A Group Surprise

What does it cost to build a house? That's the question we asked ourselves when we decided to give Dad a present for his anniversary. He'd long dreamed of a house of his own outside the city. And now, at last, we'd managed to save up a decent sum and make that long-awaited gift happen. We wanted to do everything exactly the way he'd always pictured it, so the whole build fell squarely on our shoulders. To get everything done and make the idea as real as possible, we decided not to waste money on small things, but to spend wisely — we called in every friend, contact and connection we had.

Our neighbour, a specialist in vehicle recovery and cargo transport of all sizes and weights, offered to help us out. And that was our first real saving right there — we no longer had to spend a cent on towing or hauling building materials! The hydraulic crane he'd worked with for years let us move even the heaviest materials — boards, cement, plaster, laminate flooring and more. Thanks to his crane, we could get everything we needed from the building-supply store quickly and reliably, without wasting precious time or effort.

The next step was the actual building work. That didn't cause much trouble either, since more than half our relatives have a background in construction and could pitch in. We put together a small crew and got to work. Some would say we could have just hired workers, but we wanted to do it ourselves, with our own hands. Work does ennoble people, after all, especially in such cheerful company. In the evenings, after a hard day's work, we'd sit by the fire, sing songs, cook fish soup and swap stories. What more could you want for happiness? The most amazing part is how we managed to keep the whole thing a secret from Dad — how did he never guess where we kept disappearing to?

The final stage was decorating, and that turned out to be no problem at all either. The talented people in our family aren't limited to construction skills — in a short amount of time, my sister, a decorator by trade, managed to put together a wonderful setting on a sensible budget. Knowing Dad's taste very well, she built it around a classic English style, creating an unusual atmosphere of elegance and refinement — a personal study with huge bookshelves (Dad loves to read), leather armchairs and family photos on the walls. Everywhere, a minimum of showiness and a maximum of taste and style! When Dad saw this group gift of ours, he actually teared up... It was, I think, what he'd been dreaming of his whole life...

Yana