Chapter 72

Gen sighed in disappointment as she peered out the window this morning. It looked as though her original assumptions about Buffalo were correct. Everything was covered with a light dusting of snow that had fallen over night. As beautiful as snow could be, it wasn’t what she wanted to wake up to on what she hoped would be a gorgeous spring day. Ordinarily, she would have been tickled to see snow in what, to her, seemed like late in the year. But now that she faced the prospect of calling this place home, she prayed for mild weather. She had what she realized was a futile hope of seeing the color of new life popping back into the frozen scenery. They had gotten in after dark last night, so she didn’t see how lifeless the landscape still looked up north in early March.

 When John stepped out of the shower and saw her staring sullenly out the window, he knew right away what she was thinking. “It’s not as bad as it looks, darlin’” he said as he put his arms around her, pulling her close to keep warm by the chill of the window. “It’ll melt off once the sun comes out.”

 “Oh, I know,” she sighed again softly. “I just sorta hoped I’d see flowers blooming and buds on the trees like at home, y’know.”

 “I know, babe. But it’s a little early for that in Buffalo.”

 She leaned her head against the window frame and watched as a bird landing on a branch caused a small snow shower before her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I just hoped for a pretty spring day like the one I woke up to yesterday, is all.”

 He smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the ear. “Gen, honey, it isn’t actually Spring yet, y’know. In California it might be, but in New York, it’s still winter. It won’t be long though, darlin’.” He kissed her again then broke away to find something to wear. “Besides, you and I both know that LA isn’t reality. Right? It’s like the whole damn place is Disneyland. It’s all fake. That out there,” he grinned, pointing at the window, “That’s real weather!”

 “Aw, you’re just trying to sell me on your hometown,” she smiled as she stepped back from the window. “You’ll say anything to make me like it here.”

 “You don’t hate it, do you?”

 “No,” she shrugged, pulling some clothes from her suitcase.

 “Well, good. Cause if I really was gonna say anything to make you like it here, I’d probably lie and tell you the weather was gonna be beautiful and there’d be no more snow, y’know.” He smiled as he pulled on his jeans. “I can’t really explain why I like it here, but I do. And I really hope you will too, darlin’.”

She tossed her things down on the bed beside him. “There’s nothing to explain. I know exactly why you love it here. It’s your home and I understand that completely. I really do,” she said with a smile as she kissed him on the forehead.  “I know what it’s like to miss home everyday.” She inventoried her selected wardrobe and realized she’d forgotten socks. She turned to grab a pair from her bag, but before she took a step, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back closer to him.

 “Gen,” he asked, with a sad look in his eyes. “Do you really miss home? You know you can go visit as much as you want. Anytime, babe. You don’t need to ask. Just do it, darlin’.”

 She met his eyes with a smile and perched herself on his lap. “I meant when I was a kid and we moved away from home, not now. I know this is gonna sounds cliché and all, but since I’ve known you, I’ve never ever missed home once. Guess that means I belong with you, babe. I’m always at home when I’m with you!” she said with a giggle. 

“Mi casa es su casa, baby,” he grinned. “And speaking of which…. We’re supposed to meet the realtor in, like, an hour. Hurry up and get dressed so we can eat first, will ya?” 

By the time she’d gotten dressed, dried her hair, and put on a touch of makeup, they agreed they were best off getting a quick breakfast on the run. “So what exactly are we looking for today?” Gen asked as she dug her fast food breakfast out of the bag and unwrapped it.

 “A house,” he smirked. He laughed as she rolled her eyes at him and took a big bite of her sandwich. “No, it needs to have plenty of rooms, a guest room, a room for some of my junk, a room that’d make a great nursery,” he smiled. “But, I’d also like a yard, y’know. A place for kids to play, somewhere we can have cookouts and parties. Y’know, like a real house.”

 “Do you think you’ll find what you’re looking for?”

 “Sure,” he shrugged, taking a sip of orange juice. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t. I’m not asking for a lot.”

 “I suppose, but I think it’ll be harder than you expect. You can’t live just anywhere, you know.”

