Chapter 6 - The Sale of the Century
By the first week of January, I had made another massive, life-altering decision.
This large, five-bedroom house was entirely too big for one person, and it was filled with too many ghosts.
I contacted the best real estate agent in the city and told her I wanted to list the property immediately.
"The market is incredibly hot right now, Margaret," the agent told me as we walked through the immaculate rooms.
"With these hardwood floors and the updated kitchen, we can sell this well over the asking price."
I spent the next three weeks ruthlessly purging the entire house.
I packed away my favorite books, my expensive jewelry, and my late husband's precious keepsakes.
Everything else—the antique furniture, the crystal chandeliers, the massive dining table—went into an estate sale.
I even threw away the photo albums that heavily featured Clara's childhood.
I was completely erasing the narrative of the happy, perfect family she had so violently destroyed.
The "For Sale" sign went up on the front lawn on a crisp Tuesday morning.
By Thursday evening, we had received four cash offers, all of them entirely above the asking price.
I accepted an offer from a lovely young couple who were expecting their first baby.
It felt incredibly poetic to hand the keys over to a family that was just beginning, while completely ending my own chapter.
I signed the closing papers with a profound sense of absolute peace.
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I had already purchased a luxury condominium in a beautiful, gated retirement resort down in Florida.
I was leaving the cold winters and the cold memories completely behind me.
