House Hunting: The Back Story, Part 7

Let's wrap this up, shall we? I'll go into what happened and then I'll give you an update-since-the-old-house post later this week.

To get up to date, the previous links are provided below:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

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I remember touching base with Nancy after we got home that night. It was late and the details were sketchy. We didn't know everything we would be able to deduct, but it didn't matter. Anything was better than nothing.

As the next few days had panned out, more details into the exception were found. Our only concern was that we were not taking a "loss" on the house. We were selling the house for a few thousand dollars more than the original price. However, any investments into the property that we could get lien waivers for, would be deducted off of the sale amount. Additional, covering her the buyers closing costs could also be deducted-- up to $8,000.

Between the foundation repairs, the window repairs, the front door, the garage door, the retaining wall, and her closing costs, the total was coming to about $15,000. And even though the $8,000 was the limit for deductions, we were more than happy.

Chris graduated on May 13th, exactly seven days before our closing date. And the wall still wasn't completed. In addition to waiting on the completion of the wall, we also had to schedule an appointment with the County to come out and perform a final inspection. The clock was ticking.

We honestly didn't know if we were going to meet the deadline or not. As the week started, it was raining,  and progress on the wall seemed to be at a standstill. In the midst of graduation and watching the wall go up block by block, we still hadn't found a place to live yet. We were so nervous to sign a lease anywhere, in case the wall didn't get finished. The buyer's bank was adamant about this closing date or no deal.

As if this wasn't stressful enough, our plans after closing on the house on Friday morning, were to drive three hours north for said-best friend's wedding.

I remember her calling me one night earlier in the week. I had been on the other line with Nancy, walking through the backyard taking pictures to send to her. Nancy was more nervous than us about not meeting that deadline. Not a lot of progress was made that day with the rain and I was giving her the details. When I clicked over to talk to said-best friend she was losing her mind over wedding details. I think the most traumatic thing to happen to her that week was the reception focal being replaced by someone else.

As I stood in my backyard, in a soggy mess of stone and construction debris, I wanted to yell F You! into the phone. As I was thinking about where I was going to live after her wedding that weekend, I wanted to tell her where to stick her peacock feather theme. And what I really wanted to do when I got to thinking about all of the money that I had wasted on her atrociously fake day, was scream into the phone that I was also pregnant. But I refrained. My sympathy was Oscar worthy.

On Wednesday, after a more dry day, Joe and his team were back at work. We had ordered a moving pod to be delivered to our driveway. Chris stayed home from subbing that day and moved what he could into the pod. We still didn't have a house lined up, so we decided we would go to the wedding and then come back and stay at my aunt's for a few days until we signed a lease. Packing up the pod wasn't as gratifying as what it should have been. In the back of our minds, we thought we would be calling our friends to help us unpack it after we miss our closing date again. And with rain on the way, the negative thoughts were heavy.

Wednesday night, one of Chris's best friends, John, came over help us finish packing. The pod would be picked up and moved to a storage facility until it was delivered to our new place. Our new place didn't exist. I set a weeks worth of clothes for the three of us aside and watched the guys pack the rest. I'll always be grateful to John for coming over that night after work and helping us. I remember watching him and Chris move the washer and dryer out of the basement, through the backyard, and up the hill.

But no matter how they rearranged the pod, some of our stuff wouldn't fit. My coworker/best friend, Joan, came over and bought our fridge. Her neighbors bought our lawnmower. And some stuff, like the dining room table that I had refinished just had to stay. There was no room.

Thursday morning, the buyer and her agent came by and did a walk-through of the inside. They wanted to be all happy-go-lucky now. I sat in the car. I didn't even want to see their ugly faces.

On Thursday night, in a pouring monsoon rain, Joe and his team finished the wall. It was also my 26th birthday and we were on our way to Nancy's office to sign our closing papers. The papers would only be valid if the County passed the wall in the morning. We drove an hour from Nancy's office to my aunts house, praying to God that the wall would be given the OK in the morning.

On Friday morning, we pulled up to the old house in Chris's car. Haven and I stayed inside the car, while Chris met the County and Joe in the backyard. The County had to decided to pass the wall, with one stipulation-- that Joe build a hand rail going down the stairs.

We were on our way to sweet freedom. And Poor Town. And homelessness. But we were also on our way to that god-awful wedding.

People that know the story always ask me why I decided to go. The truth is, I know that I would have been the one to look bad if I didn't show up. The wedding was just as awful as I imagined, with the worst thing being the limo that I rode sideways in, 12 weeks pregnant. I will say that I gave the greatest Matron of Honor speech of all time. Within 10 minutes of my speech, I left the reception and went back up to the hotel room. My duties and the friendship were over.

The next morning, I packed up my bridesmaid dress and the $90 matching shoes we had to buy and threw them into a dumpster on our way to the car.

We were on our way back to St. Louis. Together. No bad friends. No house problems. It was the four of us. And we were going to rebuild ourselves a better life.

And I'll end with this Libba Bray quote, "But we can't live in the light all of the time. You have to take whatever light you can hold into the dark with you." And if there is anyone reading this that is going through a rough period, just be patient. This too shall pass.