The house above the cork forest (5)

I admit it. I've been putting this off.

At the end of my last post about the house, Joost wanted closure. We all did.

When it came, or appeared to have come--when finally, after more than a year of delays and bureaucratic procrastination and sheer bloody-mindedness from one of the four brothers, who was never actually present but appeared to want more money, although that was never quite said, merely implied, with raised eyebrows and sighs and muttering, the papers appeared to be in order--when finally , after much vagueness and postponement and shrugging and looking towards the horizon, the price appeared to be established at a figure only slightly higher than Joost was officially prepared to pay--when finally, after a series of veiled threats by the neighbour with hole-made wine and woolly salami, the issue of the shared road appeared to have been settled and Joost had been convinced by my lawyer and E.'s lawyer and a third lawyer belonging, I think, to the surveyor that he would automatically acquire the right to use it as part of the purchase--when finally all this was settled and Joost bought the house...

I'll save the next part for when I'm feeling stronger.