Bud
Copyright© 2015 by Bill Offutt
Chapter 7
After Sunday supper at the Weston home, Bud sat in the living room smoking Camels while his father-in-law went on about General Eisenhower. When the women came in from the kitchen, Jeanne said, "They think we ought to get a house."
"So do I," said Bud, "going to be a bit crowded over there with two kids in that little apartment."
"We've been looking, driving around," said Mr. Weston, "and there are two or three places we'd like you to visit, houses that are for sale, at least they were last week."
Bud nodded. "I, I mean we, we don't have enough saved for a down payment, not yet." The truth was they had not saved anything unless Jeanne had done it without Bud knowing. He knew she kept some money in a wedding-present cookie jar, but it was never more than a few dollars.
"What's your rent, forty a month?" Mr. Weston put his pipe aside, blew his nose and sat up straight.
"Yes sir," said Bud, "that's right."
"And you make what, two-fifty a month?" the man asked, writing on a pad of paper.
Bud nodded, guessing that was about right, as Mrs. Weston bounced the baby on her lap and listened to him coo.
"So," Mr. Weston sniffed, "you could pay a bit more, maybe fifty bucks, principle, interest, taxes and insurance; can't forget that insurance."
"I guess," Bud said. Things seemed to be moving pretty fast.
"Well, Maude and me, we're doing all right so we'll make a down payment big enough that you'll need pay about fifty. How's that?"
"Very generous, Mr. Weston, Mrs. Weston, but I don't know when I, I mean when we can pay you back." Bud looked from the man to his wife. She was smiling at his son. Jeanne watched him but did not say anything.
"No need," the man said. "Go on now and look. You can leave the baby with us. Ma knows about babies." He handed Bud a list of addresses and the car keys.
In Mrs. Weston's always-clean Chevrolet, the one they had used for their honeymoon trip, Bud and Jeanne, with few words between them, visited one of the new little houses on Veirs Mill Road that were selling for just under $8,000, a small bungalow in Woodside near the railroad tracks that was $7,500 and a Cape Cod in Battery Park that was listed at $8,250. Jeanne liked that one a lot, especially the big, shady back yard and the neat arrangement of the sunlit kitchen.
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