Home Is Wherever You Are (10 page)

Chapter 17 - Tight Fit

I didn’t want to get rid of any of Addy’s things, and thankfully, Daniel had a backyard shed he made fishing lures in that we used to store most of the furniture. The house itself was lined with boxes everywhere. I didn’t realize just how much stuff we had accumulated, but we had accumulated a lot.  When it was all out of the closets and cabinets and lining the walls, it looked like a lot more.

We hadn’t been there for a whole day, when I got a call, asking for me to do a job. I told them I was still getting settled and not licensed yet, but the begging of Mrs. Baker had me going over to see if I could help out.

Her toilet was leaking at the base. I knew it was an easy fix. “I just need to reseat it. I’ll have to run to the local hardware store to get the part, but I should have it fixed in no time.”

She smiled with tears in her eyes and patted my cheek. “You’re a good boy, thank you.”

I hurried down to the local hardware store, grabbing what I needed, and made my way back to Mrs. Baker’s house. It was a simple fix of turning off the water to the toilet, flushing it until it was completely empty, and then unbolting the bottom to replace the wax ring. The whole job only took fifteen minutes once I got the part.

I turned the water back on, made sure it flushed without leaking and threw the papers towels I had used in the trash, then I decided I should take it out for her. “I’m just going to take out the bathroom trash, since I seemed to have filled it.”

“Oh, thank you. I find going down the back steps difficult nowadays.”

“No problem, Ma’am.” I noticed the back steps didn’t have any sort of railing and took a moment to look at them on either side. The steps themselves didn’t seem that old. I was sure I could add a railing to them for her if she was interested.

“Did you find the trash alright, dear?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma’am, and I was just noticing your steps don’t have a rail.”

She shook her head and waved her hand. “No, I hope you didn’t fall off of them.”

“No, I made it alright, but I don’t blame you for not liking to use them.”

“That fix will be for another month.  For now, what do I owe you?”

“Well, here’s the receipt for the part, there’s no consultation charge for me coming to see what the problem was, and I charge twenty dollars for every fifteen minutes of work. I know it sounds like a lot, but I work as fast as I can. I know times are tight, so I’ll always try and give you the best deal. This fix only took me fifteen minutes as it was. I hope you find that plus the cost of the parts okay,” I asked worried. It was one thing to beg for money. It was another to tell someone they owed it to you.

She pulled the receipt over, it was for $7.23. “So, I owe you $27.23?” she asked, a little surprised. I wondered if she thought it was too much.

I nodded nervously.

She pulled out two twenties and kissed my cheek. “You keep the change. You need to charge for going and getting the parts, my dear one. Gas is expensive.” I smiled shyly and blushed.

“Daniel was right about you. Now go have a look at my back steps and go ahead and fix them. I have a feeling I can afford it this month as well.”

I smiled brightly. “Yes, Ma’am,” I said, quickly grabbing my tape measure. I wrote down the measurements and asked her to come stand on the back step and measured to just above her hip, so the railing would be most comfortable for her to use. I ran off to get the lumber and saw a can of nice red exterior “oops” paint for five dollars. I bought the bolts and wood screws. The total cost of the wood, bolts and screws came to eighteen dollars, and the only reason it was so much was because I had to buy a whole box of screws, and they were five dollars. I decided I would divide the cost and only charge her for the screws I used. It was only fair. I also bought a circular saw for myself. It was little and easy to handle. It was a good investment for me, and I could see I would probably end up using it often.

I pulled out my sawhorses I had gotten from Leon and went right to work. In the end, since I already knew all the measurements, it only took me another thirty minutes to put it up. I asked her if she wanted it painted with the paint I had bought, and she loved the color. Her shutters were such a dark color I thought they were black, and the red looked like it would look great alongside them. I painted the railing with a little brush I had picked up for a buck, and it all turned out looking pretty awesome.  I gave her the receipt and let her know with the painting that my labor was forty dollars this time.

“You’ve done so well. I expected it to cost at least one hundred dollars for the toilet repair alone, and here you’ve done the railing as well. You’re such a good boy. Come have some lunch with me, and we’ll talk of other fixes I’ll need you to do next month.”

She fed me a peanut butter and homemade jam sandwich, along with some cookies and milk. She wanted me to paint the back door to match the railing and do the same to the front. I told her I thought I had enough paint in the one can, so we wouldn’t have to buy more. I would just need to get some dropcloths. She seemed thrilled.  There were also some windows that were stuck which she wanted fixed before summer, as well as the drip in her kitchen sink.

“I noticed you had a shed of things. Do you think you’d have a spare washer in there for the faucet? I’d do the sink for free, as it’ll take just a moment.”

Her eyes watered, and she walked over to the drawer next to the sink, pulling out a washer and screwdriver. “I just don’t have the strength in my hands anymore.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for. I think that lunch and delicious jam was definitely worth the changing of a washer.”

I quickly got to work. It really didn’t take me five minutes, but I knew I would have her business for the rest of her life. She gave me a jar of homemade jam and kissed my cheek. “You really are such a wonderful boy. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime, Ma’am,” I nodded and slipped out. 

I knew then as I drove home that this was the job for me. I loved it.

“Well, took you long enough, how did it go at Millie’s place?” Daniel asked.

“Millie?”

“Mrs. Baker,” he clarified.

“Oh, it went great. I did more than just the toilet for her, and she fed me lunch.”

He looked at me worried. “You know most people live on a fixed income here.”

“I know. I threw in the sink repair for free. I was sure to stay under her budget, and if she couldn’t afford it, I would’ve figured something else out for her.”

He rubbed his chin. “So, what did you do over there?”

“Well, I fixed the toilet, and then I added a handrail to her back steps and painted them.”

