Chapter 10 “A Ray Of Hope”

October 5, 2009 | Posted by Mister P

- A RAY OF HOPE -

                It was a soothing drive home. The sun was retreating and the sky was painted an orange glow. The meeting left John feeling motivated and hopeful. He hadn’t expected to come away with such a positive and clear picture of their situation, not to mention a plain understanding of what to do from here. It was odd, he thought. He hadn’t felt this optimistic in quite some time.

                Lisa sat beside him watching the trees rush by. Her thoughts went back to the meeting. It was amazing how there was actually a ray of hope in their situation. The mere thought was inspiring! Maybe no one would have to find out how close they were to not getting the house. Good thing she hadn’t told her mother about their problems yet.

                “That was a great meeting,” Lisa remarked as they pulled up to the apartment.

                “Yeah,” said John. He looked at the papers and what they had written on them. “This method Rob has showed us, it’s brilliant! Yet if you really think about it, it’s really very simple.”

                “What I love about it is realizing that our problem is more common than we thought. It seems he’s handled plenty of problems like ours just by using The Master Method!”

- IT’S A DATE -

                At work the following day, John went to find Sarah. He peeked around the corner of her office and found her sitting at her desk.

“Hi, Sarah!”

                “Hey John, how’s it going?”

                “Good. We talked with Rob last night and told him all about our problem with the house plans. He worked with us to figure out a plan. It went great!” said John enthusiastically. “I want to thank you for pointing us in the right direction. We’ve been motivated by Rob and The Master Method.”

                “Oh, no problem! I want to tell everyone about this method he’s shown us. He’s also the best builder I know, easy to work with, and the timber framing they do is amazing. Arthur and I both love the house they built for us!” Sarah smiled.

                “You certainly do have a very nice home. Timber framing adds so much to any house. Lisa and I are dead set on a timber framed home.”

                “You’ll never regret it!” Lisa added.

                “Well, I’ll see you at lunch.”

John left with a wave.

                The rest of the day went great. John worked hard and felt enthused! On the way home he decided to make it a night out for Lisa and him. They hadn’t spent an evening out, just the two of them, in a long time. They could talk about their house plans that had been revived. He called Lisa and she agreed. She thought it would be nice to get out, too.

                “There’s a place about 10 minutes away I’ve heard good things about,” John said.

                “Sure!” said Lisa. “Surprise me!”

                As they drove, John told Lisa about his day. “I talked to Sarah today and told her how much we enjoyed the meeting last night. She was pleased we went to see Rob. She and Arthur have been very happy with their house.”

                “I’m glad she told you about him. He was very helpful and friendly. I especially appreciated the way he dealt with our problem. It helped me look at things in a different way.”

                They arrived at the restaurant. They had arrived a little early for dinner so the place was less than half full. A young man showed them to a window seat with nice view and brought them some water.

                “It’s been awhile since I’ve had seafood, or ate out at all, for that matter,” John mentioned as they looked over the menu.

                “It’s been forever! I guess we’ve been too busy lately.” Lisa acknowledged.

                “Yeah, too busy blaming each other instead of working together.”

She flashed him a somewhat guilty little smile. “So what sounds good?”

                While they ate, they talked about many things but “the house” always seemed to come up again and again. They discussed the different styles of timber framing, colors, sizes, etc.

                “…and we could have a timber-framed arch above a gate at the entrance, and a brick driveway instead of paved!” Lisa’s was more excited than she had been in days. “There’s just so much we can do!”

                “Let’s find out what our limit is first. We wouldn’t want to overshoot our budget and be caught in a similar situation as Sarah and Arthur. We need to meet with Rob again to obtain a clear picture of what we can afford.”

                “I know, but it’s just so fun to fantasize!” said Lisa.

                John smiled, “Just try not to get your hopes too high. I’m scared to discuss the house plans too much until we know exactly what we can afford.”

                “It’s fun to imagine, but I do know how you feel. I think we both do, especially after the disappointment we had last week.”

                “Well, that’s behind us, let’s have a good time now. Let’s celebrate a brand new start!” exclaimed John.

                When the check came, they were proud of themselves for not overspending. They both ate well, but neither ordered the most expensive thing on the menu – a first for Lisa. They had both thoroughly enjoyed their dinners and each other’s company.

“Where are we going now?” asked Lisa.

“The book store.”

“The book store?”

Why the book store…? Self-help books? Divorce made easy?

Read more tomorrow!

Mister P

Categories: Inspiration | Tags: | 9 Comments »

9 comments