After leaving Mr. Lincoln's office I drove home in complete silence which for me was very unusual because I always have music playing but, today was different because I had a lot of things bouncing around in my mind and I needed to sort some things out. As I was driving home I drove past the house that was for sale that I had been dreaming of buying and it hit me all of a sudden that I was now in a financial position to buy the house straight out thanks to my mom's planning for my future. I did a quick turn in the middle of the road and drove back to the dream house and wrote the realtor's number down on a piece of paper and decided that when I got back home I was going to call them and put in an offer on the house. When I arrived home I noticed that Joy and Carl were home because their cars were in the driveway. I was so overjoyed and excited to share my news with them that I literally bounced into the house to go and find them. I found them in the living room watching tv and when I burst into the room they looked up at me with a surprised look. "Wow AJ you look like the cat who ate the canary," Carl said with a chuckle. I couldn't help but smile even bigger when he said that. "I have the most amazing news to tell you guys and you are not going to believe what I have to say," I rambled out. Joy patted the cushion next to her and said with a giggle, "here sit down and tell us before you bust." I went over and flopped down on the couch next to her and exploded with all the information that I had bottled up in me from the meeting with Mr. Lincoln to my desire to buy the house down the road I let out everything. They sat in silence for a few minutes after I had unloaded everything on them and then Joy hugged me so tight before she said, "AJ I am beyond excited for you because you have grown so much over the last year and finally your dreams are coming true and if you get the house down the road we will be neighbors which is even better." I blinked back tears as I said, "Thank you so much. I know that I am going to have my hands full with the house because it is going to need some remodeling but I really love it." Carl piped in, "if you need to know the name of a good contractor just let me know and I can give you the one that we used because he was awesome." "Oh thank you that would be amazing," I said. After we talked for a few more minutes about everything I excused myself so I could go and call the realtor to place my offer on my dream home. The realtor made me an appointment for Saturday at 1 PM. On Saturday at 1 PM on the dot, I pulled up the graveled driveway to the dream house. The driveway in front of the house had a loop and in the center of the loop stood a beautiful magnolia tree that was blossoming gorgeously. The house itself on the outside really didn't look too bad and I could only see some minor things that I would need to get fixed. It was a two-story house painted a hideous canary yellow with red shutters on the windows, now that was something that I would definitely have to change because I did not like the color scheme at all. The realtor a pretty blonde woman was standing next to her car when I pulled in. I got out of my car and walked up to her, "Hi I'm AJ, you must be Ms. Coldwater," I said as I shook her hand. "Oh please just call me Tina," she said with a smile. "Come on in and I can show you around and tell you a little bit about the place and if you have any questions please feel free to ask away," Tina said as she unlocked the door. When we stepped inside I was amazed at how spacious the front foyer was the floors were hardwood and they really didn't look too bad at all. Tina started rambling on about how the former owners were an older couple who had gotten too old to live on their own anymore and their children had to put them in a retirement home and now they were selling the place because they all already had homes of their own and they didn't want the headache of having to take care of another home that no one was using. She showed me around and as I walked into each room I fell even more and more in love with the house. Through the foyer was the living room which had an open concept because you could see straight into the dining room and the kitchen. The living room had a vaulted ceiling and you could see straight up to the landing of the second floor. The staircase to the second floor didn't go straight up but wrapped in a circular motion to the top. Off to the side of the living room was a door that led into another room that looked as though it had been previously used as an office, it had built-in bookshelves that lined one wall and the carpet was plush. It had two bay windows on the opposite wall that allowed for the sunshine to beam into the room and it had a door that led to a walkway that stretched around to the driveway. The kitchen was all modern with stainless steel appliances, a side-by-side refrigerator with ice and water in the door, a flattop stovetop on the island that stood in the middle, a double oven was in the wall to the side and a double sink stood opposite that. There was plenty of cabinet space in the kitchen but the color was horrific hunter green and I made another mental note that I would be having those redone also. There were plenty of windows in the kitchen which did make the area look bright and that I did like. I stepped into the dining room next and it was also a bright area due to all the windows and a sliding glass door that opened up to a patio and the backyard which had an in ground pool in it. The walls in the dining room had wallpaper with a variety of different flowers plastered all over it, yep that was definitely going to have to go too. I stepped through the sliding glass doors onto the back patio and looked around. There was a built-in gas grill and an outside kitchen sink, a bar, and a counter along the wall. This must have been where the previous owners entertained their friends and I couldn't wait until I was able to do the same. The back yard looked so huge beyond the pool which could use a good cleaning, the back yard had a couple of orange trees, grapefruit trees, and a lemon tree which made me excited because I loved them all. Beyond the trees was a wooden six-foot privacy fence. I stepped back inside to check out the rest of the house. Off the other side of the living room was a big bathroom, and a closet, and next to that was a bedroom with a walk-in closet. Off to the other side of that was a step down and there was a spacious den. Then back into the living room and up the stairs were four more bedrooms, a big bathroom, and a linen closet. Then there was a master bedroom and it was enormous, complete with 2 gigantic walk-in closets and a master bathroom. In the master bathroom was a garden tub with jets that could easily fit two people, a double sink, a toilet, and off in the corner was a walk-in shower. I was very much in love with this bathroom. All of the rooms throughout the whole house had amazing windows. I had made several mental notes throughout the whole house of the changes that I wanted to make because the color schemes were so not me. I guess that will help me to create a portfolio for the interior design business that I am wanting to start. I went back downstairs to find Tina because she had let me wander around on my own. I found her in the living room, "so what do you think about it," she said with a smile. "I want it. What is the next step?" I said beaming back at her. She explained that she would put in my offer with her clients and call me and let me know as soon as she knew anything. We shook hands and I drove away crossing my fingers and praying that everything would go smoothly.
