Chapter 25 - I almost sold the cabin
After title was restored, I called Rachel.
“List it.”
She paused.
“The cabin?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’m done.”
She did not argue.
Good lawyer.
A realtor valued it.
Lake property had appreciated.
Approximate market range:
$1.4 to $1.6 million.
I signed listing paperwork.
Then drove down alone one final weekend before photography.
At least, I thought it would be final.
The lock was mine again.
Original keypad had been replaced with a new one.
The interior smelled closed.
Ron and Linda’s boxes had never made it past the living room.
No permanent damage.
I walked to the dock.
Sat.
For an hour.
Elaine was everywhere.
Not as ghost.
Memory.
She hated sunscreen.
Loved terrible mystery novels.
Put too much butter on corn.
Would swim even when water was cold enough to make me miserable just watching.
I realized selling because Derek contaminated the place would give him more ownership over my choices than keeping it.
Then I realized keeping it purely because Elaine loved it would do the same in another direction.
So I asked the only useful question:
Do I want the cabin?
Not:
What should it mean?
Do I want it?
The answer was:
Yes.
Not forever.
Now.
I called the realtor.
“Take it off.”
She laughed.
May you like
“You haven’t even listed.”
“Then this is easy.”
