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“All right, Ms. Daniels,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”
Crossing the street and turning to head in the direction I remembered the shop being when Ryan drove me into town, I was happy to see a building that I recognized, meaning I was on the right path.
When I reached the shop, Marvin was waiting for me with the key and another stack of papers for me to shove in one of my bags. The expected laundry list of problems with the car was itemized both on paper and in person, and the things he had already done just to get it running were on the bottom next to a price tag that was thankfully not as high as I worried it would be.
“I did the best I could,” Marvin said. “But you are going to want to consider upgrading soon.”
“I know,” I said. “I will. Thank you so much.”
I paid the bill and went out to the car, tossing the bags back inside and starting it up. It whined and shook and generally complained, but eventually the engine turned over and I pulled out. It was a piece of junk. I didn’t need Marvin to tell me that. It had been a piece of junk six years ago when I bought a newer car. It was my backup, and I did my best to maintain it, rather than leave it parked, and when everything went to hell and I had to sell the newer car, I had to fall back on it.
The next stop on the list was the hardware store, which at least I could drive to. I grabbed some cleaning supplies and basic tools, not sure what I was going to find in the house but sure a wrench would be necessary at some point. When I had everything I could think of that I would need, I headed back to the house.
Before getting anything other than some bags of clothes out, I went inside and flicked the light switch. Yellow light filled the hallway, and I sighed. At least there was electricity now. I went back out to the car and grabbed a few more things and brought them inside, setting them in what I remembered was the dining room. When my grandparents had been there, it had had a giant table and a hutch. Now it was just beat-up flooring and a spot on the wall where a sideboard had been for years.
I went around the house, using a notepad and pen I’d picked up on the way to list the issues I could see that were wrong. Then, I rolled up my sleeves, broke out my cleaning supplies and pitiful toolbox, and got to work. The music from an eighties station on my phone blared as I lost track of time, fixing anything I could figure out how to. As I did, the potential of the house started to come to me, and I could see how beautiful it could look again with a little TLC.
Quite a bit of time had passed while I was in the zone when I heard a knock on the door. I hadn’t really realized it was as late as it was, and when I went to the door, the dying light caught me off guard. Standing on my porch was Ryan, looking freshly showered after a long day’s work. I could catch a whiff of sandalwood in the air and remembered smelling it in his home. It must have been his body wash or cologne.
“Hey, I was just checking up on you,” he said. “I see you got your lights back on.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Thank goodness.”
“Good deal,” he said. “I just got home from work and was surprised to hear you banging away in here. Still going at it?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “Loose board in the floor by the bedroom. Sorry about the noise. Still a lot to do.”
“No worries,” he said. “I don’t mind it. Have you eaten yet tonight?”
I paused for a second. It hit me that I had not only not eaten that night, but the only thing I’d had all day was one of the cinnamon rolls. My stomach was suddenly reminded it required food and made a loud gurgling sound that I hoped Ryan couldn’t hear.
“No,” I said. “I haven’t.”
“Well, when you finish up what you are doing, why don’t you come over? I was in the mood for pizza and I figured you could split one with me,” he said.
“That’s very sweet of you,” I said, fighting the blush that was running up my neck and making my face warm. “But that’s okay. I think I’m just going to stay here at the house.”
“Oh, are you sure?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, wanting more than I could express to just accept his offer, but not wanting to take advantage of him any more than I already had. “I have utilities and everything on now. I’ll be fine.”
