Moving Can Be Murder (5 page)

“I thought we were through looking at these
places,” I said, and took another sip of my drink. “I went along
with you, we saw two, and we both decided they weren’t for us.”

I turned my palms up. “End of story.”

“I just wanted you to see those two first
for a basis of comparison,” My Beloved said. He slapped his hand on
the folder and nudged it closer to me. “This is the one I really
want us to look at. It sounds fabulous. Just look at all these
amenities. It has an indoor and an outdoor pool, exercise rooms,
tennis courts, and a golf course. If we moved there, we’d feel like
we were on vacation all the time. Look at these photos, honey.”

Right then and there, I should have stopped
him. But he was so excited, I just couldn’t throw cold water on his
enthusiasm. At least, that’s what I told my best friends Nancy and
Mary Alice later when I brought them up to date on our foray into
active adulthood.

I hadn’t seen Jim this energized since his
first meeting with his retirement coach, Davis Rhodes. And look how
that worked out, Carol, my little voice reminded me. Jim ended up
being suspected of murdering him.

“But Jim,” I countered weakly, trying to
inject some reality into the situation, “neither one of us plays
golf or tennis.”

“We’re not too old to learn,” he snapped
back. “Come on, Carol. Let’s finish our lunch and go check it out.
What have we got to lose?”

My beautiful home for one thing, I
thought.

But it meant so much to him. The last time I
saw such a pleading look was when Lucy and Ethel wanted to go
outside and romp around the yard. And when I ignored that look, I
was always sorry.

What the heck. I raised my margarita glass
and said, “Eden’s Grove, here we come.”

And I repeated my mantra silently: Two
master suites. Two master suites.

“The Eden’s Grove entrance is pretty
impressive,” Jim said.

“Hmm,” I said. “It’s different.”

With its stone fence, guard house, and gate,
I thought the community looked more like a prison than my idea of
an active adult community.

“I wonder if they’re keeping the bad guys
out, or keeping the residents in.”

“Very funny, Carol,” My Beloved said. “Try
to keep an open mind. I think you’ll really like this place.” He
took my hand and eased me from the car.

I took a closer look around the grounds. I
had to admit that they looked beautifully cared for. Despite the
fact that it was January, all the sidewalks were completely free of
snow and ice. And the steps leading into the sales office were
pristine.

I thought guiltily of our icy front walk and
rutted driveway. I was always nervous someone was going to fall
when we had company this time of year.

Of course, the Eden’s Grove management paid
big bucks to keep the property looking this great, I reminded
myself. And poor Jim did the best he could with our snow blower.
When it was working.

Sighing, I followed Jim into the sales
office. At least it would be warm inside.

“Welcome to Eden’s Grove,” said a
pleasant-looking woman who was the point-of-entry at the reception
desk. “You must be Jim and Carol Andrews. I’ll get Eve for you. I
know she’s been expecting you.”

I resisted the urge to giggle. Eve? At
Eden’s Grove? Would Adam be joining us too?

Jim shot me a look. I’ve heard that when
you’ve been married as long as we have, couples often read each
other’s thoughts. Not when it really counts, of course, such as,
“Honey, will you please take out the garbage?” But this time, he
could tell I was about to whisper a wise-ass comment. I got the
message, and kept my mouth shut.

We were joined by a well-groomed woman who
looked like she was in her early fifties but was probably older.
“Hello, I’m Eve Hamill, the sales manager here. So glad to meet you
both. And before you ask, no, my husband’s name isn’t Adam.” She
laughed. “Everyone asks me that. It’s just coincidence that I ended
up working at Eden’s Grove. But my name is always a good
icebreaker.

“Why don’t we start by having me give you
both a tour? Then I’ll sit down and run some numbers with you, and
turn you over to one of our Ambassador Couples for a nice cup of
tea. Sound good?”

Not giving us a chance to respond, she
continued, “Follow me.”

I hated to admit it, but I was impressed. I
could tell that Jim was, too, but of course, he had expected to
be.

There was a lot to like about Eden’s Grove.
Two pools, the 600-seat ballroom with its own stage (what we’d use
that for, I had no clue), the beauty salon, the woodworking room,
the nail salon, the barber shop, the computer center, the exercise
room, the other exercise room, the arts and crafts room, the
library, the darts and billiards room – well, I think you get the
picture. This place was like a small city. The only thing it lacked
was a food store, and even that was convenient, less than a mile
away.

“This place has everything,” Jim said,
clearly amazed at all we’d seen on our tour.

“I’m glad you think so,” Eve replied. “I’m
sure you two would love living at Eden’s Grove. I’m even thinking
of buying here myself.

“I know it’s cold outside,” she continued,
not giving us a chance to respond, “but I want you to see two of
the models we currently have available. It’s just a quick walk from
here. Both styles are what we called semi-detached housing, meaning
they are attached to another unit on one side.”

