Dreams

I always dreamed of a home with blue shutters and a light yellow door. The ones with so many bushes in front that you can't see the siding? We'd been waiting for years to buy a house we could call our own. But I was pregnant, and we barely had enough saved to take care of the baby. That old cliche about having love is enough, well in our house, love needed to be enough because we didn't have anything else to go around.

My husband worked hard, as a financial assistant at a small company. The only job he could get. I worked part time at a nursery taking care of the entitled kids of rich parents. The only job I could get. Together we made enough to rent our one bedroom apartment and keep food on the table. We didn't complain but we talked about moving up in the world together. Maybe soon James would finally get that promotion, and then I could quit the nursery and take care of our little boy. We weren't sure where life was going but we were pretty down on our luck most days. Exhausted from trying to keep up with the world around us.

Thursday, March 17th. The day I remembered for the rest of my life. I was 7 months pregnant, so I asked James to get the mail.

"Emily," he said, "I would shift the world for you if you needed me to."

He waltzed out to the mailbox and as he walked back inside I noticed a perplexed look on his face. His walk slowed until it came to a stop in our doorway.

Looking up at me with concern he asked, "Are you filing for divorce?"

"Why in the Hell would I want to do that?"

"Well you got a letter from a lawfirm. I just wanted to make sure you weren't leaving."

"I'd never leave. I don't know what that is, but I'm sure it's junk. Let me open it."

A small slip of paper fell into my lap as I slid open the skinny envelope. A check. For 20 thousand dollars. I quickly unfurled the letter and read it aloud to him.

"Dear Mrs. Emily Green,

We do send our deepest condolences for the loss of your great uncle, William Edgar Hooke. You are one of the beneficiaries in his will. Meaning, he has awarded you certain assests in his last will and testament. Enclosed you will find a check for 20 thousand dollars. He has also allowed you his small home on the farmland, which in opinion by the real estate expert we have, is worth around 50 thousand dollars. We will be sending over the title documents shortly so you may sign for them. William left no stipulations for you to recieve your part of the inheritance, so you are free to do with it what you may.

Condolences,

Matthew Turner"

We both paused and stared at each other for a moment. Could this be true? I didn't know this strange relative. But if there's absolutely no stipulations, then it made no sense not to celebrate a sure thing. Smiles crept onto our faces until we both were standing, running at each other with open arms unable to express our true joy. It felt like we had just gotten everything we could've ever wanted for ourselves.

Signing the forms went and left and we finally got the keys to our new house. We knew it would be a fixer-upper. It was only worth 50 grand and it looked like it. Driving up to the house that day wasn't quite disappointing but rather, puzzling as to how we were going to make this work. We had 20 grand to put into it, but it seemed impossible on that budget to make it liveable for a baby. We decided we would both still work, and work on the house during our free time. Well... James would work on the house during his free time and I would come supervise.

Scratching items off of our bucket list made us feel good. Finally being home owners, soon to be parents. We only had two months to get everything ready. Getting it ready in time didn't seem to be the problem, the house had the major parts. The lights worked, plumbing was hooked up to the house, but there weren't many appliances and fixtures. That turned into my job. I researched for hours of my day and found used parts and older models of appliances we liked.

James fixed the flooring and tiles, painted the walls, and even made the blue shutters just like he knew I wanted. He was a dream. It felt like I barely lifted a finger and it was time to go pick up and install everything I picked out. At 9 months we went to the stores I wanted and bought everything I wrote in my little black book. I scratched them off the list along the way.

A week before my due date, the house looked ready. We moved out of our apartment, and into the house in the middle of nowhere. It felt like we finally got everything we needed. It felt safe. We felt safe. We'd never gotten to take a deep breathe before. I looked over at James and thought about what our life would look like here.

"We're going to love it here. I can feel it."

James smirked at me, "The whole family will."

Nine days later I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. He grew up in that house, and now he lives in that house with a wife of his own. Whoever you are, Great Uncle William, you saved us. From a life of unknown, discomfort, and struggle. Any amount of kindness can turn a house into a home, and a couple into a family.