yourself?” Mandy never got an answer, because they rounded a bend, and she exclaimed, “Oh!”
Before her, a rustic A-frame nestled in the woods, facing the road that ran alongside the river. The front wall was completely made of windows, with a deck across the whole width.
“I’ll take it,” said Mandy as they parked in front.
Fran laughed. “You haven’t seen inside yet.”
“It’s charming. I love it already.”
“Let me show it to you first.”
They got out, and Fran let them into the living room, a space that opened to the roof and had a wrought-iron, circular stairway leading to the master loft. Mandy looked around. Watery winter light flooded into the room, taking away some of March’s chill. A faint musty scent hung in the air.
Fran went to a green porcelain gas fireplace and lit it. Immediately, orange flames danced against the dark wood of the wall.
“I’ll take it,” Mandy said.
“Let me show it all to you first,” Fran said again. “This fireplace heats the downstairs. It has a blower that forces air through heat exchangers in the back, so it’s very efficient.”
Mandy followed Fran to the open kitchen area, enchanted to discover she could work in the kitchen and still see the cheery flames in the fireplace. A door to the right opened to the laundry room, and a sliding glass door opened to the back deck. Mandy noted the stainless-steel appliances. “I’m serious. I’ll take it.”
Fran smiled and shook her head. “Let’s look at the upstairs.”
They climbed the metal corkscrew to a master bedroom that was separated from the downstairs living area only by a balustrade. To the left, a walk-through closet led to a three-quarter bathroom. On the back wall, French doors opened onto a balcony, inviting the outside in. Skylights in the bedroom, closet, and bath made everything light and airy.
“I’ll take it,” Mandy said for the fourth time. “When can I move in?”
“I’ve still got a few things to do. If you don’t mind me working while you’re living here, you can move in today. Do you need help?”
Mandy laughed. “I’ve got a suitcase and three boxes. I can manage.”
“What are you going to sleep on?”
“I shipped up an air mattress. I can survive until my things come. My furniture is sitting in a warehouse in Seattle. They can have it here day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll need you to sign a year’s lease.”
Mandy hesitated. The few hours she had spent at North Cascade School District didn’t recommend it as a dream job. She thought of Grange, with his half-dead face and his reason to bear a grudge. She thought of the district staff, all clearly demonstrating they felt Mandy didn’t belong here. Could she stay a year? Did she want to?
She walked to the loft railing and looked through the living-room windows out to the river. Most of the clouds had lifted, and she could see the tops of the mountains on the other side, but cottony, low-lying stragglers lay in the vertical ravines gouged into the mountain’s rugged flanks. As she watched, a blue hole opened in the sky downriver, and just for a moment, the sun shot rays through the wispy vapors and made silvery shafts that spread like an angel’s fan.
Mandy stood transfixed. “I’ll sign the lease.”
“Great. Let’s go back to my office and get the paperwork done.”
As they turned around in the A-frame’s driveway, Mandy asked, “Where does this road go?”
“It continues on about a mile to where a sawmill used to sit. The clearing has grown back in cottonwoods, and we get a few mushroomers coming by each spring to hunt morels. But I guarantee you won’t be bothered by traffic.”
When they reached Fran’s house, they went in the back door and climbed a steep flight of stairs to an attic office. As Fran filled out the papers, Mandy examined the room, appreciating the paint and wallpaper and the inventively designed cupboard space.
Fran finished filling in the blanks on the lease and
Before her, a rustic A-frame nestled in the woods, facing the road that ran alongside the river. The front wall was completely made of windows, with a deck across the whole width.
“I’ll take it,” said Mandy as they parked in front.
Fran laughed. “You haven’t seen inside yet.”
“It’s charming. I love it already.”
“Let me show it to you first.”
They got out, and Fran let them into the living room, a space that opened to the roof and had a wrought-iron, circular stairway leading to the master loft. Mandy looked around. Watery winter light flooded into the room, taking away some of March’s chill. A faint musty scent hung in the air.
Fran went to a green porcelain gas fireplace and lit it. Immediately, orange flames danced against the dark wood of the wall.
“I’ll take it,” Mandy said.
“Let me show it all to you first,” Fran said again. “This fireplace heats the downstairs. It has a blower that forces air through heat exchangers in the back, so it’s very efficient.”
Mandy followed Fran to the open kitchen area, enchanted to discover she could work in the kitchen and still see the cheery flames in the fireplace. A door to the right opened to the laundry room, and a sliding glass door opened to the back deck. Mandy noted the stainless-steel appliances. “I’m serious. I’ll take it.”
Fran smiled and shook her head. “Let’s look at the upstairs.”
They climbed the metal corkscrew to a master bedroom that was separated from the downstairs living area only by a balustrade. To the left, a walk-through closet led to a three-quarter bathroom. On the back wall, French doors opened onto a balcony, inviting the outside in. Skylights in the bedroom, closet, and bath made everything light and airy.
“I’ll take it,” Mandy said for the fourth time. “When can I move in?”
“I’ve still got a few things to do. If you don’t mind me working while you’re living here, you can move in today. Do you need help?”
Mandy laughed. “I’ve got a suitcase and three boxes. I can manage.”
“What are you going to sleep on?”
“I shipped up an air mattress. I can survive until my things come. My furniture is sitting in a warehouse in Seattle. They can have it here day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll need you to sign a year’s lease.”
Mandy hesitated. The few hours she had spent at North Cascade School District didn’t recommend it as a dream job. She thought of Grange, with his half-dead face and his reason to bear a grudge. She thought of the district staff, all clearly demonstrating they felt Mandy didn’t belong here. Could she stay a year? Did she want to?
She walked to the loft railing and looked through the living-room windows out to the river. Most of the clouds had lifted, and she could see the tops of the mountains on the other side, but cottony, low-lying stragglers lay in the vertical ravines gouged into the mountain’s rugged flanks. As she watched, a blue hole opened in the sky downriver, and just for a moment, the sun shot rays through the wispy vapors and made silvery shafts that spread like an angel’s fan.
Mandy stood transfixed. “I’ll sign the lease.”
“Great. Let’s go back to my office and get the paperwork done.”
As they turned around in the A-frame’s driveway, Mandy asked, “Where does this road go?”
“It continues on about a mile to where a sawmill used to sit. The clearing has grown back in cottonwoods, and we get a few mushroomers coming by each spring to hunt morels. But I guarantee you won’t be bothered by traffic.”
When they reached Fran’s house, they went in the back door and climbed a steep flight of stairs to an attic office. As Fran filled out the papers, Mandy examined the room, appreciating the paint and wallpaper and the inventively designed cupboard space.
Fran finished filling in the blanks on the lease and
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