Insecurity and a Bottle of Merlot (11 page)

Sasha pressed her temples. “I’m getting a friggin headache. How much would the outside repairs add to the cost?”

“Probably fifty grand. Here’s what I’d do. I’d offer $700,000 and see if they bite. Like Tina said, you can always negotiate. Remember, the owners live somewhere else, the house isn’t bringing in rental income, and they’re stuck paying the utilities and property tax. I bet they’d be stoked to get that monkey off their back. C’mon Sasha, let’s go over to the camera store and see what Aaron thinks. Later guys.”

“Adios, and good luck. Keep us posted.”

Aaron listened to Mia’s suggestion and agreed that $700,000 was a good starting point based on the appraisals and the work needed on the exterior. Several customers entered the shop, so Mia and Sasha left and walked to Bottoms Up to talk.

“Mia, do you really think I can get this house? I’ll admit it’s going to be a huge project, but I can’t stop daydreaming about it.”

“That’s a good sign, honey. Be realistic, but also be true to yourself. We know what the repairs will cost. Your apartment is going to close in a few weeks. It’s just about a wash when you consider the selling price of your apartment, and the price you’ll pay for the house. Believe it or not, your insurance and property tax will be much lower here. Can you imagine how beautiful the house will be when it’s fixed up?”

“That’s all I’ve been doing, Mia. I’ve been dreaming about it, and sketching out ideas. I haven’t even bought it, yet I’m putting all this energy into it. I’ve found my future, and it’s all because of you.”

“Sasha… that isn’t true. If Jack hadn’t cheated on me, we would never have met.”

“That’s right, but you’re the one who rescued me from him. You could have divorced Jack and been done with it. I wouldn’t have known he was ever married. You got in the middle of it, maybe with different intentions originally, but look how it’s changed me. I was a self-indulgent, spoiled brat when we met. I’m so grateful now. I love you, and this town. I love the girls and Aaron. I’m happy now. I have friends, and that says a lot for me. Who would have ever thought my life would do such a turn around. I’m so blessed.” Sasha’s eyes teared up, and she hugged Mia. “We’re like sisters, right?”

“Yes, Sasha, we’re like sisters.”

Chapter Fifteen

After looking at several more properties that week, Sasha hadn’t changed her mind about the Victorian. She wanted to do the responsible thing and compare properties, but nothing could come close to the house on Sunrise Avenue. She liked that street name. It sounded happy and optimistic. A thought entered Sasha’s mind as she spoke the name Sunrise Avenue out loud.
I’ll have a balcony built off the second floor master bedroom. It faces east, so I can watch the sun rise every morning.
That in itself was an epiphany to Sasha. The house was destined to be hers.

Sasha asked Mia to join her at Redmond Brother’s Realty Thursday morning. There was no reason to drag it out any longer. She would submit an offer today. She’d start with a low first offer, and go from there. At ten o’clock, Sasha and Mia sat in Josh’s office, ready to present the initial offer. Sasha told Josh the number she had in mind and reached for the contract he was holding.

“Are you serious right now, Sasha? I can’t present such a low offer to the owners. It’s an insult.” Josh snickered and snatched the contract back before it was in her hand.

The last six weeks changed Sasha considerably. She had grown into a confident woman and wasn’t about to stand for Josh’s attitude. She resembled a mother bear protecting her cub. That house was going to be hers, come hell or high water.

“Do I need to remind you, Mr. Redmond, who you work for?” Sasha stood and leaned across his desk. The niceties blew out the window. She reverted back to formalities. Josh would end up on the burn pile in a heartbeat if he didn’t watch himself. He had to submit the offer if he ever hoped to have Sasha speak to him again.

“Fine, but you’re going to alienate yourself from them.”

“Just friggin do it, Josh! I’ll be waiting to hear from you tomorrow. Now give me that contract to sign. Make sure you tell the owners there aren’t any contingencies to worry about. It’s going to be a cash transaction in two weeks. That in itself should pique their interest. Now where do I sign?”

***

Eighteen people were on Vic’s guest list for Saturday. Other than her usual best friends, a few people from Morey’s and Scott from Bottoms Up were attending too. Six cousins from the Bronx planned to come, but the person Vic was most excited to show off, was her brother Mario. They hadn’t seen each other in four years. He just moved back to New York after running a successful ski school and sports equipment shop in Telluride, Colorado for the last few years. Mario’s business began as a ski school initially, but quickly expanded to sell everything related to skiing. Two years ago, he bought the space next to his store and enlarged it to include summer sporting equipment. It did so well, Mario decided to open another ski school and store in Hunter, New York. Hunter was a great choice, being in the northern Catskill Mountain region with plenty of summer and winter activities to participate in. It was also less than two hours from Tarrytown where he grew up.

