"I'll be awake all night wondering if my mother is crying into her pillow," Iva said as they drove the two miles to the Victorian house and she stopped the engine.
"Stop with the guilt," Lina ordered. "You're five minutes from home." She opened the passenger door and shaded her eyes against the setting sun. "This is one amazing house, Iva. I'm jealous."
"You can visit anytime. We'll do a sleep over"
Lina laughed. "I'll bring the popcorn and movies."
The rest of the evening was spent hanging clothes, filling drawers, and putting fresh sheets on the master bedroom mattress that was in surprisingly good shape.
The furniture placed in each room was all Victorian reproductions. Iva loved it, allowing a feeling of euphoria to overshadow all the hurt that had weighed her down like a stone hanging around her neck.
"Want to get dinner?" Iva asked after she'd poked into every nook and cranny. There were three bedrooms upstairs, two full modern bathrooms, a parlor and sitting room and a guest suite downstairs with a modern kitchen.
French doors opened onto a patio and a tangled backyard full of overgrown shrubs and neglected rose bushes.
Iva stifled a yawn. "After being on my feet all day I'm dying for a shower, and then bed. Rain check for Friday night? And is there somewhere exciting within a two hour drive? I'm in serious need of drowning my Sorrows for a night."
"I hear they have live music during the summer months over in Fredericton."
"That's a new one. Guess I've been way from home longer than I thought."
"Yeah," Alina said, going quiet. Her face was thoughtful. "You have."
Iva reached out to embrace her. I've missed you."
"Fiancés and weddings will do that to a girl,"
Iva tried not to think about that. She had her own place, her own space, her own life back---even if it was baby steps.
"Okay, my BFF, I'm going to wander my new house, touch all the furniture, make a cup of tea, and then take a long soaking bath."
"Ditto for me except the house part."
With a grin, Lina waggled her fingers and opened the front door.
Iva stood on the porch to see her off, waving as Lina's teenaged brother sped down the road after coming to pick her up.
Before she forgot, Iva fished the car keys out of her pocket and hit the lock button to her own vehicle. It gave a brief beep and then she climbed the three stairs back inside but not before pulling down the
For Rent sign sitting in the window.
Perhaps she'd bribe Cora to weed for a few hours. That would help the house look occupied. After closing the front door, Iva pressed her back against it with a happy sigh. Her very own house. Not an apartment-a house with a porch and a back-yard---a backyard that even had a fountain, if she could get the clogged pipes cleaned out.
Britney Willis had sent over a cleaning woman while Iva had been at work and the cherry wood tables and upholstery arms glowed, the air smelling faintly of lemon polish. Not a speck of dust anywhere, including freshly vacuumed rugs and a bathroom that was pristine, despite faded curtains with daffodils.