Chapter 9

The builder started digging the foundation for the house on the first of June. He had a lot of work to do. I wanted it finished by the second week of September so we could move in before the girls had their babies. We had been given a delivery time of the forth week in September by Dr. Carter.

Every few days I drove out to the new house to check on the progress and see if there were any problems. I had taken out a construction loan for 15% more than the amount the architect thought it would cost to build the house. It surely seemed that building materials were expensive, even with supply up and demand down due to the mortgage crises and over building. Builders were begging for work, so we had no trouble with the specialty trades: sheet rock, painters, electrical, plumbing, roofers, heating and air, flooring, trim carpenters and wallpaper. There were still plenty of masons available also.

The only trade I had any trouble with was the one I had least expected to have any trouble with, the blacksmiths. They were to put up an iron fence around a part of the property. The masons put in the brick faced posts, but the blacksmithing firm was backed up and running late getting the fence panels fabricated and installed. It wasn't a great delay, but it was aggravating.

The girls were enjoying their garden this year and were looking forward to putting in one at the new house next year. They had already checked the soil at the new house and said it was much better than the soil at our present house. It would need fewer amendments.

Darrell had put in an appearance in April to have Mel sign the joint tax return. He was really getting over there. Mel was unhappy about it until I told her that it was the law and it made things look right. He also came by in July just to make things look good. He wasn't due back until November. I had taken him by the new house in July so he knew where it was. He had been suitably impressed.

The girls started packing during August. We had a lot of boxes stacked all over the house. There was also the new baby furniture in boxes waiting to be unpacked. The place was jammed.

The new house was finished, except for a little landscaping and a part of the fence, and we did the final walk through on Friday the third of September. The next Monday was Labor Day. We got the new mortgage on Tuesday and paid off the construction loan the same day. We started moving in on Wednesday the eighth of September.

I hired a local mover to do all of the lifting and moving. The girls were due in a couple of weeks and could hardly get around because of the weight they had gained and how large they were with the twins. Basically they sat in chairs and directed the movers to the various rooms where furniture or boxes went.

Belinda took the first floor and Malinda the second. Anything going to the basement, I intercepted and had them take around the outside of the house to the back where the main entry to the basement was. That way they didn't need to use the stairs. It was mostly tools and other bulky stuff.

The furniture was all moved on the eighth. A lot of the boxes waited till the 9th. When everything was moved in on the afternoon of the ninth, we took a well deserved break. The girls took a look around at all the empty space.

"Dave, this place is huge. We'll never fill it up," they told me.

"Well you don't have a bunch of kids running around in here yet either," I said in defense. The place was big. We had basically set up everything on one side of the house. That was all we really needed for now. It was also all we had furniture for now. I figured we could get the extra furniture and appliances as we went along. I knew that as the family grew and the girls got used to caring for the children that we would need the room.

On Friday, I went back to my old house to check on things and clean it up some. The girls wanted to check the garden and get the last of the vegetables. I decided that the house needed a good cleaning before I could do anything about selling it. I would need to hire a housecleaning firm to take care of it. It wasn't anything I wanted to tackle by myself, and the girls were in no shape to help. I would see about getting someone next week

Saturday, the eleventh, we had our house warming. George and Cindy came. I also invited the architect, the builder, and their families. Several of my business associates and their families were also invited.

George and Cindy were the first to arrive, early on Saturday morning. Cindy had also gotten large since she got pregnant. She was due the end of December or the first part of January. She helped the girls with preparations.

George looked worried when he came in. I took him in the den, while the girls gushed to Cindy about the house.

"What's the problem, George?" I asked. "Is Cindy having a hard time or something?"

"No, it's not Cindy. It's Margie. She came to the house over the Labor Day weekend. She was all upset. It seems that her friend had run off with a younger woman the first of the year. Margie had moved in with this other woman that she knew. Now this other woman is losing her apartment, and they don't have anywhere to go."

"And she expects you to do something for her, after not even saying 'Hi" for what ... the last twenty months?" I asked.

"Dave, she's still my wife. I feel responsible. I really would like to help her, but I don't know what I can do." It was obvious that George was frustrated.

