He Is Not Alone

We return to Washington and return to my house in Warminster. It‘s early afternoon so I go over to Sandy’s parents and pick up the mail and say hi. Afterward, I call the Realtor to have the place put on the market. There is nothing here for me and it is time to move on.

I get a call from John.

“Hello?”

“Will, it is John Washington.”

“Hi, John, what’s up?”

“We would like for you to come back to Washington, the beginning of next week. There are some areas we want to train you in and see if we can expand your capabilities.”

“Sure, I am putting the house on the market and going to clean it out this week. I should be able to be in Washington by Monday morning. I have transportation, so I won’t need a ride.”

“Great, you can check into the same hotel, a room will be reserved for you. I will pick you up around 1 pm. Have a good week and I will see you on Monday.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I no sooner hung up with John and the phone rings again.

“Hello?”

“Will Smythe, please.”

“This is Will.”

“Will, this is Donna from the real estate office. I have been assigned to help you list and sell your house. I would like to meet with you at your convenience. When would be a good time?”

“Now would be good. I have to be in Washington on Monday.”

“Oh, well, I can be there in about 45 minutes if that is okay?”

“Great, I’ll see you then. Thanks.”

Donna arrives and we quickly agree on a price and sign a contract. I had already asked Sandy’s parents if they would be willing to help out if Donna needed anything and they agreed. So, I gave Donna their information and checked one thing off my list. Next call was to Goodwill. I told them to come clean out the house, but they needed to be here on Wednesday or I would give the stuff to the Salvation Army. It was short notice, but they agreed. I also called a cleaning company to come clean the house on Thursday. The only thing left to do was take a walk.

I haven’t been walking as much as I use to, so it felt pretty good to get out and stretch the legs. I walked over to the park when I was greeted by an old friend, Butch! He is playing with another family. As soon as I entered the park he stopped, looked at me and came over. The little boy and his father followed behind him. By now I knew how to read his mind and understood that he was happy with the new family. I mentioned to the father that Butch used to be my dog a while back. He had gotten out of the yard and apparently found a new loving family. We said our goodbyes and Butch and the young boy went back to playing. Another chapter in my life was closed. Now there was nothing in Pennsylvania for me.

The rest of the week went pretty quickly. The Goodwill came on Wednesday, cleaners on Thursday and I turned over the keys to Donna on Friday. Packed the car with my clothes and pulled away from the house on Saturday to start another chapter in my life.

With nothing to do until Monday and no place to stay, I decided to stop in Baltimore for the weekend. Sandy loved the Inner Harbor. She said she could ride the water taxis all day and not get bored. So, I took a trip around the harbor. The water taxis are small boats with a canopy. They travel from pier to pier around the harbor. The price is less than $15 all day. You can get off and on as often as you like. When I got back there was a music group playing. I had heard them before. They were an Indian group and played some kind of flute. The music was good and they put on a good show. Dinner was at Legal Seafood, also a favorite of Sandy’s. After a walk around the harbor, I returned to the Hilton Garden Inn and settled down for the night.