In time, Silvio would return to Tuscany and I to Casa Amor. I was finally going to reach a pinnacle in my life that could not be understated. I was going to be married and living in the home that I had longed for, for years.
I made the offer in September. Since cash was an option to close on the real estate in question, I would be able to close quickly and move in as soon as Silvio would approve and vacate the premises. I was in no hurry and neither was he. I was still grieving from the loss of my father, but I would soon be grieving in the most wonderful place on earth. In my mind, Casa Amor was heaven on earth.
Silvio and I closed in late October. Since it was an all cash deal, the negotiations and transfers were nil and the deal funded and closed smoothly. I knew that I would be settled in by Christmas, and hopefully at that point in a holiday mood. I reasoned that it was possible, but it was going to be tough. On one hand, it was a place that I longed to be more than any other place in the world. On the other, I would be without Mom and Dad this year. I hoped and prayed that both of the children would be home for Christmas.
November came and went. Since neither Liam nor Isabella could come in for Thanksgiving, Brad and I ate out. I saw no sense in making a large dinner for just the two of us. We were to be married after the New Year in March. With my eightieth birthday in February, I wanted the wedding to be before then. "Who gets married at eighty", I pondered? Well, with the exception of a month, I was on the docket.
With Dad gone, Belle in Atlanta and Liam in Connecticut, I poured all of my heart and soul into my relationship with Brad and my new book. Before the death of my father, I was twenty-five percent complete. By November, I was fifty and I had high hopes that the book would be finished by March/April and be in the hands of readers that summer.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Silvio didn't need the money. He simply sold his crop to the highest bidder. And before I could ask, he showed his hand and said, "So I assume this is about Casa Amor, am I correct?" I nodded in the affirmative and he sated, "It is absolutely NOT for sale......"
A pin could have dropped in the room and everyone would have heard it.
He then leaned in and very quietly said, "Except to you!"
To this I absolutely howled with excitement in a gasp and nearly fell off my chair while trying to hold back the flowing river from my eyes. When I finally regained my composure, Silvio got serious and said, "But you will ave to give me a fair price." To this I agreed, and I asked him to name his price. The house was easily worth $6M to the right buyer and I knew in my heart that Silvio did not owe a single dime on the place. "Would he be fair", I thought?
He got quiet again, and said, "After another bottle of wine, we will decide on a price." This actually "popped the air" from the balloon in the room and we were able to enjoy our wine, coffee and dessert. Tiramisu, a Super-Tuscan; Tiganello, and Starbucks coffee was on the menu for the dessert portion of the meal. Brad and I were prepared to pay north of $4M, but we wanted to get the place for under $4M. We were ill-prepared for his offer, which came while Silvio was removing bits of his dinner from his mouth with a toothpick.
"I'll take $3M!"
"3M, did you say", I said quietly?
"Yes, for you...$3M only", came the reply.
I got up from me seat, walked around the table to Silvio and his wife and kissed them both on the lips. I couldn't believe what I had just heard and promised them to have cash available within a few days and be able to close at their request. There was one thing I had to know...
"Silvio, will you return to Tuscany", I asked?
He stated that he indeed would return to Tuscany. He explained that he had only held onto the property in California because I had been renting it for so many years. He knew in his heart at the beginning that I could not afford to buy Casa Amor, but he held onto it; he said, for the pure joy of renting it to me each year. And since I had named the place, and even he had adopted it; he said he had prayed for the day that I would one day ask him to buy Casa Amor. He believed it belonged to me...long before and even if I could never afford it.
Now, he would return to Tuscany...and retire with his Villa and olive groves.
A pin could have dropped in the room and everyone would have heard it.
He then leaned in and very quietly said, "Except to you!"
To this I absolutely howled with excitement in a gasp and nearly fell off my chair while trying to hold back the flowing river from my eyes. When I finally regained my composure, Silvio got serious and said, "But you will ave to give me a fair price." To this I agreed, and I asked him to name his price. The house was easily worth $6M to the right buyer and I knew in my heart that Silvio did not owe a single dime on the place. "Would he be fair", I thought?
