“Ew, don’t you want gloves or something?” I screeched.
He chuckled. “I’ve had my hands in worse.”
“That is not something a girl wants to hear.”
He snorted.
“Please tell me it’s not sewage,” I pleaded.
“It’s not sewage.”
“No… but, really, it’s not sewage, right?”
He glanced at me and shook his head indulgently. “No, Nat, it’s not sewage. It’s dirt and debris. I’m just not entirely sure why.” He grabbed his screwdriver and reached into the shower basin. A moment later he set the drain cap on the ground. He pulled out a handful of dirt and what looked like little tree roots.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It looks like the trees have grown into your pipes.”
Trees in the pipes. That didn’t sound good. Or cheap. “Can you fix that?”
“Yeah, it can be fixed. I just don’t have the stuff with me right now. I can probably get it drained enough for the water to go down tonight, but you can’t shower until it’s fixed.”
“I can’t shower?” What was I supposed to do without a shower?
“You can shower at my place tonight, and I’ll get one of my guys to come by tomorrow and clean it out.”
“You have guys that can do that?”
“We do build houses for a living, Nat, so yeah, I’ve got a plumber.”
“I know you build houses, but I just thought installing the plumbing might be different from whatever this is.”
“It is different, but it’s not that uncommon to need this done. Most of the houses we build have a lot of trees nearby, and they don’t like to be told where they can and can’t grow. We get called out by owners who think it’s a problem with our build when really it’s just Mother Nature telling us not to get too comfy on her spot.” He chuckled.
I eyed the shower. “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
“Let me just get this cleaned up a bit and we can head back to my place for you to shower.” He hopped up and left the room. A minute later he returned with a contraption of some sort that he shoved into the drain. He pulled out a massive clump of what looked like hair and roots, and God knows what. Whatever it was, it was enough for the drain to release and the dirty water disappeared.
“That should do it for today.” He started packing up his stuff. “You got plans for tomorrow?”
“No, not really. I was maybe going to go for a hike, but nothing much.”
“If you aren’t home when Mark gets here, are you okay with him coming inside, or would you rather I call you in the morning once I know what the day looks like and give you a time?”
“Um, I’m fine with him coming in, but a heads-up would be nice, just…” I shrugged. “You know.”
“No problem.” He picked up his toolbox and snake-like-thing. “Why don’t you grab your stuff, and we can head to my place?”
“I’ll just follow you there.” The least I could do was drive myself. It was bad enough that I was imposing on him to shower and fix my drain. He didn’t need to be my chauffeur as well.
“I don’t mind bringing you back.”
“Don’t be silly. Once you’re home, you should be allowed to stay home.”
He shrugged. “Your call. I’m good with either.”
I placed my hand on his forearm and gave it a little squeeze. “Thank you, I really appreciate this. Me coming back wasn’t supposed to make more work for you, and yet here I am, adding more to your list.”