"Exactly what do they want?" I asked.

"They need a place to live, a home. They are tired of the little apartment they have been living in and have to get out of there anyway. She says they need more room," George explained.

The light came on in my head.

"George, is Margie a co-signer for your house?" I asked.

"Yes, when we bought the house, the bank insisted that she sign too in case I died."

"Let me propose something, George," I said. "I have my old house sitting empty. I was going to sell it. I own it free and clear. Dad paid the mortgage off long before he died. I would sell it to you cheap. You and Cindy move in there. Let Margie have your house since she is a co-signer. Let her and her friend pay the mortgage. How does that sound?"

"Well, I don't know," George said, unsure of things.

"Well, I do," Cindy said. She and the girls had joined us in the last few minutes. "I have the proceeds from my old house. They are just sitting in the bank and not making much in interest. I can use that as a down payment and pay the rest monthly," Cindy said.

It was then that the girls broke in with their news.

"Cindy is having twins too. They will fit in the house just fine," they said together. George looked a little flustered.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked Cindy. "Are you going to keep working after you have the babies?"

"Yes, George. I have it worked out with the girls. They will watch our children as well as their own. Two more won't be that much more than their own four." Cindy told him.

"All right. If Margie pays the mortgage on our house, I will pay the one on Dave's old house," George agreed. Cindy came over and gave him a big kiss. They rubbed up against each other for a while, before Cindy turned red in embarrassment. The girls giggled at that.

"It's OK, Cindy. You are carrying his babies after all," they told her. When she had recovered, Cindy asked, "How about a guided tour of this warehouse you live in?"

"Warehouse?" I said, offended. "This is a lovely two family home. The first floor has 3,274 square feet (SF) of space, and the second floor is 3,480 SF. The basement adds 3,274 SF and the two garages add 924 SF of floor space."

We went from the den to the living room, and I pointed toward each room as I enumerated it.

"On the first floor there are two identical 14' x 18' living rooms," I told them. "There are two identical 14' x 16' dining rooms. There are two 14' x 20' kitchen/breakfast rooms; two dens, 11' x 16', and two laundry rooms, 14' x 14' each. There are four half baths on the first floor, and of course the two garages, one on each end of the house."

"The two floors are connected by the 14' x 16' foyer in the front of the house, and the back stairs at each end of the house." We were in the foyer and could see all three sets of stairs. "The two sides of the house are also connected in the back by the 18' x 24' family room with two fireplaces. It also connects to the two 10' x 24' decks, one on each side of the back of the house," I continued.

"On the second floor, along the front of the house, are four 11' x 16' bedrooms for the children, each with a large (4' x 11') closet. There is a play area at each end of the house. That is where the back stairs are also located. There are also four full baths, one for each of the four children's bedrooms."

"On the back side of the second floor are the two Master suites. Each has a 14' x 18' bedroom with a 12' x 12' sitting room each with a fireplace. The Master bath for each bedroom is 14' x 22' and includes two walk-in closets each. There is a 4' x 7' shower in each Master bath as well as a large garden tub. All told there are six bathrooms on the second floor."

"Why do you need two Master suites?" Cindy broke in.

"We don't need two Master Suites. The wall between them is a movable folding partition. It is open most of the time giving us a really huge bedroom. We can partition off a small section also for when Darrell comes over to visit also," I told them.

"How big is the basement, again," George asked.

"It's 3,274 SF. There are two utility rooms. There's one at each end of the house for the electrical panel, the furnace and the water heater. Both furnaces and water heaters are gas. The water heaters are the tankless type. There are four storage rooms (11 x 20) along the front of the house where there are no windows. On the back, daylight, side of the basement are two hobby rooms (14' x 20'), and two shop rooms also 14' x 20' each. In the middle and open to the stairs is a 14' x 16' exercise room that leads out into the 18' x 24' garden room," I finished.

"Good God, Dave. How much is it going to cost to heat and cool this place?" George asked.

