Planting Violets

Less than two hours after the three of us sat down to lunch I found myself standing in the empty living-room of the little bungalow in the heart of town.

The real estate agent, a guy named Jason McTavish, gave us a tour of the house and filled us in on various details and some of the history of the place.

Like the house had been a rental property for the past seven or eight years, but all that changed about six months ago. Some developer came along with plans to buy it along with a half dozen neighbouring houses, so he could tear them all down. His plan was to turn six or seven nice-sized lots into over a dozen townhouses, but fortunately the other neighbours successfully campaigned against the plan. The town refused to authorize the zoning changes and the houses were saved.

Just the thought of all the trees and gardens and stuff being bulldozed and replaced with asphalt concrete and brick gave me chills. There were a half dozen mature trees on this lot alone, which was part of the reason I loved it.

All that worked out in our favour though, since it meant the house was empty and available, while the seller was eager to unload it and move on.

"I can tell you like the place hon," mom said quietly as I stared out the big window at the mature maple tree on the front lawn. "It's definitely a fixer-upper though."

Dad added, "We'll need to have an inspection done, but the real challenge will be getting the financing. I honestly don't see how we're going to manage it."

"I guess I should text Phoebe?" I suggested as I turned around to look at my folks. "She said she'd help with this stuff."

Mom asked, "Are you sure this is the right place for you, Violet? I don't think we should disturb Miss Archer until you're sure."

"We should all sleep on it," dad stated. "This is a huge decision and you shouldn't make it when you're overtired."

I blushed as I told them both, "I really like the property, and the location. The house doesn't mean as much to me, but it feels cosy? I'm sure it'll be even nicer once it's been cleaned up and has some furniture in it."

"That's another thing," dad frowned. "It costs money to furnish a house, and it's going to take time to get it all done and get everything delivered. Plus you need to arrange the utilities and everything else. This is going to cost us a fortune."

Mom gave him a look, then asked me "What do you think hon? Do you want to have another look around? Or see some other properties? Or we could head home and you can sleep on it?"

After a few seconds of thought I made up my mind, "I don't need to see anything else, and I don't need to sleep on it. I'm sure, this feels like the right place for me. But what about you mom? Are you going to be ok with this, if we do like you suggested?"

Like she said, the place definitely needed some work. All the walls needed to be patched and painted, and the carpets needed to be replaced. The kitchen looked serviceable, but a new floor, cabinets, and counter would go a long way. New appliances too, for that matter.

On the other hand the layout was ok, and the size was perfect for me. There was a good-sized living-room at the front of the house, the bathroom was a decent size too. The kitchen was a little small, but more than enough for me. There were two bedrooms, and a third room that could be used as a home office or a family-room or something like that. The place also had an unfinished basement, that could be finished off into something useful as well.

The outside of the house seemed ok, it was made of bricks and the roof was in good shape. There was even a one-car garage too, but it wasn't attached to the house and it was a little run-down. It was probably better suited to be like a really large garden shed or a storage shed rather than a place to park a car, although that wasn't something I needed to worry about any time soon.

Another nice thing was the last occupants were long gone along with all their furniture and belongings. Now the current owner was eager to get the property off his hands, which meant we ought to be able to move in as soon as we closed the deal. Assuming we could afford it, and assuming my parents were both still ok with the plan mom came up with at lunch.

"I think we can make this work Violet," mom replied. "I'll stay here with you as long as it takes to get you settled in, and I'll help you get the place properly furnished. I'll probably still spend two or three days a week back home with your dad, but I'll make sure I'm here to help you when you need it."

"I'll probably move back home with your dad once you start college," she added. "Or whenever you decide you've had enough of me."

Dad reminded us both, "It's all still up in the air until we figure out the finances. And I still want to get the property inspected before we take the next step. And we'll need to get a lawyer involved, to handle all the paperwork and property transfer stuff."

"I'll text Phoebe now," I said with another grimace as I pulled out my phone. "She offered to help with this stuff, so we may as well take her up on it."

It felt weird to be texting an actual goddess, but she's the one who gave me her contact info and said she'd help with everything. So I wrote her a long message, to explain the whole situation and our plans and stuff, so she'd understand what we wanted to do and our reasoning behind it.

Meanwhile dad went into the kitchen where the realtor was hanging out. Mr. McTavish had gone in there to give us all some privacy while we talked things over. Dad struck up another conversation with the guy, to find out about any recent work or upgrades done to the house, and if there'd been a recent inspection or if we should arrange that ourselves.

Once I finished my text I sent it off, then looked at mom again. I stepped closer and whispered, "This is all really exciting and stuff, but it also feels kind of like we're rushing things? Maybe dad's right, that we need to sleep on it and maybe give it a few days to let everything sink in?"

"I know hon," mom replied as she gave me a hug. "It's been a whirlwind since last night, and I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight. Miss Archer gave me the impression that she wanted us to take care of this sooner rather than later though, and I think it's wise to do what she says. Ancient Greek mythology is full of stories about what happens to people who don't heed their gods."

She lowered her voice a little more and added, "I'm glad your father's taking all this seriously. That's the other reason I wanted to get as much done today as we could? Best to act now, before he changes his mind or gets impatient with the whole process and decides it's a waste of time."

I hugged her back and replied just as quietly, "Yeah. I'm glad he's been handling it ok too. I feel bad though, for putting you two through all of this? But at the same time I'm beyond happy. I'm almost afraid this is all just a dream or something, that I'm going to wake up and find out none of it's real."

