Chapter Three
Libra
I’ve gota great setup at my dad’s place.Well, I guess you could say it’s our place since I’ve lived here my entire life.Maybe it’s because I’m in my thirties now that I call it his.Sure, I could probably find a decent place to rent in town or even buy a little place, but Dad and I, we’ve got a routine and an understanding.Besides, I love the old fart and he’s not hard to live with if I remember a few things.Like, one, don’t plan for him to doanythingduring one of his beloved Green Bay Packers games.Two, don’t ever cook lasagna.Ever.That was my mom’s trademark dish and even the mention of it makes steam come out of his ears, and, three, don’t speak ofher.
Those are easy things to remember, right?
I think so.It’s why I said I’ve got a great setup.Especially since I moved up to the attic.Sure, it happened when I was a teen, but it’s still my favorite place on earth because my dad and I worked on it together.It was the first renovation project that I designed and executed.Like I said, he helped by showing me how to use some of the tools I had never worked with; plus, he taught me about structural integrity, doing a job correctly the first time, measuring twice, cutting once, and taking pride in my work.And that it doesn’t matter if it takes a while: doing it right is more important than speed.
I’ve used those same principles in each of my projects.I make sure that things are done right, even the jobs I choose to contract out.Like plumbing.I can do it, but I’m slow at it.Plus, it’s my least favorite phase of renovating, so I use subs or subcontractors for that.Electrical, yes; plumbing, no.I also have a crew that helps me with framing and drywall.I’m strong but not strong enough to lift a wall by myself.And I don’t mind asking for help.Plus, it gives some of the guys around here jobs.When it comes to the interior, though, that’s all me.From the painting or staining of the woodwork to installing cabinets.I love designing interior spaces.Mostly.I have trouble with kitchens like the one in the Little house.That’s why Bella comes in handy.Someone who knows her way around a kitchen like she does, well, I consider her an expert.And so far, she hasn’t been wrong.
Sitting at my drafting table I’ve got nestled into a large dormer window, working on the layout for the master bath of the Little house, a master bath that didn’t exist before, I hear a familiar voice.“Velma Lou?You up there?”
I shout loud enough for him to hear.“Yeah.”
“Can you come down?”
Uh-oh.He doesn’t usually bother me if I’m up here, which means we’ve either got a visitor or he can’t get the television to work.
He’s had trouble with “that newfangled remote” ever since we got a satellite dish, four years ago.The thing gives him fits.I don’t mind, though.I’m glad I’m here, at home, to help him.Try talking a guy like my dad through television remote technical issues over the phone.
Not easy.
In a word, it’s frustrating, oh, and impossible.I guess that’s two words.
“Be right down.”
I quickly finish up what I was working on and put my drafting tools away.Standing, I run my hands over my head to tame the beast that is my reddish-brown curls.Looking down, I spy a rubber band and pull it back into a ponytail and start the trek down three flights of stairs.The first set is only five steps since it’s exiting the attic room.The next two are longer but beautiful.It’s another project I did the summer before my senior year of high school; I sanded the balustrade and railings one at a time.Painstaking work, but it was worth it.It still looks great years later.
Hopping off the last step, I round the corner and halt in my steps.
Shit.
“Oh.Hello, Mona.”
“Finally,” she huffs.“I’ve been waiting for ten minutes for you to grace me with your presence.”
“Sorry?”Not sorry.If I’d known it was Desdemona Keres, I would have waited a hell of a lot longer.
“Don’t be rude, young lady.”
“I wasn’t….”Oh, hell.It does no good to argue with the old hag anyway.She’s as mean as a pit viper and just as cuddly.With a sigh, I give in.“Sorry.”
“We need to talk,” she snaps.She always snaps.
“About?”Whatever it is she wants to talk about, I can assure you, I don’t.
“About that monstrosity.”The glare she’s giving me used to intimidate me, because it scares the bejesus out of everyone, trust me, but it doesn’t faze me as much anymore.
I know she’s talking about the Little house, but I play dumb.“What monstrosity?”
“Don’t be obtuse.”
Sighing again, this time with emphasis, I cross my arms over my chest.“What’s wrong with itnow?”I emphasized that last word because this is an ongoing saga with Mona.This and every other house I’ve brought back from the dead.It’s like she’s got it in for me.I can’t figure out why, though.She and I, well, we’ve disagreed on a lot of things, but she’s never showed up at my house to “talk.”
“You’re encroaching on my rental property, for one.For another, you’re not seriously thinking about making that house blue, are you?”
“I—”
