"Hi, Sarah, come in," I hold open the door wide, as she steps inside carrying a bulky briefcase.
"Gosh, what a difference! I can hardly believe it."
"I know. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Taking her coat, I indicate for her to grab a seat at the table. When I return, the contract and some brochures are spread out on the table and she's scribbling in a note pad.
"Would you like a tea, or a coffee?"
"No, I'm good, thank you. We need to talk about price and I have some comparable properties to show you. Things that have sold recently and I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised, as I'm sure it will reflect a handsome profit."
She smiles encouragingly as I take my seat.
"I didn't do this for profit and it is tough to sell it, but I'm getting married."
Her eyes open wide and she breaks out into a beaming smile. "Oh, fabulous news! Congratulations, Maddie. I did wonder why you were moving on so soon. Especially when I look back on your first viewing and how you instantly fell in love with it, as tired as it looked then. Still, it's onwards to more exciting things in your case."
If I'd stayed in the Forest I know we would have become good friends. She's a lady who grabs life and it's clear she's doing a job she loves. She's in a happy place in her life. It's no coincidence that lots of women of our age often seem to have mellowed, learning the knack of acceptance and understanding that there are some things you can control and some you can't. So you seek out the things that bring you happiness and suddenly it's not all about more money, more material possessions and having high expectations. It's about savouring the moment and living each day as it comes.
"I think this is the sort of price we should be targeting, although you would normally expect a buyer to haggle, especially when they are buying a fully renovated property. I'd say you'd achieve within five thousand pounds of the asking price."
Sarah slides three brochures across the table and they are all small, Forest cottages.
"However," there's a hint of concern creeping into her voice. "You do have the issue of that strip of land behind the cottage. I know it didn't concern you personally, but the worst-case scenario is that someone does own it and they decide to use it. If someone parked an ugly, old caravan up there, or a lorry, it would be a blot on the landscape for you when you were sitting on your top terrace. Okay, you would be facing the view most of the time, but to look up and see vehicles at that level would be like looking up into a car park."
"I guess I was rather cavalier about that, wasn't I?" I admit, remembering that I had totally ignored my solicitor's advice not to leave the matter unresolved. But the clock had been ticking then.
"All you need is a buyer who falls in love with the cottage and the views, who will feel the way you did on that first day. It's unlikely anyone would suddenly appear and begin using the strip; it might even be common land – who knows? I don't think it will affect the purchase price as such, but it will put some buyers off. Solicitors have no choice but to make it very clear to their clients there is a risk involved."
Although I'm sad about selling the cottage, I feel a little deflated. How could anyone be negative about that one little thing, when simply turning your head gives you a view that takes your breath away every single time?
"There is good news, though. I already have a full asking price offer on the table. Cash purchaser, quick sale."
"But we haven't even agreed a price."
"The purchaser is prepared to pay whatever price you decide Ash Cottage should be marketed at."
Sarah's smile is genuine and I can see she's expecting me to be pleasantly surprised by her news. I feign a smile, none too successfully.
"It's Lewis Hart, isn't it?"
"It is."
"Does he want to view? He hasn't seen the cottage since the work was completed."
Sarah is beginning to sense my reservation and now I feel awkward.
"No, there are no caveats to his offer, whatsoever. In fact, he notified us in writing over a month ago, saying that if we were ever instructed to market Ash Cottage, he wanted his offer to be put forward before it was even advertised. When I talked to him yesterday, he said the strip of land is not an issue for him and he's confident the renovation will have been completed to the highest standard. As this is such a quick turnaround, my boss has agreed to lower our fee. I'll make sure everything goes through smoothly, and quickly. You need to focus on that wedding." Her smile is one of satisfaction; she thinks this is the perfect solution.
I'm in shock. I expected Lewis to make an offer at some point, but not the full asking price. I thought his motive was money, but there's no further profit to be made now the work is finished. He could see the value affected, as Sarah pointed out, if someone started using the strip of waste land. Why would he risk that? Unless…did he rifle through Aggie's box and find something I missed? Did he knowingly steal a document, thinking that maybe it would mean I'd have no option other than to sell the cottage to him? He left me in no doubt whatsoever that this is where he wanted to live.
"I'm not sure I want to sell it to Lewis."
Sarah jaw drops.
"Why? He's a cash purchaser and he's unlikely to back out. We can increase the valuation slightly and see whether he baulks at that. Most sellers can only dream of this sort of scenario. People tend to come to the Forest looking for their own renovation project, so it could take a while to find another purchaser. Besides, I'm not sure where you would stand legally, refusing a carte blanche offer from a party so early in the process and ultimately bypassing that to sell it for the same amount to someone else. I'm not sure whether he could sue you for discrimination, or something, down the line as it's never happened before." Her frown is genuine and I know she must think I'm mad. I can see she's puzzled, but doesn't like to ask why I'm so disturbed by Lewis' offer.
