Chapter 5: The Realtor’s Deal

Vern Harrison showed up at the facility two days later. After greetings and the expected “Sorry for your loss,” Vern and Sam found a quiet spot in the cafeteria.

“Bud told me briefly about your situation, but I want to hear as much as I can directly from you.”

“Vern, as you can see by this wheelchair, I’m not going to be walking anytime soon. If ever. That means no stairs. Our house is nothing but stairs, so I can’t go back there, physically. Neither could I live there again, emotionally. Lila and I, we were deeply in love even in our tenth year of being married. I don’t even want to keep our furniture, that was all her decorating choices.”

Their friendly conversation went on for some time, talking about Sam’s career. He did what he could to explain to Vern his current physical condition and expected future limitations.

Sam returned to the issue at hand, “So I’m looking for something a little smaller, and obviously all on one level. I do like the general area and it’s convenient to Stilten College, where I work. There’s no mortgage to pay off, so I can buy a new smaller place outright from the proceeds when I sell my current house. With me so far?”

“Absolutely, Sam. It so happens I have a cousin who is in a wheelchair, I’m going to have her advise me on things to look for and things to avoid. I’m going to review all the listings and preview some options. I’ll come back to you a week from Saturday with three or four candidate properties, accessible homes, for you to review.”

“Come to think of it, can I spring you from this joint for touring on that Saturday? I’m sure I can borrow Shari’s ramp van for that day, and we can look in person. What do you think?”

“Vern, it’s like that line from Casablanca. ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’ And can you please ask your cousin Shari to come visit me some time? I might want to hire her for some consulting. If she’s not too busy.”