Marie

And now it’s a matter of waiting for the manager to come back from his week off so we can talk again and see if we can reach an agreement. There’s nothing else I can do on that front, so I’m trying to put it out of my mind and just focus on life in the here-and-now. I hate waiting, though. Oh well.

On with the story, and this next part hasn’t been written so I’m going to be making it up as I go. It’s not like y’all haven’t had that from me before.

***

Marie Enfield signed the documents in front of her and blew out a deep breath. She sat back in her kitchen chair and looked across the table at her realtor, Joan Almon. "I guess that’s it, then," she said.

Joan gathered up the papers and stowed them fussily in her briefcase. "That’s it. Your new house is waiting for you and this one is now going to be home to a new family." She smiled. "You’ve done the right thing, Marie. You know that, right?"

Marie nodded and looked around her bright kitchen. "Jim and I expected to live her the rest of our lives." She got up and took her coffee cup to the sink. "I guess Jim did." She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and fought back tears. "It’s hard to leave, you know."

Joan nodded. "It’s always hard to leave a home you put so much effort into. This is a beautiful place and the new owners are so excited about moving to a real farm."

Marie rinsed the cup and turned to face the realtor. She smiled. "It’s a lot more work than they realize. I hope it’s not too much for them. I’d hate to see the land go to waste."

"I understand they’re planning on renting some of the fields to your neighbours for crops, and perhaps even for grazing. I think they want to start with a few chickens and a garden for themselves."

"That’ll be nice for them. Do they know what happened to Jim?" She had to know that the new owners weren’t coming into a home of tragedy without full knowledge.

"They know he was killed out in a field by wild animals, and they’re prepared to report any unusual activity by coyotes or anything." Joan closed her briefcase and stood up. "I’d better be going. I have a showing in a little while. I better get there." She held out her hand. Marie came forward to shake it. "All the best, Marie. I’ll be back in a few days with the signed papers from your new house. I meant to bring them today, and I apologize."

"That’s okay, Joan. As long as I know they’re signed, I can wait for the delivery." She escorted the other woman to the front door and out onto the wide porch where she and Jim had enjoyed many an evening, sipping tea or something stronger, sitting on the porch swing. She watched Joan walk to her car and drive away, hand waving out the window. Marie lifted her hand in response and sat on the swing, contemplating life’s unexpected changes.

***

There. A bit of fleshing out, as it were.