Pieter

After a 15-minute drive, I arrive at my new place. It is a large ground floor with a utility/mud room, with a connected bathroom, a large kitchen, a large living room, 2 bedrooms, two separate toilets and a glass serre. The serre has four doors and is large enough for a dinner table to play games on, and also provides a nice place to barbecue. Sadly, I will need to invest in a privacy fence if I want the girls to be able to go around naked or in kinky outfits. It has a big garage separately from the main house.

As I am looking around the garden and the garage, someone says hi. I respond in kind. They go on to introduce themselves. "I am Laura Egberts, granddaughter of Marriane and Egbert Egberts from number 17. And who might this snooping around this place?" If I had to guess, she is in her late 20s maybe maybe 30. Brown hair in a braid to the middle of her back. Big hips but no nonsense, as many people with farming heritage tend to be around here. Nobody has time for that; there is hay to be made. Always something to do.

I smile and say, "Pieter Visser, I bought the place from Engelie Hubberts yesterday. And I am doing more than snooping, I am looking into what needs to be renovated and what doesn't. I am also taking stock of what Mr Hubbertsen left here. Want to come in for a cup of tea?" She quips back: "Did you bring the bags or find them?" I don't react to the quip. "I brought a box with a mix of stuff." She demands I almost: "As long as you go with me to my grandparents afterwards and introduce yourself there." I think about it. "We should just go now, I have an appointment in the afternoon." She smiles and gestures for me to come along.

After a few minutes walk past numbers 14 and 15, we arrive at 17 on one side and 16 on the other. Most of the old farmhouses are either uninhabited or people who are more housebound. Same for her grandparents, apparently. As she introduces me, that apprehension disappears quickly. Marriane asks me if I have kids. I respond with "not yet". She looks at me with a look that says, 'So you are trying.' Marriane continues her questioning. "Pieter, are you moving in alone into that big house? Isn't that a bit big?" I look at her and pray the app will cover for me. "I am moving in with two female friends of mine. I will introduce you when the place is renovated, and we move in." She smells something is off. "Two female 'friends'. How nice of you to share your space with them. Do you have a girlfriend?" I smile, look at her and say: "Do I ask who you have sex with and who you don't? How you spend your time behind closed doors?" She chuckles, Egbert joins in. He says: "You have balls, man, to admit you are dating multiple women." Marriane shakes her head, knowing I neither admitted nor refused anything. "Did I? I thought I said none of your business." He frowns. "Isn't that the same as admitting it?" I smile and shake my head. Laura finally chips in. "Grandpa, he indeed didn't admit it, be he didn't refuse it. You are correct, given the context, he might as well have admitted it. Do they know you are banging both of them?"

A guy in his mid forties in an overal wanders in at that moment and says: "Hey, new face, I am Thijs Spijkermans." I respond: "Hello, I am Pieter Visser. I bought number 13 from Engelie Hubberts." He smiles and says: "Cool, I live between you and the elderly Egberts in number 15. Nice to have a younger face in the street. Just you or also a wife and kids?" Laura jumps in: "Just him and his girlfriends." (Female friend and girlfriend are the same word.) Thijs thinks before speaking. "House prices have risen greatly. Can you trust that there isn't a lot of friction? Being a guy with two girls and all?" I chuckle. "Nah, me with Roos and Anne isn't going to be a problem. I might want to get a bathroom on the second floor so they don't have to parade around the entire house. And so they can choose to use it at the same time." Both Thijs and Egbert chuckle at the woman using the bathroom, the entire time joking. I look at the time. "Sorry to leave you, but I have an appointment in the afternoon and still need to check a few things before it." I wave goodbye and leave for the house.

I check the basement, which is as big as the entire top floor, properly filled with cabinets, no signs of flooding. On the first floor, I find 6 large bedrooms and a staircase to the attic/second floor. On the second floor, we have 2 more bedrooms and a bunch of storage. All around the wiring is old and needs to be replaced. Heating may be as well. Floors need to be replaced, as I thought. I sent an inquiry to 6 different local construction companies that do renovations, and I will see the result. In those inquiries, I mention the following:

• new floors 800 m²
• Solar panels as much as possible. Roof east west 350 m² surface area square house and 100m² roof garage
• New wiring whole house and garage.
• Insulated windows.
• Privacy fence
• New heating &cooling system, preferably an earth heat pump.
• New boiler.
• Double-check plumming
• Second-floor bathroom with toilet.
• Double-check roof quality and possible replacement.
• Fence around my fields.
• Want the house to be done as soon as possible.

I drive away towards home.