But one house was particularly meaningful.
Pam Key-Linden lived in a stylish 3,000-square-foot home in the Ridgecrest neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Though the rapport between Gaxiola and Key-Linden was always cordial, it started off with professional distance.
Over the years, both Gaxiola and Key-Linden went through tumultuous divorces and lost loved ones.
What started out as a purely professional relationship, had transformed into something special.
We went into many homes because of my moms cleaning, Naranjo toldThe New York Times.
I was able to observe different lifestyles and personalities.
No one was like Pam.
Pam became like family.
When Key-Linden passed, Gaxiola continued to clean the home until Key-Linden’s second husband died a year later.
Then, it was time to turn over the keys.
That was heartbreaking, and I thought, That was half of my life, too, said Gaxiola.
I was saying goodbye.
This was not a house to clean.
It was a second home to come and enjoy.
By that time, Naranjo had married her high-school sweetheart and was raising her own family.
Inspired by her time in Key-Linden’s home, she’d become passionate about design and begansharing her workonline.
She’d remained in Albuquerque and always dreamed of living in Ridgecrest.
But nothing was ever quite right.
She immediately called her daughter.
Without hesitation, Naranjo contacted the executors and told them she wanted to purchase the homeand everything inside.
Naranjo says, I think I always knew I would end up here one day.
Now that she and her family have moved in, she’s slowly making the home her own.
With so many memories tied up in the house, that hasn’t always been an easy process.
Still, some items will always have a special place in the house.
This includes the vintage Thomasville desk that she used to sit under as a child.
Key-Linden had inherited it from her parents and now it has a special place in Naranjo’s bedroom.
