The Christmas House Read online

At that point, Thomas would agree to anything just to have gotten the contract signed. He could see Michael was very desperate. He knew he could convince him to sell the property to a buyer with a good offer. Arianna would be the problem as far as Thomas was concerned, but he would deal with her when the time came.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the storm door. Thomas jumped up out of his chair.

  “Now wait one minute. That is my buyer and unless you sign this listing contract, I cannot allow you to talk with him.”

  Michael replied, “Thomas, sit down. This is a free country and I can talk to whomever I wish. If this buyer is truly interested in purchasing this house because he wants to renovate it and then live in it, then I will be happy to sign your little contract. But if he wants to tear the house down and build a new one here, then he is just going to have to wait until we have exhausted all other possibilities. I am not saying that I won’t sell to someone that wants to tear this old place down. I am saying I want to at least try to sell it the way Martha asked us to, that’s all. Can you understand that Thomas?”

  “Sure, why not. But just in case you change your mind, the asking price should be $1.5 million and not a penny less,” Thomas said. He figured if he was going to have to wait a few extra weeks, he might as well get a better pay-off from Mr. Cesario.

  “1.5 million sounds very reasonable Thomas. We can get back our investment into this house and donate the balance to a charity,” Michael replied.

  The doorbell rang. Arianna looked at Michael as if to ask, “Are we ready?” and Michael answered her look with a nod.

  Arianna walked to the front door and unlocked the storm. A large stocky man outside the door asked, “Are you Mrs. Carter?”

  “Yes, please come in. We have been expecting you,” Arianna replied.

  The man dressed in a very nice two piece suit and carrying a brief case entered the house and stopped once inside the foyer.

  “Well, you have a lovely home. Seems like you are in the middle of making some costly improvements.”

  “Yes, we are. Actually, a bit too costly. I guess that’s why you are here,” Arianna replied.

  “Yes, looks like I got here at just the right time,” he responded.

  As Arianna led the man into the dining room, she started to make introductions.

  “This is my husband Michael.”

  “Hi, nice to meet you,” Michael said as he stood and extended his hand.

  “Pleasure to meet you Michael.”

  Arianna turned her attention to Thomas.

  “And this of course is Thomas Clark, but you already knew that.”

  “Why no, I didn’t know that, but hello Mr. Clark, nice to meet you as well,” the man replied.

  “Haven’t the two of you ever met before?” Michael asked.

  Thomas answered, “I met Mr. Cesario only once before. It was over six months ago when he first came to this house and made a bid. I can see how he might not recognize me, but I never forget a face. It’s a sales thing you know. Always remember a buyers face no matter what the circumstance.”

  “Well I hate to burst your bubble Mr. Clark, but not only have we never met, additionally I am not Mr. Cesario.” the man said as he looked down his nose toward Thomas.

  “Oh my God” said Arianna. “Then if you don’t mind me asking who are you?”

  “Not at all Mrs. Carter. My name is John Haber. I am Miss Kennedy’s attorney. We met briefly at the closing for this house, however unlike Mr. Clark, I am without a photographic memory and thus I must confess that I do not recognize either you or your husband.”

  “What’s this about Mr. Haber? Is Martha okay?” asked Michael.

  “Well Mr. Carter, I am sorry to say that Martha passed away a few months ago,” he replied.

  Arianna’s eyes involuntarily started to tear.

  “Oh, no. That sweet old woman has died?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Carter, I am afraid so. She passed away on May 1st,” he responded.

  “Michael, that’s Nicole’s birthday. How coincidental is that?” she said.

  “Coincidental isn’t the word that came to my mind. Spooky is more like it. I could have sworn I saw Martha at the hospital that very same day. How did Martha die?” Michael asked.

  “She passed away in her sleep peacefully. They rushed her to Good Samaritan Hospital early that morning, but there was nothing they could do,” Mr. Haber replied.

  All of a sudden the grandfather clock in the dining room chimed 9 times. It was now 9 a.m. Thomas knew that Mr. Cesario would be there any minute and decided to hurry Martha’s attorney along.