"I promise it's very real," a woman's voice stated from just inside the front door.

Mom and I both startled slightly as we turned around, to find Phoebe Archer standing there. She was dressed in a professional-looking tan-coloured skirt suit, with her gold bow-and-arrow brooch pinned to the lapel of her jacket. Her hair looked like she'd just had it styled, and she was wearing some subtle make-up. Finally she had a brown leather folio case under her left arm. She looked like a strikingly beautiful but professional young woman.

Both dad and the realtor emerged from the kitchen to see who'd joined us, but Phoebe was already taking charge of the situation before either of the men could say anything.

"You must be Jason McTavish," the goddess said as she approached the realtor. "My name is Phoebe Archer, I'm Violet Andersen's representative. Are you here as an agent for the seller, or are you acting as agent to my client?"

After that things seemed to go by in a blur. Phoebe and Mr. McTavish did most of the talking, at one point the realtor had his phone to his ear while he carried on two conversations at once, with Miss Archer and whoever was on the phone.

Another woman showed up not long after that, a coworker from the real estate agency where Jason worked. She brought some paperwork that Phoebe looked over while the three of them used the kitchen counters as a table.

Meanwhile my parents and I stayed in the front room next to the big bay window.

I said quietly, "I think she's going to buy the house right now?"

"It sure sounds like it," dad replied. He seemed to be in a bit of shock over how Miss Archer swept in and took charge.

Mom looked like she was about to comment as well, but before she could say anything Phoebe called from the kitchen.

"Violet would you please join us in here?" the goddess asked.

She sounded very professional, and I was positive she had the real estate people convinced she was a lawyer or something. She never actually claimed that's what she was, but her appearance and how she was acting and everything just sort of screamed legal counsel.

Mom and dad followed behind me as I walked into the small kitchen. Mr. McTavish and his assistant had a bunch of paperwork spread out over the counter, but they were both standing off to the side while Phoebe seemed to be in charge.

"Yes?" I asked as I moved to stand next to the goddess.

She indicated the paperwork next to her, "We're nearly finished here. If you're certain you want this to be your new home then we just need your signature in a few places."

"What about..." dad started to ask, but his voice trailed off when the goddess looked at him with one arched eyebrow.

Meanwhile I was staring at all the paperwork, but I didn't really know what to make out of any of it. In fact I started to feel overwhelmed as the lack of sleep and all the excitement and miracles and everything else started to catch up to me.

"I'm sorry Phoebe," I apologized quietly. "I don't know what all this stuff means. What do I do?"

Her expression softened as she must have realized how I was feeling. She explained in a quiet gentle voice, "These documents are a purchase agreement for this property. If you're certain you want it, you just need to sign them. I'll take care of everything else. The closing date will be this Friday, June seventeenth. You can collect the keys from Jason's office any time after twelve on Friday, and the property will be yours."

"What about the money?" I asked quietly. "And the other stuff my dad's worried about?"

Phoebe replied in the same soft gentle voice, "I'll take care of everything Violet. I told you I'd look after you, all you need to do is be sure this is the place you want."

Having a powerful ancient goddess act like a kindly grandparent struck a chord with me, and hearing her promise to look after me left me wiping some tears from my eyes. It was like my churning emotions just joined forces with the lack of sleep and the overwhelming situation.

"Thank you," I whispered. "We've already visited the nearby conservation area and saw the woodlands. This town feels right, the woods feel right, and this property feels right."

She smiled, "Then let's sign some paperwork, then you can go back to your parents' house and get some rest."

I nodded, "Ok. Thank you."

It actually took like five minutes to do all the signing, it felt like there were twenty different places I had to sign and initial. Phoebe signed some things too, and Mr. McTavish signed a few things as well.

My parents weren't asked to sign anything, and that surprised me at first. Then I realized it meant that the property was going to be transferred into my name, rather than my mom's or dad's. This would be my very own place, and that was equal parts scary and exciting.

At long last all the signing was finished, and the realtor shook my hand and congratulated me on buying my first home. He glanced at Phoebe, but somehow he knew better than to try and shake her hand too. And that was all they needed me for. Miss Archer had some more business to take care of with the realtor to finalize the whole process, but she said I was free to go and get some rest.

I took one last look around the house, then me and mom and dad headed out. I stopped on the driveway though, and stared at the front lawn. Some time in the last fifteen minutes a couple dozen little purple flowers had sprouted up and bloomed, randomly scattered among the grass.

"Violet?" dad asked.

"Yeah they are," I replied, misunderstanding what he'd said. "I didn't plant them though. I think maybe it's meant to be a welcome message? From the land itself."

Then mom spoke up, "Come on hon. Let's go home. We're both tired, it's time to go and get some sleep."

I stared at the property for a couple more seconds, before finally turning away. It was such an odd feeling, like twelve hours earlier I hadn't even known the place existed and I already felt attached to it. Then again, twenty-four hours earlier I was an AMAB human dealing with dysphoria and depression while my family and friends all thought I was a boy.

Mom and dad were already waiting in the car, and I quietly slipped into the back seat behind mom. Then dad pulled away from my new home and started driving us back to my parents' place.

I dozed off in the car, probably less than five minutes after we got on the road. I dreamed of plants and trees, goddesses and homes, and a pink-haired girl named Cynthia.