Destiny and a Bottle of Merlot (12 page)

“Even with the commission you’d pay, there would still be money left over, that is, if you wanted to buy my house. Is the market pretty good in Greenwich?” They sat outside as they talked. In the wind sheltered backyard, in the sun, it was warm and comfortable.

“Yeah, surprisingly. Big shots take the train into the city every day to work, but they don’t want to live in Manhattan. Who can blame them? My house would probably be considered a great price for those high rollers. I’m going to go ahead, Mia. I’ll tell the Realtor to list my house. I want to live in Tarrytown where my best friends are.”

“How exciting. When are you moving into Aaron’s house, Mia?” Sasha asked.

“Depends on how available your Tundra and all my friends are,” Mia said, laughing. “How’s next weekend?”

Moving weekend was upon them. The plan was to hold an estate sale on Saturday and do the moving on Sunday. Anything that didn’t sell at the estate sale would be donated to charity after Mia gave first dibs to her friends. The quantity of things Mia needed to move was relatively small considering she was moving into a fully furnished home already. Other than her clothes, totes filled with memorabilia and the antiques given to her by her grandparents, there wasn’t much else to take to Aaron’s house except Reggie.

Luckily the weather cooperated, and the sun was shining brightly. Mia laid drop cloths on the carpeting throughout the house anyway just so there wouldn’t be dirt spread about with the quantity of buyers coming through. The sale began at eight o’clock Saturday morning. The ladies did the schmoozing with the customers, while the men carried purchases out to the cars. A large urn of fresh coffee and cups sat in the foyer, drawing people in with the delicious aroma.

“Are you sure you don’t mind parting with all this stuff, honey?” Aaron asked, as he took a short break.

“Not a bit. There isn’t anything I’m selling that holds memories or special feelings for me. I’m glad to get rid of it. Less is more, or something like that,” she said. She kissed him and whispered in his ear. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I love you so much.”

He held her tightly and kissed her forehead. “Oh, gotta go help Mrs. Lenard load her car.” Aaron looked back at Mia and gave her a wink.

The sale ended at five-thirty. The house looked surprisingly empty, indicating that the sale was a huge success. Even the garage was cleared out except for Mia’s bike and car.

“That went well,” Mia said, as she found the phone number for Joe’s Pizza on her cell. Everyone collapsed on the floor since the kitchen table and chairs were sold. “This isn’t going to work, we don’t have anywhere to sit and eat. C’mon let’s go to Joe’s, my treat.”

The bed of Sasha’s truck was loaded to the top Sunday morning when they made the first trip to Aaron’s house. An old tarp found in the garage worked perfectly to cover the contents. It was secured by ropes so nothing could escape and tumble down the road. The process was repeated two more times, and by three o’clock Mia’s old house stood empty.

After a thorough cleaning and carpet washing, Karen would move in. By early December, the girls would all live within a few miles of each other.

Sasha had to pee. It was barely light outside, she guessed around seven a.m. She turned her head ever so slowly to look at Josh.
Good, he’s sound asleep.
Still using the twin bed, she had to pry her arm out from underneath him to escape and get to the bathroom. He muttered something and rolled over. Her arm was free. She tiptoed to the master bath. Sasha brushed her teeth while she was in there.
No reason to have dragon breath if Josh wants to kiss me when he wakes up.
She opened the door, intending to sneak back to bed. The loud, long squeak of the door hinges made him stir.

“Hey, babe, good morning. What’s going on?”

“I had to pee, that’s all,” she said, with her head peeking around the side of the door. Sasha zeroed in on her bathrobe lying on the floor next to the bed. The sun was breaking the horizon, and blazing through the French doors of the balcony. She forgot to close the drapes last night. She knew from modeling, how shadows and harsh light can make one’s face and body look like crap.
Damn it.
“Josh, would you mind putting the blankets over your head for a minute?”

“What the hell for?” he asked, grinning. “Are we playing some kind of kinky game?”

“No, I’m just shy. It’s twenty feet from the bathroom to the bed, and I know you’d be gawking at me the entire way.”

“You’re damn right I would be,” he said, with a full laugh.

“Please?”

“Since when are you shy? Weren’t you Sasha Renaud, the famous supermodel that used to strut the catwalks of Milan, Paris and New York in front of hundreds of people? Weren’t they all staring at you?”

