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“Small class sizes. That’s good; it makes for more one-on-one learning, and I am sure she is going to make lots of friends. Kids in public school are very different from private. They don’t judge or build cliques, at least not yet. High school will be a bitch, but it’s like that for everyone. She’s a great kid; she will find her place. Did the principal say anything about the town?” she asked as I started to drive off.
“She said it was a nice town. Basically, the same thing that the lawyer said. It used to be a very popular tourist town, but then things started to go downhill once the recession hit. A lot of people lost their businesses and homes. They had to move to a bigger city where there are apartments and jobs all over the place. She did say when the town was at its highest, they were having weekly markets in the town square, movie nights, carnivals, etc. It used to be one huge community coming together. I got the sense that she missed the old days.”
“That’s one of the best things about a small town. It’s the community. Everyone knows everyone. Sure and that can be annoying, but at the same time, everyone helps out. If your next-door neighbor lost their job, you made sure their kids had food. You reach out to your buddy who has this job and get them hired. Everyone isn’t out for just themselves like in a big city. It’s why it’s great to raise children in them. Not to mention the lower crime rate. I mean I haven’t seen a single sheriff here. Are there even police here?”
“Huh, you’re right. I haven’t either. I have no idea. Maybe the state police cover the area.”
“Isn’t every town supposed to have law enforcement?” she asked, confused.
“I have no idea. When we get to the office, we have to sign documents for the town, and we can sign our contract. Afterwards we are gonna have to go through all the paperwork we can find there and see if we can find any state laws. I can also reach out and get some information from them, but it might take them a few days for them to get back to us.”
I hadn’t even thought about police or anything like that. I didn’t even know if there was a doctor in town either. We were going to have to go through everything and come up with a list of what we needed. If we didn't have any locally, then we were gonna have to find someone from another town and convince them to move. This was looking to be a lot more work than I had initially thought. I would put the work in though, because it would be worth it. I was doing this for Zoey, so if that meant I had a lot of late nights or all-nighters ahead of me for a little while, then so be it.
We made the drive to City Hall, or what I was calling City Hall. It was really just an old building that would be our new offices. I had no idea what Maya would be capable of handling. That didn't mean I didn't think she was intelligent or capable. I just had no idea what her skills were. Hell, I didn’t even know if I could handle this. I was a football player and former farmer. I was good at growing crops and tossing a ball around. I retired and was still working with different football teams to help them in training. I didn’t retire and open a business. Part of me was really hoping Maya had some secret skills in the business world that she could put to good use here. I knew she was going to be great at the house. She had all sorts of ideas, and she knew all about structure and character of a building. Clearly, she had some type of experience in renovations which would be a huge asset for the house and the town.
“This looks like a building from a horror movie, you know that right?”
“And the dumb jock always dies,” I agreed. “It’s fine though. I’ve already been inside. It is filthy though.”
“Well, that is to be expected. At least we brought cleaning supplies. I take it today is going to be all about cleaning and getting the place organized.”
“Fair assessment,” I answered as we both got out. “You ready to put on a show?” I asked as I moved closer to her.
She plastered on a fake smile and slipped her hand into mine. Apparently, she was. We both made our way inside, and I turned my head to look at Maya. She wasn’t shocked at all by the state of the place. If anything, she looked a bit relieved. She was most likely expecting it to look worse. Couldn’t blame her there.
“Ah, there is the happy couple,” Mr. Doyle said with a bright smile as he came out of my new office.
“It is great to see you again. Sweetheart, this is Mr. Doyle, my grandfather’s lawyer,” I started. “This is my beautiful wife, Maya.”
“It is great to meet you finally,” Maya said as she offered her hand which Mr. Doyle took delicately within his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine. I am very relieved to hear that you were agreeing to the move. I know Mr. Beaumont Senior, truly believed that this would be great for the family and that beautiful granddaughter of his.”
“She is already at the school and very excited for this new adventure. Shall we get the documents signed?” I asked looking to get this over and done with. We had a lot of work that needed to be completed, and I wanted to spend as little time as possible with this lawyer. The last thing we needed was for him to get suspicious.
“Absolutely. I have all the paperwork right over here. It is all set for you to review and then sign. It’s pretty straightforward. You both have to sign for the land, but it is only in Mr. Beaumont’s name on the deed. Though, with you both being married as long as there is not a prenup, you both have rights to the land, even in a divorce scenario. However, in your grandfather’s will it does state that the land will go to Zoey should you die.”
“There will be no divorces and even if there was, we would make sure the town stays in good shape for Zoey to inherit when she is ready,” Maya said with a kind smile.
“Perfect, that is exactly what I like to hear. Please take a seat and read through it,” he said as he offered a hand towards the empty chairs.
We all sat down, and I began to read through the pile of documents, handing them over to Maya after I completed one. It took a good fifteen minutes before everything was read, and we both signed and initialled on all of the indicated spots. He had taken the copy of our marriage licenses that looked perfectly real. With the paperwork complete Mr. Doyle gave us both a warm smile as he spoke.
“You are all set. I will file this with the court, and it will be official within forty-eight hours. I wish you both luck.”
“Thank you for all of your hard work on this,” I said as I offered him my hand. He easily took it as he spoke.
“It was my pleasure. I can’t wait to stop by in the future and see what you have done with the town.”
“Feel free to stop by anytime.” Or never. I would prefer never.
Mr. Doyle gave us both a friendly smile as he headed out. Once I knew we were alone, I pulled out the contract for the both of us to sign. “Here is our contract. I have already read and signed it. Look it over and if you agree, then sign and we can get started on cleaning this place up.”
I handed it over to her, and she read it very carefully. I knew there were no surprises within it. I made sure it had everything that we both discussed. After a few moments she signed it and handed it back to me, and I knew our year together was officially starting.
Maya
“Okay,teethandintoPJs please. You can watch a bit of Naruto on your tablet but not too long. You have school in the morning,” Charlie said to Zoey as he grabbed her dirty ice cream bowl.
