Free Jennifer Robins by Over the Mistletoe Page A

it too, but the back yard excited him more. When they walked out to the patio from the kitchen door, John turned to Andrea. “Hey, babe, I think I’ve found the big yard I wanted. Look at this, it’s great.”
    They walked to the rear of the yard, John with his arm around Andrea’s waist. Rosemarie remained on the patio, watching the happy couple take their tour of the yard. They looked at the grapevines, fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers. “Oh, John, this place is so nice. I have pictured a place like this in my mind many times through the years. It’s unbelievable that it’s really here. When we left this morning, I never thought we would find something like this.”
    Excited, the couple returned to the patio and smiled at Rosemarie. She smiled back. “Come on now,” she said as she ushered them back to the foyer. “The bedrooms are a nice size, and there is a small sewing room with lots of windows.”
    John followed Rosemarie up the stairs while Andrea lingered behind to admire the wood banister. She ran her hand across it. It was smooth and shiny. Then she went up the stairs and stood looking around at the wide hallway and the long windows at each end that almost touched the floor.
    Suddenly, a cold draft hit her, taking her by surprise. It was brief, only lasting a moment. She wondered what it was. After a few seconds, she went down the hallway to join her husband and Rosemarie.
    Without a doubt, this was the house for them. They made an offer that afternoon, which was quickly accepted by the executrix, a niece of the deceased owner. They made arrangements for the closing on the day they would move in. Trusting Rosemarie to attend to everything, they started back for Chicago to get ready for the move.
    Along the way, they talked excitedly about the house, not even making a rest stop. Excitement kept them moving on, as though nothing else mattered but getting moved into that wonderful old house.
    ****
    Packing and sorting through seven years’ worth of accumulated junk turned out to be a major job. John was no help. He had to be at the office most of the time, attending to details of his transfer. In the midst of it all, the house was being shown to prospective buyers. Despite all the confusion of people walking through the house stepping over half-packed boxes, Andrea managed to get everything in order for the move.
    The weeks went by fast. Before they knew it, they were waiting for the movers to arrive on the morning of June thirtieth. John made sure the water had been shut off and everything was in order. “Well, babe, it’s almost time to say goodbye to our first home. Remember when we bought this house? We thought it was the greatest thing. Now it seems so small compared to the one in Michigan. We’ll have to buy more furniture. I wanna get yard furniture for the patio first. I can lounge out there between my yard work and after I get home from a long day at my new — oh wow! My own office.”
    The movers arrived early, as scheduled. John hurried outside to meet them as they pulled into the drive. They wasted no time getting everything loaded. They were ready to go before noon. John and Andrea stayed behind to make sure the house was clean and secure before leaving. Then they stopped at the real estate office to drop off the keys so salespeople could continue to show it.
    John went on and on about his new office while they drove along. “I know I’ll make this office take right off for me. I already have some good contacts for business. It’s gonna be good, Andrea. I just know it.”
    It made her happy to know how much he deserved all of this. He had worked hard to get where he was, and now it was paying off. He’d dreamed of having his own office ever since he’d started with the company. What a great accomplishment for John. The century-old house and a charming small town were more than she’d ever hoped for.
    When they arrived in Partersville, they met Rosemarie at her office to sign the final