Mario promised to attend Vic’s party and was excited to spend the week in Tarrytown visiting old friends and his crazy sister. Vic was anxious to introduce her brother to Max, since they had very similar interests.

Still, the reason for the party was twofold. Of course, Mia being Vic’s dearest friend, deserved a party thrown in her honor. She was way overdue for happiness, and Aaron was the best guy in the world to share that happiness with. But Vic had to see for herself what Max’s expression and demeanor would be like again around Mia. If nothing seemed amiss, Vic would let her insecurities go, and move on blissfully with Max.

***

The man wearing a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses swung the salon door open and sauntered in at ten o’clock. Vic and Tina glanced up from their work for a split second, then continued the latest gossip without missing a beat. Jennifer, the receptionist, took care of the walk-ins. The stranger approached the counter and asked for Victoria Alonso. Jennifer offered him a beverage and excused herself to get Vic.

“She’ll be right with you, sir. Please have a seat,” Jennifer said, as she handed the stranger a Diet Coke.

Vic gave him a quick once over as she finished Ashley Nelson’s comb out. He appeared somewhat unkempt with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, from what she could tell. He wore several earrings in each earlobe, and tan cargo shorts with Birkenstock sandals. The stranger seemed muscular under the tight tee shirt, just a little rough around the edges.

He needs a haircut and shave for sure,
but how does he know me by name?
Vic accompanied Ashley to the reception desk to have Jennifer set up her next appointment. She expressed her thanks with a generous hug and said good bye. Vic turned and approached the man sitting in the waiting area, paging through an
InStyle
magazine. He held his head low, his face obscured by the hat and sunglasses. “Hi, is there something I can help you with? Jennifer said you asked for me personally.” Vic cocked her head, curious about the stranger who entered Hair Brained, looking for her specifically.

He lifted his head and paused for a second before revealing his identity. A huge smile broke out on his face. “Hey, Sis, what’s up?” he said, knowing he just pulled a good one on her.

“You son of a bitch!” Vic shrieked. She grabbed Mario and nearly squeezed the life out of him. “What the hell happened to the clean cut brother I used to have? I thought you were a vagrant. And what’s with the piercings? You’re such a dork.”

“C’mon, I don’t look that bad, do I? Blame it on Colorado. I’m my own boss, so I can look however I want. You’ve heard of that laid back, outdoorsy lifestyle, haven’t you, Vic?”

She knew it all too well. Max had the same demeanor, and she loved it. Mario changed dramatically over the last four years. Sure, Vic checked out his photos on Facebook and spoke to him over the phone, but in person, he appeared much different. The ruggedly handsome, buff brother showed up. She often thought about Mario, picturing him sitting at a large, mahogany desk counting stacks of money, not the image he portrayed now. He wore the Colorado ski town business owner appearance that made him look like a ski bum himself. The only thing missing was a dog lying in the doorway of the store that each customer would have to step over when they entered.

“I love the changes, Mario. You’re going to do great in Hunter too. I’m so happy for you and your success, but I’m glad you’re home. There’s someone I want you to meet tomorrow at the party. I’m sure you’ll hit it off right away since he’s a lot like the new you. His name is Max and he was just talking about opening an outdoor sporting goods shop himself.”

“Well that sucks, are we going to be competitors?” Mario asked.

“I don’t think so, bro. He’s talking about a shop closer to this area. What if you guys came up with something together and had a few stores in New York? Max could run the outdoor sports shop that focuses more on hiking, camping and mountain biking. Since he’s a wilderness guide, he could offer guided daily, or weekly hiking trips too. That’s more the type of activities people do around here.”

“You might be on to something, Sis. I’ll pick his brain this next week to see if he’s really serious about opening a store. He might be interested in having a partner, or maybe not. Anyway, besides stopping in to say hi, and telling you I’ve arrived, I’d like to shower and grab a short nap. Can I have the house keys? I’ll come back in a few hours and take you out for lunch. How does that sound?”