He grimaced. “How much did all that cost her? I’m sure with supplies and such it must’ve been a lot.”

“In the end, she gave me one hundred dollars. She actually overpaid me, saying I didn’t charge her for the cost of running to the store.” I shook my head. “I really should get a reserve of things on the truck, so I can get more done faster for people. I’ll bet once I get my license, I could get things wholesale. The hardware store here is very overpriced. They wanted seven dollars for a wax ring for her toilet! The ones in Houston were five dollars. I know, because I replaced Addy’s.”

He patted my shoulder and squeezed it. “Well, that’ll piss off Mr. Dooley, the owner, but he deserves it. I don’t know if you know this, but his store is just on the edge of the Alabama-Coushatta tribal land. He doesn’t pay taxes, but he darned well charges them,” Daniel frowned. “He and his boy, Rocky, are the only handymen in the area, and they definitely overcharge. Replacing the toilet ring alone would’ve cost Millie over one hundred dollars easily.”

I shook my head.

“You see why I thought you’d do well here?”

“Yeah, I do. I hope my business does alright.”

“It will. Millie’s in on the church gossip. I’m sure it’ll get around fast that you’re good and cheap as well.”

“Matthew?” I heard Addy calling for me.

I walked over and took her hand, kissing her knuckles. “I’m here, babe.  I had my first job, and it went great,” I said excitedly. She smiled and leaned her lips up for me to kiss. I did so, ignoring Daniel next to me. Okay, I didn’t ignore him, I just kept it chaste, and when she tried to deepen it, Daniel cleared his throat, stopping her.

“I want to run to the store. I need to grab some things,” Addy said.

I looked down at her clothes for the first time. “Addy, you’re not really dressed for the store,” I said nervously.

She patted the shirt she was wearing. It was mine, but her bust filled it out nicely. Then she ran her hand down my boxers. They were a little loose on her and just hung on the curve of her butt. “These aren’t my grey workout shorts?” she asked.

They were a pair of my cotton animal boxers. They had porcupines on them, and the waistband said
“Always good for a poke.
”  I snickered a little, and Daniel rolled his eyes at me. “No, baby, I think you got into my box instead of yours. I should really do something to yours, so you can feel the difference.”

“I hear you snickering. What the heck am I wearing?” she sniffled. “I thought I was doing so good.”

I hugged her. “You are, baby, you’re doing great, and you look great in my clothes. I just don’t want to take you out in my animal print boxers. You know how suggestive they can be.”

She gasped, covering her mouth. “Which ones?” she asked.

“The porcupine ones,” I answered. She had seen them all and always thought they were funny.

“Always good for a poke,” she mumbled, and I chuckled.

She whacked me blindly, smacking my sweaty armpit. “Hey, you always laugh when I wear them,” I defended.

She shook her hand. “That was gross! What did I hit?”

“The sweaty underarm of a hard-working man,” I said, kissing her nose.

She wiped her hand on my shirt and shoved me away. “Go shower, I need to go change.”

“Alright, I’ll lead you to the right box this time.” I took her upstairs and decided to tear the flap of her box, so she could feel the difference. She would only need help for another week, but we were both looking forward to that week being over.

We hadn’t discussed what she wanted to do yet. I knew Daniel mentioned taking me to look at the Smith home to see if it needed any work. It was only a little way down the road from his home, so it was safe and looked to be in good condition for a vacant home as I drove past.

“It’s bigger than this place,” Daniel told me. “Plenty of room to grow, if that’s what you have in mind,” he said, eyeing me.

I smiled at him. “It is, I just want us to get settled and married before that happens, though.”

He patted my shoulder. “Good man,” was all he said and left it at that.

After my shower, Addy came out of her room, dressed in jeans and another t-shirt. She tied this one in a knot on her hip, showing a little of her flesh. She looked so tempting. I tried to settle myself down. I was wearing just a towel, as I passed her in the hall.

“Hey, Matthew?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

She smiled. “I know, I was thinking, I’m not going to be able to find what I need, so I’m going to need to tell you what it is.”

“Yeah, I figured. Just let me get dressed.”

To my surprise, she followed me into her room, where my clothes were stored. “Um, Addy?”

“It’s not like I can see you, Matthew. Go on and get dressed.” I had turned my back to her and was bending over the box, when I felt her pinch my behind. I jumped a little, and she laughed. “I didn’t say I couldn’t feel. You know that’s how the blind see,” she teased.

“Oh, you, I’ll get you for that.” I started to tickle her, and she backed up toward the bed, falling on it with me on top of her. She had the nerve to smack my butt hard, laughing out loud at me. “What’s with you and my butt?”

“I miss seeing it,” she grinned, and I kissed her softly.

“You’ll see it again soon.”

Her hands found my backside, squeezing my cheeks. I let out a groan, and she puckered up her lips, offering them to me. I leaned down and started losing myself in the kiss. It had been over a week since we had been close like this. I hadn’t touched her since the attack, worried she would react badly. It looked like I had nothing to worry about.

“Addy, Matthew!” Daniel called to us.

Okay, maybe I did have something to worry about. I jumped up and quickly threw on my clothes, before he made it all the way up the stairs. I was just putting my shoes on, when he made it into the room and looked over between the two of us. “Did you get dressed in front of her?” he asked annoyed.

“Daddy, it isn’t like I can see! Geez, what’s with you prudish boys?” she said, shaking her head.

Daniel looked over at me, and I shrugged. “It’s her room,” I said defeated.

He shook his head. “Fine, whatever, just be sure to pick me up a six-pack while you’re at the store. I’m going to need it.”

Addy must have heard his retreating footsteps, because she started to giggle.

I walked over and pinned her on the bed. “You think that’s funny, huh?” I teased. “I had to put on my pants commando. I almost zipped my goods up in my fly.”