A House on Eden

4. Yard Sale

Kevin was a young lawyer at the firm. He was tall, thin, with short blond hair and a gentle demeanor. His eyes missed nothing. He could read the bruises on my wrists, neck and face as easily as he could read a legal document.

I knew he had a thing for me. I felt it when our fingers brushed, when his eyes had a silent hurt look in them, heard it in his voice when he urged me to leave my husband. I had never dared until now.

I woke on Saturday morning, feeling more rested and refreshed than I had in years. I walked through the empty rooms, not minding their vacuity. I had never placed much value on material possessions but on what was inside a person. And inside my husband was lost to goodness like a spoiled apple that had lost its shine.

I started the coffee machine and fumbled for my cell phone. I dialed the number I had dialed many nights before when Bruce had gone on his shift and left me bruised and broken on the kitchen floor. Always he came, my faithful friend and champion, with care and concern and tears in his eyes.

Kevin answered his phone immediately. "Jessie?" He said. Are you alright? Did he..?

"I've done it, Kev," I said. 'I've left him and I need your help. Do you have a pickup truck?"

"For you anything," he said. "Do you need a place to stay?"

"No," I said. "I've bought my own place. It is lovely. You must come see it at once."

"Where is it?" He said.

"Eden Avenue," I said, "350."

"Be right there," he said and hung up.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and took it out on the porch. The early sun was cheerful and comforting. I glanced over at the neighbor's house through the picket fence. I wondered who lived there, if we would become friends.

Kevin drove into the drive way fifteen minutes after our call. He had come in his pickup truck, a huge black monster with oversized wheels and a rack on the roof.

"You have really done it!" He smiled after I had given him the tour. We were sitting on the porch drinking coffee.

"I'm so proud of you," he said. "I'm speechless." There were tears in his eyes. I took his hand and squeezed it.

"You were always there for me," I said. "I need you now."

"What can I do?" He said.

"Help me fill this house," I said. "I brought nothing with me. I need everything and I don't have much money."

"I can help you with the money," he said.

"No," I said, "that's not the help I had in mind."

"Yard sales!" He said. "It's Saturday. They're going on everywhere. You can find a bed, a table, a book case, anything you need for next to nothing. You can furnish your whole house with their stuff. And then there are things folks leave by the side of the road, like couches and television stands and dressers. It's amazing what people will throw away, perfectly good stuff. You'll have your house filled in no time!"

"Then let's go!" I said, jumping up excitedly. "Lead the way, dear sir!"

Between the various yard sales where we stopped I acquired a double bed complete with spring box and mattress, a dining room table with four chairs, lamps, two dressers, two end tables, two book cases, a small couch, a glass top coffee table, a microwave, a desk, an office chair, a medicine cabinet and an old TV with an entertainment center.

It took several truck loads to bring everything home, but by the end of the day my house looked lived in. We decided to christen the house by buying champagne and ordering pizza.

"Jessie," Kevin said between bites, "you know I have feelings for you. I know you know. And I was thinking now that you've left Bruce..."

"Ask me a little while later," I smiled. We were sitting at my newly acquired table in the dining room.

"How long is a little while?" He asked.

"A while," I smiled. "I have to put this thing behind me first."

"Is it because I'm too young for you?" He asked.

"Don't be silly!" I said. "You're only five years younger. You need to give me time, Kev. Just don't go anywhere."

"Not going," he smiled.

I poured us champagne and we clinked our glasses in a toast. The house felt happy, content with its furnishings, ready for my new life.

"Does Bruce know?" He asked.

"No," I said. "He thinks I'm in DC with my mother for the weekend."

"So by Sunday he's gonna figure it out," he said.

"Yes," I said. "I'm afraid so."

"What will you do?" He asked.

"I'm working on that," I smiled.

"We forgot to buy a lawnmower," he said. "You have a lot of grass to cut."

"The lady left me hers," I said. "It's in the basement."

"What about a washer and dryer?" He asked.

"Left those, too," I said.

"Seems like you got yourself one heck of a deal," he laughed. "Some folks would call it luck."

"I call it a new beginning," I smiled.

"You remind me of my sister," he said.

"Is that a compliment?" I said.

"Absolutely!" He smiled. "My sister is an incredible person."

"Then how do I remind you?" I said.

His eyes grew serious. "She was married to a policeman," he said.

"You never told me," I said.

"He was a drunk and he was violent," he said. "I tried talking her into leaving him and she finally did."

"How is she?" I said.

"She's wonderful!" He smiled. "She moved into her own apartment and is dating a guy from work."

"Very funny," I said.

"No, really," he said. "Her whole life brightened. It was like a transformation. I have a whole new sister."

"Well," I smiled, "you have a whole new Jessie. And your Jessie is going to bed. See you Monday at work?"

"Monday," he said and got up from his chair.

That night, lying in my new double bed, the figure did not come. I had not expected her too. I understood she had moved on. The wooden floors were silent, the walls stood close like sentries, the ceiling was my canopy. I fell into a deep sleep.