  “Well, listen we are just all real broken up about Martha dying and everything, but I’m afraid we are expecting a buyer for this house to arrive at any minute, so I guess it’s time you got on your way. Sorry, no offense, but unless it’s at the closing, I get a bit nervous when there’s a buyer and an attorney in the same room. Have a nice day and thanks for coming by,” Thomas said as he tried to usher Mr. Haber out of the house by tugging at his arm.

  “Mr. Clark, will you please be quiet and sit down!” Arianna said.

  Mr. Haber smiled.

  “Thank you Mrs. Carter. Actually I have come here today representing the estate of Miss Kennedy. She contacted me a few days after the closing and asked me to re-write her will to include the both of you. This will only take a few minutes. Do you mind?” he asked.

  “No, by all means. Please sit down,” said Michael as he watched Thomas walk over to the hole ridden dining room wall and bang his head against it.

  “What seems to be his problem?” asked Mr. Haber as he motioned toward Thomas.

  “He is having a bad day and I think he just realized that it’s about to get a whole lot worse,” Michael replied.

  Mr. Haber took a seat at the dining room table and placed his brief case next to the one that Thomas laid there just 30 minutes earlier. As Mr. Haber started to pull documents out of the case, he noticed the listing contract lying on the table. He picked it up.

  “I don’t think you will be needing this anymore Mr. Carter.”

  He continued to gather his papers and produced an envelope with a wax seal at the seam.

  “First of all, this is a private reading of Martha’s estate. I am going to have to ask you to leave Mr. Clark.”

  “Sure, okay. I will go outside and have a cigarette,” Thomas said as he walked out of the dining room and then out of the house.

  Mr. Haber continued.

  “Strange fellow isn’t he? All right, now back to the matter at hand. I need to see a valid drivers license or some other proof of your identities.”

  Michael pulled his wallet out of his back pants pocket as Arianna walked to the kitchen to retrieve her purse. They both produced newly issued Illinois State licenses due to having just moved from Nevada.

  “That’s fine,” said Mr. Haber and he continued.

  “I have been instructed to read you this letter from Martha. I must pretense this letter by telling you that although Martha did not appear to be wealthy, she was very wealthy indeed. As you know, she had no living relatives to leave her substantial estate to, however she was extremely generous when it came to major charities. She willed the majority of her estate to these charities. I apologize for the delay in contacting you, but the distribution to the charities took more time than anticipated. You have been left a small portion of her wealth, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up and think that it is a great deal of money. Is that understood?” he asked.

  “Yes, we understand,” answered Michael.

  “Okay then, here is the letter that Martha wanted me to read to the both of you,” Mr. Haber said, as he opened the letter and broke the wax seal.

  “Dear Michael, Arianna, David and infant baby girl, (it was a girl wasn’t?)

  How are you? I hope you are doing well with my old house on Festive Lane. I do miss it so. I am writing you this letter being of sound mind and body. If it is being read to you as I requested, then
I have long since passed away by now. If not, then my attorney is a boob and is reading this to you while I am still alive!”

  “Guess I could have skipped that part,” said Mr. Haber as he continued.

  “She continues to say,”

  “I hope that your baby was born healthy. I know she will grow up to be as beautiful as her Mom and as loving and caring as her Father. I also hope that David is enjoying his new home as well. Tell him that every Spring there is a female cardinal that lays eggs in a nest in the tall oak tree near the brook, in the backyard. He might enjoy seeing that.”

  “I was so concerned about the two of you when I left the closing that day. I decided to include you in my will because I didn’t want to see you give up. You seemed so despondent and defeated. I couldn’t let you get to the point of having to sell the house before you even discovered the reason why you bought it from me in the first place. You will experience that reason in the near future. Hopefully this letter and my attorney have gotten to you before it is too late.”

  “If I would have had grandchildren, they would have been the both of you. Michael, you are a very strong and determined individual. The kind of man that can do whatever it is he sets his mind to accomplish. Arianna, you are Michael’s support that keeps him going when he is ready to give up. You two are meant for each other. I have never seen two people so much in love. Your relationship is divine.”

