Page 73 of Reclaimed Dreams
Dom stood still where she’d placed him, and dutifully kept his head down and his eyes closed, but he couldn’t resist asking, “Is this really necessary? I see finished projects every day.”
“Yes, but you’ve never seen one of mine. And yes it is necessary. I want you to see the property from a renter’s perspective, so I’m going to take you on a walk-through. I just have to… There…the lockbox was a little tricky.” She walked back to him and looped her hand through his elbow. “Okay, Dom, you can open your eyes now.”
Dom was content to let her play this out her way, so he raised his head and opened his eyes at her command. His astonishment was not feigned.
“Jo, what? When? Is this the same building?” He spun his head around, confirming that he was indeed looking at the right address. Jo had banned him from the site for the last two weeks, so he knew she’d been up to something, but he hadn’t expected this.
Gone were the crumbling bricks and mortar on the facade, handled by his crew of tuck pointers. But he’d seen that. He’d inspected the results himself. It was the landscaping and styling that made his jaw drop. Bright and cheerful petunias lined the front walkway and climbing roses and baby cypress trees framed the exterior spaces between the entrances of each unit. Mulch had been laid around the base of the larger beds, and the freshly washed windows glittered in the sunlight.
“I had a few ideas for landscaping, and I got Gabe and Enzo to give me a hand digging.”
Dom spun his head to goggle at his wife. She laughed at him. “What? Did you think I could be part of a construction company for ten years and not know how to use a shovel?”
Dom shook his head at that nonsense. “No, I just…I would have done this for you. You didn’t have to do all that digging and planting yourself.”
“I just told you, the boys helped with the outside. And besides, if I’d let you help, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this a surprise. And the look on your face right now is worth every blister.”
She tugged his elbow and he followed her up the front walk, taking in the sprinkler heads she’d plumbed and the edges she’d laid. She’d certainly kept the boys busy.
“Come on! I want to show you the inside. We kept most of the units empty and move-in ready, but we staged this one for showings, and Sofia and Frankie helped me get it all arranged. By the way, Sofia has already claimed this as her unit when she’s done with college.” Jo laughed and rubbed her hands together. “Our evil plan is already working!”
“Excellent.” Dom steepled his fingers and raised one eyebrow, which made her laugh even harder.
As she got herself back under control, Jo straightened the hem of her suit dress and took a deep breath. She looked back up at him, this time with her professional customer service mask firmly in place. “You’re going to be the first person to hear my tour speech. Welcome home, Dom.”
She opened the door to the second unit on the first floor, the same one she’d walked him through four months ago when she’d convinced him to take this risk, and swept a hand in front of her to usher him in. The meaning was not lost on him. He stopped just inside the doorway and took it all in.
In his mind’s eye, he could see the disaster it had been, all tight rooms and shoddy wiring, decaying pipes and twenty years worth of ignored or tenant-attempted repairs. He’d had serious doubts about Jo’s vision and his own construction abilities.
When he’d last seen this space after months of work, it had been long stretches of refinished hardwood floors flanked by primed drywall. A blank canvas with a solid frame behind it. But now… Now it was a proper home.
“You painted,” he said, stating the obvious because other words escaped him.
“It’s still neutral, but it gives the space some life. And I’m okay with our tenants painting, so I wanted to show that here. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Welcome home! This unit is a two-bedroom, two-bath, nine hundred and fifty square feet with a dedicated parking space included in the rent. We are close to public transportation and walkable to the local schools. To your left, you’ll see the main living space with plenty of room for a lounging area and more. We’ve opted to put a small dining table in and made the first hallway bedroom into an office space/guest room. But there is also a dining option here in the kitchen at the bar-height counter, which keeps the use of space flexible if you need to move the office out here.”
The light golden tan color she’d put on the walls made him feel like he was standing in a ray of sunshine, and the seating area invited him to come sit down and relax. He could picture sneaking over here on Sundays to watch the game in peace. Of course, Jo probably wouldn’t appreciate that in the middle of her tour, but it meant that her plan to stage the apartment was a sound one. He was already picturing ways he could use the space, instead of worrying over how much she’d spent on rugs and couches.
Dom turned to the kitchen and nodded. He’d complained at the expense and time when she suggested opening up the kitchen walls and putting in a wraparound counter and bay of cabinets, but seeing how it made the space feel open and welcoming, he could admit she was right. Everything fit together perfectly. Renters were going to love this.
Seeing her personal touches on the counters, from her vase filled with hydrangeas to the cookbook lying open next to the stove, Dom felt like he was walking into Jo’s Tuscan Kitchen. The terra-cotta tiles on the floor and the faux granite countertops transported him into Jo’s vision. She really had an eye for this design business.
When they built a project for a client, he went with whatever options they chose. When he was starting a building from scratch, they picked whatever matched the price point. He’d never really given much thought to how the space would be decorated afterward. That wasn’t his strength. But he could see how this added value to his work.
This room told a story, and welcomed him to be the main character.
Jo picked up the tour and sold him on the low-flow water fixtures in the bathroom and the durability of the lovely faux stone tiles. She took him through the office space where he recognized the old desk from their garage under a new coat of distressed paint.
When they got to the main bedroom, Dom was bursting with pride. Jo had done such a good job turning this into a home. He shouldn’t be surprised. After all, she expertly built and maintained their home over the last twenty-plus years. But seeing her skill overlaying his own work tapped a new level of appreciation for his wife. She was taking Valenti Brothers’ reputation for good work and making it stronger.
She was amazing. Maybe they could consider more renovation and flip projects in addition to complete rebuilds and new construction. It was certainly easier to see how it would work with Jo in the mix. An avenue to keep an eye on, for sure.
“As you can see, there is enough room for a king-size bed, but we’ve put a queen in to show how furniture might fit in as well.”
“You’re my queen.” Dom put his hands on Jo’s waist and backed her up so that her legs bumped the edge of the bed. “The apartment is beautiful, but I keep getting distracted by my sexy realtor.” He kissed her neck and made her giggle. The dimple that made him weak appeared on her cheek, and he groaned.
“Really?”
“Yes, you are too sexy for my own good.”
