House Swap

"Oh, my. It's beautiful," she said as he pulled in. There was a wide semi-circular driveway in front of this very large, very amazing-looking home.

He took her bags to the front porch then asked her to please sign the bill. "Oh, right," she said with a smile. She added $50 to it for a tip. He in turn tipped her only with his hat, thanked her, then left her to fend for herself.

"Oh, my," she said as she approached the massive door. "Okay, lemme see." She fished around for the key he'd sent her via FedEx and gave it a turn after sliding it into the lock. She heard a loud noise which was the electronically-controlled bolt snapping back. She moved her bags inside then saw the alarm panel.

"Double-devil or Satan," she remembered. She might not look 50, but her eyes worked like they were 50. She found the right distance where she could make out the numbers on the pad and started punching in sixes until the panel turned green. "Okay, that was easy!" she said.

Before putting things away, she had to take a look around. By the time she got back to her bags, well over half an hour had passed and she hadn't really looked at everything.

"Swanky," she said as she took her bags closer to the stairs. Before toting them to the second floor she set her purse on the kitchen countertop and tossed a bag she'd carried onto the plane with her up against it. It slid along the granite surface and banged into one of the many other control panels mounted on walls throughout the house.

With that, she grabbed her remaining bags and headed upstairs to put things away and freshen up.

*****

"Not bad. Not bad at all," Gregg said as he looked around. "Clean, quiet, nicely decorated inside with sun, blue skies, and a pool outside. Yeah, this'll work." Within an hour he was settled in and out by the pool ready to start work.

Within another hour, he got a notice that the alarm at his home back in Bellevue had been tripped. "There you go, Chance. Your first opportunity for excellence," he said knowing his nephew would handle it.

He'd bet money she hadn't hit the 'set' key after punching in the code even though he specifically mentioned it to her in the email exchanges they'd had. It was possible she'd somehow hit the 'panic' key but that required a deliberate act. "Live and learn, lady," he said taking a long pull from a bottle of cold beer.

******

Chance heard his phone buzz around 6pm and took a look at it. "You've got to be kidding," he said when he saw the silent alarm warning. She'd obviously hit the 'panic' button which sent out a silent alarm to the security company which had, in turn, notified Chance and his Uncle Gregg. If the police were sent out and it was a false alarm, Gregg would be hit with a hefty fee. It seemed unfair but the vast majority of alarms were false alarms and before this policy went into effect, the police were running all over town only to learn it was a mistake.

"Already?" he said to himself. He got up and went to the bottom of the stairs. "Stephanie? Honey? Can you come downstairs, please? We have to run over to Uncle Gregg's house real quick."

Fortunately, his uncle's house was just a half mile from his own so they were able to get there in less than five minutes from the time he first saw the warning until he pulled into the driveway.

There were no vehicles in the 'driveway' and no signs of forced entry at the front door. He held Stephanie's hand as he walked up to the door then picked her up and said, "Would you like to do the honors?"

She raised the heavy metal bar and banged it twice, then bent down and rang the doorbell. Nothing. "Try it again, honey," he told her. She repeated the process with the same results. Chance finally called out, "Hello? Anyone inside?" Still hearing nothing, he got out his key and opened the very large door and stepped inside. Making sure no one was in sight, he sat Stephanie down, and then he saw it.

The control panel showed a tiny red light in the upper right corner was illuminated meaning the 'panic button' had indeed been hit. He punched in the devil's code then called the security company letting them know it was a false alarm.

"I'm sure everything's okay, but can you sit in here on the sofa while Daddy checks things out?" he asked his daughter.

"Sure. I'm not scared," she announced.

He walked through the foyer and into the living room and had her take a seat on the very expensive couch. A few more steps and he was able to look into the kitchen where he saw a purse and then a kind of book bag thing up against the wall. He went over and took a look and just as he suspected, a sharp edge was pushed up against the panic button. It had almost certainly hit it just right and tripped the alarm.

"What are the odds of that happening?" he said to himself out loud. He pushed the bag several inches away from the wall then had to decide whether to try and slip out without being seen, or wait and introduce himself and explain what happened.