“Do either of these styles have two master
suites?” I piped up.

“We get a lot of requests for that,” Eve
said. “I guess a desire for some breathing room is common to a lot
of couples when they’ve been married for a long time. One style has
two master suites, but unfortunately, there are none of those
available at the present time.”

Bummer, I thought. But Eve was one smart
salesperson. She could tell how important that feature was to me.
“There are units under construction, ready for early summer
occupancy, that will have two master suites. They’re very popular,
so if that’s a real priority for you two, you’d be wise to put down
a deposit now so you won’t be disappointed.”

She whisked us into first one, then the
other, model home, and I was dazzled by the stainless steel
appliances and hardwood floors. And how bright and open everything
was. Skylights, lots of windows. The units were gorgeous. Smaller
than what I was used to, but gorgeous.

I hated to admit it to myself, much less to
My Beloved, but Eden’s Grove might actually be a place I could live
in. If I decided to move. Which I had definitely not decided to do.
Yet.

I didn’t dare look at Jim. He could read my
face too well, and I didn’t want any pressure from him on the ride
home.

“How about a nice cup of tea and some
cookies?” asked Eve as she ushered us back into the sales center.
She reached for her cell phone. “I want you to meet one of our
Ambassador Couples, the Bakers, who can tell you first-hand how
great it is to live here.”

I looked at my watch. Yikes! It was almost
4:00. We’d been gone almost all day.

“Jim, we really can’t stay any longer,” I
said. “Lucy and Ethel have been alone since ten this morning.”

Eve gave me a startled look. “Lucy and
Ethel? Who are they? Your grandchildren?”

I laughed. “No, but they do think they’re
human. They’re our two dogs.”

Eve recoiled. “Dogs? As in more than one?
I’m sorry, but residents are only allowed to have one pet
here.”

Forget the stainless steel appliances and
the gleaming hardwood floors. Goodbye two master bedroom
suites.

I shot a quick look at Jim and telegraphed,
“No way we’re moving without the girls.”

This was a deal breaker for me.

Chapter 6

When a girl marries, she exchanges the
attentions of many men

for the inattention of one.

“We are not going to discuss it,” I said to
My Beloved. “There is no way I’m giving up one of our dogs to move
into that place! In fact…” Fortunately, I caught myself before I
said something really hurtful, like I’d sooner give him up than
either of the dogs.

Jim kept his eyes focused on the road ahead
of him and his mouth shut. Smart man. Forget about that drivel from
the old movie Love Story. Remember that famous line: “Love means
never having to say you’re sorry”? Not true. Love means knowing
when to keep your mouth shut.

“This was a wasted day,” I continued. “I
should have stayed home and cleaned the bathrooms instead.” I hoped
I made my point crystal clear to My Beloved. He knows how much I
hate to clean the bathrooms.

“The lunch was nice,” Jim countered. “And
you have to admit that Eden’s Grove has everything.”

“Everything except dogs,” I said, stating
the obvious. “And we have two dogs. Whom we love dearly. So Eden’s
Grove does not, and never will have, us. End of discussion. Now,
let’s go home. And I don’t want to hear the words ‘moving’ and
‘active adult community’ again. Deal?”

Jim sighed. He knew when he was licked.

“Deal, Carol.”

A week had passed since our Geezer Tour, as
I called it when I filled in Nancy and Mary Alice about our
adventure in house-hunting.

Predictably, Nancy was angry at me because
Jim and I had looked at houses without her. Being a real estate
agent in such a down market had made her a little paranoid, so I
forgave her.

“Nancy, for heaven’s sake, they didn’t buy
anything,” Mary Alice said in my defense. We were sitting in our
favorite coffee shop, The Paperback Café, in the center of
Fairport. No Starbucks for us, thank you very much. We’d been
coming to this place since we were in high school. It served two
kinds of coffee – regular and decaf. No lattes, chais, or any of
those other fancy drinks. The Paperback Café was one of the few
holdouts in town against the plague of upscale chain stores and
yuppie boutiques that were taking over our fair community. Plus,
their shelves were filled with books of every description, all
available to the clientele to peruse while sipping their coffee.
They even had a special shelf featuring local authors, and
frequently hosted book signings to promote them. Sort of like a
library with caffeine. And all their baked goods were made fresh
daily, on the premises. What’s not to like about a place like
that?

I sipped my coffee, burned my tongue, and
grimaced. It was piping hot, as usual.

“God punished me for my sins, Nancy,” I
said. “I burned my tongue and I’m suffering. I hope you’re
satisfied. See.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Take a drink of this cold water and hold it
in your mouth, Carol,” said Mary Alice. “Roll it around on your
tongue a little and it should feel better.”