“That’s okay. Do you know if the water valve is accessible? It’s usually near the water heater or in a laundry room.”
Reese grimaced. “Sorry, haven’t gotten into that area either. I’ve been going to the laundromat.”
Matty blew out a breath, then smiled. “I’ll go shut it off at the road. That should do it.”
After a little hunting around, she was able to find the water valve outside. The cover was almost completely camouflaged by grass. It occurred to her as she was going back in that there would probably be a lot of things in need of repair. She smiled selfishly to herself at the thought of maybe getting to come over and help more. Anything to get to know Reese a little more.
“Did you find it?” Reese asked hopefully when she returned.
“Yep, we’re all closed off now.”
Matty stepped into the tub, twisting the knobs, but nothing happened. It obviously was an issue isolated to the shower since the sink and toilet worked fine. She’d start by taking off the faucet first, hoping that she didn’t have to tear out part of the wall.
“Do you mind me watching you work?”
“Not at all. Have a seat,” she instructed with a grin as she motioned to the toilet.
Reese put the lid down, then settled onto it.
Matty squatted down, leaning on the edge to pull her backpack toward her. She unzipped it, then pulled out her tool belt. She needed a Phillips head screwdriver. As she was pulling out the tool belt, she watched in horror as the GED pamphlet Elsie had given her dropped out and slid directly in front of Reese.
She lunged to grab it, but Reese beat her to it.
Somehow Matty’s heart had stopped but was also slamming against her chest at the same time.
Reese flipped it over to the front, her eyes skimming it as the life slowly drained right out of Matty. When Reese looked up, Matty’s face must have given her fear away. Reese frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” rushed Matty as she snatched up the pamphlet and stuffed it in her bag. She turned back to the taps. “Uh, so I think the best thing to do would be to check behind this handle.”
“Matty?”
“Hmm?” she answered, focusing on taking the screws out.
“Your face when I looked at that pamphlet looked like what I imagined mine looked like on the porch earlier.”
Matty sucked in her bottom lip, abusing it with her teeth.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
A screw popped out, and she placed it on the ledge of the tub. She took her time meeting Reese’s gaze. It would seem the tables had turned. She swallowed hard. “No, it’s okay. You shared your secret with me. I guess it’s only fair to share mine.”
“You don’t have to.”
Matty cocked a half smile. “It’s okay.”
“Is it for you or someone you’re friends with?”
She could lie. Say it’s for a friend or relative. But that felt wrong. What if they began really having a friendship and then found out it wasn’t the truth? The burden of a lie wasn’t worth it. “It’s for me. I was thinking about, uh, taking it.” She heard Grammy’s voice in the back of her head, telling her how useless it would be. “It’s probably a waste of time, though. Not really worth it.”
“Why do you say that?”
Matty shrugged as she unscrewed another screw. She didn’t have a good answer to that. She knew logically it was a good idea. It really was. But the doubt in her ability to pass the test only magnified with Grammy’s critique. The screw joined the other one. “I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
Matty whipped her head around, her mouth dropping. Had she heard that correctly? “Excuse me?”
“I don’t know much about you, Matty, but what I do know is that you’re intelligent. It’s not that you don’t know the answer. It’s that you’re unsure of a new next step.”
