Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 59 of 70

A week after Violetta came back down to the kitchen, the calls started. A neighbor knocked on Tuesday to ask if the porch light at Polly's should be left on at night. On Wednesday another asked if Lymber wanted the mail forwarded. By Friday a woman two doors down from Polly's place stopped Paul in the driveway and said she had a cousin looking to buy in the area. Lymber stood at the window and watched Paul shake his head. The house sat down the road with Polly's coat still on the hook and her mugs still in the sink. Someone had to decide. Lymber sat with Paul at the kitchen table after the kids went up. She spread the papers between them. Polly had a second mortgage Lymber had not known about. She had taken it out the year the twins were born. The number was not small. Lymber said they could pay it off slowly, or they could sell the house and be done. Paul said the debt would eat five years of savings. Lymber said the twins would need college. Violetta too, in a few. She said her mother had bought the second mortgage to help them move into this one. Paul was quiet. Then he said, sell it. Lymber nodded. She called an agent the next morning and set a meeting for Saturday. She took Violetta with her when she went to clear the house. They filled boxes for four hours. Violetta held up Polly's blue robe and asked if she could keep it. Lymber said yes. Violetta folded it into her lap and did not put it down. On the porch, Lymber locked the door and gave the key to the agent. The sign went in the yard on Monday. The offer came in nine days. It was over asking. Lymber signed at the agent's desk with Paul beside her. She paid the second mortgage in full and split what was left into four accounts, one for each child. She put Polly's robe in Violetta's closet and the framed photo from the hallway on her own desk. That night, after the twins were asleep, Violetta came into Lymber's office and sat on the floor by the window. She said the house being gone felt worse than she thought. Lymber said she knew. Violetta asked what they would do on Tuesdays now. Lymber did not have an answer. She sat down on the floor next to her daughter and did not try to make one.