We took a break for lunch, on her, and talked about what was wrong with the others, to give her a better idea of what I wanted. I didn’t think I was being difficult. I wanted two or three bedrooms, a decent kitchen and a yard for Willie the wiener.  I also wanted a little room between me and my neighbors. I had a pretty strong suspicion one of the current ones was guilty of fabricating a few stories for the inquisitive who stood on the sidewalk, taking pictures of the house and yard, even if I was present.

After lunch we looked at two more, neither of which interested me. I apologized numerous times. We talked some more about what I wanted and agreed to try again the next day.

I made a lot more off the sale than I expected so I wasn’t hurting for funds, only time. If necessary, I could even rent a place for a few months, until I found a place I wanted to live, for hopefully, many years to come.

Which wasn’t on the agenda evidently. 

We spent the next two weeks looking and exhausted her listings, and a lot of her patience, I think. Seemed to me she was getting a little testy when I refused to even get out of the car at the last two. For the record, both were mobile homes, read trailers, setting on bare ground along dirt roads.

Alice, bless her heart, threw both hands in the air and shook her head. “Well, that’s it, Abigail. I hate to say this but I have nothing else to show you.”

“That’s it? There’s nothing else?” I hadn’t hit the panic stage, yet, but I was running out of time. Surely, there was somewhere we hadn’t looked.

She sighed, and I think she rolled her eyes. “I have others, Abigail, of course. Just nothing in your range. Wait, that sounded snarky. That’s not what I intended. I have larger places, several, and I would love to show them to you if you think you want to go larger.”