House Beat

By Vincent Tanner

House Beat. There's no place like home--except if the house doesn't want you there!

A Connecticut family living in a small apartment in Oaks, Pennsylvania, moves into an old semi-colonial house in Royersford, PA., needing a tremendous amount of work located about ten miles from King of Prussia. The Monahan family, Elizabeth, Kyle, and their children, Eleanor and Henry. This is the story of how their lives changed. From the outside, the house is very old-looking. The exterior is terrible, but nothing a little paint or siding won't take care of. The roof needs to be replaced.

"I think I may have found a house for us!" Kyle says. "It has a nice piece of level property. A bit overgrown with brush, but that's easily cleaned up. When I saw the asking price, I had to take a drive-by. The house needs work--a fixer-upper, but it is more than three times the size of this place. What caught my eye was the price. We have almost enough put aside to buy it outright."

The realtor unlocks the door. The hinges creak. "Creepy!" Henry stammers. The agent only goes as far as the door. She has an apprehensive look on her face and goes no farther into the house. The house has the usual problems any building built before the Civil War has; noisy pipes, creaky stairs, but they are soon to find out--

There is much more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662475344

Book preview

Chapter 1

Coming to Pennsylvania

The days are getting longer and a bit warmer, but not so much. The beginning of March still needs a heavy coat, but occasionally we can go without gloves. We live in Oaks, Pennsylvania, about ten miles from King of Prussia, where my father, Kyle, works. We used to live in Connecticut, but living there was too expensive. My parents had aspirations to buy a house. Still, with the cost of everything, including rent, continually going up, they could not put any money aside for a down payment, let alone afford the cost of a mortgage. We moved here three years ago when I was just starting high school. I attend school in Phoenixville because there is no high school in Oaks. My brother attends elementary school in Oaks.

My brother and I are fortunate that our mother, Elizabeth, is a stay-at-home mom. When we lived in Connecticut, she had to work full-time just to make ends meet. Now she doesn’t have to work at all. My father works for a large insurance firm. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to sell insurance, which pays on commission. He works in the Underwriting Department, so his salary is constant. When the opportunity came up for a transfer from Hartford to King of Prussia, he jumped at it. He is earning the same wages as he did in Connecticut, and the cost of living is much lower in Oaks. When we first moved here, my mother tried to find a job, but they were scarce. My father didn’t want her waiting tables for minimum wage, so they decided she should stay home and be there when we got home from school. Even with her not working, they can still put a little aside each week to buy a house. After three years, it is adding up nicely.

We live in a tiny ratty apartment. When I say ratty, I don’t mean it has rats—an occasional field mouse, yes, but no rats. The apartment is so small you have to excuse yourself to get around that occasional mouse. Of course, that is an exaggeration, but the place is quite old and way too small for the four of us. There are only two bedrooms. My parents have one, and my brother and I have to share the other. My father put up a removable partition between the twin beds to afford us each a modicum of privacy. A sixteen-year-old girl sleeping in the same bedroom with a thirteen-year-old boy can put a strain on sibling relations, but we have put up with it for three years. I’m just glad there are not more of us. If there were, my parents probably would have found a larger place at a higher rent, but my parents wanted to save up a down payment as quickly as possible, and the rent here is cheap. My father is continually looking for a house, but everything he has found is out of our price range with only one income. My mother keeps saying she is willing to go back to work even at minimum wage, but that would mean buying a second car, and the car payments would eat up more than she could earn.

My name is Eleanor. I will be a senior at Phoenixville High next year. My brother, Henry, will be starting his freshman year. We are the Monahan family, and this is the story of how our lives changed.

Before our move to Pennsylvania, my father comes home from work with news. We are moving November first! he states. He and my mother discussed this extensively, so it comes as no surprise to her. She also knew about the pending transfer. They both want to get out of Hartford, but we are stuck in Connecticut if Father does not get that transfer. It appears he did get it. I have already contacted our landlord, and it works out perfectly. Our lease is up on November first, so he has his ninety-day notice. The firm is also giving me ninety days to pack up and move. I will be taking some vacation time to go to King of Prussia and find a place for us to live.

Oh no, I groan to myself. I have just settled into my first year of high school…made new friends, and now I will have to start all over again!

If you use up all your vacation time, what will you do then? Mother asks.

That’s the best part. The firm is giving me thirty paid days because the transfer is for the firm’s advantage. Those are thirty workdays. That breaks out to forty-two days if you include weekends before I have to start using my own time. We should be able to find a place by then.

