"I'm not sure." But I didn't think so. I wanted to have some privacy. If we lived here, I'd never see Hayden when she visited. I was sure she'd love it, but I wasn't positive it was the right place for me.
When we got out, Ivy said, "I wanted to show you all the possibilities on the island. This place has everything you could ever want, but it comes with a high HOA fee."
"I'll take a look at it, but I'm not sure I'd want to live somewhere like this full-time."
Hayden frowned.
She might not be happy with my decision, but this was the first place I was considering buying, and I wanted to get it right.
Ivy led us onto the elevator and to the fourth floor. It was a two-bedroom, two-bath condo. It was bright and open concept with modern appliances and tile flooring.
"What do you think?" Ivy asked me.
"It's nice, but I don't think I can see myself living in a condo. It feels confining." I demonstrated with my hands.
"You want more open space and privacy," Ivy observed.
I breathed a sigh of relief that she understood. "Yes."
"I have one other place to show you that you might like." We followed her in my truck to a house on stilts that was a few blocks from the beach. It was outdated, the floors ripped out to the subfloor, and the kitchen looked like it hadn't been touched since the seventies. The worst part was that it smelled like cats. I wasn't sure we'd be able to get rid of the smell.
"What do you think of this one?" Ivy asked.
"This is too much work, even for me. I'd like something that's more move-in ready. We'd have to renovate before I could even think about moving in."
"Good to know," Ivy said.
"Are we going to be able to find a place?" Hayden asked, and I liked that she'd said we like we were in this together.
"If you have time to wait, I'll get you something," Ivy said with confidence.
"I appreciate you helping us," I said to her.
"Can you check with my grandmother and see if you can stay in her rental until you find something? We are moving into the quiet tourist season. She might like to have a guaranteed renter," Saylor said.
"I can do that."
"In the meantime I'll keep looking for you," Ivy told me. "If I find something, we'll need to move quickly. Everyone wants a house on the beach."
"I would consider something like this one." I threw a thumb over my shoulder at the house we'd just come out of to get some fresh air. "If we could live in it while I renovate it."
I was hopeful my brothers would help me get the place ready.
"Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be in touch."
Ivy pulled away, and Saylor said, "It looked nice on the outside, but inside it was a mess."
"The problem is they already got rid of the carpeting and flooring, and it still smells. That tells me that it will always linger."
"Yikes," Saylor said. "They'll have trouble selling it."
"Someone will assume they can fix it and offer a lower price. They'll be happy about the deal but not the smell," I said, remembering the homeowner conversations I'd overheard over the years when I worked with my dad.
"I think Ivy just wanted you to see the various options. Do you really want to be on the beach, or would you take something inland if it's available first?"
"I'll have to think about that." If this was the place I'd live in for years to come, maybe I should wait for the right location. "I can always renovate, but I can't change the location."
"True," Saylor said.
