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ChapterTwelve
Iwait for the girls on the curb until a taxi stops beside me. Zoe gets out and pays for the cab, and I help her grab her stuff from the trunk.
“I never knew this place was here,” she says, looking up at the vast hotel. “Kinda creepy—it looks haunted,” she adds, and I chuckle. “Anyway, I am so glad to see you again. I've been so excited I barely slept a wink last night.” She gives me a big hug.
“So, is this everything?” I ask her, looking down at the stroller and duffle bag.
“Yep, that’s everything, our life in a bag. Pathetic, isn’t it?”
“Nah. See that piece of scrap metal?” I tell her, pointing at my busted wagon. She nods her head. “That was home sweet home,” I tell her, and she laughs. “But seriously, as for baby stuff, don’t even worry about it. Valarie went on a shopping spree. The room is packed with 'everything baby'. So much so, we may have to sleep outside to fit it all in the room,” I tell her.
“What? Really? How long have you known Valarie?” she asks.
“Met her the day before yesterday. She's lovely. I've never met anyone like her before,” I tell Zoe, and she smiles just as a green Daihatsu Charade pulls up next to us, honking its horn a few times.
“Thanks, bro,” Macey says, punching her brother in the shoulder and climbing out of it before tapping the roof.
“Hi, girls,” her brother calls out, and we both wave to the stranger behind the wheel.
“Fuck off, Blake. Stop hitting on my friends; they aren’t interested,” Macey scolds her brother. She flips him off and he laughs, driving off down the road.
“Sorry about him. He's a sleaze, so try to stay away from him unless you want another baby,” Macey chuckles, shaking her head.
“Noted,” I tell her, and she quickly hugs us. She seems eager to get started, but her idea of 'work clothes' is short shorts and a cut-off shirt showing her belly button. At least her hair is pulled into a bun.
“Borrowed the boots from my brother,” she says, sticking her foot out to show us. “He's a handyman,” she explains when she catches both of us looking at the tool belt around her hips.
“So this is it, huh? Damn, this place is a dump,” Macey says as we stand in the parking lot, looking up at the building. The bones are good mostly, but she's right; it's definitely a dump.
“So, you girls interested in helping me clean this dump?” Valarie’s voice says from behind us, making us jump.
“Holy crap, you scared me! It… ah… has potential,” Macey says nervously.
“For a dump?” Valarie asks, her lips tugging up.
“I didn’t mean–” Macey starts to say but Valarie waves her off.
“It's a dump. I may be getting older, girlie, but I ain't blind yet; pretty sure if one of you jumped in that pool over there, you wouldn’t come out again—water is probably nuclear. That might actually be that foul smell,” she says thoughtfully before shrugging.
“So, you all up for the job? I'll pay on time, and anything this place needs, you let me know and I'll order it in. But there is a catch,” she adds. They both nod.
“What’s the catch?” Zoe asks.
“We are completely on our own. I have not had one electrician or handyman, not even a plumber out here in over ten years. My mate ruined that shit for me, so if you girls have got any friends who are good with that crap, let me know. If not, we will figure it out ourselves,” Valarie tells them.
It's going to be hard trying to source help—an electrician being the main thing because I don’t fancy being electrocuted.
“Handyman: my brother—that’s where I got the tool belt and tools. Electrician: no idea,” Macey shrugs.
“I may be able to help with that,” Zoe says, and we all turn to her. She looks sheepish, almost apologetic. “My daughter’s father is an electrician. He's a real asshole now that he found his mate and doesn’t want her to find out he already has a kid. So I'll threaten to tell her; he either helps when I ask or finds someone that will. Chances are he'll probably find someone else, but I know he'll do it,” Zoe says, confidence returning to her face.
“I like you already; you tell him, darlin',” Valarie says.
“So that leaves plumbing which we'll figure out, I guess,” I tell everyone, and they all nod.
“So, what do you want to do first?” Macey asks.
“First, we fix the girls’ room so it's livable, then we'll start the others, one at a time, and list everything as we go,” Valarie says, and we all agree, heading up to the room while Valerie takes the kids to her studio so we can focus on the job at hand.