Father’s thirty paid days start next week. He does not have to use them all at once. He will use them two or four at a time, like Thursday and Friday, if he is off Saturday and Sunday, or adding Monday and Tuesday, working only Wednesday or sometimes working the whole week. The firm is loaning him a company car so he can leave ours at home for Mom.

His first trip to King of Prussia is only a scouting mission. He goes alone. He wants to familiarize himself with the lay of the city, locate his new workplace, and contact a few realtors about rents. The family is not in a financial position to buy yet. One good thing is the insurance company is paying for the actual move. Finding a place to live, packing, and unpacking is our responsibility.

Don’t go signing any lease until we all have had a chance to see the new apartment, my mother states, meaning her and our votes don’t count—we’re only children.

He is amazed at how long a drive it seems when you are alone. The trip is quite long, anywhere from five to seven hours, depending on traffic. He leaves very early in the morning for his first excursion. He arrives in King of Prussia at about noontime. Checking into the hotel, he calls home to let Mom know he arrived safely. He then locates the insurance company offices. After introducing himself, he is shown around, introduced to the people he will be working with…higher-ups and underlings. That takes up pretty much the rest of the afternoon. They want him to come back again tomorrow to meet other people he will also be working with. Even though he made the trip to find a new place to live, there is no way he can refuse; after all, this is his bread and butter, and he would have had to go through this eventually. He might as well get it over with at the beginning.

Father is shown what is to become his office. Mr. Edward Boyd still occupies it. Mr. Boyd is retiring at the end of October, hence the transfer. I am honored to meet the man taking over my spot, Boyd says. I would suggest when you do, in the beginning, rely heavily on Joan, my secretary. She will become your secretary, and she knows where everything is, so you do not have to search for whatever you need on your own. After you take over, you can make any changes that suit you.

It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Boyd. How long have you been with the company? my father asks.

"Thirty-seven years, and it’s Edward."

Well, Edward, it is still a pleasure to meet you.

John here tells me you are moving down to Pennsylvania from the home office in Hartford, Edward states.

Yes. My wife and family wanted to move away from all that big city congestion, and I still wanted to keep working for the firm. When the opportunity came up to transfer, well, that’s why I am here.

Although King of Prussia is not as large as Hartford, you will find it still has much of the same problems, but the people are different. They actually say hello to you on the street, Boyd says with a chuckle.

That’s what we are looking for, Father states.

Father used up two of his thirty days just meeting the people he will be working with and has yet to see a single apartment. Saturday morning, he calls several realtors asking about rentals. It turns out King of Prussia is not that much below Hartford as far as rents are concerned. If you consider only one income, and though everything else is cheaper, it still doesn’t leave much left to save for a house. He will have to look outside the boundaries of the burg itself, perhaps on the next trip. Sunday morning, he leaves for home. Traffic is lighter, and he makes good time.

Meanwhile, we start packing. Necessities will be left for later. We put summer clothes in boxes, items we don’t regularly use, such as household decorations and the likes. The boxes are piling up, all labeled as to their contents. It is an excellent time to start throwing useless stuff out. We are not under any pressure; there is still plenty of time, we still have to live, but when the moving day draws near, it’s going to be pandemonium.

Father makes a few more trips to Pennsylvania alone. He’s found a few places, but they are either too expensive, too large and insufficiently insulated to heat, or way too small…one bedroom. My mother makes several trips with my father with the same results. They decide to look outside of King of Prussia. Time is running out. When they are both gone, we stay with my aunt—actually, she stays with us. We get along fine, so there is no problem. She was disappointed when she first learned we were moving, but it’s not so far away she can’t visit us. She stays overnight, gives us breakfast, sees us off to school, and is there when we return. During the day, while we are at school, she is free to do whatever she wants. We eat lunch in the school cafeteria.

Moving day is approaching, and still, no place to live. My parents decide to settle for something less than what they were looking for. They lease a small apartment, smaller than they wanted but larger than what we have now. The rent is less than half what they are paying in Hartford. Time to pack everything left into the remaining boxes. The moving van is loaded.

I hope all this stuff fits, Mom says.

If it doesn’t, we will just get rid of some of it, Father adds.

It’s off to Pennsylvania, Father leading the way, the moving van following.

We reach King of Prussia, and to both Henry’s and my surprise, we drive right through it. We get off the highway at a town called Phoenixville and then backtrack to a place called Oaks. Father says he is going this route to make the sometimes-twisty roads easier for the large truck following us. At last, we arrive.