  “Well, I must be going now. My attorney will tell you the rest. God loves you and blesses you. As long as you have each other, it doesn’t matter where you are. You will always be in paradise.”

  Have a wonderful life,

  Martha.

  Mr. Haber stopped reading and handed the letter to Michael who was all choked up from the warm and loving comments Martha stated. As Michael and Arianna hugged each other, Mr. Haber continued.

  “As I said, Martha was very wealthy. Although why she never used any of it to fix up this old house is beyond me. She lived like a pauper and had the means to live like a Queen. Her estate was worth $25 million dollars. She donated all but the amount of these two checks to several charities.”

  As he stood, he handed the checks to Michael. Arianna looked over to view the checks and started to cry as she placed her hands over her face.

  Michael started to shake as he read the amounts out loud.

  “One check is for $199,999.00. The exact amount we paid for this house. The other check is for $150,000.00 and has a notation, “for repairs already and soon to be done, as well as funds for the children’s college education,” Michael said in a trembling voice for he could barely control his emotions.

  “It is not usually proper to say congratulations when awarding gifts from the deceased, but what the heck, she called me a boob! Congratulations you two,” said Mr. Haber.

  Arianna broke a smile through her tears and laughed softly. She stood and hugged Mr. Haber. Michael stood as well and shook the attorney’s hand once again.

  As they stood motionless and in total disbelief, Mr. Haber asked them to sign some papers that verified that they had accepted the checks. Once signed, he placed the documents in his brief case and closed it.

  “Well, my business here is concluded. Best of luck to you Mr. and Mrs. Carter. I will show myself out. Have a good day,” said Mr. Haber as he departed through the dining room and into the foyer.

  As Mr. Haber walked out the front door, he could see Thomas smoking a cigarette a few feet away from the street. As he approached his car, Thomas spotted him, threw his cigarette to the ground and ran over.

  “Mr.... Attorney... hey... wait a minute,” shouted Thomas.

  Mr. Haber continued to walk and opened his car door. He said to Thomas as he arrived at the car, “Can I help you Mr. Clark?”

  “Yeah, so what’s the deal with the will? Are the Carters wealthy now or what?”

  “Put it this way Mr. Clark, I doubt seriously that they will be selling this house any time soon. And by the way, I would brush up on that memory course if I were you. My name is Mr. Haber, not Mr. Attorney. I remembered your last name Mr. Clark, and I bet I have a good thirty years on you. Good day sir,” Mr. Haber replied.

  Mr. Haber got into his car and drove away as Thomas stood there dumbfounded.

  Within a few seconds, another car pulled up. The driver shouted out of the car.

  “Hey, Clark? Is that you?”

  Thomas turned back toward the car and this time ‘did’ recognize the driver to be Mr. Anthony Cesario.

  “Mr. Cesario. You’re a little late,” Thomas said.

  “Sorry about that kiddo, I had to talk to a client that wants to build a house on this property. So, they ready to deal or what?” he asked.

  “I am afraid not. They just inherited a substantial amount of money from that old, crazy lady that used to own this house. Sorry Tony, but the deal is off. Maybe next time,” Thomas said.

  Tony got out of his car and grabbed Thomas by the lapels of his suit jacket. “Listen stupid, I just locked in a major client of mine to pay me $5 million dollars to build him an estate on this property. You better convince these idiots to sell. There is a lot of money at stake here. You understand me!”

  “Mr. Cesario, they aren’t going to sell. They want to keep the property and live here. There is something weird about this house. Stay away from it. It’s not worth it,” Thomas replied as he tried to get lose from Tony’s vise like grip.

  Tony let go of Thomas’ lapels as he threw him back against the car.

  “Well, mark my words, one of these days these people are going to sell me this property! I learned a long time ago, that if you can’t buy something away from someone, then you simply take it away!” Tony shouted.

  “Hey, wait a minute Tony. These are nice people. Don’t do anything that would hurt them,” Thomas said.

