“Sounds like you got yourself some dry rot all right. Best to get onto that before it gets worse. The Millers out your way let their problem go too long and next thing you know they got termites. You ain’t seen no sign of termites, have you?”
“No, no, I don’t think so.”
“Well, you never know.”
“When can you come out?” she asked.
“Lemme finish my coffee, and I’m on my way.”
“Great. My son and I are on the beach right now, but we’ll hurry back. And if we’re not there, just go inside. The back door’s unlocked.” She told him goodbye and pocketed her phone. “He’s coming,” she told Jackson. “That means I need to get back ASAP. You can keep shell hunting if you like but I’ll—”
“Nah, I’ll go back with you. Did you really leave the door unlocked, Mom?” He looked concerned.
“This is Seaside. My grandparents never locked up. No one did.” She smiled nervously. Hopefully that was still the practice. “Mind if we jog back? I’d like to be there when Gordon arrives.”
Wendy was relieved to make it home before the handyman. “I want to clear everything out of the bathroom,” she told Jackson. “Makes it easier for Gordon—and the less time it takes him, the better it’ll be for our budget.”
“Maybe he’ll let me help him,” Jackson offered. “That might save some time.”
Wendy nodded. “Good idea.” She started emptying the linen cabinet, and with Jackson’s help they soon got the old-fashioned bathroom completely cleared out. For a long moment, she studied the space. It was actually a good-sized bathroom. Bigger than the one in their apartment, it had a claw-foot tub and an acrylic shower that her grandparents had gotten installed when she was about Jackson’s age. Hopefully the dry rot wasn’t too bad. It would be expensive to have it all redone.
“Hallo the house,” a deep voice called.
“In here,” she yelled back.
A short, balding man introduced himself as Gordon and immediately started poking around the floor with a screwdriver, actually puncturing a hole right through the linoleum. “You definitely got yourself some dry rot here. Probably a leaky toilet seal.” He looked up at her. “I gotta pull the toilet and, unless I’m wrong, most of the underlayment too. Means you’ll be without your bathroom awhile. You got another one?”
“No, this is it.” She frowned.
“You got another place to stay? Friends nearby?”
“No,” she said firmly. “How long will it take to repair it?”
He rubbed his chin. “Well, if the dry rot is just ’neath the toilet, I suppose I could be done in a day or two—maybe three or four if it’s worse.”
“I can help you,” Jackson offered.
Gordon nodded. “Might speed things along some to have a helper.”
Wendy wanted to ask how much this was going to cost, but she knew it was pointless. It had to be done. Still, what would they do without a usable bathroom?
“So you want me to start tearing it out now?” Gordon stood up, hooking his thumbs into his bright yellow suspenders. “It’ll be a mess.”
“But it has to be done?”
“Yep.” He dipped his bristly chin.
“Then I’d appreciate it if you could start right away.”
“Will do.” He pocketed his screwdriver. “And if I were you, I’d run into the hardware store and pick myself up a camp toilet. To get you by until I’m done in here.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Anything else I need?”
“Well, you’re gonna need some new flooring.”
“Flooring?”
“To replace that linoleum. The hardware store don’t got a lot to choose from, but if you’re not too picky, you might find something that’ll do. Otherwise you gotta drive yourself over to Portland to one of thembig boxstores.”
