The Key Fiasco

Yesterday was sooooooo damn exhausting. When it was all over, I had blisters on my feet & felt totally zapped of my strength. That's why I only posted the photo of the keys last night. But oh what we had to endure to get those keys ...

The closing itself was easy. Over the course of an hour we signed dozens of documents & handed over a cashier's check. Luckily, the paperwork was in line just as we were expecting. All we needed were the keys.

Ah, yes. The keys. Those all-important keys.

For those who have never purchased a home before, the seller's portion of the closing is very short. They were there for maybe 15 minutes. Once they co-signed a few documents with us, they were free to go. Unfortunately, they forgot to leave the keys. Once we realized the problem, the attorney called their cell phone. The sellers were at the local university, packing the husband's office. We could have met them at his office for the keys, but the idea of navigating that campus and (worst of all) finding a parking place sounded like a nightmare. They had to go back to the attorney's office in a couple hours to pick up a very large check, so we suggested that they just leave the keys there. No problem, right? Right.

So I chose to stay in town and wait.
And wait.
I got some lunch.
I went to a bookstore.
I talked to people on the phone.
I went to Target and wandered every single aisle.
I even tried on bathing suits because I figured that Murphy's Law would kick in and I'd get a phone call while naked in a dressing room.
No such luck. Four hours had passed. Nothing.

Fifteen minutes before the attorney's office closed, I called to see if somehow I'd missed their call. Nope. They hadn't seen the sellers yet. I started to freak out. We'd signed all of those papers! We'd paid all of that money! We NEEDED those keys! Eeep! The attorney's assistant hit the phones & tried to find the sellers. And then, miraculously, they appeared at the office 7 minutes before the office closed. Luckily, I was right around the corner. When I walked into the office, the clock was chiming the hour. The assistant placed the keys in my eager hands. It was over. It was over! The house is ours!!!