  “I am not into hurting people Mr. Clark, except maybe the occasional Realtor. I just always get what I want, that’s all. It may take a few years, but I’ll get this house. If I have to burn it down to the foundation!” Tony shouted as he walked back to his car.

  As he pulled away, the tires squealed and he yelled at Thomas, “See you around hot shot! Don’t swim with the sharks. They are liable to tear you to pieces. Ciao!”

  Thomas sat down on the curb of the street and took a deep breath. He tried to regain his composure before he went back into the house to retrieve his brief case and to wish the Carters a good day. Thomas was greedy and money hungry, but he was not a violent criminal. He wasn’t sure whether Tony was just mouthing off out of frustration or if he would seriously consider burning down the house that now stood at 148 Festive Lane. He decided not to tell the Carters about the incident and hoped that Tony was just bluffing.

  Chapter Nine- A New Beginning

  November 27th

  Thanksgiving Day

  5:00 p.m.

  Traditionally, Lake Forest residents decorate their homes for Christmas no later than Thanksgiving Day simply because they wish to enjoy the fruits of their labor for the entire holiday season. This year was no exception. The homes were decorated to the extreme. Hundreds of hours were invested into each house as the owners expressed their Christmas spirit in their own special way.

  A large crowd gathered toward the middle of the block of Festive Lane.

  The house sitting at 148 Festive Lane was no longer the ugly duckling home of the neighborhood. It may not have been the largest or the newest home, but it was without a doubt, the most festive and cheerful.

  There was a large Plexiglas covered display that was centered on the front lawn just below a large beautiful bay window, which recently was installed. The display on the lawn was lit from within, where the lights shined on an array of mechanical characters that moved and sang. The theme of the display was, "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas" as was indicated by a red and white sign that acted as a marquee attached to the top of the display.

  As the elves loaded Santa's sleigh with lots of shinny wrapped presents, Santa and M
rs. Claus watched from the bay window inside the house. Audio speakers played a variety of Christmas melodies including one long forgotten tune called, "Hardrock, Coco and Joe."

  Red, blue, green, white, yellow and orange bulbs lit up the entire area with a warm and pleasing glow. At the very top of the house was a sleigh with Santa inside calling out to eight life size reindeer, "Merry Christmas to all a good night!" The sleigh and reindeer gave the illusion of flying in mid air but in reality was connected between this grand old house and the more contemporary mansion that stood next door.

  A young couple and a small boy walked out of the house carrying more decorations. As they walked toward the display on the lawn, the crowd still gathered, applauded and some of the people shouted, “Hey, nice job,” and “It looks wonderful!” The young man carrying a string of colored lights waved as he smiled at the gathering.

  As crowd started to migrate down the block to the next estate, they surely could recall that less than a year ago this old house was the eye sore of the neighborhood. The exterior improvement included newly painted gray and white trim and eves, the richness of the deep reddish brown brick work that had been tuck-pointed and sandblasted. In addition newly installed windows and freshly planted evergreen bushes and trees landscaped the home perfectly. This was once again a truly beautiful home.

  Thanksgiving Evening

  6:30 p.m.

  The Carter Residence

  Over the last four months, Michael and Arianna made major progress in the restoration of the home on Festive Lane. Not only was the outside of the home been completely rejuvenated, the transformation of the inside of the house was breathtaking as well.

  With the exception of positioning the personal touches such as pictures and nick knack’s, Michael managed to remodel about 90% of the interior of the house. There were a few rooms on the second floor that still required work, but the living areas that were used on a regular basis were totally remodeled and looked magnificent.

  Walls that were once cracked and hole ridden had been completely replaced or newly plastered. Colorful and tasteful wallpapers were hung, as well as matching custom window treatments of splendid fabrics. Not a floorboard from the original house remained, for they had been replaced with new hardwood floors. Large, contemporary area rugs accented the decor of each room distinctively as they added color and warmth to the sheen of the deep toned hardwoods. Applications of fresh plaster were applied to every ceiling that before was peeling and cracked. “Flawless” and “perfection”, were the words that now came to mind.