 He shot her a questioning look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 “Well… it’s just that you’re… it’s….” she sighed and tried to think of a way to say she didn’t want to wake up to girls on the doorstep hoping to catch a glimpse of him, she didn’t want fans driving by taking photographs of their house, she didn’t want to have to worry that some crazy reporter was going to sit outside waiting to get the dirt on either of them… or their kids. “Oh, never mind.  We’ll know it when we see it.”

 When they reached the real estate office, they hurried inside to escape the chill in the air. Gennie had to chuckle to herself when she noticed John pull his jacket on tighter in the brisk Buffalo weather. This may be home to him, but even he’d become accustomed to the temperate climate in LA.

 When John approached the receptionist’s desk, he found her smiling at him. “Hi, I’m….” he began before she cut him off.

 “Hi! You have a 9:30 appointment with… um…” she fumbled with the schedule book on her desk, hesitant to take her eyes from him for even a second.

 He smiled politely at her. “Barbara Procasky,” he announced, letting her off the hook from her awkward search.

 “That’s right! Barb! One moment, please.” She picked up the phone and buzzed the intercom. “Barb… Ms. Procasky, Mr. Rzeznik is here to see you.”

 Gennie rolled her eyes when she heard this announced over the public address system. Instantly, as if they couldn’t see this happening through the glass wall behind the desk, heads popped up from cubicles all over the office to take a peek at their new customer. John observed it too and blushed slightly, but pretended not to notice.

 “Mr. Rzeznik, if you’d like to have a seat over there, Ms. Procasky will be with you in just a moment,” she stated specifically to him, as if Gennie weren’t even there. She motioned towards the seating area with an overly pleasant smile she seemed to have practiced all morning as she awaited his arrival.  

 Gen noticed that the receptionist seemed to have taken special care with the hair and makeup this morning. Not to mention the fact that the young woman seemed particularly well dressed for a snowy Thursday morning in a small Buffalo real estate office. While they waited, there was a flurry of personal requests from the receptionist that just couldn’t possibly be handled over the phone and an unusually high volume of copies being made at the Xerox machine beside the front desk. Gen knew she was supposed to think that these "casual visits" were mere coincidences, but did anyone really expect her to buy that? This was definitely different from when they were in California.  There, even if people were excited to meet him, which didn’t happen all that often, they played it cool. Here, it seemed like everyone knew who he was and had to personally lay their eyes upon him. 

 After an uncomfortable few minutes, Barbara finally made her appearance. “Mr. and Mrs. Rzeznik! How nice to finally get to know you in person!” she smiled brightly and extended her hand. She spoke with a northern accent, complete with flat extended o’s.

 “Oh, we’re…” Gennie began.

  “Nice to meet you too,” John said, shaking her hand as he crooked an eyebrow in Gen’s direction.

 “Follow me over here and we can choose some properties that you might want to view today.” She directed them into an empty office and walked around a desk covered in computer printouts.

 Gennie noticed as she watched her squeeze herself behind the desk and into the narrow office chair that Barbara must have put on a few extra pounds over the long winter months. The crisp bright pink suit that she wore strained itself over the plump midsection of her heavyset frame. She immediately struck Gennie as a friendly, middle aged woman who would be very easy to work with and she carried herself with a confidence that assured both of them that she was, indeed, the best in her field.

 “So, Mr. Rzeznik…”

 “Just John and Gennie, please,” he interrupted her.

 She picked up where she left off, never missing a beat. “John, as per our conversation a few days ago, I pulled a few listings that I think you might be interested in. You’ve started looking at a really good time, you know. There are several properties that just came up in the last few days.”

 The perused the list of homes up for grabs and selected a few that met with mutual approval. Barbara briefly excused herself to make a few phone calls to line up the showings and in a matter of minutes they were off. Their search had begun.

 As they situated themselves in Barbara’s roomy Lexus, the realtor craned her neck to look at Gen in the rear view mirror. “So, Gennie, I know that John here is from Buffalo, but what about you? Are you from here too?”

 “No,” Gennie shook her head. “I’ve only visited a few times.”

 “Well, I think you’ll like it here. The weather's cold, but hearts are warm,” she chimed. Although she didn’t make it sound insincere, it was apparent that she’d said it many a time to area newcomers. “And you’ve chosen some really lovely homes here, so I’m sure you’ll find something that says ‘welcome home’ right away!”

