Looking for Home
“Em, I’ll just have to show you.” Dez asked her sister to walk with her. Sunglasses and rain jackets on, they set out toward toward the garden. Dez steered her sister towards the old path she had spotted the week before. “Dez, where are we going? I thought we were just staying on the track.”
The grass was still wet. Dez could see Brewster bounding towards them, Samuel whistling after her. When he saw the sisters, he took off his hat, waved and turned back to the shed. “Brewster! Hey, girl. You’re not that wet now that the rain’s stopped for a while.” To prove Dez was wrong, the dog braced all four paws and shook out a shower of water. The sisters jumped back to avoid getting soaked before it rained again. “Oh, Dez! She’s a nice dog, but does she have to come with us. It’s a good thing I still have to get ready to go to have dinner with Jeremy.” Em stepped back further from Brewster, wiping down her rain jacket and just about slipping in a puddle. “Ooh! Let’s go Dez. Show me what you’re going to show me and let me get back to the house. I’m feeling all soggy now, and quite out of sorts.”
“Ok, Em. Brewster, get back to Samuel. See, there he is.” He had stepped out of the old shed, wiping his hands on an old rag. She pointed at him hoping the dog would follow her finger. He whistled again. “Brewster, get over here dog. Stop botherin’ the ladies.” He took hold of her collar and waved at the sisters. “I’ve got’er now, Miss Dez. You two get on with your plans.
~~~~~
“Dez, you must be joking! This hedge is the easiest part of your plan. That’s the old garage? I had no idea there was anything here.” Em was now brushing leaves and wet twigs from her clothes having squeezed through the ‘opening’ that Dez showed her. “What do you want to do? Build a house back here?”
“Not big house. One of those tiny homes. I don’t know that much about them but I’ve a whole raft of magazines about tiny homes. I’ll do a lot of research about what’s needed. Like I don’t know about getting plumbing or electricity out here.” Dez was quiet a long time. She was holding up her hands as if to measure distances. Then, walking forward, then sideways. “Um hmm. Yes, it would fit just over there. Still room for a little private garden…… Oh, Em. I’m sorry. I’m ignoring you but can’t you just see it. And I could live out here. You could have some of mom and dad’s furniture for your upstairs - that’s if you wanted it.” Em stood holding the back of her hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking. “What are you laughing at? I’m just excited. You’ve wanted me out here for a long time. I’ve found a solution.” She looked almost contrite, her excitement as dampened as the grass.
“Dez, let’s go back to the house. You’re tired and I’m cold. Cook will have something hot to warm us up. We’ll talk about it.” Em saw her sister’s enthusiasm had evaporated. Although she was very much better, walking without any assistance, she often tired sooner than was normal.
“You’re right, Em. I’ve jumped ahead of myself. From finding a piece of land to having my whole project completed. Getting back to the house sounds good. Come this way.” She led the way to the more open path that Samuel had showed her. They were just at the house when the rain came down again.
~~~~~
Cook did in fact have something hot ready for them. Mugs of cocoa and Christmas sugar cookies were set out. “I’m going early, Miss Em, so just put the mugs in the sink and take the rest of the cookies into Dr. Jeremy when you go in.” The sisters hung their wet things up and, still shivering, were very glad to feel the warm kitchen. They each picked up a mug of cocoa before sitting down. “You know, this tiny house thing is more complicated than I thought. The little place look nice, quite intriguing with all their cubby holes and sliding doors and drawers.” Dez was flipping through the Tiny Home magazine she had left on the table. “I think I got ahead of myself, Em. I just thought I’d buy a prefabricated home, put it on that land and set up house. Are you telling Jeremy about my rather hollow plan?”
“We’ll probably talk about it, but I have a different idea. One that would be easier for all of us. We could still work on finding out if a Tiny Home would work on that space you saw. In the meantime, Martha’s duplex will be empty again.” Elbows on the table, Em held her mug in both hands and took a sip. “Really? What about Brigitte? Where’s she going?” Brigitte had been renting Martha’s duplex since the spring and as far as Dez knew, would be there for a long time. “She’s going to university and will be living on campus. At least that’s the last I heard. It would be so nice to have you just across the lawn from us.”
“Em, look at this.” Dez was looking at the classifieds at the back of the magazine. “What? I can barely read it, it’s so tiny.” She was squinting at it and pushed the magazine back to Dez. “It’s Matt. You know, my friend the orchardist. The ad is for another business he has and it’s about tiny homes.” Dez was smiling, checking her cell phone contacts to be sure it was the same Matt Hamilton. “Didn’t he come here to help you set up the bee hives last summer?”
“That’s right. I’ll get in touch with him and talk to him about all this. See how complicated it really is - you know the plumbing and electricity. The house is the easy part all the utilities are a different issue. By the way, I like your idea of me being in Martha’s house. I’ll miss seeing Brigitte out here. We didn’t cross paths that often but I enjoy her. She’s fun. Needs to be with folks closer to her own age.” Emelina got up and took her mug to the sink. “I’d better get going before it gets dark. I’ll be staying in town with Jeremy tonight.” Before Dez could remind her, she continued “And I’ll take all the precautions - mask, wash my hands, don’t see anyone but Jeremy. We’re ordering dinner in so won’t be in the community.” Em ran lightly up the stairs, stopped at the top and called down. “I’m leaving out the front door, so good night and see you tomorrow.”
Dez sighed. The house was so quiet. There was a light under Digby’s office door so she assumed he was still here. “Good night, Em. Hi to Jeremy. Safe trip to town.”
“As corny as it sounds to me, home is where the heart is…..
So moving houses is just another way in which I get to experience life.”
~ Ellen DeGeneres
