Torry glances at the live satnav on her phone screen, then makes the last turn to approach the house she just bought, sight unseen. She pulls into the overgrown driveway, cringing as branches scrape the sides of her creamy Mercedes, then sits and listens to the engine ticking as it cools, gazing at the house that looks as tired as she feels. It’s a working-class house in a working-class neighborhood; that’s why.
This is a far cry from her fashionable old house in her fashionable old neighborhood, but her divorce lawyer hadn’t managed to keep that for her. Hopefully her real estate broker is right, that she can pick this up for little more than arrearages owed, clean it up, and turn a nice profit. She crosses her fingers and curses divorce court judges again; but if she works fast, in a year, maybe two, she can be where she belongs, in a nice apartment in Queen Anne.
This vignette from The Life and Times of Jane Doe is in response to this week’s Six Sentence Stories cue: “turn.”
Fun Sixes from other writers can be enjoyed here.
99 Monkeys 
The house looking as tired as she feels. That’s a great line
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Thank you!
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A complete little story – so well put together – well done
gramswisewords.blogspot.com
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Thank you!
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Quite a bit of work to do there! Perhaps she should blow on one of those dandelions in the garden and wish for the house to sort itself out!
Click here to read my six!
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Why didn’t I think of that? Or maybe she’ll make some wine. 🙂
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I have started over with nothing twice, and it is difficult, but the emotional reward of rebuilding your own life is worth the effort and the temporary displacement. So is the freedom from what has been left behind. You did a great job at describing the house she had just purchased, I knew it wasn’t much to look at even before I saw your photo!
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I’ve done it too, a couple of times. I survived, but I complained anyway! I am very change-resistant.
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I can’t wait to find out how this ties in to where we last left your story. I have some thoughts about it, will see if I am right. I don’t envy her the job of clearing away the mess she has encountered.
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Me either! I’ve always been much better at settling in than cleaning out.
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Starting over is hard, but so worth it.
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But there is always the memory of what was lost…
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Yes indeed, that doesn’t go away, it seems.
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Sometimes getting another chance and proving you can do it yourself is the best revenge.
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We’ll see if Torry figures that out. 😉
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nicely engaging… I, for one, would like to know what the insides look like. sometimes contrasts (in our lives) bring out the best in what we have and other times it can highlight the worst in what remains.
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Thank you!
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What really counts is her determination and that will see her through.
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She hopes!
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I suspect she is already seeing some possibilities for sprucing up the yard and then tackling the inside of the house room by room. Hopefully there are some friends who can help her out at times. It looks like a big project to handle by oneself, physically and emotionally.
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Bigger than she knows. 😉
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Big changes in personal lives usually brings big changes in other parts of life….like buying a fixer upper. They are scary, uncertain, transitional times. But the personal learning curve becomes priceless!
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