That same Thursday morning Lisa received an email from Alexander. He sent her in the attachments his invoice for organizing and holding the auction and also an overview of everything that had been sold. In the accompanying letter he told her enthusiastically that everything had gone very well and that he had already transferred the total amount to the account number she had given him. He had taken the keys to the house to the real estate agent, who had immediately put the house up for sale.

He gave her the link to the ad in his email. She clicked it and looked at the pictures the realtor had taken. In the video, she walked with him in her mind through all the rooms of the house. She felt a ball of emotion forming in her stomach and decided to close the realtor's link and give that emo ball some space. It took much less time than she expected before she felt the ball disappear, as if it dissolved.

She sighed, feeling liberated, lighter, and opened their business bank account app. Unbelievable, so much money in the account in one fell swoop! She took out Alexander's details and immediately transferred the amount he charged for the auction. Then she mailed him back to tell him the money was on its way and to thank him for his work.

Lisa called Huib: "Hey Huib, it's Lisa, nice to hear your voice again"

"Ha Lisa, how are you?"

"It's going well here, different than usual of course, but you get used to it. But what I'm calling about... I just received an e-mail from Alexander, about the auction. He transferred the money, it's already in our account. So you can go and see the property in the village and if you find it suitable, buy it. Just let me know how much you need and what your account number is, and I'll transfer it right away."

"I think it's so special that you're giving me this opportunity, I'm really very happy about it! I'm going to call the realtor right away. And I hope Margreet and Elly want to come along!"

"That would be nice yes. I'll hear from you. Will you give Margreet my love?"

"I will, see you later!"

Lisa looked at Sjaak. "Huib is going to call the realtor right away and then hopes to go there with Margreet and Elly."

While Lisa told Joke and Bennie of their plans, what they wanted to do with the money from the auction and the house, Huib called the realtor. They could be there in half an hour. Huib went to see Margreet, who absolutely wanted to come along, and called Elly to invite her too. Elly had to finish something and decided to go to the building on her own.

Just when Huib and Margreet arrived, Elly arrived as well. Together they peered through the windows again. "There may be some work to be done before we can really get started in it, but it's a great place to begin with. I'm not someone who can produce a mass at a time anyway. I just want to put some examples up here so people can get an idea, stand here salivating like that. I'm still excited about it, but I'm looking forward to it."

"Good morning," a low voice sounded behind them. "May I introduce myself?"

At the same time, they turned and looked into the blushing face of a young man with black curly hair and kind brown eyes. "I'm Karel Mulder, real estate agent. I had you on the phone, right?" he asked, looking at Huib.

"Yes, that's right, I'm Huib Jansen, and this is my wife Margreet, and this is our friend Elly. I work with wood, making furniture and smaller things, basically to order. And when I buy this building, I want to put a few things here to attract customers. And Elly has a special creative talent for painting walls, and if we decide to buy, she will do that here too."

"What a fun idea! So it will be a building full of creativity. And as you describe it, to attract customers... this building is perfect for that because it's not so deep. Come, let me open the door for you, so you can see it inside as well."

Karel preceded them inside. "If you don't come here daily, maybe not for weeks, then of course you can't open a window, but you can open these grilles. They can be set to different positions, a little open, a little further open. Well, so this is the room that's visible from the outside. And behind this is a kitchenette and a toilet. I was able to give compliments to the previous owner, he had left it neat and tidy."

Karel noticed Elly run her hand over the wallpaper. "Does it look like it, can you paint over that?"

"It's perfect for it, no patterns, no ridges, good firmness, washable. Huib, if you buy it, I can start taking down the wallpaper first thing tomorrow and then paint over it!"

Huib laughed, "Wonderful! You're in the mood for it! What do you think, Margreet, is this suitable for us?"

"Oh yes, without any doubt. Does it click with you too?"

"Yes, it already did when we looked through the window last time. And now I see that it looks good inside as well. I had already looked on the internet for all the details and of course the price. Let's go ahead and do it!"

"Don't you want it subject to a reservation, to see if you can get it done financially first?" asked Karel.

"No need, I've already got it round. As far as I'm concerned, we can start putting everything in order before the sale."

"Fine, then we'll continue in my office. I have come on foot. Will you also be walking or would you rather go by car?"

"Let's walk along, it's close by anyway," said Huib. "Will you come along too, Elly, then I can give you a key right away, so you can get started whenever you want."

"Good idea, I was going to go home already, but this is more convenient," Elly replied.

At the realtor's office, Karel prepared the bill of sale, and gave Huib all the papers, which he went through and signed.

Karel handed Huib a folder with all the papers he had to keep and put the bill in it as well.

"The property is yours now, but that won't be completely official until you transfer the money. On the bill I just put in the folder, you can find all the info about that. And here are the keys. Wait, I still have a tag... so, I guess one key can go to you so you can start painting right away!" he smiled at Elly.

"I'd love to," she replied cheerfully, "but I have other commitments for today. Tomorrow I'll have plenty of time for it, then I'll get to work!"

"Nice, I'll come and have a peek through the window soon. I am curious what you are going to make of it all! Enjoy all the preparations and good luck with the sale!"

They said goodbye to each other, and went home. "I'll call Lisa right away to arrange the money," Huib said to Margreet.

He dictated Lisa the amount and their own account number, and thanked her. "If you've made an agreement, see if you can get it smuggled here, and I'll sign it. In triplicate Lisa!"

"Okay, one for you, one for me, and that third one?"

"No idea," Huib chuckled, "for the trash can?"

"Funny! I'm going to get it sorted out on the laptop. I'll print out two pieces for now. If I ever need more, I can always print out an extra copy. I'll see if I can smuggle the papers to you through the outside guard," she said with a wink to Bennie, who looked at her somewhat questioningly.

Huib briefly checked his bank records after their conversation, and soon saw that she had transferred the money. He immediately channelled the amount to the real estate agent, happy that everything was now officially done!

To chapter 204. Lisa receives the mail from Johan

Or to the Table of contents