Page 44 of Second Chances

“I had these floors redone completely.” She motioned to the floors.

“These are tiles, right?” He bent down and touched the wood looking tiles.

“Yes, the old wood floors in here were too far gone. Rowan, Ben, and Adam all helped me install these.” She smiled. “Best decision I ever made. You can barely see dirt on them.” She leaned slightly towards him. “Not that they’re ever dirty.”

He chuckled. “Of course not. Six-year-olds wipe their feet each time they come into the house.”

He enjoyed the sound of Olivia’s laughter. “I’d better check on Simona,” she said once all the towels were folded. She hoisted the laundry bucket on her hip and disappeared down the hallway.

He gathered up the empty bakery box and her empty coffee cup and looked for her trash. He found it in a massive walk-in pantry. The thing was impressive, and he stood there and tried to figure out just how and where he could build one in his house.

“Problem?” Olivia asked, directly behind him.

“No.” He smiled. “This is nice. I’m trying to figure out where I can build one in my kitchen. There is only a small floor-to-ceiling cabinet. Something bigger like this would come in handy.”

“What about that little closet just as you come in the back door? You could expand it.” She walked over and grabbed one of Simona’s papers and crayons and started drawing. He moved next to her and watched as she redesigned the main floor of his house.

She had some really good ideas, including adding a mudroom off the side porch, which would allow for a massive walk-in pantry across from it.

“You can do a built-in bench in the mudroom, you know, the kind that have cubbies under it for shoes and boots, with hooks for coats or scarfs.” She continued to draw, and he could totally see what she was suggesting. “If you just build a wall right here and a doorway here”—she drew more— “it doesn’t really take away from the space here.” She motioned to a square he assumed was his kitchen area. He was very impressed that she remembered so much of his house. “I mean, that room was massive already.” She glanced up at him. “Who needs a twenty-foot-wide entry area on the side of their house? Besides, you have the really great entry just inside your front door, with those beautiful stairs and the high ceilings.” She sighed and rested her chin in her hands as if dreaming. “You’d get more use out of a mudroom and a walk-in pantry. This way, you don’t touch the beautiful sunroom off the back, overlooking the water.”

“I guess I need to figure out how to frame a wall.” He laughed.

“You should do power, you know, have lights, outlets, and such installed as well,” she suggested.

“Thanks.” He sighed. “I have the guy you suggested coming to do some other electric work in a week or so. I’m afraid of what he’ll say needs to be done around the place,” he admitted.

“It’s far better to have it done than to have a fire. This place was a fire hazard when we first moved in. Every time I turned on a light, another one flickered.” She shook her head.

“I’ll call tomorrow and see if he can come earlier,” he agreed, knowing that he’d had problems with his toaster yesterday morning. “You’re really good at this sort of thing.”

She smiled. “I had to be. When we moved in here”—she shook her head— “let’s just say, your place looks a hundred times better than this one did.”

He glanced around; the place looked like a home. Lived in, comfortable, and full of love. He liked her simple style of decorating and figured that, with Simona around, there couldn’t be any needless trinkets or priceless items that easily broke. Unlike the home he’d grown up in. He’d never really been allowed to be a kid, to run, play, and accidentally break things.

His mother had been too refined for such antics.

Now, however, he could easily see himself living comfortably, the way he wanted, with no restraints. Now that he was finally free to decorate a space, he was finding it difficult to decide on a style.

“I’d never know. You did an amazing job,” he said. Her smile grew.

“Thanks.” She stood up. “I’ll just go check on Simona.”

He walked around the space, thinking about adding a few elements of her decorating style to his own place. She had a light, airy beach style that he liked, with a few paintings of lighthouses like the one on the end of the point he lived on. Leaning closer to one, he realized it was the same lighthouse and point. He could just make out the shape of his home and smiled.

“Like it?” Olivia said from behind him.

“I see my house.” He motioned to the painting.

She chuckled. “Mine’s in there too.” She motioned further down and off to the side. “This place used to be blue. I had it painted yellow when we moved in.”

“Where did you get this?” he asked, thinking of trying to find something similar for above his fireplace.

“There’s an outdoor farmers market in town every Sunday afternoon. A local man paints them.”

“I’ll have to check it out.” He followed her to sit on the sofa. “How’s Simona?”

“Sleeping.” She sighed. “I think she’s drained her stomach.”