“Uh huh… but I had clothes on then. I’m Martha now, remember? I can be shy if I want to. That’s part of my new persona… to be shy.”

“That’s what I love about you, Sasha. You can be smart as a whip, then turn on a dime, and be as quirky and crazy as they come. Okay, shy girl, my head is going under the blankets.”

Josh heard the pitter-patter of feet running toward the bed. She giggled the entire way and almost bounced him right out on the floor when she dove in and snuggled under the blankets.

He laughed out loud as he grabbed the headboard. “You’re crazy, but I love you.”

Josh and Sasha lounged in bed being lazy. It was a cold, blustery Saturday, and they had no good reason to go outside other than a quick walk with Kismet, and Josh took care of that. The small TV on the dresser was playing Casablanca and the table next to the bed held snacks galore. With pillows propped up behind her back, and her tablet on her lap, Sasha scoured the internet for information about starting a small vineyard.

“It says here we should take some soil samples and have them tested to make sure grapes can even grow here.”

“Really? Who does the testing?”

“Um… let’s see. I guess I need to contact the local Agriculture Extension Office, wherever that is. We need to dig a few holes at different depths and put the dirt in plastic zipper bags. That doesn’t sound hard. It needs to be done now before the ground is frozen. Then, we need to till up the extra lot. Damn it! I should have done all this already. My dad will know more, he has a vineyard.”

“Your dad has a vineyard? You mean a real one?” Josh popped a handful of buttermilk ranch pretzel pieces in his mouth.

“Of course, a real one, silly. He lives in a chateau on one hundred hectares in France.”

“What’s a hectare?”

“Oh sorry, it’s how they measure area in some other countries. One hundred hectares is like two hundred fifty acres. What would you think if I invited my parents to spend Christmas here?”

“Well, that’s not my call, but it would be fun to meet them. Do you actually speak French?”

“Oui,” she said, with a smirk.

“You amaze me more and more very day. Want a glass of wine?”

“Oui,” she smirked, again. “Let’s make love, then dig some holes. I think there’s a shovel in the shed.”

Josh’s head almost snapped off his shoulders. “Just like that?”

“Oui, just like that. Is there a problem?”

“No problem,” he said, laughing. “You’re my kind of woman.” They snuggled deeper under the blankets and made love, twice.

They dressed at two p.m. It was time to take Kismet out again anyway. Sasha wore that warm, wool coat Vic picked out for her over her sweatshirt and jeans. The scarf, wool socks and duck boots were perfect companions for this cold day, and the task at hand.

Josh pulled the collar up tighter around her neck, and adjusted her scarf. “Where are your gloves? You’re going to need them. It’s only thirty-five degrees outside.”

“I’ll get them. This shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes. The information said to take three samples. One right away at a few inches, another at a foot and the last sample at two feet deep.” She jammed three plastic zipper bags in her coat pocket along with a magic marker and the shed keys. The gloves were stretched over her fingers.

Josh put on his heavy, Carhartt jacket and a pair of work gloves. “Ready? I’ll get Kismet.”

“Yep, let’s get this done.”

Kismet relieved herself before they even got to the shed. Sasha handed Josh the key and took the puppy back to the house while he searched for the shovel.

“I found something even better than a shovel,” he said, as he held up a post hole digger.

“What in the world is that?”

“It’s a post hole digger. It’s less messy and we can dig faster with it. Got your bags ready? Show me where you want to dig.”

At the vacant lot they stood and looked around. “I guess one spot is as good as the next. I want all of this to be a vineyard, so dig anywhere, Josh. I don’t think it matters.”

He targeted in on a spot and held the tool high. The slamming against a solid object beneath the dirt shook Josh’s arms. They were physically vibrating.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, not expecting a real answer.

“Josh, your arms are shaking.”

“Holy cow, that was quite a whack I took.” He moved a few feet to his right and hit the dirt again with the digger. The same sound of a solid object rang in his ears and vibrated through his arms. Within a ten foot area of trying, the results were always the same.

“Sasha, there’s something under the dirt, something big and wide. Let’s try farther back toward the end of the lot.”

