Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
The last one I viewed was perfect, by which I mean I knew what I could make of it. The location was excellent, the building itself had been designed by a favorite architect of mine in the fifties. Multiple units were for sale following the death of a longtime resident which prompted her two adult children to list their own neighboring apartments as well and decamp uptown. If we could secure all three units, I could join them to form a spacious family home with plenty of natural light and play space. They occupied an upper floor with double-glazed windows for added quiet to safeguard everyone’s sleep. I was already sold on the space, ideas spinning in my brain.
After I went over every detail with the realtor, I Facetimed my brothers from the lobby of the building. “I’ve found the place,” I said.
“That was fast even for you,” Noah said.
“Think about it,” Leo put in, “there’s maybe two neighborhoods in this city where he’d consider living. That’s not a lot of choices.”
“True,” Noah said. “How much did we bid?”
“I didn’t put in a bid without consulting you,” I said.
“We trust you,” Leo replied. “And we talked budget. I can do some of the work myself if it needs an upgrade. Is there a problem?”
“No, I can get it within our budget, but the remodeling to join three units will take more than we discussed.”
“We budgeted conservatively on what we’d get for the loft and my apartment, both of which will probably sell for more, plus you have a massive commission coming in a few months from that residential project, and I have some stocks in my portfolio I’m willing to liquidate to chip in on the remodel,” Noah offered. “Besides, we can get a loan to handle part of the remodel and pay it back quickly. Most people pay high rent in this city or else they have a mortgage. We’ll be fine.”
“I agree. I want to show it to you before I make the offer,” I said, and took them on a FaceTime tour, detailing which walls I wanted to remove and which rooms I’d reconfigure for a different purpose. They were both on board before I’d even finished showing them around.
“I say we surprise her,” Leo said, “She’ll have input on how it’s set up and what goes where, all that, but this way, it’s just done. We found the right place, snapped it up, and we can get to the good part.”
“This is already the good part,” I told him, “All of this. Getting to pick out a place to raise a family together. A baby on the way.”
“Yeah,” Noah said, “The good part already started.”
I called the realtor and put in our bid. The sellers accepted two hours later. I texted my brothers the good news and headed back to my office. I worked all that night and into the next day working out a preliminary design with a floor plan. I used the new software to craft a 3-D walkthrough projection so Madison would be able to see what it was meant to look like. From here we could fine-tune the layout and dimensions of the rooms together to determine what worked best for us. The main thing was that I wanted this to be a dazzling reveal, a magical experience for her. It was more than a starting point for the remodeling project. It was a preview of the home we’d build for our child.
I’d like to say I put the finishing touches on it lovingly, but my head ached. I’d been surviving on strong coffee and force of will by the time I was done. I watched the projection with eyes burning from being awake for thirty hours and felt a surge of pride. I messaged Leo that I’d take a shower and change at the office to meet them at the building with Madison in an hour.
They met me in the lobby and Madison was asking a hundred questions.
“Of course, you’re behind this,” she said to me, “over there doing your enigmatic smile.”
“Thanks for noticing,” I said. I took her in my arms and embraced her, my whole body warming, the tension loosening. “I missed you. Both of you,” I said, stroking her still-flat belly softly. Her eyes softened and she kissed me. The intimacy of it was almost more than I could bear in a semi-public place. I took her hand and nodded to Noah. He took the blue Tiffany & Co box from his pocket and offered it to her. She glanced from one of us to the next and back to the box before the untied the satin ribbon.
Madison found the silver keychain nestled in the box, and a key was already attached. We led her to the elevator. “We have the entire fifth floor. We’re going to join three units to make one big apartment with plenty of room for everything we need,” I told her.