SINKING SHIPS

A New Start for Calista

You cannot start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one. ― Michael McMillan

Calista could not believe it.  She had gone to court over child support and the judge had ordered not only that the monthly child support be paid but that back pay for the year that Beau owed be paid also.  Calista was pleased to hear this.  Her lawyer told her that most people worked out monthly payments for their back pay if they were unable to pay in full.  Calista would be happy to get any help.  She had been struggling to make ends meet and was failing at it.  She had cut back as much as she could and was still behind on her bills.

Two weeks had gone by and no child support.  She was beginning to wonder if she would ever receive any help.  She sat down to look through the mail.  There was a letter from the Attorney General's office. She opened the letter to find a check for ten thousand eight hundred dollars.  Beau had paid in full.  A light went off in Calista's head immediately.  If she was going to move now was the time.  She would use the ten thousand eight hundred dollars as a down payment on a new home.  Once her current home sold, she would be able to use those funds to pay the house off.  She was seeing possibilities of a new and improved future.

Calista contacted a local real estate office in her hometown to help line up some homes to look at.  She made sure they understood what she was looking for and that they found something close to her mother.  It did not take long before her agent sent her some properties to look at.  Calista narrowed it down to two homes.  One was a brink ranch house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, a large living room and was on two acres of land.  It was about thirty minutes from her mom, but she could see her boys there.  She pictured them running through the large yard. Yes, this house was an option.  The other home was only two blocks from her mother.  It was a cute cottage style home.  It too had three bedrooms and two baths.  The kitchen and living room were not quite as large as the ones in the other house but they were sufficient.  This house had a lot of charm.  The doors, trim work, hardwood floors, and cabinets were gorgeous. The yard was not as big, but it was still a good size at three fourths of an acre.  One side of the yard had a nice flower garden with seating and the back yard was a nice size.  It would be big enough for the boys to play soccer.  She sent the two options to her agent and told him she would be there the folloing weekend to tour them.

Calista was so excited.  She had enrolled the boys in summer camp so she could take care of finding a new home, moving, and putting their current home up for sale.  This is something she wanted to do on her own so she did not tell Abigail and her mother that she would be in town. It was going to be a quick trip to tour the homes.  She crossed her fingers that she would like one of them enough to purchase.  It would be great if she could close on a home before returning to pack up the current house.

Calista stepped out of the airport and was greeted by her real estate agent.  He took her to the ranch style house first.  She walked through it and thought it was nice but did not feel like it was home.  She felt like she might have to do quite a bit of work on it before she could feel at home in it.  They proceeded to the cottage style house.  As they rode through the neighborhood, Calista remembered all the fun she had while growing up here.  When they pulled up to the cottage, Calista felt like she was home.  She was excited. She hoped the inside made her feel the same.  They walked through the house.  Calista loved it. All the detail that had gone into the home was amazing. She could see her and the boys being happy here.  When they went out back and she stepped into the garden she was sold.  She felt at peace surrounded by all the flowers.  Her boys would love it here.  She was sure of it.  She asked her agent to put an offer in on the cottage.  

Calista paced the floor of her hotel room waiting on her agent to call.  She hoped and prayed that the sellers would accept her offer.  Finally, her phone started ringing. It was her agent. He told her the seller had accepted her offer.  She could close on the house in the morning if she liked.  She jumped for joy.  Yes! yes please.

Calista was so excited. She barely got any sleep that night.  She was doing it.  She was buying a house.  The next morning, she went to the title company to close on her new house.  The sellers were so nice as the paperwork was signed.  Calista could not believe it when the keys were handed over.  She went back to the house and took a quick peak of her new home before heading to the airport.  She had to resist the urge to go get Abigail and her mother and show them what she had just purchased.

Calista boarded her flight and sighed with relief.  Soon she would not need to take a flight to visit her mother. It was going to be a busy two weeks for Calista.  She needed to give notice at work, arrange for packers and movers, arrange for housekeeping to come in and deep clean the house, and get the house listed with a real estate company.

Calista entered her house and looked around.  She no longer felt an attachment to this house.  This told her she was ready to move on.  She went upstairs to get showered and get to bed.  

She had slept good last night and was on her way to work.  The day was busy, and she had put off giving her notice as long as she could.  She asked the owner if he had a minute.  She explained to him what she had done and why.  He was gracious and offered her congratulations.  She told him she would forever be thankful for his kindness.  

Calista began to make the necessary calls on her break.  She had scheduled the packers and movers.  They would come in and pack everything and hold it in storage until she was ready for it.  She was going to stay at her neighbor’s house so she could get the packers and movers checked off her list of to do items.  She packed what she would need to get by for the next two weeks and took it to her neighbors.  She was off the following morning so she was going to be at the house as things were being packed.  When the movers got there, they immediately began packing the house up and moving everything on to the truck.  They had been so fast at getting things done.  Calista was thankful that she had went with the packers.  She would still be packing if she had done it on her own.

Calista walked through the empty house.  She had some good memories here.  She reflected on a few but when all was done, she felt no remorse.  She was happy with what she saw as her future.