"What if we jump it up to a silly price, just until he finds something else?"
"Maddie, what's going on here? Lewis is a nice guy. If you increase the price you simply won't get the interest, so there would be no point in marketing the place at all. Lewis didn't over-charge you, did he? From what I've heard, he's popular because he not only does a good job, but he's fair. He never has to look for work; it's all by word-of-mouth recommendation. I'm sorry if things went wrong here."
I obviously can't tell Sarah the whole story and my conscience won't let me discredit someone when I don't have any proof.
"Nothing went wrong. I guess when you said 'a quick sale' I panicked there for a moment. I thought I'd have a few months to adjust to saying goodbye. I was hoping to be here for the start of the summer, you know, just to see it in one more season…"
"Ah, Maddie. I can see this is hard for you, but can I say something, just between the two of us?"
I nod, trying to keep at bay the turmoil churning in my stomach. Lewis Hart used me in the worst possible way.
"That first time we met I felt you were a woman on the edge. You sounded strong, but there was an underlying sadness and fragility. I was hesitant to phone in your offer that day, because I feared you were looking at it with rose-tinted glasses. Obviously you'd been through a tough time and you saw this as a new beginning."
"I was aware that I sort of poured out a lot of unnecessary information, I am sorry about that." I sounded rather pathetic that day, trying to convince myself I knew what I was doing. The truth was that I was stumbling around trying to find something to cling to that would give me a sense of purpose.
"Don't apologise, it was fine. You'd be surprised what people tell you when they are viewing a house. It's an emotional process, believe it or not! That's why I love my job. The point is, you are in a very different place now in your life and it shows outwardly. Look, don't rush your decision. Maybe wait a couple of weeks before signing on the dotted line and moving forward. I'll leave the contract with you and just let me know when, and if, you want to proceed."
I can see that Sarah is putting two and two together and coming up with her own assumption of what this is all about. She thinks I have formed an attachment to the cottage and it's hard to let go. She's right, of course, but this is more about the sting in the tail. Lewis isn't quite the nice, quiet, unassuming man everyone thinks and I've seen his true colours. But he's left with me a memory I'm ashamed of and somehow I have to get past that.
"No, it's fine. Tell Lewis Hart his offer has been accepted if he really is prepared to pay the going rate. I'll probably be moving back to the city sooner, rather than later, so a quick sale will be fine."
I can see the sense of relief passing over Sarah's face and I don't think it's to do with returning to the office with a signed contract in her pocket. This is woman-to-woman empathy.
"Change is never easy. I lost my husband a couple of years ago. After a few months of living life in a very mechanical way to simply get through each day, I had to face up to a future that was scary and unknown. I moved home, changed jobs and decided that I couldn't keep looking back with anguish. I make myself try new things, meet new people and now I wake up looking forward to each day and what it will bring. I've learnt not to dwell on the process of change, but to focus on the positive side of the opportunities it brings with it. Who knows, I might even be lucky enough to find someone new to share my life with. But if I don't, that's fine too."
Her words are touching and I blink, not wanting to shed a tear. I notice her fiddling with her wedding band, absentmindedly twisting it around on her finger. The lesson here is that life goes on and crying over what might have been doesn't achieve anything. It's what you do that matters.
"My mind's made up and Ryan will be thrilled."
With eyes brimming with tears, we shake hands and the deal is done.
When I ring Ryan to tell him the news, his response is positive, but his tone is surly when I mention the offer is from Lewis. I counter that by telling him I've decided to move out ahead of the sale going through. I need a couple of weeks to sort my things and then we can start making plans.
"That's great news, Maddie. I'll start things rolling at this end and we can begin thinking about where we see ourselves settling down. Have you spoken to Matt and Nick?"
"I'm about to do that now. Having a purchaser so early on in the process means I'm going to have to bring them up to speed on what we've been discussing in general. I'd hate them to think that we'd been making firm plans and left them out of it. We have time though, don't we? This isn't all going to happen overnight?"
His tone softens.
"We have plenty of time. You don't have to worry about anything – just get your head around moving back to city life. One step at a time, Maddie. Love you, darling."
As the phone clicks, I sit back in the chair before I attempt to dial Matt’s number. I don’t think either Matt, or Nick, will be too surprised by the news, although the fact that within a year or so I’ll be living abroad will, no doubt, take a little while to sink in. But they’re grown and have their own lives. Once I’m out of here and living with Ryan, I will have time to go and visit them to catch up properly. That grandchild will be here before I know it and Nick, too, is going to be proud to show me around his new flat. Life is good and the future is exciting. I have to let go of old wounds, even those that are still fairly new.