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Iris: Right now? 3. You’d be the fourth.
Mira: …OK. See you later.
Yeah, Mira definitely seemed dubious about living with this many people, and Iris would understand if she passed. The bathroom situation might become an issue, though since Mira had a day job, if a schedule had to be made, she’d get priority.Damn, I never really thought about the logistics. I’m…badat logistics.Then she shrugged philosophically.
That was for future-Iris to worry about.
Eli drove Henry Dale to the middle of nowhere.
Forty-seven minutes from St. Claire, away from all civilization—into the heart of corn country. This time of year, the fields were earthen dark, full of dried of husks, depressing and broken up by so many tiny towns with improbable names thatEli lost track. Most didn’t have stoplights or a post office. He saw hints that some of them had once been bigger with closed buildings and weathered houses telling the story. Periodically, he spotted wooden signs, hand-painted, for berries, honey, hay, or dirt.
In time, they reached a farm set well back from the road on a winding drive. There were a couple of silos, cows grazing in fenced fields nearby. Two barns on the property as well, and one of them was apparently being demolished. This wasn’t what he’d expected when the older man mentioned a teardown, but he helped sort through the lumber alongside Henry Dale, then they loaded the truck with enough wood to repair the porch. There would probably be lumber left for other projects too. If he knew the other man a fraction as well as he suspected, Henry Dale would likely store the rest in the shed and find other things to fix.
“It’s good of you to do this,” Eli said as they got back in the truck.
“Hogwash,” said Henry Dale.
“Excuse me?” He glanced over as he made a three-point turn on the gravel drive and headed back toward town.
“Kindness has nothing to do with it. I’m using old contacts to get a discount on my rent and to stave off boredom.”
Eli let it go because Henry Dale seemed allergic to the idea that he’d get caught being nice to somebody. “Never mind, then.” Taking the hint, he changed the subject. “I hear we might be getting another housemate.”
The other man sighed. “Like the place isn’t already busy enough. I understand it’s not my place to object—Iris owns the house, not me—but don’t you think we have enough people? Sally is loud enough for four folks.”
Eli thought about that. “I’ve lived alone for years,” he said slowly. “So I don’t really mind. I like having dinner with everyone, and I enjoy the company. It’s…” He paused. What was the right word, exactly? “Comforting.”
Henry Dale made a scoffing noise, but he didn’t offer further argument. The ride home passed quietly with Eli trying to decide how long he planned to stay. Three months might be long enough to wrap up the sale of Gamma’s house. Keshonda had sent him an update, detailing how many calls she’d gotten and how many showings she’d set up. So far, no offers, but the market was a bit sluggish. Once the house sold, he’d play it by ear. He couldn’t—in good conscience—move on until he was sure Iris had everything under control and could make ends meet.
Since he had the main bedroom, he was currently contributing most to her financial stability, and he couldn’t justwalk away. But maybe he could say he was traveling to check out properties or something while continuing to pay rent? It probably wasn’t the best idea to stay for ages, as that would create deeper connections under false pretenses.
Damn, why is this so complicated?This was just him paying it forward, no hidden motives. But it probably wouldn’t scan that way to anyone else.
“Back it in,” Henry Dale said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.
Without realizing it, Eli had driven all the way home.
He complied without asking why. It seemed pretty clear that Henry Dale intended to use the truck bed as the staging point for the porch repair. At least the weather was right for it, not so coldthat working outside was difficult, not so hot that they’d sweat themselves sick. Together, they fetched necessary supplies from the shed, including a miter saw, a sawhorse, and various other tools. As the older man arranged things to his satisfaction, Eli got started tearing out the bad boards. Fortunately, this wasn’t a complete overhaul; it was only two bad steps and a small section in the middle that needed to be replaced.
“How long do you think this will take?” Eli asked.
Henry Dale shrugged. “Hard telling. But Ithinkwe can do it before the end of the day. Just the construction, mind. We’ll still need to sand everything, apply waterproofing, and then paint or stain, depending on what Iris prefers.”
Frankly, the whole house needed to be painted, but that would be amassiveundertaking. Iris probably couldn’t even afford the cost of all the supplies that would be required, let alone manpower. Gamma had white siding on her house, so Eli had no experience with exterior work. He assumed it would require a fair amount of specialized equipment as well.
As Eli carefully pried up the rotten boards, Henry Dale checked the rest of the porch and found two more trouble areas. Fortunately, they had plenty of lumber for repairs. The older man got busy taking measurements while Eli worked on removal. They didn’t speak much while they went about their tasks with Henry Dale cutting the pieces to fit, then sanding and waterproofing the back side of the replacement boards.
A black truck drove by and leaned on the horn; then a man in a ballcap shouted, “You forgot the rainbow flag on your gay purple house, losers!”
“What a turd wrapped in human skin,” said Henry Dale.
Eli couldn’t agree more. The world was better these days, but people like that still existed, unfortunately. It was also why groups like HAPI could grow their numbers at an alarming rate.
Later in the day, Iris came out with mugs of hot coffee. “It looks like rain,” she said, peering at the clouds with a worried look.
“We can wrap up before it breaks.” Henry Dale took the mug with his usual stoic air, but Eli could tell the old man was happy.
“Don’t get sick,” she said firmly.
