Read Online The Sweetest Revenge by Jennifer Ransom - Free Book Online

market.”
    “ Thank you for everything,” I
said. “I’m really sorry.”
    Once I had taken care of that
unpleasant business, I sat at my computer and researched companies
that handled estate sales. That was the time that I really needed a
friend, someone to guide me, give me suggestions, but apparently I
had no real friends. Apparently, our friends were really Jim’s
friends because not a single one called me when he abandoned me. I
had gone through the early, difficult days of my divorce on my own.
    The cheerful woman at Estate
Sales, Inc. said she could send someone over that afternoon to look
over the items in my house and set up a time to have the sale. I
would need to clean the house a little before that happened, but
first I took a shower and washed my hair. It had gotten longer in the
six months since Jim had been gone. I liked the feel of it as it
flowed down my back.
    When Rudolf from Estate Sales,
Inc. arrived I was ready for him. I knew exactly what I would sell
and exactly what I would not sell. We walked through each room and I
pointed out a painting of a country farmhouse my parents had given me
and said it would not be sold. The bedside table in my bedroom was
from my grandmother and would not be sold. Various vintage pieces
from my grandmother would not be sold.
    When all was said and done,
everything that Jim and I had bought together would be sold. That
amounted to most of what was in the house. I would be left with very
little furniture or knick-knacks and other decorative pieces.
    “ What about jewelry?” Rudolf
asked.
    I had already decided to sell my
most expensive pieces, including my engagement ring, which sat in the
jewelry box now, at a reputable jeweler on consignment. But I had
other less expensive pieces Jim had bought me over the years that
could go on the block. I showed those pieces to Rudolf.
    “ We can definitely sell those,”
he said.
    I showed him the set of Lenox
fine china Jim and I had received as wedding gifts and added to over
the years. White with a fine gold trim around the edges, beautiful in
it’s simplicity. I showed him the crystal glasses. I had rarely
used the china and crystal, but it had been nice to have when I
wanted a more formal setting, such as that Thanksgiving eight years
ago when my parents visited. The Chantilly silver set had belonged to
my grandmother and would not be part of the sale. Rudolf took photos
of everything.
    When we were finished going
through the house, Rudolf said, “You’ve got some great pieces
here that I’m sure will sell. Did you say you’re moving?”
    “ No, I’m not moving,” I
said. “Just cleaning house.”
    We made arrangements to have the
sale a week from Saturday. That would give Estate Sales, Inc. ample
time to properly advertise it. That gave me time to move items I
didn’t want to sell into the spare bedroom. Not a place I wanted to
go, but it was necessary.
    Over the next week, I threw
myself into moving things into the spare room. After the sale, I
would need a new couch, so I went to Fine Southern Furniture on the
edge of campus and looked at their selection. They got their
furniture from Hickory, North Carolina, so I knew it was well made. I
wandered through their shop, which was located in a historic home on
a shady street. Each room in the house was set up like rooms in real
houses, so you could get a feel of what the furniture really looked
like.
    I wandered through the front of
the house, looking at the couches. There were mostly floral prints
and not what I was looking for.
    “ We can order you any fabric
you want,” the saleswoman said. “I’ve got all the fabric
samples in the back.”
    As I was following her through
the last decorated room I noticed a couch against the left wall. I
walked over to it. It was a slate blue color, just like the couch in
my dream. It had a chaise on one end and the other end was a
recliner. The middle seat was stationary. I sat in the recliner and
pulled the lever on the