Looking back, maybe I didn’t see the bond already starting to form on that first night, but it crept up on me until I couldn’t deny it. They make me feel at home, and I haven’t felt that way in my house since Carol passed.
The drive home is silent until my phone rings.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“You ready to sign the paperwork? I can come by and pick you up. I wasn’t sure if you were done visiting Carol or not,” Liam asks.
“I’m done. Be home in fifteen.”
Liam and Aiden are already waiting for me when I pull up. We ride together in Liam’s truck, drop by the bank to get our money orders, and head to see Mark. We are ready to take on our new adventure together as a family.
“Can you believe we are actually doing this?” Aiden says, sitting in the back of the truck. “I never thought I’d do something like this, but that’s what I have you guys for, to keep me grounded.”
“I knew we would do something good with the money... just not to this capacity.”
Liam is quiet.
“You okay over there? You haven’t said a word,” I ask, looking over at him.
“Just got someone who could really use a place right now. How long until tenants can move in?”
“Well, technically, it’s livable once we turn on utilities. So, by the end of the day tomorrow, maybe,” I answer.
Liam worked a fire two days ago where a woman lost her child and dog. She desperately needs somewhere to stay and has no one.
“Good. I’ll swing by the shelter tonight and see if she’s there,” Liam states.
Liam pulls up to Mark’s office and parks, then we jump out of the truck. This is it. No turning back. Once we sign these papers, we will officially be property owners.
“Hey, look who it is... the infamous Jackson trio. Haven’t seen you boys in a while. How are things?” Mark says, gesturing for us to have a seat.
We all look at each other before Liam responds, “We’re just ready to get this up and running. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
Mark pulls out the paperwork, and we each take our turn signing.
After we hand over the money, he dangles the keys. “Here you are, rock stars. Enjoy.”
We leave in a hurry to make it down to the utilities office to get everything turned on and ready to go for tenants.
“Hey, uh... so we didn’t think about something,” Aiden says.
“What?” Liam asks.
“Furniture. The people that are going to be staying won’t have anything. Maybe we should get at least some basic furniture in and go from there. The last thing we want is for them to be reminded of all the things they lost, right?” Aiden responds.
My brother is showing the kind side to him we haven’t seen in a long time. It’s refreshing to see, and it makes me smile.
After getting the utilities scheduled to be turned on tonight, we head to the Furniture Outlet.
The duplexes already have stoves, microwaves, and refrigerators, so that’s off the list. We decide on getting bedroom sets for each duplex, since it’s cheaper than buying separately, and a kitchen table plus chairs. We want these people to feel at home when staying here, even if it’s for a little while.
“Can we have these items delivered? We just bought a property and have some families that really need to move in tomorrow that have lost their houses to a fire. We’d like the furniture to be there before they move in,” Aiden says, pulling out his debit card.
“Of course. We can have it delivered tomorrow morning. Will someone be available at the property between eight and ten?”
“Yes, I’ll be there. That would be perfect,” Aiden responds.
He’s off tomorrow, and he can get everything settled while we are at work.