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“Give me half an hour,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
I walked back to the house and told Harry I needed the rest of the day off, and he didn’t even blink. It probably helped that I hadn’t shown up late or missed a day since I’d started working for him.
“Cavalry’s on the way,” Casper said once I was back outside.
“Alright,” I replied. “I’m gonna head to the hardware store and get the shit I’ll need.”
“We’ll need,” Casper corrected. He pulled out his wallet and I took a step back, raising my hand to stop him. He smiled. “Ah, it’s like that, is it?”
“Don’t need your money,” I replied firmly.
As I drove to the hardware store I mentally made a list of the shit I’d need. Repairing what was essentially a shed built on top of a trailer was very different from repairing the floor of a house, but I had a pretty good idea of where to start. The axle was perfectly fine, it was just the flooring that needed to be repaired.
An hour later, my truck bed was full and I headed back to Casper’s place. When I got there, three cars sat at angles around the cart, the trunks wide open.
“I’m taking the appliances,” Cecilia called out over her shoulder as she went inside the cart.
“I’ll carry out the espresso machine, Cecilia,” Casper ordered. “Don’t even try to lift that thing.”
“I’ve got most of the pantry stuff,” Lily called from the back of her car. “Do you think these glass bottles will be alright if I don’t wrap them?”
“With the way you drive?” Kara’s mom Rose asked. “Yes.”
“Oh, hey Bishop,” Lily said as I walked toward them. She looked beyond me at the truck. “Is that a refrigerator?”
“This one won’t leak,” I replied jokingly.
“Hey, our dishwasher is on the fritz,” Rose said as she grinned at me. “Help a girl out?”
“Sorry,” I said, laughing. “I’m all tapped out.”
“Charlie’s gonna kill you,” Lily said with a whistle.
“Don’t tell her,” I muttered out of the side of my mouth.
I walked toward the cart to help carry out whatever was left inside, and the two of them continued the conversation like I couldn’t hear them.
“He must’ve really fucked up,” Rose said, her voice not as quiet as she thought it was.
“Oh, yeah,” Lily replied. “Definitely.”
“Almost done in here,” Casper said, popping his head out when I reached the doorway. “You wanna help me with this fridge?”
We finished emptying the cart, and as soon as the women had left, taking all of Charlie’s supplies with them, I went back inside. As soon as I’d pulled up the linoleum, the massive water spot was visible.
“Fuck. They’re lucky no one fell right through it,” Casper said in disgust. “How the hell didn’t Mal’s husband notice this shit?”
“Maybe he did,” I said, staring at the plywood. Casper was right, it was an accident waiting to happen.
“He better steer clear of me,” Casper muttered, stepping back outside.
We worked the rest of the afternoon, pulling shit apart. The pile of garbage next to the driveway was knee high when Casper left without a word. Half an hour later, he and Charlie’s brother Cam came back and set up lights.
We’d just switched them on and were getting ready to start rebuilding when Charlie’s car came up the driveway.
“What in the everlasting fuck?” she yelled, jumping out of her car the minute she’d parked. “Holy shit, what did you do?”
“The entire floor was fuckin’ soup,” Casper barked. “It had to be replaced.”
“What?” she turned to me, wide eyed.
“Nothin’ for it,” I said, keeping my voice level.
She turned to her dad. “You said it wasn’t that bad,” she said accusingly.
“Turns out it was.”
She looked between us, then down at Cam who was halfway under the trailer and then back at her car as her hands moved restlessly.
“Dad,” she said hoarsely. “I just bought all the paint and ordered the new signs with the last of my graduation money.”
“Good,” he said with a nod.
Her voice was even quieter when she looked at the supplies lying around the trailer. “I can’t pay for all this.”
“It’s taken care of,” her dad said simply.
“What?” she said, looking at him. “No, you can’t—”
“Wasn’t me,” he said as he walked back around the other side of the cart.
Charlie turned to look at me, and just like Lily had earlier, she looked beyond me to the bed of my truck.
“Beauregard Augustus Bishop,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “Tell me you didn’t.”
I followed her as she stomped toward my truck and climbed into the bed.
“You didn’t,” she said, her eyes wide as she ran her fingers over the refrigerator box. “I can’t believe you—I’ll pay you back. Soon, okay? As soon as I have it, I’ll—”
“Nope.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking down at me in confusion, her hand still gently pressed against the refrigerator box. “It might take a little while, but I swear, I will.”
