The Rundown Rental

Jack dreamed of a home. Other people had them; talked about them; bragged about them. Every advertisement he watched invited you home to a warm fire, a scrumptious meal or a cosy bed. There were so many possibilities to turn your house into a home. The trouble was that you needed a house first, Jack thought. Although he had saved as much as he could, working at the garage, he was never going to afford more than the rundown rental he currently occupied.

He was grateful to have Marie. Marie of the golden hair and the gentle smile, who didn’t care where they lived, as long as it was together. When Marie moved in, the rundown rental began to reflect the brightness of her laughing eyes. She asked the owner if they could paint the walls and the house was transformed by her colour choices.

When Jack gave her a ring, he promised that one day, he would give her a home. Marie’s smile was a mile wide.

“And I promise you Jack, that I will make a home,” she replied.

Jack worked and saved. On their weekends, he and Marie fixed the front fence and planted a garden. Their rundown rental was no longer rundown.

“Prettiest house in the street,” Marie praised their handywork.

Still Jack continued to study house plans; those house plans were forgotten when Marie’s pregnancy test came back positive. 

Some of their hard earned savings went on furnishing a nursery. Marie kept herself busy sewing curtains and making cushion covers. Each day as Jack stepped through his newly painted front door, he felt the house looked warmer and more inviting. Together they counted down the days.

The sun was shining when Jack brought Marie and baby Jenny back from the hospital. He carefully cradled the most precious gift he had ever received. Marie opened the gate to their lovely garden. She glanced at the joy on her husband’s face and knew that the penny had finally dropped. It was never about the house.

“Welcome home Jack,” she said with her gentle smile.