He got quiet again, and said, "After another bottle of wine, we will decide on a price." This actually "popped the air" from the balloon in the room and we were able to enjoy our wine, coffee and dessert. Tiramisu, a Super-Tuscan; Tiganello, and Starbucks coffee was on the menu for the dessert portion of the meal. Brad and I were prepared to pay north of $4M, but we wanted to get the place for under $4M. We were ill-prepared for his offer, which came while Silvio was removing bits of his dinner from his mouth with a toothpick.
"I'll take $3M!"
"3M, did you say", I said quietly?
"Yes, for you...$3M only", came the reply.
I got up from me seat, walked around the table to Silvio and his wife and kissed them both on the lips. I couldn't believe what I had just heard and promised them to have cash available within a few days and be able to close at their request. There was one thing I had to know...
"Silvio, will you return to Tuscany", I asked?
He stated that he indeed would return to Tuscany. He explained that he had only held onto the property in California because I had been renting it for so many years. He knew in his heart at the beginning that I could not afford to buy Casa Amor, but he held onto it; he said, for the pure joy of renting it to me each year. And since I had named the place, and even he had adopted it; he said he had prayed for the day that I would one day ask him to buy Casa Amor. He believed it belonged to me...long before and even if I could never afford it.
Now, he would return to Tuscany...and retire with his Villa and olive groves.
Gallivanting around downtown was fun that afternoon. Brad had an air of genuine calm about him in his "old age" that made him fun to be around. For the most part, he had not a care in the world. For many years, I was the same way except for my bought with severe depression after Brady's death. And sure, one worries about their children in different situations from time to time, but mostly, I was "happy-go-lucky" myself. I believe a lot of the stress-free living was due to the fact that we were both in positions financially that we did not have to worry about the basics and the additionally ancillary. New tires on the car or even a blown engine for that matter would be a small thing to have happen.
We had lunch at a bistro and continued to stroll around downtown San Diego in the Gaslight district until 4:00 PM. By then, I was beginning to bite my fingernails over the pressure of the meeting I was about to have at dinner with Silvio. It had nothing to do with intimidation! Silvio was a wonderful and kind man; now a friend, and I knew that he would say that he would consider our offer even if he had no interest in selling and simply and kindly tell us no later. It was simply that I wanted so badly to own Casa Amor.
I watched the clock for nearly an hour; sipping on a glass of wine, between five and six. At promptly six, Brad and I got into the Suburban and headed for La Jolla. We made it to Osterica at 6:25 PM. Silvio had pulled in a few minutes later, but early nonetheless. We ordered a Brunello di Montalcino and began lite conversation.
Silvio started by asking us about our summer. With the exception of my father's death, it was an excellent summer. And truthfully; knowing that my father had now been reunited with my mother was solace enough to make it a good summer. Novel sales were also a highlight and the extra month at Casa Amor was grand...as it had become my oasis that I could always find respite in.
Silvio talked about his summer in Tuscany. It had been more hot than usual, as the temperature had been nearly five degrees hotter on average by the day than in previous summers for the past fifty years. Global warming? Who knew! Irrespective of that fact, his olive groves liked the additional sunlight and his crop was easily sold at a higher price than usual to become extra-virgin olive oil.
We had lunch at a bistro and continued to stroll around downtown San Diego in the Gaslight district until 4:00 PM. By then, I was beginning to bite my fingernails over the pressure of the meeting I was about to have at dinner with Silvio. It had nothing to do with intimidation! Silvio was a wonderful and kind man; now a friend, and I knew that he would say that he would consider our offer even if he had no interest in selling and simply and kindly tell us no later. It was simply that I wanted so badly to own Casa Amor.
I watched the clock for nearly an hour; sipping on a glass of wine, between five and six. At promptly six, Brad and I got into the Suburban and headed for La Jolla. We made it to Osterica at 6:25 PM. Silvio had pulled in a few minutes later, but early nonetheless. We ordered a Brunello di Montalcino and began lite conversation.
Silvio started by asking us about our summer. With the exception of my father's death, it was an excellent summer. And truthfully; knowing that my father had now been reunited with my mother was solace enough to make it a good summer. Novel sales were also a highlight and the extra month at Casa Amor was grand...as it had become my oasis that I could always find respite in.
