The Christmas House Read online

  3:35 p.m.

  Several months passed and despite numerous showings and a half of dozen Realtors representing the property, Martha was still without a buyer for the house.

  Many interested and potential buyers inspected the house. Many made generous offers of over $2.3 million dollars for the prime location of the four-acre estate. Martha was not concerned with the money. She only wanted to sell the house to someone that would live in it and love it. Unfortunately, none of the serious buyers were interested in living in the house, much less loving it. They were only interested in demolishing the structure and rebuilding on the property. Martha ran out of potential buyers as well as willing Realtors. Every Realtor she signed with to represent the house quickly canceled their listing agreement after the first Open House. The assumed that Martha was senile and unstable due to refusing offer after offer, regardless how generous the amount. She would make each Realtor very uncomfortable when she would ask a potential buyer about their personnel family history and the status of living relatives and friends. Time after time, as the buyers would respond as to how large and caring their family was, Martha would dismiss their offer.

  Today was Martha’s birthday and she only had a few months remaining to sell the old house to a deserving family. Having scared off every available Realtor in the area, Martha was forced to sell the house on her own.

  It was an unusually warm day for February, and traffic in the area was more congested than it had been for the past several months. Martha was working down in her basement, trying to clean up some of the mess that accumulated over the years. The dark and damp basement was dimly lit by the shadowed light of a bare incandescent bulb hanging from a black frayed cord as Martha rummaged through the affects stored in corrugated boxes. She came across newspapers dated 1936 that shouted headlines about a new zeppelin being introduced in Germany. She found an old ten-ounce soda bottle that hadn’t been used by bottlers for over 20 years. The more memories she uncovered, the more depressed she became. Every item brought back a memory that made her think fondly of better days.

  As she moved throughout the cellar, she passed in front of a ground level basement window that looked out to the front yard. She could see the “For Sale By Owner” sign that she placed there, just two days earlier.

  She moved away from the window and as a beam of light shined past her, it cast a natural spotlight on a mouse gnawing at a box that sat on the floor. Martha screamed! The mouse was just as startled and scampered off in a flash. Martha regained her composure and grabbed a nearby broom. She quietly and slowly moved in the direction of where she last saw the mouse run off and slowly raised the broom over her head. As she turned the corner around a stack of boxes ready to bounce on the furry rodent, the doorbell rang and she screamed again! Jumping back and dropping the broom, she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding a thousand beats per minute. She slowly made her way up the basement stairs to the kitchen area when the doorbell rang again.

  “Just a moment. I’m coming,” she shouted.

  When Martha opened the front entry door, a young man, a younger woman and a small ten-year-old boy greeted her.

  The handsome young man, in his thirties asked, “Excuse me, but is this house still for sale?”

  “Why, yes it is. Would you like to come in and look around?” Martha asked.

  “Well, if it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition, yes that would be fine,” the young man replied.

  Martha opened the door wide and the three guests entered the house. The young woman, now in full view, was pregnant and carrying high.

  “It’s going to be a girl,” said Martha.

  “Well, we hope so but we will be happy no matter what it is,” replied the woman.

  “No matter what it is? Honey, it’s going to be either a boy or a girl, not a what,” said the young man.

  The young expectant mother raised her voice slightly and said, “Michael, please no jokes. You don’t even know this woman. How embarrassing!”

  “I see your husband is a bit of a joker,” Martha said as she laughed.

  The young mother responded sarcastically, “Yes, he can be, but I still love him regardless.”

  The young man was very handsome. Tall with a muscular build, he was obviously a weightlifter or worked as a tradesman. His boyish face was bright and cheery as he chomped away on a wad of bubble gum stuck deep inside his cheek. A lumberjack shirt that was neatly tucked into a pair of snug fitting jeans confirmed his blue-collar status.

  As they walked into the dining room, the young man said, “Oh, I’m sorry, let me introduce my family. This is my son David.”

  Martha shook the young boys’ hand and said, “Hello there David.”

  “Hello,” replied the young boy.

  David was the spitting image of his father. Dressed alike, they resembled a poorly cast advertisement for the great outdoorsman. Chewing gum as well, David was only a fraction of his father’s height. Dark hair and bright blue eyes glistened effortlessly as he blew pink bubbles from his mouth.

  “This is my wife Arianna and this is our soon to be offspring (as he pats her stomach) whatchamacallit,” the young man said.

  “Michael!” said his wife.

  Arianna, although very pregnant, was extremely attractive. Golden blonde hair tied back in a ponytail let her stunning facial features shine. A model’s profile featured a button nose and small gentle mouth. Big wide eyes that were crystal blue, sparkled as she smiled at her husband.

  “Oh, and in case you didn’t catch that, my name is Michael, but my friends sometimes call me Mike or Mickey.”

  “Oh, like the mouse that just scared the bejesus out of me downstairs. Nice to meet all of you,” said Martha.

  “Please come in and look around.”

  “You have mice?” Arianna asked Martha.

  Martha realized her mistake and said, “No deary. Mouse as in singular. He is harmless and down in the basement.”

