Episode 45 Jack's Dream

It was a beautiful blue-sky day, and Jack Donati was on top of the world. Everything was going his way. Last month, he'd finished his EMT basics, last week, he'd aced the National Registry EMT-B exam, and now he was driving home from city hall where he'd just been offered a job as Pine Lake's newest EMT. He'd married the love of his life, and their first child was on its way. Life was good.

The only annoyance was his wife's mother. Genevra Adams was a pain in the ass. Whitney had told Jack from day one that there was no pleasing her mother and, so far, Jack had to agree. He couldn't understand how someone like Genevra--rich, beautiful, smart--could be so miserable. Whitney's father, Blake, had finally had enough. He'd moved out of the Adams' mansion to a duplex near Hunter Ridge.

Jack and Blake got on well enough. Blake had even given his daughter and new son-in-law a sizable check as a wedding gift (probably without Genevra's knowledge). Before today, Jack had been thinking it would be nice to use the money to buy a house, but on his bartender's salary, it was still too much of a stretch. Now, with the new job, he was more optimistic.

Since it was such a nice day, Jack decided that instead of going straight back to the apartment, he'd drive around a bit on the older side of town where the modest real estate might be in their price range. His favorite dream of late was for Whitney and him to be in their own place before the baby came.

On Spring Street, he spotted what he'd been hoping to find: a small house with a large side yard, obviously in need of repair, and obviously vacant. Jack parked the car across the street and sat daydreaming for a few minutes. He was pretty certain that the money Blake had given them would cover a down payment with enough left over for fixing up the basics.  He envisioned working on the place over the years, painting and renovating bit by bit until they'd turned it into a little gem. White paint with green trim, window boxes spilling red, white and blue flowers, and a big swing set filled with laughing children in that side yard. He snapped a quick photo with his phone and hurried home to tell Whitney all about it.