“He’s joining us for lunch, so that would be a perfect time.”
“No!” Milo shook his head vehemently. “It’s too soon after the other renovations.”
“Why don’t we get an estimate to see how much work and money is involved before we rule it out?” I asked calmly. Mom was just trying to snag a son-in-law by hook or crook from one of her kids, but I was thinking of the earning potential.
“Mae,” Milo said, imitating our mother’s vexation like a pro. “Why are you pushing so hard for this? I’ve seen our profit and loss statements. We’re doing good, so why can’t that be enough?”
I didn’t know why, but it wasn’t. I was always trying to wrangle some new goal or dream. I’d achieve one thing and set off in search of the next without enjoying the spoils from my previous conquest. I chalked it up to my personality rather than looking for deeper meanings, because I didn’t want to dwell on things I couldn’t change. Mom gave me the perfect excuse to push this idea harder than I normally would.
“If we were flipping houses, maybe I could see the risk, but you’re talking about apartments. There’s often high turnover with tenants and a lot of ugliness that comes along with being landlords.”
I sat up straighter in my chair. “Flipping houses?”
“Now you did it,” our mother said, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Sylvester would be so jealous. I almost expected to see yellow feathers fall out when she opened her mouth to speak again. “It’s too bad you guys don’t know a carpenter who could take on big projects like that.”Smooth, Mom!
“What are you talking about?” Milo asked. “Have you forgotten about Andy? He could do it with one arm tied behind his back.” It was nice to see him drop his pretense to stick up for his ex. I thought we might be making some progress in our Milo Still Loves Andy mission.
“What can I do with my hands tied behind my back?”
A nicer sister would’ve told her twin that his heart’s desire was in earshot, but I was desperate to see one of us happy for fuck’s sake.
“Hello, Andy.” My mom once again channeled Jackie O when she rose to her feet to greet Andy. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too, Mrs. Miracle,” Andy said, smiling at my mom as she sat back down. Then he pinned Milo with a questioning look. “You were saying?”
“Milo is thinking about flipping houses,” I announced. Milo’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head before they narrowed to mere slits in a warning for me to shut up. “My mom mentioned that we would need a carpenter who could take on big jobs like that. Milo said you were man enough—excuse me, carpenter enough—to get the job done.”
“Did he?” Andy asked uncertainly. “Hmmm.”
“I wanted to renovate the spaces above the shops to make them into apartments again, but Milo wasn’t impressed,” I told Andy. “He mentioned flipping houses as an alternative.”
“Flipping houses takes a lot of capital unless you get really lucky and find a diamond in the rough.”
“I’m good at digging until I find the good stuff,” I assured Andy. “Why don’t we get a ballpark cost analysis for both types of projects. Can we do that?”
“Sure, but it’ll be a really rough estimate since I don’t know the details on a specific house you’re looking to flip.” He tipped his head to the side and thought a minute. “I actually have a house in mind. How about I come by tonight to look at the spaces above the shop so I can work up an estimate?”
“That’s great, Andy. I’m not available tonight, but Milo is free to let you into his—our—back door.” Milo’s face flamed red with embarrassment, and I knew he couldn’t wait to get even with me.
“What? You don’t have a date?” Andy asked Milo.
Milo tore his eyes from mine and looked at Andy as if seeing him for the first time. Did he know he rubbed his tongue along his bottom lip or that Andy couldn’t seem to look away from the slight back and forth action.
“Nope,” Milo finally said.
“Huh. What time do you want me? To come over,” Andy hastily clarified.
My mom sat straighter in her chair and winked at me. I sipped my Coke and watched the various shades of red color spread across Milo’s face as his emotions seemed to run the gamut between embarrassment, need, and everything in between. Still, Milo was a cool customer.
“Meet me at Books and Brew at five thirty, and I’ll give you the key to look around at your leisure.”
“Okay,” Andy said like it was no big deal, but I saw the flash of disappointment in his eyes. Milo would’ve seen it had he looked at Andy to gauge his reaction. “See you tonight, Milo. Have a good afternoon, ladies.”
Nothing was said for several minutes after Andy left until Milo set his fork down and looked up from his plate. “You both will pay dearly for this.”
“What?” Mom and I asked innocently at the same time.
“I mentioned turning the second story into apartments not that long ago,” I said defensively. “This isn’t new.”
