A dream come true

by Charla Rean as told to Audrey Carli

Russ and I had it made. He earned good wages in a factory, and I was a receptionist at an insurance agency. We could move from our cramped apartment and live on Raspberry Hill! To live in that elite section of town had been my lifelong dream.

"I love you, Charla," Russ said, agreeing to the move. "What makes you happy makes me happy, too."

Why did trouble hit so soon? Our paychegues melted with the expenses. We had known the house would cost more than our rent, but everything cost too much on Raspberry Hill.

The Association in charge of how the homes looked, sent a representative the second week. Mr. Edling gave us a checklist of the landscaping requirements that had been voted in recently. Russ did some of the yard work himself, but he wasn't a professional; we had to hire a man. He made our weedy lawn look lush and green, but to pay the bill, we had to eat beans or macaroni and cheese for a while.

I felt better when we found some furniture on sale at the discount store. Russ and I hugged. "The livingroom looks like a magazine picture!" we agreed. Three days later, Sal, a neighbour, dropped in. She scanned the livingroom. "It'll be nice when you can afford to buy quality furniture. This stuff's temporary, right?"

A month later, we got an invitation to the Association's dinner. "We've got to go!" I said. "We have to meet our neighbours, don't we?" I saw Russ's face. He didn't want to go. But we charged new clothes for the event. We had to. While there, we got the costly dinner bill. Russ and I both knew we should have stayed home.

When Russ's boss phoned to say he had taken Russ to the hospital emergency room because of stomach pains, fear burned through me. The diagnosis: ulcers. Dr. Senz asked Russ if he had worries. Russ told him about the bills associated with our new home.

"Medicine, diet and rest should get rid of your ulcers," said the doctor, "but if the house is too expensive for you, maybe you should find a less costly place."

Before Russ could nod his head yes, I said, "That's what we have to do! Russ mustn't get sick over a house!"

A month later, we moved into an older but well-built home. The front window overlooked a park. When I had morning coffee, I saw birds flitting in the trees. They looked happy and free flying from branch to branch. "Russ," I called one morning, "we've got this sturdy house with the pretty new curtains I got on sale, the furniture from the discount store and our genuine caring for each other. I feel as happy and free as those birds!"

Russ's smile brightened his eyes. "Contentment's our real dream come true, right?"

Audrey Carli is a freelance writer in Stambaugh, Mich.


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