November 12 2018

Back in Cid City, the house was quiet and had that echo-y almost empty feel. Trixie had generously offered to make arrangements for the movers, so Bobbie wasn’t surprised to hear the doorbell ring. It was actually a registered letter from ComCan. She closed the door and ripped it open; it was a check for $2,450,000 dollars paid to her, from Alex’s death benefits. She leaned against the wall. It was more than she expected. I’m a millionaire! And a widow she thought grimly. She would give it all away to get Alex back for sure. Before she spiral.ed down any further, the movers arrived and Bobbie walked though the house directing them where to put boxes and what had to go where. In 2 more hours, the house was totally empty.

Her next appointment was with Bobbie’s other favourite cousin who was a home stager/designer. Bobbie was to meet Lorne at a small coffee shop near the house. She walked down the street and saw a thin, well dressed, handsome silvery haired man who rushed over to her and gushed.

“Oh Bobbie I was so sad to hear about Alex. And so soon after Uncle Walt! I sure hope you’re holding up OK.”

“I’m making it up as I go along,” said Bobbie.

He grabbed her and kissed both cheeks She asked what he liked in his coffee and ordered 2 to go and they walked back to the house.

“Lorne, call me crazy but I want to stage the house with lots of Christmas lights.”

“I love Christmas, I can have someone make the house tastefully resplendent with lights and decor. They supply, install and then take away everything. It will be glorious! I haven’t staged a house with Christmas lights before. It’s genius! Your house will really stand out!”

They went inside. “I’d like to look around and get ideas. This house was renovated not long ago and I love how it turned out. This is a large foyer, nice formal living and dining rooms and a big family kitchen with an island open to a family room. It’s a 4 bedroom too, right? It’s nice you have room for the office and laundry on the main floor. The basement movie theatre and games room with a wet bar that opens directly on to the pool deck is perfect. It’s also in such a good neighbourhood!”

“We had some good times here. I’m not sure what to ask for it Lorne, maybe $700,000 but I don’t want to be unrealistic. I know this time of year is a bad time to sell a house.”

Lorne said, “I always loved this house. It will take a lot to stage but I can’t wait to start. It’s a double lot too, with the tennis court. Do you have pictures of the back yard in summer?”

Bobbie already looked though her pictures for her retirement turned funeral PowerPoint. “Lorne, why don’t I make a PowerPoint with pictures of the house and neighbourhood in both winter and summer that has a page for the real estate agent and one for the home stager. We can run it in a loop in the theatre.”

“Well aren’t you full of good ideas today. I love that idea.”

“So here’s a key. You text if you needed anything. I’d also like a lot of indoor decoration. Maybe a a Christmas tree in the foyer and the family room. The formal dining room can be set with Christmas dishes. And maybe a few more Christmas decorations as well.”

Lorne looked at her and said, “I see where you’re going. You might be onto something; we’ll light up the yule log and see who wants to warm their feet. You have to call Suzette, she is a very creative real estate agent and you need her!”

Bobbie called and within 20 minutes Suzette was there.

She looked around and said “Lorne if you stage this place well, I can get north of a million in this market.”

“Wow that’s more than I thought!” exclaimed Bobbie.

Over the next couple of hours Bobbie discussed staging and dates, signed forms and transferred money to Lorne and then left the house in their capable hands.

She sighed, realized she had missed the bank and idly hoped she didn’t get mugged, she was carrying cheque for over 2 million dollars. Bobbie decided she would stay at a fancy hotel for the next few days so she checked in and sat at the table in the room to arrange her next meeting. She called her lawyer, her new tax accountant and Trixie (who was her financial advisor) and asked them to meet the next day to discuss Bobbie’s business ventures.

After confirming the meeting Trixie said, “I’m so sorry I can’t hang out tonight. I’ve been neglecting my clients and have to work late.”

“No problem I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bobbie was trying to decide if she would go to a restaurant alone or order room service when her phone rang. It was Detective Rogers. “Hi Harry, are you going to make my day?” quipped Bobbie.

Detective Rogers laughed and said “Hi, so are you in town?”

“Yes I came to get my house on the market and am now staying at the hotel.”

He paused and then said “since not long ago you treated me to a great meal I was wondering if I could treat you tonight.”

“Sure, you can tell me how the case is going.”

“Well I’ve given it to the white collar crime division so I don’t have much to report, but it sounds like you’re moving fast if you’re selling your house already.”

Bobbie said, “We’ll talk about it at dinner.”

“Right,” he said, “I’ll pick you up at 7.”

Bobby didn’t know what to wear, she just hoped Harry didn’t think it was a date, she was sure he wouldn’t be that presumptuous. She pulled a skirt out of her bag. She put on tights, her skirt and a nice red tunic sweater which she would likely wear the next day for the meeting too, though she could buy something new, she mused, being a millionaire and all. She put on a red broach and heavy gold chain with ruby accents that had been a present from Alex. It was clear that Alex was going on the ‘not date’ with her.

Alex had left the table by her third glass of wine; Harry was charming and interested in what she had to say.

“How did you manage to get your family home ready for sale in such a short time.”

“We planned on selling the house anyway and Alex and I packed up many things before…”

Harry interrupted by saying “I understand. It’s just that I’m considering a move and am looking for pointers.”

Bobbie had to actually bite her tongue to stop herself from offering to help.

Harry Rogers was a 50 year old police detective who was thinking about his next stage of life. He lived a mostly solitary life since divorcing his wife 15 years before. He had a 20 year old son that was attending Crow Harbour University and he was very proud.

Harry liked her, but couldn’t get the thought of how they met out of his mind, it was clear she was still processing her husband’s death. They drove back to the hotel and Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek and said goodnight.

“Thanks for the lovely dinner Harry.” Bobbie was a little tipsy and was feeling really social. She walked over to the hotel bar and peeked in. There were businessmen sitting at the bar and a couple more sitting at tables. She was the oldest woman in the room but sat at a small table beside the small stage.

A waitress came by and Bobbie tried to spark up a little conversation with her but it fell flat. Looking around Bobbie could sense this was a bad idea but thought, I have to get used to being alone. A young woman came from behind the bar and moved up on the stage. She plugged her guitar into an amp and turned on her mike. Bobbie brightened up and thought this might be OK after all. She was right, the singer had a lovely voice and Bobbie realized that the songs she sang 35 years before were considered retro and were popular again. It made her a little emotional thinking about how she hadn’t pursued her own singing career when she was that age. She listened to a few songs and finished her drink and tried to get the attention of the waitress who was pointedly ignoring her. Maybe women over 50 really are invisible. She finally brought over the bill. Bobbie left a really good tip. “That’ll teach that waitress that older women were worth good service…maybe?”, Bobbie thought for a moment, but decided that vengeful tipping wasn’t really a thing.

She went up to her room, pleased that she put herself out there. She and Alex always loved live music. It was hard to think of how much fun it would have been if Alex was with her though, and she cried herself to sleep.