AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hold back the urge to say she also pulls off ‘sad wet dog’ well, too. I’m not sure the comment would actually make anything any better.
I follow her into the bathroom, and oh, it’s bad. Somehow, it’s even worse than I thought. While the hole isn’t the biggest one I’ve seen, the room is covered in debris, and any surface that isn’t already coated by chunks of plaster and dust holds some sort of receptacle for gathering water.
“I was working on emptying those,” Clarissa says. She gestures towards the sea of buckets, cooking pots, and storage bins. “So, what’s the damage?”
I look at Clarissa over my sunglasses, impressed by her can-do attitude. She doesn’t cling to me and beg me for help. She doesn’t wring her hands in panic. Despite everything she’s up against right now, she very calmly has been emptying buckets of rainwater. It’s… well, it’s impressive.
I pause to think over the answer to her question and raise my eyebrows. “My honest assessment? Bad.”
I look down at her busted hand, and the man I saw outside her house yesterday flashes back into my mind. Maybe I will ask who he is, just to make sure there’s nothing hinky going on here. I file the thought away and focus on the problem at hand. “It’s very bad.”
Clarissa puts her good hand on her hip and sighs. “Wow, thanks. I had no idea.”
Shit, I did it again. She thinks I’m some asshole guy who assumes she has half a brain because of her chromosomes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound condescending. I’m just shocked at how bad it is, that’s all. You are looking at some major construction to get this fixed. And then we’ll have to clean up everything that got wet and see how much can be saved. Luckily, I can get a tarp set up to protect you from the rain, but you’ll still want to get some bug spray. The mosquitos here are very determined, and they do not abide by the same codes as us.”
Clarissa shoots his head up and looks at me with an expression of shock. “You…? Oh. Oh, I don’t think I could afford you,” she says with an awkward laugh. “You’re way out of my league. Price, I mean. Price league.”
“I didn’t even quote you yet. And by the way, the quote is zero. My business partner wants to flip this place if you don’t scoop it up. You’re renting, right?”
She nods. “Seriously? You would just… fix my roof for free? Get out.” Clarissa crosses his arms, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. “I mean, notleave,but get out like you can’t be serious.” Then she takes a step back like she knows what I’m thinking I’ll get in payment, and a look of distrust flashes across her face.
I cough, trying to quickly deny the accusation she hasn’t even made yet. “No look. Iamserious. See, if this doesn’t get fixed right, your property value affects mine. This may as well be like fixing up my own home. I’ve got all the materials and expertise. It’s nothing, really. Just let me handle it.”
Clarissa goes through an entire routine of palpable anxiety. She threads her fingers together, chews on her lips, darts her eyes around the room, and sighs. “This just seems like a lot to ask of someone,” she finally says.
I can understand her hesitation, but considering the state of the house, it seems a little excessive. What man hurt her in the past to make her this distrustful? But it doesn’t seem like a neighborly thing to ask, so I just shake my head.
“Marcel and I are going to end up doing it anyway. I know you’re new here, so let me introduce you to the concept of southern hospitality. We take care of our neighbors. Alright? Maybe one day I’ll need a hand, and you’ll be there right on time. But for now, you’re the one in need. Unless you think you can fix this up yourself?”
Clarissa’s face goes as pale as a vampire herself. “No. No, I don't think I can. It’s just, see, I have this, uh, uncle…” She sounds unsure about her own family makeup for a moment there. “I think I should call him. Maybe?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is this uncle a licensed handyman? A woodworker or even a plumber? Any sort of contractor?”
Clarissa bites her lip. I almost can’t handle how cute she looks like that. For a girl who comes across so confident some of the time, there are little signs that she’s not quite as put together as she wants me to think.
I take a deep breath in an effort to collect myself as she shakes her head. “No. No, not at all. Actually, I’m not sure if he even knows how a screwdriver works.”
I smile and shake my head. “You look like you’ve been through hell, and you’re obviously way in over your head. So how about you at least let me get that tarp installed, and you can let me know how you feel about a near stranger spending all day in your house for at least a few days.”
“Wow, I thought you were going to say longer.”
“Don’t worry, I’m roping Marcel into this, too.” I play it off as a joke, but the comedy doesn’t seem to stick well. I don’t want to brag that I’m just fast and good. The majority of this is going to be the clean-up.
Clarissa’s face gets that pale, placid expression of fear again. She looks like a cornered bunny rabbit out of options.
But then she looks up at me, rubs her hands over her tanned and well-toned arms, and cracks a small smile. “You’d be in my house every day?”
I nod, expecting her to refuse. Instead, I swear I feel something a little bit brighter radiating from her expression.
“Okay. Thank you, yes, thank you very much. Please fix my house.” Clarissa finally lets out an exhausted but boisterous laugh. “I don’t know why I’m being like this. Guess I’ve just had a bad night. Or two. Or a dozen.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her. “I needed a break from the boat, anyway. I tend to get tunnel vision if I focus on one project for too long. This’ll be a great in-between for me.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice. Oh! And I refuse to let you do all this for free. Or at least out of your own pocket. That’s unacceptable. I’ll pay for the materials. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll get it.”
I remember the last time a client insisted on getting his own materials and made a complete mess of things by not realizing how many different types of screws there are. I’ll just let her come along with me to the hardware store instead. Still, I smile and reach out my hand.