 “Let’s hope so,” Gen replied with a smile.

 The first house on the list was an older home built in the early part of the century. It was stately without being grand and inside it was warm and inviting. Both Gennie and John admired the current owner’s knack for decorating. The place was a show home. They liked the living areas, the kitchen, the dining room. There were plenty of rooms to meet their requirements. However, upon further inspection, they realized that the house had only a bathroom and a half. Immediately, they agreed that this would never do for them.

“Uh, Barb, I think we’re gonna need to see the next one,” John sighed with some regret. He really did like this house, but it was impractical beyond belief. ‘Besides,’ he thought to himself, ‘who buys the first house they see?’ After only a brief visit, they were on to house number two.

 The second house was radically different from the first one in that it was imposing in all the ways in which the other one was so simple. It was a considerably more expensive home, but having agreed that money wasn’t really the issue, they chose this house based upon the amenities. It has lots of rooms, more than they needed, really. It had a swimming pool with an intricately landscaped lawn and deck area. It even had a small guest apartment over the garage. But as soon as they drove into the neighborhood, John and Gen exchanged glances that said they both knew this wasn’t where they’d be living.

 “This looks like the neighborhood Richie Rich lived in,” Gen mumbled to John as the car turned onto the appropriate street.

 But upon touring the home, their impression of the ‘grand estate’ was ruined. They tried to restrain the giggles as they noted things like the bright red shag carpet in the ‘library’, the shiny black vinyl upholstery on the window seats and surrounding furniture, the mirrored silver and brown wallpaper in several rooms and the avocado and orange kitchen. Gennie just couldn’t contain her laughter though, when she spotted the velvet painting of the sad clown hanging on the wall in one of the bedrooms.

 Evidently, Barbara had picked up on some of their reservations; not that it was that hard to do. “Of course, all of these issues are purely cosmetic. They could be quite easily updated and you’d have yourself a show home in no time!” she beamed. “They’ve already done some beautiful restoration on the dining room, so you can see how nicely this home fixes up. I can even help you arrange contractors and the like. That way, it’ll all be up to date when you move in.”

 Between their awkward looks at each other, they both shook their heads in Barbara’s direction. They felt a little bad about berating someone’s home like they were, but this was just unbelievable- not what one would expect upon viewing a home selling for half a million dollars!

 “I’m sorry,” Gen apologized, “it’s really not this house. I just can’t see myself in this neighborhood, y’know. It’s too… too…”

 “I know what you mean,” Barbara smiled. “It’s a very upscale community and not everyone really wants that degree of…. exclusivity.”

 “I’d say that sums it up,” John chuckled.

 “Actually, it’s not easy to sell a home in this neighborhood; especially to younger couples like yourselves. I think this area primarily attracts older folks. The appeal of ‘the estate’ is dwindling with the younger generation, you know,” she rambled on as they returned to the car. “There are plenty of places where you can find a home with all these amenities, but without the… what you might call the ‘stuffy’ feel.” Barbara sunk back into the driver’s seat of her car. “I think you’ll like these last few properties much better.”

 Home number three was a traditional brick home with a Mediterranean feel to the architecture. It was beautiful and met all their requirements, but it just didn’t inspire much feeling in either of them, so they proceeded to the next house on the list.

 “Three down, five to go,” John announced as they once again climbed into the car.

 The next one was a 1930’s Tudor style home. They both admired the bright blue color on the window frames and the striking red front door. They smiled at each other when they entered the traditionally furnished home.

 “From what I’ve seen so far, I like it,” Gen whispered in his ear.

 He nodded, but reserved his judgment until he’d seen more of it.

 It had a handsomely appointed kitchen that even a gourmet chef would envy and the living area was warm and cozy. It looked expensive, but lived in and it seemed like a place they could be comfortable. They lingered here longer than they had at any location yet, they checked and double checked cabinets, closets, and had hushed conversations about what kind of furniture would be right for various spaces.

 After one such quiet conference John turned to Barbara who was discreetly trying to give them some space. “I think this one is a definite maybe, but we don’t want to quit looking yet.”

 “Great!” she replied cheerily. “The next one is just a few blocks away.”