“It sounds awesome. I’ll see you at noon.” Vic handed him the house keys and blew a kiss in his direction. She shook her head and chuckled at the sight of the curly, black ponytail that reached the middle of her younger brother’s back. With her hands firmly planted on her hips, she watched him out the salon window. Mario walked toward his car without a care in the world. He climbed into an orange Karmann Ghia convertible and drove away. Vic, still grinning, picked up her cell phone and called Mia and Karen.

They agreed to meet at Bottoms Up at twelve-fifteen. They had to go over the plans for Saturday’s party anyway. Vic decided to surprise Mia with Mario’s presence. Mia knew Mario was attending the party tomorrow, but she had no idea he arrived a day early. Karen never met him, so she wouldn’t be thrown with his altered appearance anyway.

They sat on the red brick patio behind Bottoms Up. The new patio gave a much needed addition to the seating area, especially before the tourists’ swarmed Tarrytown like they do every summer. Mario, Vic and Tina watched for Mia as they laughed and caught up with each other’s shenanigans over the past four years.

“No friggin way!” she yelled out when she saw the man sitting with Vic and Tina. Mia ran toward him and landed a strong punch to his shoulder before embracing him and giving him a wet kiss on the cheek. “What the hell is this shit you’ve got going on, Mario?” she asked, while trying to make the introductions between Karen and him.

Karen wore a curious smile as she approvingly assessed the man in front of her. The girls chattered like barnyard hens as they summarized Mario’s life in a nutshell. Karen saw the family resemblance between Vic and Mario. The dark curly hair, enormous hazel eyes, and olive skin gave away the Puerto Rican ethnicity they shared as brother and sister. He had a hot, wild, edgy appearance that Karen realized was strangely appealing to her. She always thought of herself as more proper, never veering much to the left or right of the typical ho-hum male she dated in the past. A monotone, predictable guy was easier to deal with than someone all the girls were attracted to. In college, it was the nerdy, but slightly attractive, techie guys that would rival the Bill Gates of her generation. Ordinary seemed safer. A few years later, it was Jack the jerk, arrogant, but successful, as a clean cut sales manager. Karen didn’t date after divorcing Jack. Men in general were more irritating than interesting, in her opinion, until now. She secretly took her own pulse as the five of them sat on the patio of Bottoms Up enjoying their lunch.

Chapter Sixteen

Luckily, the cloud cover broke Saturday morning to become a gloriously sunny day. The weather gods were smart not to ruin Vic’s party. There would be hell to pay otherwise. She was in good spirits because of Mario, but a little anxious about Mia and Max.
Whatever. It will all be fine, it has to be. Mia is with Aaron, and she wouldn’t risk losing that for someone she slept with once… or twice.
Vic tried to erase those negative thoughts as she poured pancake batter on the hot griddle. The scent of bacon frying took Vic back to childhood memories. Saturdays were meant for watching cartoons, playing jump rope on the sidewalk and fighting with her siblings. The Alonso’s, being a typical Bronx, New York family with four kids, worked hard to support and raise them right. Saturday was the bonus day of the week where everyone was at home having pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Sunday mornings were spent at St. Boniface Catholic church until eleven, with the kids squirming restlessly on the pews. They were often on the receiving end of the threatening looks from their larger than life father.

“Breakfast is ready!” Vic called out to Mario, sleeping in the guest bedroom three doors down the hall on the right.

He woke to the sound of a voice coming from the kitchen. Mario rolled over, rubbed his sleep caked eyes and looked around. The room was unfamiliar to him. He stretched, yawned to increase the oxygen to his brain and remembered.
Oh yeah, I’m at Vic’s.
In just three days, he drove from Telluride, Colorado to Hunter, New York and then on to Tarrytown with very little sleep. Mario inhaled the scents of fresh coffee brewing and maple flavored bacon frying. There was a direct path from the kitchen to the hallway, then under his door where the aroma found an entrance and wafted through his room. It was wonderful, and he realized now how he missed having a woman in his life. Of course Vic being his sister was one thing, and she could cook, but having someone to love again was another story all its own. He thought briefly about Sarah as he dressed.
What is she doing now that I’m gone? Does she have any regrets, or is she happy with Brad, the bastard?
She was the real reason Mario left Colorado. Cheating was one thing, but with Brad, his best friend and head ski instructor? The pain and betrayal was too great to remain in Telluride. Mario fired Brad and hired several new people to oversee the ski school and run the store.