Jenna Bennett - Right of Redemption

We should go into business together, Charlotte said.

I lifted my attention from the salad I was picking atI would have preferred something with more substance, but it was almost three months since Carrie had been born, so it was time to get serious about shedding the rest of the baby weightand stared at her across the table. What?

I need a job if Im going to stay in Sweetwater.

She didnt add that so did I, but it was implied. Or if it wasnt, I knew it. I couldnt loaf forever.

She continued, I could get my real estate license and we could work together. As a team. Thats a thing, right?

I nodded. It was a thing. Not everyone is good at everything, and not everyone is good at the same things, so a real estate agent who likes to take listings might work with a real estate agent who likes to work with buyers, and split the money they make between them. That way they both get to do what they like, and they both make money.

I had no idea what I liked. Id had my real estate license for going on two years, but I hadnt managed to sell more than a handful of properties in that time. I just didnt seem to be very good at it, and I was constantly distracted by other things. My husband, my baby, murder

As a result, I was usually thrilled when I landed any client, and couldnt care less whether it was a buyer or a seller. The idea of having to share the commission I made with someone else was frightening, when I made so little as it was.

And aside from that, what if Charlotte turned out to be a better realtor than me? Then Id feel even worse about myself and my career choice than I did now.

But of course I couldnt tell her that. She had enough to deal with, between her impending divorce and custody battle, her kids, and her parents. She didnt need to hear that I didnt want to work too closely with her.

So It isnt as easy as it looks, I said instead. You know how, when you watch House Hunters on HGTV, the buyers always pick one of the three houses at the end of the show?

Charlotte nodded.

That doesnt happen in real life. Sometimes you show them dozens of houses, and at the end of it, they dont like any of them, and they decide theyre just going to rent for a while. And then six months turn into a year, and by the time their lease is up and theyre ready to buy something, theyve met another realtor in line for coffee, and they dont call you back. He gets their business. And you did all that work for nothing.

Charlotte stared at me.

And it takes time to get a real estate license. At least three or four months of classes. If you started now, you wouldnt be licensed until the summer.

That wont work, Charlotte said. I need to make money now.

I tilted my head to look at her. Problem? She had moved herself and the kids in with her parents, in her childhood home, and it wasnt likely that they were charging her rent. In fact, they were probably thrilled to have her back home, after almost a decade in North Carolina. And Im sure they were delighted to spend more time with their grandchildren.

Richard is refusing to give me any money, Charlotte said, her voice tight. He put a freeze on our accounts, and he shut down my credit card.

Richard is the soon-to-be-ex, and father of the children. Thats probably obvious.

Can he do that? Theyre his children, too. Isnt he responsible for them?

Hes waiting for the judge to rule on the alimony, Charlotte said.

And until then he expects you to live on air?

Im sure hes not expecting it. Her voice was dry. He just doesnt care.

But theyre his children!

He has a new mistress, Charlotte said, and a new baby on the way. And shes a big deal in Charlotte.

Yes, Charlotte had spent the past ten years in Charlotte. Thats called irony. Or something.

Well, youre a big deal here, I told her. And the fact that his floozy is a big deal in Charlotte doesnt mean that Doctor Dick doesnt have to provide for the children he already has!

Tell that to his lawyer, Charlotte said.

Have you talked to Catherine about it?

Catherine McCall is Charlottes lawyer, and also my sister. When Charlotte first arrived back in Sweetwater, she wanted to hire my brother Dixher high school boyfriendto represent her. (My entire family, present company excepted, is lawyers.) But Dix, like most men, is squeamish when it comes to nailing another mans scrotum to the wall for child support. Catherine has no such qualms. She would have had my own ex-husband, Bradley Ferguson, singing soprano if Id allowed it back when hed dumped me for his paralegal. (At the time, trying to keep my dignity seemed like a good idea. Ive since learned that you cant eat dignity, and besides, he didnt deserve any consideration from me. And while thats all water under the bridge now, the knowledge still stings.) However, I had every confidence that Catherine could do to Doctor Dick what I hadnt allowed her to do to Bradley. And I was looking forward to watching.

We have to wait for the hearing, Catherine said.

Whens that?

Next month, Charlotte said. The 18th.

Thats almost four weeks away!

She nodded. I know.

What are you supposed to eat in the meantime?

Were not starving, Charlotte said. My parents are taking care of us.

Well, of course they are. It had been more of a rhetorical question. How did Doctor Dick expect his wife and children to survive until the divorce was final and the settlement decided, if he wouldnt give them any money? Charlotte had never had a job. Shed married Doctor Dick straight out of college and started popping out babies.

But thats why I need to make some money, Charlotte said. I cant let my parents continue to pay for everything. They have their own retirement to think about. But Ive looked for work everywhere I could think of

I nodded. She had asked Dix and Catherine for a job in the law firm. She had asked my mothers best friend Audrey for a job at the boutique. She had probably visited every medium-to-high class establishment in Sweetwater looking for employment. Im sure she wasnt looking forward to starting on the low-end places. Waitressing and cleaning and working the register at the local Walmart

We could flip a house, someone said. It took me a second to realize the voice was mine. And maybe it had sounded strange to Charlotte, too, because she stared at me.

What?

I took the thought out and looked at it. We could flip a house. Buy it, renovate it, and sell it. We could easily do that in the time it would take you to get your real estate license. Less.

It would give me something to do, too. I could bring the baby. And Id have a house to sell once the renovating was done.

Like Fixer-Upper? Charlotte said doubtfully.

Sort of. I mean, Chip Gaines actually knows what hes doing. Neither of us had a clue. More like Joanna Gaines without Chip.

Decorating?

A little more than decorating. But we could look for a house that doesnt need a lot of heavy-duty renovating. Just cosmetics, you know? New paint, new tile, new light fixtures. And wed hire people for all the difficult stuff. Like I thought about what would go into renovating a house, even one that didnt need much heavy-duty reno, we could order a new kitchen from Home Depot or Lowes, and theyd install it for us. That way we wouldnt have to worry about installing cabinetry or countertops. Or plumbing. Or electrical work. Wed get a plumber or an electrician for that. Wed just have to worry about tiling the backsplash and painting the walls.