Fannie Flagg - I Still Dream About You

Before Maggie knew it, Hazel had her downstairs and in a seat in the back row of the huge ballroom packed to the rafters with hundreds of women. After being introduced, Hazel walked out on the stage to thunderous applause, stepped up on a wooden box, flashed her famous smile, and began her speech the way she always did: “I’m so happy to be here today; I can’t tell you how much I look up to all you gals in WIRE”-pause-“but then I look up to everyone.”- Wait for big laugh.-“You know, the other day, I was out to lunch with Susie, one of the girls from my office, when a friend of hers she hadn’t seen for a while came over to the table and asked her what she was doing, and Susie let out a big sigh and said, ‘Oh, I’m just a real estate agent.’ After the friend left, I asked her why she had said ‘just’ a real estate agent. And she said, ‘Oh, because she has a really important job.’ So, just in case we have any Susies out there who think your job is not important, I’m here to remind you just how important it is. Home ownership is not only the backbone of this country, it is the secret of a successful society. Once a person owns a home, he has something invested not only in himself, but in his country, his state, his city, and in his neighborhood. As a home owner, he has a stake in everything and everybody around him. It’s the reason people flocked to America from all over the world, with nothing but a strong desire to work hard and a dream of one day owning a home of their own. Don’t forget, private ownership is still a pretty new idea in the time frame of the world, so when you help a family buy a home, you may be fulfilling the dream of generations of that family. And one day, a family member will be able to say, ‘This is mine; I own it.’ ”

She paused and smiled. “Now, I have nothing against renters, you understand. Our rental department does very well. I used to be a renter myself. But with just ten percent down and a forty-year mortgage, I was able to buy a house, and to this day, I will never forget the moment when my real estate agent handed me the key and said, ‘Welcome to your new home.’ I felt at least ten feet tall, and for me, that’s twenty feet.”-Another big laugh.-“So, remember, when you help a family buy a home, you’re not just typing up papers; you’re helping that family make years of memories. If you don’t believe it, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, you ask people what they’re doing, and they’ll say, ‘I’m going home.’ I’ll bet everyone in this room can close their eyes right now and still remember the house where they grew up. How many times have we heard people say about a house, ‘This was where I was the happiest, this is where I raised my children.’ A home is a special place that will live in someone’s heart forever.

“I know our business is hard work, and sometimes we get caught up with all the little details, but never forget that you are part of one of the most important transactions in a person’s entire life, the biggest investment in the future most of us will ever make. Remember, you’re not just a real estate broker, you are a dream broker. So get out there, girls, and keep on selling those dreams!”

As soon as she finished, the entire room leapt to their feet and cheered, and Maggie, who was not even a real estate agent, jumped up and screamed along with them. She was ready to run out the door and start selling houses that day. But as Maggie was to find out later, in all the years she was with her, she’d never seen Hazel do a speech where she didn’t get the same reaction. The truth was, Hazel had never really stopped being a cheerleader. She cheered for life itself.

After going through that terrible ordeal in Dallas with Richard’s family, she had been depressed. That’s probably why the day Hazel Whisenknott had walked back into Maggie’s life, she had been like a spring tonic. It had been said about Hazel that she was a person who could change your mind about the entire human race.

M AGGIE HAD BEEN WORKING FOR HAZEL FOR ONLY A FEW WEEKS and was having lunch at Cobb Lane when Mitzi Caldwell Lee, an old school pal from her Brook Hill days, walked in. The minute she saw Maggie, she rushed over to the table.

“Maggie! Oh, I’m so glad to see you; somebody told me you were back from Dallas. Can I sit with you?”

“Of course, Mitzi. It’s so nice to see you; please sit down.”

Mitzi, still as cute as ever, with short red hair and bangs, sat down and said, “I will, but don’t look at me. I know I look a hundred and eight, but you! You still look just like you did in high school.”

Maggie laughed. “Well, I doubt that.”

“Oh, Maggie, didn’t we have fun back then? Don’t you miss the good old days when we were growing up?”

“I do, very much.”

“What great luck to run into you. I’m only home for a few days. Daddy flopped out on the golf course again, with another heart attack, so I had to come home and help Mother.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“David says between his parents and mine, we could start our own clinic. Old age, honey, it’s a drag.”

“I know. How’s David?”

“Oh, fine, oh fine, working too hard. I can’t wait for the day when we can come home for good. New York is nice, but it’s not Birmingham. I said to David, ‘When your children start talking like Yankees, it’s time to come home.’ But what about you? Are you home for a while? Are you still modeling? Tell me everything.”

“Yes, I am home for a while, and no, I don’t model anymore. Actually, I’m selling real estate now.”

Mitzi’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped in surprise. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe it! You are selling real estate?”

Maggie felt her face flush. “Well, I just felt that while I was here-”

“No! I mean, I can’t believe it! It is sheer kismet running into you today. I’ve been trying to get Momma and Daddy to sell their house, but they won’t listen to me. I brought in a real estate agent to talk to them, and still they wouldn’t budge. But they always loved you! I hate to impose on our friendship, but would you consider taking the listing? The two of them are just rattling around in that big old house, and I know if you got involved, I could get them to sell and move over to St. Martin’s in the Pines, so I wouldn’t have to worry about them night and day. Please, won’t you talk to them?”

Maggie was lucky. After a meeting with Mitzi’s parents, they agreed to sell, and Maggie got her first listing: a large three-story gray limestone house located “over the mountain.”

The weekend she and Brenda held the first open house, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell were out of town for three days, leaving her in charge. A lot of people showed up for the open house, many with young children who ran through the house unsupervised, and considering there were so many expensive objects of art, Maggie felt a little nervous. But after a quick check, everything seemed fine. Brenda left first, and Maggie locked up around five-thirty and went home, happy and exhausted.

Sunday morning, when Maggie arrived to get ready for the next open house, the moment she reached the front door, she heard a strange rushing sound. When she stepped inside, she couldn’t believe her eyes. A wall of water was cascading over the second-story balcony, crashing onto the floor in the entrance hall and running down the stairs in currents and into the living room. Maggie immediately ran up the stairs to the second floor, squishing as she stepped on the waterlogged rug. When she got to the second floor, she saw a large rush of water flooding out of one of the bathrooms. She ran in and turned off the faucet. Someone had turned on the water in the bathtub and left it running. Evidently, it had been running all night; the upstairs hall and the entire downstairs were flooded with about an inch of water. All the rugs, the bottom of the curtains, and the handsome hardwood floors were sopping wet. Brenda walked in the door and said, “Good God Almighty… what happened?”