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She smiled and winked at him. “The toilet was leaking in Erika’s apartment.”
“Erika?” he asked.
“Sorry. Erika and Phil. They are on the second floor. They came home from work and saw the water. Thankfully it wasn’t that bad and they’d gotten home earlier than normal being a Friday. They called me right away and I was able to get a hold of a plumber but then had to leave work early and go there too. I hated having the rush fee and everything, but it’s not something I can just push off.”
“You should have called me,” he said, frowning. “I probably could have fixed it for you. You know I’ve done a ton of work here. My father has taught me a lot. I’m sure I could have handled it or he could have walked me through.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said. “It’s my house and my responsibility. I had to replace the toilet and some gaskets. Not a big deal, but he was there until six. Then I helped Erika clean her bathroom from the mess.”
“Why would you do that?” he asked.
“I felt bad. It’s my house. She told me I didn’t need to.”
“That was very nice of you though,” he said.
“Yeah. I wanted to make sure it was cleaned up well too. I know that is horrible, but it’s my property and I don’t want some other damage because the water wasn’t cleaned up properly. They are good though. Phil ordered pizza after as a thank you. He said they’ve never lived anywhere else where things were taken care of that fast.”
“And you paid through the nose for it, didn’t you?” he asked. He knew that had to drive her nuts.
“Part of being a landlord. It’s all good. I’m in a good spot. I’ve got money put away for things like that. Don’t worry. I don’t need someone to take care of me, Ivan.”
He could tell by her tone she didn’t appreciate his comment. He’d never been one that felt as if he had to or wanted to take care of someone in the past either and wasn’t sure how to reconcile those feelings.
“I know you don’t, but I could have helped. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I appreciate it. It’s done with though. I’m just sorry I had to cancel on you. Then by seven everything was cleaned and we’d had dinner so I went to see if my mother wanted to go to the store. She said sure. She doesn’t care if it’s night or day when she goes out. Actually the sunlight tends to bother her and she’d wear sunglasses anyway.”
“I know you said she’s not completely blind.”
“No. She’s not. She can walk around and not bump into things if they are big enough. She sees like blobs in front of her if that makes sense. She can see better out of the sides of her eyes but not as if it’s perfect. So though she can push a cart around and not run into people for the most part, she can’t tell what she is pulling off a shelf.”
“I could see where that might be a problem,” he said.
“But it makes her feel independent and gets her out of the house. I dropped her off at a friend’s today on my way here. She’s going to lunch with a group of people and chatting and having some wine. Someone will bring her home later.”
“Does she do that often?” he asked.
“Every few months. More so in the summer. She has some great friends but no one that she’d ask to help out weekly.”
They were in his living room now and sitting on the couch. He reached his hand over and laid it on hers. “I’m only having a conversation. I don’t want you to get defensive.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to. I’ve had a lot of relationships end because of caring for my mother.”
“I can see where that might be a problem for some, but it’s not for me. I’m very family oriented if you haven’t figured that out.”
“I know you are. Even when you’re trying to frustrate your aunt. But you’d be the first one there to lend a hand if you needed to.”
“That’s right,” he said. “I would. My whole family would do that for anyone. Maybe now is a time to talk about exes or relationships in our pasts.”
“If you want. I haven’t had a lot. As I said, not everyone likes my situation. Or they find I’m boring. I don’t go away on vacations or do things much.”
“Because you don’t want to leave your mother more than anything, right?”
“Yeah,” she said. “And I don’t want to spend the money.”
He laughed. “I don’t do a lot of those things either. I have. I’m not a total dud. I’m not so cheap I can’t take a woman out and I feel like crap that we haven’t gone out yet. At least we are ordering dinner in today.”
“We’ve both cooked for the other and we’ve ordered out. I don’t have to go sit in a busy restaurant all the time. This is just as nice. So tell me about your ex then? Or more than one I’m thinking.”
