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Turtles in Our Wake
It is good to have an opportunity to express one’s feelings at full flood when you are really livid. Why develop stress-related illness when you can pass it on to the very people you are paying to save you from it in the first place? Whilst assuring the woman pressed into the corner of our sofa that none of my anger was directed at her, she was left in no doubt as to my feelings towards our purchasers, or what they could expect if they set foot in our house again before contracts had been signed. She was most understanding and drove them away. David then rang the estate agent and asked him when we could expect contracts to be signed and exchanged. There would be some delay, it now appeared, as our purchasers’ purchaser had not yet completed the sale of his house due to delays caused by his purchaser. So. It never had been a cash offer in the first place, and we were now entangled in something we had drastically reduced our house price in the expectation of avoiding – a chain. The agent was asked for his assessment of the current state of the housing market. Dead about summed up his response. His view was echoed by all the other For Sale boards, creaking forlornly in the wind, which we had observed from the taxi on our way home from the airport. Despite our frustration, the sensible option in the circumstances seemed to be to continue with the purchasers we had, because purchasers at present were pretty thin on the ground. ‘However,’ David said, ‘they can whistle for any further reduction in the price and our goods aren’t up for grabs.’ ‘I shall tell them,’ the agent had said diplomatically, ‘that you do not consider the requested reduction to be justified and that your belongings will be going into store.’ ‘Fine,’ said David. When he hung up he grinned. ‘Well, there’s one thing, we can have a turkey and the full works for Christmas dinner, plus central heating, unlimited use of the washing machine and the dishwasher!’
Turtles in Our Wake_Book.indb 14
26/08/2011 15:38:18