He decided it would be better to stay just in case his uncle's tenant had other issues or concerns down the road. He turned to see what was the fridge and just as he was opening the door, he heard the loudest scream he could ever remember hearing. It was so loud and startled him so much, he banged his head as he instinctively raised up then stepped back.

"Who are you and what are you doing here!?!?" the woman screamed at him.

"Sorry! It's okay. I'm Gregg's nephew."

"And...I don't care! What are you doing here?" she said again holding on to the bannister. The look of fear on her face was...frightening.

Chance put his hands up as though he was surrendering then said, "Your backpack or bag over there..." He pointed toward it then continued, "set off the silent alarm. I got a notification on my phone and I came over to shut it off. I just live down the street. Well, sort of."

"Okay. So...you know the owner then?"

"He's my uncle. Gregg Andrews. I'm his nephew, Chance Andrews."

She was coming down the stairs one very slow step at a time.

"How come I didn't hear anything if an alarm went off?" She'd obviously missed the 'silent' part.

"Here. Let me show you," he said inching toward the control panel as she continued her descent. He pushed the bag even further away then pointed to the little light which was now green. "If this button here gets pushed, that light turns red and a silent signal gets sent to the alarm company and anyone on the notification list gets well, a notification, on their phone. I'm sure you hit it by accident with this bag and that's what started this whole chain of events."

She was now standing just across from him and Chance said, "I didn't mean to scare you. I knocked and rang the bell—twice—but you didn't answer so I used my key." He showed it to her and saw her relax a bit.

"Well, okay. Um...thank you?" she said her heart finally slowing back down.

Chance gave her a strange look at Meredith said, "Is something wrong?"

"Probably not," he told her. "But my Uncle Gregg told me he was renting his place out to a woman who was about his age. Granted, I haven't seen a photo of you, but he's 51 and you're obviously...not."

Meredith smiled for the first time and said, "Well, you're right about that. I'm not 51."

"Would you mind showing me some ID, please? Just to be safe?" he said not wanting to offend her but then again, it was at least possible she could have known about the swap and good-looking people tended to be overlooked as criminal suspects by virtue of being attractive.

She opened her purse, pulled out her wallet then held out her drivers license with her thumb on it.

"Meredith Lancaster, Orlando Florida. Okay, but your thumb is covering up your age."

Very politely and with a smile, Meredith told him, "My age is none of your business, Mr. Andrews. You now know my name and you can check that with your uncle if you feel that's necessary." She paused for a moment then asked, "How old do you think I am?"

"Oh, no. You're not gonna get me to answer that question," he said holding his hands up again. "There is no way I'm going there."

"Okay, how about this. Am I under or over 40?" Her smile had changed and Chance saw it was now playful, and that not only made him think something was going on, it let him see she was a very attractive woman.

"Okay, I'll bite." He stood there and stared at her for awhile looking for things like wrinkles around the eyes or spots on the hands. Finding none he said, "Um...under. I mean you're definitely older than me, but not by too much."

"And...just how old are you, Mr. Andrews?" she asked still smiling.

"I just turned 32 a couple of months ago," he told her.

"Oh, I see. Then I am indeed...a little older than you," she said.

He saw the huge diamond ring on her finger for the first time then told her, "You're husband is a very lucky man."

Meredith took a first real look at him and, seeing his wedding ring said, "Thank you. I'm sure your wife is also very happy waking up next to someone as handsome as you are every morning."

Just then Meredith shrieked again when she saw another body in her peripheral vision. "Oh, my goodness! You scared me to death, sweetheart!" she said to the pretty little girl standing next to her.

"Sorry," she said. "My daddy told me to wait in the living room, but I heard you talk about my mom."

"Oh, yes. I was just saying she is a very lucky woman to have such a handsome husband and a beautiful girl like you!"

"My mom died," Stephanie said almost without emotion.

Meredith stared at her then looked over at Chance and when it finally made sense, she covered her mouth and said, "Oh, honey! I am so sorry!" She knelt down and hugged Stephanie and said, "I didn't know, sweetheart. I...I just didn't know." She brushed back her long hair then said, "I'm very sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I'm not sad." She looked up her father and said with complete innocence, "My daddy is still sad, but he doesn't cry anymore."

