ERNIE AND ERNESTINA: The Writer, His Wife, and their Afterlife

Book One, Part Two, Chapter 99: The Duplex

The title on the Charles Street house is still not cleared. Joshua’s already signed two extensions on the sales contract.

“I feel jerked around by PNC. My life’s up in the air. I don’t know if the closing will ever happen, and that affects my life, Christy’s life, whether I buy this other Volvo, when to give notice in the prison cell we live in. I feel choked. I’m a raging beast pacing inside this cage tonight.”

Three weeks ago Joshua sold the P-1800 Volvo he restored. A few days ago he spotted another P-1800 a few years older, more desirable, for half the sales price of the first one.

“I can restore it for a profit, which will add to my Charles Street nest egg, but will I have enough time to turn it around before the Charles Street place closes? In the meantime I’m living in L. A. without a car. I can’t depend on Christy to take me to auditions. I’ve been renting cars but that gets costly, and I’m watching every dime and dollar now.”

We keep talking. Maybe talking will help dissipate his anger and confusion. Unbeknownst to me, he’s stopped pacing and is now searching real-estate listings on his computer.

“Hey, I just found something, a duplex — a duplex! How cool is that? It’s eighteen hundred square feet, a thousand on the first floor and eight hundred in the basement walkout. Separate entrances. Pine floors. Updated kitchen and bath on the first floor. Needs minimal repairs, it says here. Guess how much?”

“With that square footage, it’s at least a hundred thou.”

“Nope.”

“Maybe eighty-five?”

“Nope.”

“Close to fifty?”

“Yep.”

“Higher?”

“Nope. It’s been reduced to forty-four nine. That’s thirty thousand less than Charles Street and with more rent potential, lower property taxes, and a simpler house to keep up. I could come in, repair one of the apartments, rent it out, then work on the other one. I just hope it hasn’t sold yet. Maybe this Charles Street delay is for a reason. . . . Daddy’s in on this. He would say we’re paying too much for Charles Street, that its return-on-investment isn’t that great. I would really like to own both places, but that’s not possible. I’m going to call the listing agent, then call you back.”

He calls me back. “With the price reduction, four people are looking at it today. Call Cindi.”

I call Cindi. She agrees to meet me this afternoon.

Jesus, Joshua makes my head swirl. A second car in the offing, and now a second house, too.