 As they pulled up to the drive of the next house, John’s eyes nearly popped out. “Man, I thought this house was supposed to be quaint! That’s a damn mansion!”

 The house had been described as a ‘charming cottage’ on the listing, but this was a large, imposing home that could barely pass as resembling a cottage. It was a nice enough house, but the first impression it left them with was a little too daunting for either of their tastes. Besides, as John pointed out, it cost nearly twice as much as some of the other houses and didn’t really have any more to offer. 

In an effort to get one more in before lunch, they chose one that wasn’t too far, but had barely rated on their ‘must see’ list. In fact, it was Barbara who had suggested that they check this one out in the first place. And although it was selling for quite a bit less than some houses they were viewing, she thought it embodied what they might be looking for.

 “Now, this next one is in a neighborhood I think you two will really like,” she announced as they cruised down the road. “The people are more your age and it’s a more lively place than some of the…. um… more…conservative communities we’ve been looking at.  It’s a really lovely neighborhood and it’s quiet, secluded and private.” Barbara tried to get some feel for their reactions to her informative spiel. “The neighborhood was established in the early 20’s and took advantage of the Buffalo area’s appeal to newlyweds- you know, Niagara Falls being the big honeymoon spot, and all.  So, the houses were all started as small cottages on large, private lots, but over the years, most of the homes have been added on to considerably. Fortunately, the neighborhood hasn’t lost its sense of privacy and seclusion though over the years. There are lots of mature trees and winding streets- and absolutely beautiful gardens in the late spring and summer.” She turned the car off the main road onto a small street labeled Beloved Boulevard. As they passed street signs proclaiming names like Sweetheart Street, Admiration Avenue, and Dearest Drive, she chuckled. “I think you’ll see what I mean.”

 After passing a few more oversized lots, they finally turned into the winding driveway of 2569 Treasured Trail. John stifled a laugh and leaned over to Gennie. “I like the street name. Sounds almost dirty, doesn’t it?” he mumbled in her ear. It was enough to send her into a fit of giggles that left Barbara wondering what all the fun was about.

 “So what do you think so far?” Barbara asked with a huge smile as she held out her arms, showcasing the view.

 “It’s purple!” Gennie giggled with glee as she squeezed John’s hand tightly.

 “Aw, darlin’. I’d prefer to think of it as blue.”

 “Well, it’s sort of a dusky periwinkle, so I’d have to say you could go either way on that one,” Barbara offered happily. “Now, in an odd twist of fate, the owner has already moved out to California, so the house is empty. You’ll have to use your imaginations as far as furnishings and décor go. But the good part is, if you decide you’d like it- it’s available immediately!”

Entering this house felt like a breath of fresh air. It had none of the pretensions that the other houses had. And like Barbara had suggested, it immediately said ‘welcome home’ as soon as they entered. They toured the whole place with eager anticipation. They loved the fact that not only did it have enough bedrooms for all their intended purposes; it also had an in-law suite that would be perfect for visiting guests. There were plenty of bathrooms, the home had been well maintained over the years, and it had a great deck with a fantastic view of their enormous, scenic back yard. Though they hadn’t voiced it, they both knew they’d found exactly what they were looking for.

 As they happily ambled through the house, Barbara’s mobile phone chimed in with an unfamiliar little tune. “If you two don’t mind, I really have to take this call,” she said apologetically as she excused herself to another room.

 John nodded her pardon and immediately seized the opportunity to grab Gen’s hand and run upstairs. “C’mon!” he urged excitedly as he tugged her arm.  He led her to the master bedroom where he quickly sized up the room and slid down the wall taking a seat on the floor where divots in the carpet indicated the bed once stood. He pulled on her arm, insisting she do the same.  “Take a good look at this room,” he said slowly.

Gen eyed the large room meticulously from where she sat. “Ok, done,” she bobbed her head in his direction when she’d completed the assignment.

 “Now, close your eyes.”

She did as she was instructed.

He leaned over to her and spoke in her ear in a low, sultry voice. “Can you picture me ravishing you in here?”

The corners of her mouth turned up into a blushing smile. “Yeah, I can,” she giggled, her eyes still closed.

“You think we should we buy this house?”

 “Yeah,” she smiled as she opened her eyes and hugged him. “We’ve found our new home!”

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