We go inside while the movers begin to unload the truck. Mom acts like a traffic cop, directing the men where to put the furniture and various boxes. Henry and I explore our new home. It’s awful small, he whispers.

Yeah, not enough room to swing a cat, I state. But I guess we are stuck with it. Hey, there are only two bedrooms! Where are you gonna sleep?

My father, hearing our conversation, states, You will share a bedroom.

But, Dad, I moan. I don’t want to sleep with him!

I will divide the room. You two just have to decide which side of the room you want. And no fighting!

I opt for the side closest to the only bathroom in the house. Henry gets the window, which he wanted, so there is no squabbling. Henry and I start unpacking our clothes’ boxes as soon as the bureaus are brought into the bedroom. We divide the closet. He consents to give me a more significant share because I have more clothes that need hanging up. Our summer clothing is left in the boxes and stored in the basement until warmer weather.

Finally, all moved in and unpacked, we settle into our new home. Our parents have already registered us at school, but we get a couple of extra days off to finish moving in. Tomorrow Dad starts work. Henry and I start school. Mom begins her decorating. In a few days, it will look like a home.

That is how we came to Oaks three years ago.

My brother usually gets home from school before I do. The only time he doesn’t is when something is going on after classes. We live close enough to his school so he can walk home. I, on the other hand, have to ride the school bus with its numerous stops. Next year, he will be riding the bus with me. He thinks it will be fun riding the school bus. Let’s see how much fun it will be when it takes him three times as long to get home and he misses some of his favorite television programs because he has to finish all his homework before he can turn on the TV—house rules. And you have a lot more homework when you are in high school. Henry is already at the kitchen table, working on his assignment when I come in.

Hi, sweetie, my mother says while starting supper. How did your day go?

Oh, the usual. Nothing to write home about. We had a trig test today.

How did you do?

Won’t know until Monday, but I think I did fairly well. It’s a hard class.

I’m sure you did fine, Mother says, tapping the spoon on the stewpot. Your father will be a little late, so we are having beef stew. When it’s cooked, all I have to do is reheat it if it cools off too much by the time he gets home.

Checking out another house? I ask.

Yes. He said the price of this one sounds interesting.

Where is it? I ask.

Phoenixville.

Well, that will make it easier getting to school, I add.

You will still have to take the bus, but the ride will be a lot shorter, Mom says.

I plop my books on the table and prepare to start my homework.

Hey, dummy! Don’t shake the table. I’m trying to write! Henry shouts.

Henry! Mother scolds.

Sorry, Mom, he apologizes.

Henry is in the living room watching television, and I’m still working on my homework when my father gets home. He has a big smile on his face. He knew we were having stew tonight, so he stopped and picked up a fresh loaf of French bread. I know I will have to pack up what I am working on and set the table for supper.

Hello, Kyle. Why the big grin? Mother asks, giving him a kiss.

I will tell everyone after supper, he says.

Aw, don’t keep us in suspense! she begs.

After supper, he insists.

After finishing what I am working on, I clear the table and set it. My mother calls my brother to help.

As soon as this show is over, he says.

Now! Mother demands. Henry reluctantly comes into the kitchen. Silverware, she says. Unfortunately, there is no silver in our silverware…only stainless steel, but it still eats just as good, and you don’t have to keep polishing it.

All during supper, Mother and I keep looking at Father to see if he is going to crack and blurt out his news. Henry has no idea yet what is going on. He was too engrossed in the television when Father came home.

Supper is finished. Henry and I clear the table. I sit back down. Henry heads for the TV.

Back here, Father orders. Henry is confused. He is sure he didn’t do anything wrong. Father drums his fingers on the table before stating, I think I may have found a house for us! I mentioned it yesterday after I checked the listing, and when I saw the asking price, I had to take a drive-by. It has a nice piece of level property. A bit overgrown with brush, but that’s easily cleaned up. The house needs work—a fixer-upper, but it is more than three times the size of this place. What caught my eye was the price. We have almost enough put aside to buy it outright.

Did you go inside? Mother asks.

No, I have to call the realtor tomorrow and make an appointment. If possible, I will set it up for Saturday so we can all look at it. I have no idea how many bedrooms it has, but judging from the outside, I would say at least four, and the three vent pipes on the roof indicate two baths plus the kitchen. It looks solid from the outside, but we won’t make up our minds until we see the inside. It might be fine, or it might be a shambles.

Saturday comes around, and we all pile into the car heading for Phoenixville. The real estate agent meets us there.

Chapter 2

Our First Visit

From the