10/24/2026
I told my seller I’d help her get to Florida.
Apparently, I meant personally. On a plane.
After an attempted feline prison break, two closings, and a night in a hotel so cold I wore my down parka indoors.
But let me back up. ❤️
When I first met Patty, she was thinking about selling her home in Glocester, Rhode Island, and moving to Florida. She had family and friends there, and last winter in New England had officially done her in.
She also had an eye appointment for what she thought might be something like a stye.
It was cancer.
Two eye surgeries followed. Suddenly, selling a house wasn’t the priority. Getting through the next surgery and recovering was.
We stayed in touch over the months. Our hoped-for June listing became late August. When she was well enough and ready, we got moving.
One day, while I was helping with some light staging, she asked me something.
“Would you be willing to travel with me?”
She was scared of making the trip alone after everything she’d been through, especially with two cats.
Now, somewhere there is probably a sensible person who would have paused to consider the logistics.
I am apparently not that person.
I said yes. We’d figure it out.
Her home was a lovely manufactured home on a great lot, but homes like hers weren’t exactly flying off the market. We had to be realistic: this could take months.
The beginning was quiet. Light open-house attendance. Limited showings. Then, around the third or fourth week, we were under contract.
Meanwhile, I had been looking for her Florida agent.
And I am particular about this. If I’m handing someone I care about over to another agent, I want to know how that person communicates, how they treats people, and whether their personality fits my client.
Enter Abiola Williams. An absolute angel.
We initially thought Patty might rent. But Abiola helped her find a home in The Villages that worked for her budget, and suddenly this thing we’d been talking about for months was actually happening.
Two homes. Two states. Closings scheduled for the same day.
Abiola and I stayed in close contact, working through the moving pieces while Patty prepared to leave behind a whole chapter of her life.
Then came the cats.
Oh, the cats.
We had booked our flights with the plan to bring them. We had the soft-sided carriers. We had a plan.
The cats had a different plan.
There was clawing at mesh. There were zippers being opened. The medication wasn’t happening. Patty was crying, the cats were panicking, and we were supposed to be heading to an airport hotel before a 6 a.m. flight.
She was overwhelmed and terrified that she couldn’t get them there. Through tears, she was asking whether she might have to surrender them.
That was the point where we needed to stop and find another option.
So naturally, I said, “Let’s bring them to my house.”
Because apparently my real estate services now include emergency cat accommodations.
We got them safely settled in my room, I texted my sons, and we headed back to the hotel with that piece still to figure out.
One thing at a time.
At the hotel, I’m sitting in my down parka. Patty is wearing a fuzzy Christmas robe. We’re emotionally exhausted, freezing, and somehow laughing.
You know those moments when you look around and think, “How exactly did we get here?”
That.
Alarm set for 3 a.m. Clothes on. Freshen up. Lyft. Airport by 4.
And we made it.
We landed in Florida, picked up the rental car, stopped for sheets and a few essentials, and drove to her new home.
What was waiting there absolutely undid me. WOW!
Abiola had rolled out a red carpet for Patty. (literally!!) She had a beautiful welcome waiting inside. And the joy on her face watching Patty arrive… you could feel how much she cared.
After the cancer diagnosis, the surgeries, the uncertainty, the goodbyes, and the tears over her cats, Patty got to walk into a home where someone had made sure she felt celebrated.
We were all crying.
Naturally. Apparently that was on the itinerary too.
Later that night, I called Mike to say good night.
“So you’re literally sleeping in a stranger’s house? She could kill you.”
If you know Mike, you can hear this entire conversation.
“Well, honey, if she kills me, just know I love you.”
“I love you too.”
And we laughed and said good night. 😂
Here’s the part I couldn’t have planned: Patty’s new home is about 10 minutes from my sister, whom I haven’t seen in a few years. We are so excited to see each other. And also past clients from Halifax MA, who have become dear friends and have invited me down many times, are nearby too.
I’ll be staying with them for the second half of this trip. 😀
Somehow, this adventure brought me close to several people I care about.
A full-circle moment, with a rental car and very little sleep.
For now, Patty and I are shopping and getting her home set up because she brought almost nothing.
And y’all know I can rise to the occasion when shopping is involved.
Sometimes what feels crazy to other people just feels right to me.
Patty, thank you for trusting me, letting me share your story, and allowing me to be part of this chapter. Abiola, thank you for welcoming her with so much heart.
Every home has a story.
This one just required a boarding pass. ❤️✈️Abiola Williams-Cunningham
