Chapter IV
December 1, 1999
William and Casey had rented a one-bedroom apartment right after graduating high
school. It would be too small for them once the baby arrived.
Casey had been unhappy living there. The walls had to stay white, and they couldn’t
put nails in them. She tried using hot glue to hang paintings, but they always fell
after a week. They didn’t have space to put a crib or any of the baby’s furniture.
Finding a two-bedroom rental where the landlord would let her decorate had been
impossible. She wanted to paint the walls of the nursery but they wouldn’t let her.
One night at Cooper’s Diner, Manny overheard them talking. He told them his nephew
fixed up and sold houses, and he offered to ask if the nephew had something they
might like.
Manny pulled the right strings. His nephew had finished work on a three- bedroom
home. As a favor, he offered them a rent-to-own deal, three hundred fifty dollars a
month.
It was a small three-bedroom ranch on Echo Grove Drive, newly carpeted and painted.
Though their lease hadn’t started, the nephew let them move in early. They didn’t
own much, so moving only took a few hours.
Most of the furniture came from William’s grandmother’s storage unit. Casey’s
mother contributed a few pieces too.