Josh knew better than to hit the ground so hard now. He apprehensively shoved the post hole digger into the ground and it cut through the dirt perfectly. “Good, there’s real soil here. Let’s grab the samples and get back in the house where it’s warm.”

Sasha marked the bags while Josh dumped an armful of logs into the fireplace. Within minutes the smoldering embers turned into a toasty fire again.

“Do you think that was just a big rock?” Sasha asked as she rubbed her chilled hands together in front of the fireplace.

“Nope, there’s something odd going on here. I’ll be back in a few minutes, hon. I have some old plat books at the office. We need to figure this out.”

“Okay, I’ll start the coffee.”

Josh leaned in and kissed Sasha. “I’ll be right back.” He gave her a wink as he zipped up his coat and walked out the door.

Sasha waited by the fireplace, rubbing Kismet’s pink belly as she snoozed. Next to the fireplace was where Kismet loved to sleep. The heat warmed her little body. Two cups and the carafe of coffee were already on the table. A plate of brownies from Hankerson’s Bakery sat next to the carafe, along with two dessert plates and a stack of napkins. Sasha heard the front door open. Josh was back. He carried a stack of plat books that dated back to the early 1900’s.

“Hey, babe, that coffee sure smells good. These maps and books should tell us something. I have a feeling that lot wasn’t always vacant. I’ll go back out tomorrow and see if I can find a perimeter, but I’m thinking there’s a cement slab a few inches under the grass. Who knows how long it might have been there, if that’s the case. That might also explain why it’s an empty lot. There could have been a carriage house or barn that went with this place at one time. These books will show us the lots, and if there were structures on them.”

“You’re so smart, Josh. It would be fun to know the history of this house and if there were more outbuildings too. So what will we do if there’s a big chunk of cement under there? It would take up some of the space I wanted for the vineyard.” She handed him a cup of coffee and two brownies she placed on a dessert plate.

“Let’s see how big this ‘thing’ actually is first. We can draw up some plans that could still work out perfectly.”

They cozied up next to the fire, Sasha’s legs resting across Josh’s on the floor as they paged through the books.

Tarrytown was different back then. Street names were changed. They needed to find a building downtown they were familiar with. From that point, they could backtrack to the place where Sasha’s grand Victorian stood then, and now.

“Is this my house?” Sasha asked, excitedly. “Sunrise Avenue used to be called Adams Street. How utterly boring.”

Josh took a long, hard look. He followed the streets from Main and Second, downtown, to where Sasha’s house ought to be standing now. “I think you’re right, hon. It shows only three houses on the entire street. Let’s see.” Josh flipped the book back to the cover. It was dated 1911. “Yep, this is the Victorian, and there’s a smaller building next door. I’m sure it was part of the original property. That’s why your lot is so big. It stayed with the original house instead of being divided and sold as a separate lot. That’s a nice feature, Sasha. Tomorrow we’ll outline where the old building stood. We need to come up with something to poke in the grass.”

“There must be something in the shed, right?” she asked, with brownie crumbs suspended from the corners of her mouth.

Josh laughed and licked them off. “Yes, honey, we’ll check out the shed in the morning.”

Bundled up Sunday morning, Josh and Sasha scoured through the shed looking for some type of pokers.

“What are these?” Sasha asked, holding a fistful of rebar rods between her gloved fingers.

“That’s rebar, and it will work perfectly. Now all we need is spray paint.”

“I have spray paint from Mia’s estate sale. I painted arrows on the signs that led people to her house. I’ll get it.” Sasha ran back to the house and found the paint in the cabinet under the sink.
It’s bubble gum pink, but I guess that doesn’t matter.
The thought made her giggle.

Back outside, she found Josh standing in the area they were at yesterday. “Here’s the paint,” she called out.

“Good job, hon. I’ll poke and you follow me. Every few feet spray a dot on the grass where I tell you to.”

“Okay, that sounds easy enough.” Sasha pulled the scarf tighter around her neck to keep the cold wind out.

Within an hour the perimeter was laid out with bright pink dots. Josh pulled a tape measure out of his jacket pocket, and with Sasha holding one end, he measured the length and width. It was a slab from an earlier building which had either burned down, or been removed for some reason. The outline was rectangular in shape. It measured twenty five feet wide and forty feet deep.