Lauren lowered the side window a bit, turned off the car, then got out and walked around to the sidewalk. The heat wasn’t so bad, but paired with the humidity it was a bit daunting, especially from what she was used to. Abby was standing on the edge of her kitty seat, reaching her paw through the slight window opening. “No, Abby, you have to stay there, I’ll only be a minute.” At this moment Lauren heard a door opening behind her.
“Are you Lauren Labeaux?”
Lauren turned around to find a rather frumpy looking, middle-aged woman standing in the doorway of the real estate office. “Yes. Are you Gabrielle?”
“Uh huh. I see you have a pretty kitty in there. It’s still too hot to leave her in the car, just bring her on in. We’re used to having people bring in their pets. Around here, it’s expected.”
“That’s great, thanks.”
Gabrielle went back inside. Abigail climbed back into her seat and waited, seeming to know she had been invited. Lauren opened the passenger side door and grunted as she picked the carrier up and walked into the office.
Seeing Gabrielle at a desk near the back, Lauren walked over, sat down and placed the kitty carrier on the floor in front of her. Abigail jumped out and onto the chair next to Lauren and looked at the realtor.
Gabrielle smiled at both of them. Although she herself was a little unkempt, her desk was impeccably neat and orderly. Her smiled changed to a quizzical expression as she looked at Abigail. “That stare is so strange, it gives me a real eerie feeling.“
“That’s because she has one blue and one amber eye, not exactly normal in cats that aren’t pure white.“
Gabrielle nodded, then shifted her gaze back to Lauren, and proceeded to give her the information about her ‘inheritance’ in a brisk forthright manner.
“Your grandmother had about 320 acres about as far east as it could get without inching into Mississippi. Although the postal designation is Slidell, it’s really out in St. Tammany Parish … way out. The cottage is still in fairly good shape, but the outside is in dire need of a good painting and the inside has a lot of boxes and papers all around; an accumulation of a hundred years of living I suppose. The cottage is livable, with indoor plumbing and electricity, but maybe you would want to check it out first, and perhaps do a little cleaning before deciding if you want to stay there.
“There is a barn, but I don’t think it’s been used in the past several decades as it is almost totally flattened. I didn’t dare go in there. In many cases like this, it’s the land that will bring in some good money, but unfortunately, most of this is marsh, and borders on the bayou. You can expect a lot of wildlife, including snakes, skunks and gators which aren’t actually the kind of neighbors most people want to live near.”
“I expected as much. I’ll probably salvage whatever personal things I can, then sell or give away the rest. The taxes aren’t much, so I may just hold onto the property for a while and use it for a refuge when I need to get away for a while.”
“Well, you can never tell what the future holds. There is always the chance that the area may attract a business or even a developer.” Gabrielle said this without much conviction. “If anything comes along that you may be interested in, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate you checking into this and for giving me your professional opinion.”
She stood up and Abigail jumped down from the chair and daintily stepped into the carrier.
Gabrielle reached over her desk and handed Lauren a large set of keys and the directions to the property. “The larger one opens the front door, but I have no idea about the others. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with, I know a lot of what goes on around here.”
“Thanks, I may need to take you up on that offer. I’ll keep in touch.”
Lauren lifted the cat carrier and headed out toward the door. Once she situated the carrier into the passenger seat, she walked around and got into the driver’s side. She shook her head at Abigail. “I think I’m going to have to put you on a diet, you’re getting heavier every day.” Abigail just blinked at her and then closed her eyes.
It didn’t take long to find their hotel and unload everything from the car. Once unpacked and settled, Lauren debated whether to just hang around the room and rest, or to head over to the cottage and get the first look at her new property. Curiosity won over fatigue and she grabbed her keys and purse.
Her initial thought was to leave Abigail in the room, but the cat would have none of that and waited by the door. “Abby, come on, I have no idea what I’m going to find there, maybe a big rat or opossum lives in that house now. I know you hate that type of thing.” But Abigail just looked up at Lauren; her eyes in a slit. That, Lauren had come to know, was her determined look. There was no way Abby was going to stay in that room while Lauren went out.
“Okay, you big baby. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Lauren put the cat carrier down and Abigail walked into it and sat down. She could have sworn there was a contrite smile on Abby’s face.
YOU ARE READING
An Inheritance
General FictionLauren heads to Louisiana to attend to her grandmother's 'estate' ... she had never met her and in fact, none of her relatives had even known she had still been alive all of those years ... as Lauren unravels her grandmother's past, she begins to un...