  Arianna let out a sigh of relief as Michael added, “Well if he’s staying with the house he’s going to have to pay rent, right David?”

  “Right Dad!” responded the young boy.

  As they toured the house, Michael turned to Martha and said, “Listen Mrs...?”

  “Call me Martha.”

  “Okay Martha, I have to be honest with you. We really love this old house. We have been driving by it for the last few weeks but just never had the nerve to ring your bell. You see, we can fix it up really nice, but we don’t have very much money to spend.”

  Martha paused a minute and said, “Tell me about your family. Are they excited about the new baby?”

  “Neither of us have any family. Michael’s parents and brother died in a car accident about 10 years ago and both of my parents passed away when I was 12. I am an only child,” Arianna replied.

  “Oh how sad,” Martha said and continued. “Well what about grandparents, aunts, uncles...”

  “No, we have no other family; just the three of us and the (patting her stomach) unnamed addition on the way,” Arianna responded as she smiled.

  “But I would take it you have many friends right Michael?” asked Martha.

  “No, not really. We just relocated to this area from Las Vegas where I was a contractor. I got an offer to move here with my company due to expansion, so we took advantage of the opportunity. Unfortunately, we left all of our friends behind,” Michael said.

  “Well, I am sure your closest friends will still visit when they get a chance,” Martha replied.

  “Well, not unless they are supernatural,” said Arianna.

  “Our two best friends were our best man and maid of honor at our wedding 11 years ago. They finally got married a few years ago and then perished in a house fire just last fall. It was so sad. It’s one of the reasons we decided to relocate. A fresh start if you know what I mean.”

  “Have we depressed you enough yet Martha?’ Michael asked.

  He turned to Arianna and said, “Why did you tell
her all that stuff? Now she is probably thinking we are bad luck or something.”

  He turned back to Martha and said “Don’t worry Martha, you won’t die or anything in the next couple of months.”

  Martha nearly spit out the coffee she was sipping at the time of Michael’s statement and started to cough.

  “Damn you Michael, you are always screwing around!” shouted Arianna.

  Michael patted Martha on the back and started to apologize profusely.

  “I’m sorry Martha, that was just a joke. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “No problem dear (as she coughs and gasps for air), I’m not going anywhere just yet,” Martha replied.

  Once Martha caught her breath, she asked the couple, “So you would like to take a tour my house, yes?”

  They both nodded their heads.

  As Michael and family following Martha from room to room, upstairs and down, they marveled at the story she told of each room. Ironically, each tale was centered around Christmas. Even though the house was in need of major renovation, Michael and Arianna felt the sense of love built on the memories of the old mansion. As they returned to the foyer area where the tour had begun, Martha asked, “So Michael and Arianna; are you still interested in buying this run-down house? It needs quite a bit of fixing up.”

  “We are still very interested but as I mentioned, we don’t have the kind of money you are probably asking for the house,” Michael said.

  He spotted a listing sheet setting on the table. As he

  reached for it he asked, “Just how much “are” you asking for this property?”

  Martha snatched the sheet from his hand before he could read the asking price.

  “Well, how much can you afford to pay Michael?” she asked.

  Michael looked at Arianna and then down at her large stomach that reminded him he would soon have another mouth to feed.

  He stuttered and stalled, then managed to profess, “Well Martha, we can only afford a $200,000.00 mortgage, but I’m sure this house is worth 10 times that amount. We don’t have very much money to put down either. I am very sorry for wasting your time.”

  “Michael, Arianna?” asked Martha. “If you promise to never tear down this house, to love it with all your hearts and to never resell it to anyone else unless they promise to do the same, I think we can work something out. Does that sound reasonable?”

  In a state of disbelief, Michael said, “Martha I promise you we would never tear down this beautiful old house. I am really very good at my job. I have been a carpenter for many years. I can fix this house to where it will look brand new again.”

  “And do you have any money to do that Michael. I mean once the mortgage payments start?” Martha asked.

  Michael shrugged his shoulders and said, “It will take time, but we can make this house a home for the four of us.”

  Martha smiled and extended her hand to Michael and said, “You are very fortunate Michael. The house was just recently reduced to $199,999.00. Congratulations!”

  Arianna started to cry as she hugged Michael and said, “I can’t believe it Michael. Oh my God. We’ve got a house! Martha, how can we ever thank you enough?”

  “You can thank me by doing two things. One, by keeping your promises as we have discussed and two, by always being open minded and welcoming visitors to this home with open arms. That’s all you need to do,” Martha responded.

  They both looked at Martha and readily agreed to her conditions. Michael and Arianna could not believe their good fortune. They talked with Martha about details of the closing and the down payment. Martha called her attorney and asked him to prepare for a closing date that would take place on April 10th. Everything seemed to be in order for the sale of the house at 148 Festive Lane.

  Less than an hour later, Michael, Arianna and David left the house and walked back to their car. Martha waved goodbye to them from the front door. As she closed the door, she stopped short and peeked out to watch the family. She saw Michael hug his wife so hard that she pushed him away so as not to hurt the baby. He was so excited as he walked up and down the front sidewalk and smiled at the house that would soon be theirs forever.

