One Long Shortcut

  Chapter 154: Certified Mail & Concrete Walls We spent the previous night parked at our future home site and woke up to the sound of people talking right outside the van. This was deeply unsettling for two reasons. Firstly, we don’t exactly have neighbors. Secondly, it was before 7am, which automatically makes every sound feel threatening. I peeked out of the window in confusion and saw actual humans walking around the construction site. After my brain slowly booted up for the day, I realized these were construction workers working on our foundation. They probably looked at our van hidden amongst the trees and assumed we were some dodgy people secretly living in the woods. Which, to be fair, was not entirely incorrect. Still in my pajamas, I climbed out of the van to greet one of them and explain that we would be leaving in a few minutes. The guy smiled politely and managed to tell me, “My boss… coming with big car.” I attempted to explain that perhaps the “big car” should wai...

Chapter 151: Mazes, Mood Boards, and Mild Delusion After checking out of the campground, I swung by our construction site and did a full double-take. The trenches that once looked like an archaeological dig site had been filled with concrete, and the whole place now resembled a very committed attempt at building a human-sized maze. So, I decided to walk it. This felt like a big upgrade. Previously, I hovered at the edges like a nervous bystander, worried I’d fall into a trench and have to make the world’s most embarrassing phone call: “Hi yes, I fell into my own future living room.” But now, with the concrete footings in place, I treated them like walkways. Five minutes later I was completely disoriented, standing somewhere between “future kitchen” and “maybe bathroom?” with no idea how I got there.  The afternoon was dedicated to being a serious adult: paint swatches and wallpaper samples. I laid them all out in the van like I was about to solve a crime. Except all the clues lo...