Moved by a flood of emotion, Meredith got up and went around the countertop then hugged Chance. "Mr. Andrews. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

The hug was so unexpected and so...hard...it took him by complete surprise. He kind of patted her back but didn't really hug her back.

Meredith moved away then said, "Well, sadly, we appear to have something in common then. We're members of a club no one ever willingly joins." She was blinking away a tear and wiping it with her wrist when Chance's light came on.

"You lost your husband, didn't you?" he said with genuine understanding. "Mrs. Lancaster, I'm sorry, too. I don't even know what to say."

"There's really nothing to say, is there?" she said trying to be pleasant. "Life happens yet it doesn't always go according to plan, but it does happen. We either move on with it or get left behind." She blinked a few times and told Chance how long it had been for her then asked him. He told her the number of months but left off the weeks and the exact number of days which he still kept track of.

"I think we could all use one more hug," she said looking at Stephanie.

Chance moved closer and both adults bent down and did a kind of 'huddle hug.'

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Meredith said wiping away a final tear. "What's your name, young lady?"

"Stephanie," she said quietly.

"You are a very pretty girl, Stephanie. May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm six," she said. She looked up at Meredith then told her, "You're pretty, too."

"Oh, my. Thank you for saying that."

"You're welcome," she said as she moved over and took her father's hand.

"I was just rummaging through the refrigerator when you...surprised me. Are you hungry or would you maybe like something to drink?" he asked Meredith.

"That's very kind, but since I'm the one living here perhaps I should be the one to get something for you and your beautiful daughter."

"You could try, but I'm the one who knows where everything is," he told her with a smile in a way that wasn't meant to sound mean or condescending.

"Ah. Good point. How about we take a look together and see what we can come up with?" she suggested.

After searching through virtually everything, they found almost nothing.

"Well, how about we all go out for something?" Chance suggested. "My treat."

"Oh, I couldn't," Meredith said.

"Let's go to Panera Bread, Daddy!" Stephanie said suddenly very excited.

"It's her favorite place," Chance explained.

"Well, as nice as that sounds, I really need to get over to the university," Meredith told him.

"At this time of night?" he asked. "Do you take...or maybe teach a night class or something? And isn't the semester pretty much over by now?"

"Oh, no. I don't teach—or take classes. No, there's just someone I want to see. Someone who doesn't know I'm coming."

"Tell you what. There's a Panera Bread on Broadway just south of the U District. I'm happy to take you to the U-Dub—that's Seattle speak for the University of Washington—and drop you off, or if you change your mind you could have dinner with us."

"Yesss! Pleeease?" Stephanie asked on the verge of begging.

"Well, if it's on the way and you don't mind."

"It is and I don't," he assured her. Just grab your purse and coat or anything you need and we can head out."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked again. "I feel like I'm putting you out and that's not a feeling I like."

"You're not putting us out. We were just sitting around the house trying to decide what to do for dinner ourselves. I'm an okay cook, but any excuse not to have to is a good excuse. And after scaring you the way I did, it's the least I can do."

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had your evening interrupted or have to take me across town."

"You're not interrupting anything and it's only a couple of miles out of our way." He looked down at Stephanie who was smiling happily and said, "Besides, I think someone would enjoy your company."

Stephanie had that pleading look in her eye and Meredith couldn't resist. "Okay. Let me just grab a couple of things and I'll be ready to go."

"Yesss!" Stephanie said doing a fist pump. As Meredith was walking up the stairs Stephanie told her father, "I really like her."

Chance smiled and said, "Yeah, she seems nice."

Two minutes later they were out the door having set the alarm on the way out.

Chance wasn't pretentious, but he loved cars and he happened to drive a Jaguar. And while Meredith wasn't one to be impressed by things, she nevertheless recognized quality when she saw it. "Nice car," she said as he opened the door for her.

"Thank you. It gets me where I need to go."

