Читать книгу Jewels On Tiger Island - Catherine Pickren - Страница 5

That same day, standing on the back deck of her home, leaning on the old railing-, which was in need of new, white paint,- Mary was looking out at the ocean thinking how nice the weather was with the temperature at 76 degrees Fahrenheit and a calm northwest breeze, when her golden retriever, Prince, began to bark incessantly. Telling Prince to stop barking, Mary opened her sliding glass door to go back into the house. It was around four o’clock in the afternoon, and Mary was expecting her friend, Lucy Robinson, to stop by and visit a while before her five o’clock waitress shift began at the Surf Restaurant. Lucy was twenty-five, two inches shorter than Mary, with dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes and a vivacious personality. Lucy was engaged to Logan White, aged thirty, a computer programmer who worked at Digital Imaging on the island.

Calling out, “Come on in, the door’s unlocked,” Mary stopped walking towards the door when she saw John W. Fielding, III standing in her doorway with a slight smile on his face.

Shocked, but trying to gain her composure, Mary said, “Oh, it’s you. I was expecting you to be my friend, Lucy.”

Looking more amused, John replied, “I was driving around on the island and saw a car in the driveway of the address you gave me, so I thought I would stop and look at your property. You said to ‘come in’ so I did.”

Mary stammered, “Yes, I guess I did.”

John replied, “Is this a bad time to view your property? You didn’t say you had other plans when I talked to you earlier today. If this is inconvenient for you, I can come back when it is more convenient.”

Mary gained her composure and said, “Sure. I have time to show you my property.”

Prince went over and leaned against John’s leg. John bent down and automatically began patting the dog as if he and Prince had been good buddies and this was a normal greeting between them. Mary told Prince to go lie down by his favorite place near the fireplace, and then she took John on a tour of her home.

The home was built in 1992. John liked the spaciousness of the 4 bedrooms upstairs, each with its own bathroom. Two of the bedrooms had an ocean view, and each bedroom had a sliding glass door leading to a verandah that wrapped around the entire house. The master bedroom was downstairs. It had a sliding glass door that opened up to a small deck with an ocean view. The kitchen had a gas stove and a large island with four barstools surrounding it. The counters had been updated with granite counter tops. The house was on the ocean, and at high tide, the water stopped approximately one hundred and fifty feet from the house.

“The house has been appraised for 1.2 million dollars, which is what I would like to get for it. I haven’t listed it, yet, with a real estate broker, so that is my going price.”

John replied, “I think that is reasonable. I can pay you 1.2 million dollars. How soon would you be able to move out?”

Mary almost gasped, and could not believe she had a buyer this quickly, and someone who was willing to pay the price she quoted, especially since the house was not listed on the real estate market. “It will probably take me a couple of weeks. I’ll need to box up my belongings, put some things in storage, find a place to rent, and get furniture moved.”

John answered, “That will work for me. If you need to get in touch with me, I will be temporarily staying at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island. We can close this deal then in two weeks.”

Mary called her attorney to make sure they could close in two weeks. Her attorney told her there would be no problem, since this was a cash deal, and that closing would take place in his office. John and Mary exchanged lawyer’s names. As John was leaving, Lucy’s car pulled up in front of the driveway.

“Who was that gorgeous “hunk” driving the Lexus?” Lucy asked.

Mary replied, “That, my dear, was John W. Fielding from Boston, Massachusetts who just bought my house.”

Surprised, but excited, Lucy exclaimed, “You’re kidding! You actually sold your house today? You sold your house to him? You’ll have to tell me all about this guy. Is he married?”

Mary answered, “You know, I never asked. I didn’t see a ring, but that doesn’t mean anything. A lot of men do not wear wedding rings.”