs over easy, a muffin and coffee. Mark rushed through his food and set about exploring the backyard, while Julie and Francis enjoyed their delicious breakfast.
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Julie, very seriously, said, "Mom, I really need a salad. We've been eating way too much junk food. I think I may have gained some weight. I am really looking forward to planting a garden so there will be fresh and organic vegetables. What do you think about going to a gardening center today so I can get started?"
Francis sat back and tried to take in everything Julie had just said and the large task of planning a garden and caring for it and answered, "That's a great idea. You do know it will be a lot of work, don't you?"
Julie eagerly answered, "I know mom; I've been thinking a lot about this and there wasn't a space for it before, but with this new place there is nothing holding us back and I am ready to put work into it to have good organic vegetables!"
Francis smiled at her enthusiasm and wondered how long the garden would hold her attention. She answered, "Well, we will try to go today after Mr. Kippleton finishes and if not today, then soon."
One of Francis's favorite features of the new house was the two huge trees outside her second floor bedroom window. It was a welcome surprise when she first walked over to the walk-in closet and discovered a door in the back of it that opened onto a small balcony! What a wonderful place to have coffee in the mornings! She thought to herself. A secret porch and entrance to it. She moved all of the coffee fixings up on her little porch, since the kids didn't drink coffee. She put a small mahogany bedside table up there on the far left hand side of the porch and it was just perfect for everything she would need. Now, you are going to laugh, but the chairs she chose, and yes, she couldn't put just one up there because they are a set, were very quirky. One is chartreuse green and the other is bright pink. They have woven cane bottoms and the designs painted all over them are of many different colors. She had picked them out herself at a flea market.
Francis thought, "Normally, Simon picked out all of the furniture, as he had impeccable taste, and mine is somewhat lacking. Just thinking about this makes me miss my sweet husband. What am I saying?! My mind went back to that awful, awful day when the detective had found Simon's cell phone with his secret almost worse than death hidden in it."
