Home Is Wherever You Are (4 page)

Chapter 7 – Bananas for You

I kissed her.

She was still and stiff for a moment. I realized she was in shock, and I decided I’d better get the hell out of there, before she came to her senses and whipped out her pepper spray.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…I swear, I thought you...” I couldn’t complete a thought, as I scrambled to my pack.

I heard her say my name, but I was worried what she might say. She called to me two more times, as I continued to babble my apologies for offending her, and that I would get out of her way.

“MATTHEW!” she snapped, and then I felt a mass hit me, knocking me down onto the full-sized bed. It took me a moment to realize she was on top of me.

I looked up at her, shocked as she moved up my body. “Stop freaking out,” she whispered, and then her lips found mine. I lay there stunned, and then I quickly wrapped my arms around her, kissing her back. After a moment, she pulled away, climbing off the bed. “Dinner is ready so, you know, let’s eat.”

I stayed sitting on the bed, trying to figure out what had just happened. I was pretty sure she had just kissed me and told me to come eat dinner. Addy had just kissed
me
. I smiled a little to myself, not sure what it meant, but I think I liked where it was headed.

When I found my seat, she started talking about the work I had been doing on the house. Her phone rang, and she hopped up, answering it quickly. My body froze, when I heard her say, “Hi, Daddy.”

I listened to her promise her dad she was safe and conceded to let him send her some more pepper spray. She swore she had an honest contractor who was doing great work that even she could afford. She winked at me, and I smiled in return. After a few more minutes, she finally hung up and slid the phone over to me.

“When was the last time you spoke with your parents?”  I didn’t answer. She pushed the phone forward. “Call them now. I’m waiting,” she said watching me.

I let out a sigh of defeat and grabbed the phone. My dad picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Dad,” I said, trying to sound happy and content.

“Matthew, my boy, where’ve you been? Momma sent you a package, but it got mailed back, saying return to sender, forwarding address is unknown.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Dad, I moved.”

“Well, give me the new address. Wait, hold on, just let me get a pen.”

“No, Dad, don’t get up, just don’t move, okay? I’ll be sure to call mom and get it to her.”

“Nonsense. Besides, your mom will be home any minute.”

“Well, just wait until she gets home, and I’ll give it to you then, Dad.  There’s no reason to get up. Just take it easy.”

“Right, boy, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing good.”

“You still working at that processing center?”             

“No, Dad, I changed jobs. I’m doing something different.”

“Do you have time for school? You know I don’t think you should’ve stopped going.”

“I know, Dad. I promise, as soon as I get the chance, I’ll get back into school. So, how’s Mom doing?”

“She’s doing alright. She got herself an evening job at the library to help with things. She’s missing you something fierce, boy. When are you coming home?”

“The library, huh? I’ve been spending some time in our library here. I had to do some studying up for a job I’m working on.”  I had to change the subject quickly, or else he would want to know what I’d been doing and why I couldn’t afford to come home for a visit.

“Matt, honey, who are you talking to?” I heard my mother call.

“Your long lost son decided to give us a call,” he answered.

Before I knew it, my mother was on the phone. “Matthew, honey, where’ve you been? I tried calling, but the phone was disconnected, and the address we have for you didn’t work.”

“I know, I’m sorry, Mom. It was a sudden move I had to make when I changed jobs.”

“Well, you need to call us more often. I’ve been worried sick!” I held the phone off my ear a little, because my mother was so loud.

Addy smirked and pointed at me, mouthing, “Told you.”

“Give me your address, and is this your new number?” my mother nearly shouted at me. I looked worriedly at Addy.

“See,” I mouthed back, “What do I tell her?”

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“Matthew, are you there, honey?” my mom called.

“Yeah, Mom, I’m here.”

“So, is this your new number?”

“This is the number of where I’m staying.” That must have appeased her, because she went right for the address.

“Okay, baby, now give me an address. I have a box I want to send to you.”

I looked at Addy worriedly again, but she just slid a piece of mail with her address on it in front of me.

“I’m ready when you are, baby, give me your address.”

“Um, okay, Mom.” I relayed Addy’s address, and my mother seemed satisfied. She went on to ask if I was seeing anyone, and I told her there was someone I was interested in, trying to hide my blush from Addy.

I finally got my mom off the phone and started in on my dinner that had sat waiting for me.  Addy was almost done with hers. “You go ahead and get ready for bed, Addy. I can do the dishes,” I offered. She smiled and disappeared down the hall.

As I finished up, I thought of everything that had transpired. I’d kissed Addy, and she’d kissed me. She had told me to tell my parents her number and address. I didn’t know what that meant to her, but I was grateful to her. I really didn’t want my parents to worry about me.

The rest of the week went well, and I finished up most of the electrical work, leaving the walls open for the inspector. It was late in the afternoon, when there was a knock at the door.

I answered it, a little nervous about my appearance. I was covered in dust, since I was rebuilding the wall in the guestroom.

“Hey, you must be Matthew. Addy said you’d be here working,” the big man said, patting my shoulder and stepped inside the house.

“And you are…?”

“Kyle McGregor, with Christianson Electric, I’m the inspector.”

“Oh, well, that’s great. Come on, I’ll show you what I’ve done,” I offered, showing him through the house.

“It’s good to see she got some real furniture, though I didn’t take her for such a girly pink chick.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He completely ignored me, going straight for the wall. He looked over his shoulder at me. “Did you do this work yourself?”

“Yes, I did.” I tried to sound polite, but it came out a little defiant.

