Chapter 17

“How about $2.3k a month ... would include all utilities except Internet service? I can arrange for you to get that. It’s just not included in the package.”

“That’s a very good deal, Jeremy—We’ll take it. Here’s a good faith check for $3,000 dollars to hold our position. Like I said, in about 30 days we’ll be ready to move in. We’re having a new logo sign developed and it won’t be ready for at least three weeks.”

“Can I put a ‘Coming Here Soon’ sign in the window, with your company name and number?”

“Sure, Jeremy ... that’s very nice of you ... O’Hara and O’Hara Real Estate LLC and here’s a card with our phone numbers and emails. We’re kind of hungry, where would you recommend we go for a bit of lunch?”

“Well, I would think you could walk to Payter’s, on the corner, two businesses down to your left. I’ll walk with you. Can I ask you two something?”

“Sure,” said Caroline. “I’ll bet you want to know how your daughter did today?”

Mr. O’Malley stopped in his tracks and turned to me and asked, “Does your wife read palms too? Yeah, being her Dad makes it hard to be objective ... so, how did she do?”

“She was quite professional,” Caroline stated. “When my hubby gave his opening offer, she simply called the seller and spoke to him, and then gave us a counter. I saw she had a moment when she was proud of herself for doing that. Then when Rich told her our offer stood, as is, she got quickly back on the phone, and literally ran us down with another one, which we took. If you were to get out of the residential market, I’m certain O’Hara and O’Hara Real Estate could use a sharp pretty real estate agent like your daughter Jennifer.”

“Really?” He said. I could tell that he was very proud of his daughter at that moment. “Well, here is Payter’s, Voted Best Burger, 3 years a row in Stockton. Enjoy ... we’ll be in touch.”

He turned and went back to his car, getting out his phone, probably to call his daughter to tell her how proud he was of her.

We ordered and had lunch at Payter’s. It was every bit as good as he had told us.

As we got back into the car, I asked Caroline what, on our list still needs to be done.

“Number 4, Put house on Market, Number 6, Let Mom and Dad know, Number 7, Let Jackson and Sharon know, and Number 11, cancel the lease on Richard O’Hara Real Estate.”

“There was something else, wasn’t it ... number 9?”

“Oh, well ... I didn’t think you were serious, but Number 9 is Apply for a marriage license.”

“I’m deadly serious when it comes to you Caroline. I want the world to know how much I love you. Maybe we can’t legally be married, but we sure can act like it ... and love like it. Do you love me, my dear Sweet Caroline?”

“Oh my god, I love you, Richard.

We went back to the house we just bought, and looked it over some more. Caroline got an email from Sheila with the details of the house. It was built in 1984, with wooden floors in every room, even the bathroom. We walked through it again, deciding which room to set up the home office in, and what kind of window coverings we would put over the large living room window. While we were there, we heard a knock on the door, Caroline went over and let in Jennifer O’Malley.

She couldn’t control her excitement about selling her first home. She was less than a year older than Caroline and they instantly bonded. I heard Jennifer asking Caroline about what we were going to do with each of the rooms. Caroline told her some of our plans. As they walked into the room I was in, Jennifer asked, “Does your hubby have a brother? He’s kind of cute.”

“Actually, he told me he has a sister and brother off in graduate school across the country somewhere.”

“Oh, darn ... well, my Dad told me what you two said about me, thanks a lot. He’s been worried about leaving me alone in Open Houses. Did you really tell him you would hire me?”

I stepped in and said, “Jennifer, I would hire you in a heartbeat, but it would have to be with the obvious consent of your father. You aren’t actually looking to leave O’Malley Real Estate, are you? Caroline looked it up and we saw that your Dad had started the company over 25 years ago, as a one-man operation, and has had many Realtors over the years.”

“Yes, that’s correct, Richard,” Jennifer said. “Right now, it’s just Daddy and me, he’s the Commercial Expert and I’m learning about the Residential side of things. I think he might want to get out of Residential, but I came along wanting to follow in his footsteps. My older brothers are in the banking business, so I’m it, as far as an ‘heiress’ to the business.”

RING

“Hello, this is Richard O’Hara.”

“Hey, Rich ... Stan here.”

“Yeah, what house did you sell, this time?”

“Nice little home in Linfield Oaks.”

“Oh, that was picked up off MLS, already? Did a Realtor buy it?” I’d asked.

“Yeah, he got in a bidding war with another person that took the price from $887,950 all the way up to $999,950.”

“You couldn’t get a million for it ... fifty crummy more dollars?” I said, sounding disgusted, but really quite happy.

Ignoring me, he said, “It’s a cash short-sale, escrow should take 10 days at most.”

“What poor schmuck Realtor just paid that much money for a house in this market?”

“You’re talking to the schmuck, and don’t say anything or I cancel the offer,” Stan said.

Laughing, I asked, “How is your wife dealing with the relocation part of it, Stan?”

“She’s quite excited, actually. How soon will it be empty for us to move in?”

“Our new house needs the wood floors sanded and re-stained. My guess is, less than two weeks. Stan ... just for the hell of it, who were you bidding against?”

“Jackson and Sheila Morgan.”

“Our Sheila?”

“Yeah, in an hour, the bids went up in 20K increments ... somehow I had outlasted her.”