Silvio talked about his summer in Tuscany. It had been more hot than usual, as the temperature had been nearly five degrees hotter on average by the day than in previous summers for the past fifty years. Global warming? Who knew! Irrespective of that fact, his olive groves liked the additional sunlight and his crop was easily sold at a higher price than usual to become extra-virgin olive oil.
I arose early next morning; as did Brad, and we poured over our finances together. I must say, it was the first time in a long time that I even cared to look. I suppose the excitement of the idea of owning Casa Amor was gnawing at me. It kept me up that nite, so I worked on my novel prior to Brad arising at 4:00 AM. It had been the first time that I had put pen to paper since the death of my father.
Our discussion that morning was not centered around if we could buy Casa Amor. It was simply about how much we would have to offer Silvio. We made guesses about Silvio's position...had it been in his family for years, or was he a self-made millionaire who owned a small villa in Tuscany? Either could have been the case, but the answer to both questions would cause for unsettling answers in our minds.
After kicking around number after number, we came to an agreement that we would offer $3.5M and would be willing to pay as much as $4.25M for Casa Amor. And even at that, we wondered if Slvio would sell.
Silvio was Italian, so when he phoned that morning to ask where we should have dinner, we invited him to dinner at Osteria Romantica. There we would wine and dine him and twist his arm until he agreed to sell Casa Amor. The more he resisted, the more Brunello di Montalcino and Tiramisu we would supply him with. We agreed to meet at 6:30 PM, that evening.
Brad and I decided that we would go "stir crazy" with both enthusiasm and worry if we stayed in the hotel. Instead, we opted to have a bit of fun in the city. We would go downtown, grab a Starbucks and hit every bookstore in downtown. The goal was to see which bookstores carried our novels and how many copies they had for sale on their shelves. Certainly not a normal activity, but we each needed this silly affair to take place before we would sit down to dinner and make an offer at a place that had become my love affair for the past several years.
Adams Avenue bookstore had been touted as the best bookstore in town, so we took a drive over there first. Of the fifteen books that Brad had in print, Adams had ten on the shelves and exactly twenty-two total copies. Not bad. I did have a leg up in the fact that I was a newly published author. In fact; to my surprise, I had quite a nice place in the window of the bookstore and my total copies in print for sale there numbered twenty-seven. "Score", I thought...even though it seemed petty! We visited Mysterious Galaxy bookstore and also Warwick's and found much the same story. I could claim my victory for a day, and Brad graciously let me claim it in a big way.
Our discussion that morning was not centered around if we could buy Casa Amor. It was simply about how much we would have to offer Silvio. We made guesses about Silvio's position...had it been in his family for years, or was he a self-made millionaire who owned a small villa in Tuscany? Either could have been the case, but the answer to both questions would cause for unsettling answers in our minds.
After kicking around number after number, we came to an agreement that we would offer $3.5M and would be willing to pay as much as $4.25M for Casa Amor. And even at that, we wondered if Slvio would sell.
Silvio was Italian, so when he phoned that morning to ask where we should have dinner, we invited him to dinner at Osteria Romantica. There we would wine and dine him and twist his arm until he agreed to sell Casa Amor. The more he resisted, the more Brunello di Montalcino and Tiramisu we would supply him with. We agreed to meet at 6:30 PM, that evening.
Brad and I decided that we would go "stir crazy" with both enthusiasm and worry if we stayed in the hotel. Instead, we opted to have a bit of fun in the city. We would go downtown, grab a Starbucks and hit every bookstore in downtown. The goal was to see which bookstores carried our novels and how many copies they had for sale on their shelves. Certainly not a normal activity, but we each needed this silly affair to take place before we would sit down to dinner and make an offer at a place that had become my love affair for the past several years.
Adams Avenue bookstore had been touted as the best bookstore in town, so we took a drive over there first. Of the fifteen books that Brad had in print, Adams had ten on the shelves and exactly twenty-two total copies. Not bad. I did have a leg up in the fact that I was a newly published author. In fact; to my surprise, I had quite a nice place in the window of the bookstore and my total copies in print for sale there numbered twenty-seven. "Score", I thought...even though it seemed petty! We visited Mysterious Galaxy bookstore and also Warwick's and found much the same story. I could claim my victory for a day, and Brad graciously let me claim it in a big way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)