“You’ve done this bit wrong,” he said, pointing to something, and I rushed over to get a better look at the wires. It all looked fine to me, but I ran to the kitchen, grabbing my book from the table. I flipped frantically to the appropriate page. I didn’t want to be wrong. I knew Addy didn’t have the money to pay the inspector to come out twice.

When I came back in with my book, Mr. McGregor smiled.

I checked again using the book. “It’s right, I know it is,” I said, holding up the book.

“I know. I was just seeing if you knew your stuff. Addy’s a close friend of my family. I wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing and not setting her house up to burn down.”

“I wouldn’t do that to her! Do you know how hard she’s worked for this place?” I yelled at him.

He put his hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. “Look, buddy, you’d be amazed at how many assholes would take advantage of someone like Addy. It looks like she put her trust in the right guy, though,” he said, walking to the next portion of open wall.

He was quiet after that, and the inspection went rather quickly. He took notes as he worked.

“So, Matthew, who do you work for?”

“I, um...”

He smiled and shook his head. “I should’ve known she wouldn’t have been able to afford a certified electrician. You obviously know what you’re doing, though. I know a place that can certify you and defer the cost if you have a job lined up.”

“But I don’t…” I started, but he cut me off.

“Do me a favor and hold off on closing this up for now, and I’ll talk to my boss about a job for you. I can’t make any promises, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Would you be interested?”

“Yes, I would!” I jumped at the chance to work.

“Great, I’ll be back here in about an hour,” he said looking at his watch, and then he was out the door. It was then I realized the only reason I wasn’t holding a job was because I didn’t actually have an address to give them. 

The cell phone rang, and I quickly answered it. “Hello?”

“Matthew, I was just calling to let you know Kyle is coming by to do an inspection for me,” Addy said happily.

“Yeah, I know, he was just here.”

She could hear the reluctance in my voice. “Were you not ready for him yet?”

“No, I was, but he offered me a job.”

“That’s great, Matthew!”

“No, it’s not, Addy. I don’t have a home address, so they won’t give it to me. It’s going to come out that I’m homeless.”

“Matthew, just give them my address. If you have a job, you’ll only be able to work on the house on the weekends, so you’ll be staying with me longer, it isn’t a lie.”

“Addy, I…”

She cut me off. “Matthew, this is a great opportunity. Take it,” she insisted. “You’re staying with me, so your address and phone number are the same as mine. You’re not homeless.”

My chest clenched. “Addy, I…”

“It isn’t up for discussion, Matthew. I have to get back to work, we’ll talk more tonight.” At that, she hung up on me, leaving me waiting for Kyle’s return.

I cleaned up my work area more so it was neater, and then I studied over the books as I waited. I didn’t want them to ask me a question I didn’t know the answer to. I wanted to work. Maybe, if I could just get on my feet, then I could get back into school.

There was a knock on the door, and I just about jumped out of my skin. I hurried to open it and found Kyle standing there with another man who looked too clean to be in construction. He was looking everywhere except at me. He went right to the walls and walked through the house, inspecting the work himself, as Kyle followed silently. He was very curious in the kitchen and in the bathrooms, and he even moved up into the attic to see how I had run the lines to the breaker box.

He turned to Kyle, frowning. “This whole house was stripped?” he asked.

“Yes, I know it was for sure, because I did the wiring for the appliances and for one plug each in the bedroom and bathroom, so she’d have some light.”

“Yes, I recognized your work. It was a bit sloppy compared to this fellow’s. What’s your name, young man?” he asked, finally addressing me.

“Matthew Martin, Sir.”

“Where did you learn to run line so well?”

“The library and internet, I wanted to make sure I did it all right for Addy. I did it all by the book.”

“Did you have to consult the books constantly, or do you think you’ve got this stuff down?”

“I have it all pretty much memorized, Sir. I’d go back and check frequently, just to be sure, but I was always right.”

“So you just need some confidence. Would you mind apprenticing for a while?”

“That’d be great, actually.”

“Well, I see great potential in you as an electrician.  If you take just as much care as you have with this house, you’ll go far.”

“Thank you, Sir,” I said, shaking his hand.

He nodded, and then he patted Kyle’s shoulder. “Good eye, McGregor. Make sure you get him certified. He’s your new apprentice, but I have a feeling you can learn a lot from each other.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Kyle said, and then he stalled in the doorway. We watched as my new boss man left.

“Hey, I’m sorry he got on your case,” I said.

Kyle laughed. “Nah, he just likes to give me a hard time, because I go through apprentices so fast.”

“Oh.”

I didn’t know what else to say to that.

“Yeah, you’ll be trained by the best and then off working on your own calls in no time, you’ll see.”

I smiled at his encouragement and said goodbye. It was time to get to work closing the walls.

By the end of the day, I had gotten a lot done. I quickly cleaned up my construction mess, using some of the cleaning stuff and the vacuum I had gotten yesterday. I had been working on the drywall since the inspection was passed, but the whole place was covered in white dust. I knew Addy would be home soon, and I wanted the place to look more homey and less like a warzone when she returned. I finally got the floor swept up and cleaned, and then I headed for the shower. I figured I would have enough time to shower and change and maybe start dinner for her if I hurried.

I hopped out of the shower and was drying off, when I heard her pull up. Frantically, I grabbed the first pair of boxers from the box and threw them on, just in time for her to make her way inside. I quickly grabbed a shirt and pulled it over my head.  But when I looked up, I realized she was staring at my boxers. “I’m sorry. I thought I had time to get dressed,” I said, nervously trying to cover my junk.