Chapter 70

When we were settled in our chairs with wineglasses again in hand, Charles said, “Be sure that you’re in total agreement with this, Gran. You mentioned the laughter of children, but children scream, yell, and cry a lot also.”

“As you young people say,” she said, “‘been there, done that’. I raised a son and a grandson in this house, and I have a more than passing acquaintance with the unpredictable and sometimes noisy side effects.”

“The construction period will generate a lot of racket for a while, as well,” Charles said.

“The walls are quite thick. I think I can handle it,” she said.

“One thing,” Charles said. “We want this to be our secret for a while. Even Richard doesn’t know any of this. We want to sort of surprise our friends when the house is ready and the kids are here.” He proceeded to tell her what we had in mind.

“My goodness,” she said, “isn’t that a bit…?”

“Theatrical,” he said, finishing her thought.

“That’s a good word for it,” she said.