The three men who lived and worked in the city were all writers, of one sort or another.
The first had a prestigious occupation working for a law firm where he prepared legal documents. The second held an important position as a copy editor for the city’s newspaper. The third had an enjoyable career as a freelance writer who wrote children’s stories for a publishing house. They were all friends and single. They had known each other since their school days. They would regularly catch up at their favourite café during the day. Although they lived in city apartments, they all shared a common desire to live in a house by the sea. Over time they each made plans to build their dream home at a chosen location along the nearby coast.
The first man thought he would be innovative and decided to have a straw-bale construction used. This was a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, as well as providing natural insulation. The second man decided that the popular timber frame construction would be best. It was basically a large carpentry job with a relatively short construction time and needing little in the way of heavy tools or equipment. The third man went for the common brick and tile house. This would be a conventional brick veneer construction with brickwork on the outside of the building, with the roof covered with overlapping clay tiles. Eventually, all three homes were built and the owners took possession.
However, not long after this, a storm came in from the ocean with gale force winds causing damage to properties along the coast. The first man had his house literally blown down. This was followed a few days later by a much greater storm with even more powerful and destructive winds, bringing even worse devastation in the form of damage to coastal properties. The second man had his house flattened.
When the third man, who lived in the brick and tile house heard what had happened he arranged for all three to catch up for a coffee. They met at the Wolf and Pig Coffee House, as was their practice. It was there that the third man’s proposal was discussed and accepted.
The others would move in with him, pay a reasonable rent, and live happily ever after!