“This house,” she waved her hand around the dining room I had grown up in. “It’s too old. It’s not modern anymore. All I can think about when I’m here is your parents. You can’t possibly expect me to live in such a place.” She wrinkled her perfect nose.

I followed her gaze around the room, only seeing walls and a roof. It was a house, and a house was a house. The family inside it was what made it a home. “You don’t want to live here?”

Hannah shook her head. “No. The Moores are selling the back part of their land. The part past the pond. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to call our own, Fe? Something that was just ours.”

“If you’re sure…” I wasn’t sure a new house was necessary. But my father had taught me to be a great man, I needed to have the best of the best. Hannah was the best. And if Hannah needed a new house to be mine forever, then I’d build her a new house. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

“Oh, Fe!” she cried, jumping out of her seat.

I didn’t stop to think about how she was more excited about the house than the proposal.

I went to the bank the next morning, declaring my intent to purchase the acres from the Moores. The banker smiled at me. “I’m happy to help, sir. But that portion of land has been settled by travelers. That’s why Mr. Moore is selling it. Are you sure you want such an undertaking?”

I thought about it for a moment. Hannah wanted the land. And I wanted Hannah. “I’ll deal with it.”

I walked out of the bank the proud new owner of a parcel of land in the woods, and one step closer to the woman of my dreams. The next day, I visited my new land, to examine exactly how many travelers were now trespassing on my property.

There were a dozen or so makeshift tents set up, with dogs and horses tied off with ropes. Children played in the small circle in the middle of the tents. I marched down the hill, armed with a sense of propriety, my deed, and money. The children stopped playing as I approached and ran off into different tents. I stood awkwardly for a minute or two, before a gnarled old woman stepped out of the largest tent. “Who are you, boy?” she asked.

“Felix, ma’am. I purchased this plot of land, and I intend to build a house on it. I’ll need you and your family to vacate the area as soon as possible.” I offered her a smile that usually helped me with the church women, but received only a frown in return.

“We’ve lived here for years, and never bothered anyone. Why would we have to move now?”