The next morning, I woke up to fourteen missed calls.

being useful.

At least for one week.


Around noon, I received the first message from Melissa.

We’re here!

Then another.

The house is amazing.

Then:

Seriously, you should see this place.

I stared at the screen.

I almost laughed.

I typed nothing.

Five minutes later, another message appeared.

Mom says you probably would’ve complained about the kids anyway.

I put my phone down.

That was when I knew I had made the right decision.


What they didn’t know was that the property had undergone a major renovation six months earlier.