On the way out of the neighborhood, Meredith asked Chance what he did for a living. She wasn't being nosy, she just found this young man interesting and easy to talk to.

"Well, I own a construction company. We build new luxury homes. I worked with my dad from the time I was maybe five hanging out around construction sites. By the time I went off to college I could build a house from the foundation up."

"So do you work with or for your father?" she asked not sure she understood.

"My parents were killed in the same car accident as my wife," he said as a simple statement of fact.

He saw the look on her face and stopped her. "It's okay. Really. I know you get it so...it's okay." He managed a smile before continuing.

"It's a long story, but I'll give you the short version of it. My dad went to high school with one of Bill Gates best friends. Seven years ago, he came to Seattle for his 30th reunion and ran into this guy. When my dad told him he built homes he says, 'Really? My wife and I are getting ready to have one built. You interested?' My dad told him he couldn't get away but knew the perfect guy for the job. I already had several contracting licenses and just had to get certified in King County. I built that home which turned into a bunch of referrals and from there I got that first guy to bankroll my company and here we are."

Chance made a right turn then said, "In fact, that's our home right there." He pointed a place that was at least as nice as his Uncle Gregg's then said, "I did a lot of the work myself although my crew gets most of the credit for it. They're a bunch of really guys. Oh, just to be fair, there are three women who work construction for me, too. They're tough, let me tell you."

Meredith laughed then said, "So do you have a nanny for your daughter when she's not in school?"

"No, the business is doing well enough now that I can take off to go get her each afternoon from school or work from home whenever she's home. But that wasn't always the case. The first two years I pretty much lived there. The next couple of years were much less intense but still very busy and then..." He got quiet then said, "Then Kathy was killed by some meth head in a car crash and..."

He turned to her and asked, "Do you mind me asking what you do?"

"I sold real estate for quite a few years but since my husband passed away, I guess I don't do much of anything. He provided for me quite well so since I no longer had to work, I just never went back even when I started feeling better. It's funny, though, I stay as busy now if not more so than I did when I was working. I never have any time during the day when I don't have something to do."

"You seem awfully young to be fully retired, but then again, that's none of my business. If you're happy, then I think that sounds wonderful. I'm not sure I could deal with not having the structure and even the pressure that work provides."

"You seem to have done a very good job with your daughter in spite of the long hours. She's very sweet and very polite."

"She is pretty great, isn't she?" he said. "I give my wife most of the credit for providing such a great foundation early on. Do you and your husband have children?"

"Thank you for referring to him as though he's still a part of my life. I know he's gone, but he always will be a big part of it. And to answer your question, yes, we have a daughter."

Chance wanted to ask how old she was but that would give away her age so he decided to leave it alone. Instead he said, "I understand. In fact, I'm not sure anyone who hasn't lost their spouse can understand. Not really anyway. Well, perhaps someone who lost a child—God forbid—might be able to."

"You have such a...mature outlook on life, Mr. Andrews. It's rare to find that in someone your..." She stopped talking then asked, "So where is this Panera Bread place?"

"Just up ahead on our right," he said pointing to the sign that was coming into view.

"Can I order the food, Daddy?" Stephanie asked.

"Sure, honey," he told her looking at her in the rearview mirror.

"They have their menu on a flat screen. You just tap what you want, get your drinks, and someone brings out your meal. Stephanie loves pushing the menu buttons."

It was close to 8pm when they left finished eating and left for the University of Washington which was less than five minutes away.

"So where exactly am I taking you?" he asked as they continued north on Broadway. "I'll need to get on I-5 if we're going over the bridge."

She gave him the address to an apartment on 40th Street that was very close to the campus. When he pulled up to the address he said, "If this is a surprise, do you have a key if they're not home?"

"Oh, my. I never even thought of that," Meredith told him. "No. I don't have a key. But I'm sure she'll be there."

"We're happy to wait just in case," he assured her.

"Um...well, give me just a minute to check, okay? Worst case I can call a cab and get back home very easily."

"True, but I'd feel better knowing you're either safe inside or not outside at night waiting in this neighborhood." He realized someone she was visiting lived there and added, "Not that it's dangerous or anything."