And soap. And a towel. Geez, this keeps snowballing.
He found the sander refills and snagged the paint before going to the checkout where an older gentleman in an Orioles cap began ringing him up.
“Looks like you’ve got stuff for some projects to keep you busy during the storm,” the man said.
“I’m a contractor. But yeah, I’ll be keeping busy.”
“It’s gonna be a nasty one.”
“Yeah? What are they saying? Do you know?”
“Sometime tonight. The Weather Channel is saying at least eight, maybe ten inches.”
“Wow, ten inches?” Bo said. “That’s a lot.”
The man winked at him. “Yeah. That’s what my wife says.”
Bo laughed. “Does your wife know how lucky she is?”
“I keep telling her, but she doesn’t believe me. You have a good one, sir.”
When Bo reached the truck, he put his purchases inside and pulled out his phone. He decided he would just call Ralph and tell him what was going on.
Be honest with him, Bo thought.Ralph’s a good guy. He’ll understand.
First, he checked a weather app that confirmed everything the cashier had said. He’d been in a bubble, consumed with domestic strife and completely unaware that a winter storm was heading straight for the mid-Atlantic states, Maryland and Virginia getting the brunt.
He found where Ralph had called and hit the callback button.
While waiting to connect, he thought back to that one time Ralph had made a move on him. It was on a job in Shirlington. He’d been showing Ralph the new kitchen cabinets he’d installed. When he had turned for approval, Ralph was right there, very close, and had kissed him. It was unexpected, but not unpleasant. Bo had probably let it linger a fraction of a second longer than he should have. Ralph was hot, and it had caught him off guard. He’d been dirty from the job, ready for a shower, and expecting anything but a kiss from his crisply suited boss. When they parted, Ralph’s hand had remained on Bo’s chest, his heart. He remembered that specifically. A moment frozen in his memory.
Then Bo had blurted something about being in a relationship with Dale. Ralph’s hand had slid down and away. He apologized for being forward, said he understood and respected that Bo washitched,and nothing more was ever said about the incident. From then on, Ralph was business-as-usual, friendly, and very fair when it came to pay. He also always made a point of asking how Dale was, remembering his name.
Bo was pretty sure that Ralph was still single. They spoke by phone a few times a week, and Ralph would have mentioned someone, if there was someone, he was sure of it.
The phone connected, rang three times and went to voicemail. Bo listened to the familiar southern lilt in Ralph’s recorded message. He hung up before the beep.
“OK,” he said to himself. “I guess I’ll tell him in person.”
5
Ralph was finishing up some paperwork before leaving the office for the weekend. Shirley had already gone after following up on the offer by setting up the approval, appraisal, and inspection so they were nearer to pinpointing a closing date.
Ralph fielded a call for Aretha and shot her a text. He then sent out a group text to all the agents, wishing them a happy and safe weekend, explaining that he and Shirl were shutting it down for the day. If any of them needed the office, they had their keys. He doubted anyone would cross the threshold ofRalph Forrester Propertiesagain before Monday morning, not if the weather was wintry.
He was away from his desk briefly and, upon returning, saw that he had missed a call from Bo. No message though.
Must not have been important, he thought.
His thumb hovered above the callback button briefly. He was afraid that maybe Bo was going to talk him out of coming up. There had been an unusual lull when they had spoken, as if Bo was stalling or something.
If that were true, or it was urgent, he would have left a message to call back, right?
Ralph decided to wait. Maybe call him from the road. He wasn’t looking forward to a weekend at home alone—just him and Trixie watching Netflix and eating frozen pizza. He could at least celebrate and socialize a little tonight. Getting an offer on a high-dollar listing that fast was a big deal. Surely, his contractor would join him in tossing back a few beers over their accomplishment.
And Dale. Don’t forget about Dale.
He had only met Dale twice and had always been cordial out of respect to Bo. But there was something about the man he didn’t like and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He was handsome—hard body, almost military-looking with a buzz-cut—Ralph remembered. But there was something in his eyes that always struck Ralph as off.
