Page 43 of Pity Play

An idea hits me. “If this house is going to be used as a vacation house, do you think we might sell it furnished?”

“That’s a possibility,” she says. “But you’d want to get some neutral slipcovers in the living room.” I knew giant faded cabbage roses were a thing of the past, but my mom disagreed.

Anna and I spend the next hour walking around the house. She seems to think we’ll get a lot more money for the place once I fulfill everything on her list. She also thinks new appliances would add a lot of value. Apparently, people aren’t super excited about a twenty-year-old washer and dryer.

“My parents want to put the house on the market at the beginning of the season. They’re hoping for a quick sell.”

“If you do everything we talked about, you should get one.” Reaching into her purse, Anna hands me a piece of paper. “Hereare some numbers for painters and handymen. The first thing you need to do is to empty the closets and bookshelves of personal items. Then paint and carpet, lay other flooring, and finally replace the appliances.”

Walking down the stairs to the front door, I tell her, “It’s going to take me some time to get everything packed.”

“It’s best if you move whatever you don’t want to sell with the house to a storage unit. The less clutter, the bigger everything looks.”

My head nods like a bobble head on the dashboard of a speeding car. “It sounds like I have a lot to do.”

“It’ll go faster than you think,” she says. “In the meantime, I’ll look at comps and recommend a listing price.”

“Thanks, Anna,” I tell her as I open the door.

After she leaves, I move over to the stairs where I sit down and try to evaluate my next step. I need to start packing. If we’re able to make more money by selling the place furnished, I wonder if my parents will throw a little extra cash my way. I don’t want to be greedy, but every little bit will help me get reestablished.

My first task of the day needs to be acquiring packing supplies. I pick up my phone and call my parents.

My dad answers using my childhood nickname. “Hey there, Lorie Loo.” If I had to guess, I’d say he’s trying to get on my good side.

“Dad.” I’m all business. “I need you and Mom to send me that list of things you want to keep so I can figure out how many boxes to buy.”

“We’ve been talking about that,” he says. “We think it would be easier if you just take pictures of everything. That way we can see what we’re talking about.”

If they’re looking for easier, they should come home and go through everything themselves. Although if they did that, I’d be homeless much sooner. “Sounds good,” I tell him. “What do you want to do with all your alien books? You ready to let those go?”

“No!” he practically shouts. “They’re coming this year for sure and I want to be ready.”

“Ready, how? Are you going to roll out the red carpet and welcome them?”

“Depends on which kind show up,” he says. “If it’s the Nordics or the Arcturians, I’m all in for a party, but if it’s the Draco Reptilians, we’re screwed.” Most people would have no idea what he’s talking about, but I grew up on this kind of talk, so I’m fluent. The reptilians could possibly eat us. Either that or return us to the slave race we apparently started as. Regardless, it won’t be much fun.

“So, I’m packing the books?”

“Yes. And I want the alien garden gnomes, too.”

“Why? You’ll be in a condo. You won’t have a garden of your own.”

“Your mom says I can keep them on our patio.”Hurray.

“What about all your winter clothes?” I ask.

“Take pictures. We’re going to want to do some traveling, so we’ll need some basics.”

“Are you planning on coming back to Wisconsin in the winter?” Because if so, they might reconsider selling.

“We’re not coming back to the Midwest. We’re thinking about going to Switzerland or Austria next winter.” I want to go to Switzerland. Maybe they’ll hire me to carry their bags.

“I’ve gotta go, Dad. Lots for me to do here.”Like figure out what my future holds.Maybe the reptilians will take over by then and I won’t have to decide for myself.

“Love you, honey!” He hangs up before I have a chance to say anything else.

Grabbing my car keys, I leave the house. My first stop is packing supplies. I figure I’ll get enough for my stuff, too. That way, while I wait to hear what my parents want to keep, I can start getting my things ready.

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