"The house is brick on all four sides, George. All of the trim is vinyl, so there's not much maintenance. The exterior walls are 2x6 with plenty of insulation. The interior walls are 2x4 and also insulated. The whole house was wrapped before the brick facing was applied. The attic has ten inches of fiberglass batt insulation and there is also sprayed in foam insulation between all of the rafters. It is really well insulated. The windows are all triple-pane. The foundation is twelve inch poured concrete with sprayed on insulation. It shouldn't be that expensive to heat or cool. There is a whole-house intercom for each side. All of the rooms are also wired for phones, cable TV and computer," I finished.

We had been walking around while I was explaining all of this. Cindy nearly fainted when she saw the size of the combined Master Bedrooms.

"Are you guys planning on holding races in here?" she asked.

"Races, no," Belinda answered, "only two sets of twins in a few weeks."

"And we can partition it off, if we want to or need to," Malinda added as she moved the wall out from its folded position and along it's track.

"My God," Cindy breathed, "you guys have thought of everything."

"Well, we hope so," Belinda said. She and Mel were snuggled up to me, and were kissing me. When George looked over at them and cleared his throat, it was their turn to blush.

The architect and builder with their families, and my business associates with theirs showed up in the afternoon. The architect told me later, "God, Dave. I knew this place was big, but the actuality is... !" He was at a loss for words.

We had a fine house warming. The other wives were somewhat jealous of all the space, and were eyeing their husbands. Everyone was gone, and we were alone by 8:00 that evening. We went to bed early as the girls were tired. It had been a big day for them.

On Monday, I called the cleaning firm the builder had recommended. They started that afternoon and were done by Wednesday evening. They did a great job on my old house, and I gave the workers a bonus that evening.

George had talked to Margie over the weekend, and had arranged to be out of their house by the 24th of the month. He and Cindy each took a week of vacation to pack and move. He used the same moving people that I had on my recommendation. I went over to help them on the 20th. I had had most of the interior of the house painted after it was cleaned but still empty. The girls went along to tell Cindy all about the garden, like she hadn't seen it all summer long. They were very happy that someone who liked gardening as much as they did would be taking it over.

George was out of his house and had moved into mine by the twenty-second. We would do the paperwork later. He helped Margie and her friend (lover) move the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth. We hoped that everyone was settled for a while.

24 September 2010

It was in the middle of the night, 2:00AM on the twenty-forth, that Belinda's water broke, and she started to have serious contractions. Malinda woke me. I had been sleeping like the dead lately.

"Dave, Dave, wake up. Belle's water broke, and she is having contractions!" Mel told me, excitedly. I shook the sleep out of my eyes and got up.

"How are you, Sweetie?" I asked Belle.

"I'm OK, Dave. I'm just a little scared," Belle answered in tears.

"We need to go to the hospital!" Mel moaned.

"Mel, are you OK?" I asked her.

"Yes, I think so, Dave. I don't feel all that well either, though," Mel told me as she too teared up. I hugged her for a few seconds and patted her back to calm her down.

I got dressed, and then helped Mel get dressed. Together, we got Belle dressed, as her nightie was wet. The girls had previously packed a small bag each and they were ready near the front door. I had a folder with all the needed paperwork with my keys and wallet.

We were on the road in twenty minutes or so. The drive to the hospital was another twenty- five minutes. It was nearly 3:00AM when we pulled up to the door to the Women's Pavilion at the hospital.

Mel took Belle in while I parked the car. I checked on them in delivery, and then went to the admittance desk to get the paperwork done. In a short while I was back in the waiting room, pacing back and forth. There wasn't much to do. I did sit with Mel for a good while. She needed a little kissing and hugging to calm her down. This had gotten more difficult as their bellies got larger.

"Is she all right, Dave? They wouldn't let me go in with her," Mel moaned.

"I am sure she will be all right, Sweetie. The doctors are very good at what they do," I told her, wondering if it was true.

It was quarter to seven in the morning when Mel's water broke. I called the nurse and explained what had happened. They took Mel into delivery, and I went back to the admittance desk. The lady there was surprised to see me again. I explained that I was Malinda's brother-in-law and that her husband, Darrell, was second mate on a freighter, and was at sea. I did the paper work on Melinda then returned to the waiting room.