Calista was up and off to work early in the morning.  Her neighbor was going to let the housekeepers in to get the house cleaned up.  The real estate agent would be over that afternoon to take listing pictures and to get Calista's signature on the necessary listing documents. When Calista arrived at home everything was spotless. She thanked her neighbor for her help and waited for the real estate agent to arrive.  The real estate agent was nice and had everything done within an hour.  She explained to Calista that everything could be done through email since Calista would be leaving to get her new home set up.

Calista boarded the plane.  She was so excited to be moving into her new home.  She went straight to the house when she got off the plane.  The movers would be there soon.  Calista walked around the house making sure she knew where she wanted everything. The movers were there pulling up in their big truck.  She directed them on where everything needed to go.  Before she knew it, everything had been unloaded and setup. She looked around and knew she had a lot to do but was not put off.  She was eager to get her new home set up before her boys returned from camp.

Her first night in her new house.  She worked on setting things up until well into the night.  She was done with her bedroom. She would tackle the bathrooms and kitchen tomorrow.  She settled down in her bed in her new home.  She laid there staring at the ceiling.  A smile crept across her face as she realized just how happy she was.

It had been a busy week.  Calista had worked every day getting only a few hours of sleep each night but she was done.  It was ready for her boys to see.  It was home.

Calista stood at the airport gate waiting on her boys. She had been so nervous having them fly without her.  She had her neighbor pick them up from camp and take them to the airport.  All they knew was she was visiting their grandmother and they were going to join her.  She looked at each person as they came through the security check point.  Finally, she saw them.  Her boys coming through the security gate with the flight attendant.  She ran to them hugging them. After showing identification to the flight attendant, she helped the boys grab their bags and led them to the car.

Calista told them she had a surprise for them.  She drove them to their new home.  As they exited the car, Austin asked if grandma had moved.  Calista told them no, this was part of the surprise.  When they walked in, they saw all their furniture. They looked at their mother with confusion.  She told them this was their new home.  The boys started jumping up and down with excitement.  They ran from room to room until they found their rooms.  She could hear them calling to each other to check out the other person's room.  They ran to the back door.  When they exited to the back yard you could hear their squeals of excitement. She had already set it up for soccer.  They ran straight to the soccer area and began playing.  She smiled believing thier excitement to be the reassurance she needed to know that she had made the right decision for her boys.  They would be happy here.

Calista sat down and called her mother.  Abigail answered.  Calista told her that she was going to bring the boys to see them this upcoming weekend. She could tell that Abigail and her mother were excited.  It had been a while since they had seen the boys.  Once Calista was off the phone with Abigail and her mother, she called Bella.  She told Bella about their visit and asked her if she could join them.  Bella made no promises but said she would try.  Calista hoped Bella could make it.  She wanted to surprise all of them with the good news at one time.

Calista prepared a gift basket for her real estate agent and took it to the office.  She wanted to show him how grateful she was for all of his help.  When she entered the office, the phone was ringing off the hook.  Garrett was stressed trying to answer all the calls. When he was able to get a minute, he told Calista that the receptionist had quit, and he was going to have to cancel all his appointments.  About that time, one of his appointments walked in.  Calista smiled at him and told him to go.  She would answer the phones while he was out.  He looked at her surprised.  Really?  Yes really.  Go before I change my mind.

Calista answered the phones answering what questions she could and taking call back messages.  The phones eventually died down.  She began to straighten up the sitting area.  Once she was done with that, she made her way to the office.  Garret had files everywhere.  She picked them all up off the floor, chairs, shelves and put them in one area.  She looked in his filing cabinet to see if he had a filing system.  She noted everything was filed by the MLS number.  She quickly filed everything.  She was able to dust and vacuum before Garrett returned.  He walked in mouth wide open. He could not believe how clean and organized everything was. Halfway joking he asked her if she needed a job. To his surprise she said yes.  He told her if she were serious, she could start the following week.  Calista gave him his messages and the gift basket.

Calista sat in her car for a moment letting the day sink in.  She could not believe her luck.  A new home and a new job.

Calista was up early the next morning getting the house tidied up.  She prepared a nice lunch for the family and laid it out on the table.  Today was the day she was going to share her good news.  Calista got the boys together and headed over to her mother’s.  She reminded the boys not to say anything about the move or the new house. She wanted to surprise everyone.  Pulling up she saw Bella’s Lexus parked beside Abigail’s Audi in the drive.  Boy they had expensive taste she thought as she pulled in behind them in her mom car. Great! Everyone is here the kids shouted.  The kids darted off to the house.  To see the kids so happy comforted her.   You could hear everyone’s excitement as they entered the house.

Calista came over and gave her mom a big hug.  I hope everyone is hungry.  I have arranged a luncheon for us.  If everyone will follow me, we will go eat.  Where are we going asked Abigail?  It is a surprise.  

Calista drove the two blocks over to her house.  She got out of her car with the kids.  Abigail and Bella got out asking whose house.  When Aunt Bonnie got out of the car, she heard Calista saying, “It’s mine”.  Oh, my goodness, when did this happen? How?  Laughing, Calista hugged her mom and told her she would tell her everything once they were inside.  

Calista showed them around ending in the dining room where the lunch had been laid out. Calista served up a colorful fruit salad, chicken salad croissants, and mini cheesecakes.  As they ate, Calista told them about the child support hearing, the check, the new job and getting settled in.