  Martha smiled to herself and shut the door completely. She walked back toward the kitchen but stopped in the middle of the dining room. She looked up at the ceiling and said aloud, “I did it Father.”

  Chapter Four- The Closing

  April 9th

  Lake Forest, IL

  Martha remained extremely busy during the months preceding the closing. There was much to do before she could move into the small studio style apartment that she found in nearby Morton Grove. The apartment was in a retirement center and was fully furnished. She realized that she wouldn’t need any of the old and worn furniture that was left in the house, so she conducted several estate sales. She was truly amazed at how many people wanted to purchase useless junk, but she was just happy to get rid of the hundreds of pieces that were lying around collecting dust throughout the house, garage and basement. Martha was packed and ready to vacate the premises. The closing was tomorrow and she would give Michael and Arianna possession at that time.

  During this same time period, Michael and Arianna were busy as well. They managed to sub lease their apartment and would be out of their lease by April 30th. Michael was disappointed at first since the closing was on the 10th and he was stuck paying for the apartment the entire month of April. Then Arianna pointed out to him that the time lapse between the closing and having to vacate the apartment could be used to clean and fix the smaller problems at the house. Michael, being the go-getter that he was, decided to work on the interior of the house during this time period. Maybe even strip some wallpaper and paint a few rooms if time allowed.

  Their son David was very excited about the move as well. The house they moved from in Las Vegas was a small two-bedroom townhouse. The Festive Lane house living room was bigger than their entire home in Vegas. He already made plans of how his “rooms” would be decorated. Yes, David decided that the house was so big that he could master two rooms instead of just one.

  David at 10 years old, was already quite the musician. His father was teaching him how to play guitar and David was catching on fast. Michael recently bought David a used electric guitar and amplifier. David was planning on making one of his rooms into a music room. He hoped to make friends quickly at his new school and possibly start a rock band.

  Arianna was now full-term with her pregnancy and approaching her due date of April 20th. Michael was concerned because she was trying to help with the packing and he didn’t want her lifting anything over ten pounds. Michael adored Arianna. They met in high school and had been together ever since. Married only one year before the birth of David, they'd been in wedlock for 11 years. Michael described his wife to fellow workers as a super mom with super model looks. Well, at least that was how she usually looked when she wasn’t pregnant. Like her son, Arianna was a bit stubborn and ignored Michael’s warnings of lifting boxes filled with books and tableware.

  “Are you trying to have the baby right here?” Michael said.

  “No, I am just trying to help Michael,” she responded.

  “Please do me a favor and just sit there and relax. Go watch television or something. You are driving me crazy!” he replied.

  David came into the room. “I’ll help ya Dad.”

  “See, David is going to help me so you don’t have to,” Michael said.

  Arianna in a fit of frustration replied, “Fine! I will get out of your sight then. I feel so useless and so fat and so ugly!”

  She stormed out of the room and into the bedroom of the tiny apartment.

  Michael turned to David.

  “Can you handle this by yourself for a few minutes? Mom and I need to talk.”

  “No problem Dad. I will do what I can.”

  Michael rubbed the top of David’s head and then headed toward the bedroom.

  In the bedroom, which was a disaster area from the
packing effort, Michael found Arianna sobbing on the bed. She was extremely emotional of late and much more so than when David was born. Michael assumed it was due to the added stress of the move, the purchase of a new home, the repairs the home required and the fact that she was 10 years older since the last time she gave birth.

  He walked over several boxes that surrounded the bed and sat down next to his whimpering wife.

  “Honey, I know you want to help, but I don’t want you or the baby to get hurt. Can’t you understand that?”

  “Oh sure. You just don’t want to look at me anymore. I’m so fat and ugly!” she responded.

  “You are not. You are as beautiful as the day I married you. Really you are,” Michael replied.

  “Oh so you married a blimp 11 years ago? Hmm, where was I?” she whimpered.

  “Hmm, well I seem to remember this beautiful young girl that could light up the sky with her smile and the sparkle in her eyes,” Michael said.

  Arianna fought back a smile and reluctantly said, “Are you saying that I used to… smarkle?”

  “Smarkle? Well, yes I guess you could call it that. And you still smarkle better than anyone else does in the whole world. I love you Arianna.”

  “Oh Michael, I love you so much. I’m sorry for being such a baby. Now neither of us are packing.”

  Michael laughed.

  “Well David is doing pretty well. I am very proud of the way he is pitching in to help. Usually he’s the one that’s acting like a baby!” Michael said, as he gave her a love pat on her bottom.

  Arianna laughed.

  “Hey, what do you mean! Come here you sexy man you.”

  As they held each other and kissed, Michael rubbed her stomach and whispered; “You are still the most beautiful girl I know.”

  At that moment they heard a crash from the kitchen.

  “Dad... I think I broke something,” David said.

  Michael looked at Arianna.

  “I think he needs some help. You stay here and rest. And that young lady is an order.”

  “Yes Sir!” she responded with a smile.