“Hi, Myles. What’s up?”
“Morning, Dan. Nothing is wrong. I wanted to tell you we have the mortgage for the property, and it should be completed quickly. Lou has the keys for us, thanks to the seller being happy for us to take possession of the place.That means we can make a start on renovating the place next week.”
Dan chuckles, “That’s great news. I’ll let Synthia know because she said if we are going to be working alongside Maylee and Whitney, then she’d be happy to look after Oren. It could keep him out of the way, and less dangerous for him too. It’s up to you—speak to Maylee about it.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll put it to Maylee. Oren loves new things, so he’d enjoy being with Synthia I’m sure.”
“I’ll get the plans together along with the list of things we’ll need. Cabinets, stove, etc.” Dan states, and I can nearly hear the cogs turning as he’s thinking.
“Good idea. The more you have organized for the apartment the less we have to think about. We can get down to the hard work of ripping out and then replacing,” I reply. Letting him know he has a free run of what he wants.
“After speaking with Synthia, we would like to pay for our part of the renovation of the apartment. You and Clem have been more than fair in giving us the place, and yesterday telling me we won’t be paying rent. We would like to show our gratitude, and paying for the place would be our thanks to you.”
“Hmm, you’ll have to speak to Clem as he’s the one who deals with most of the financial side. I understand why you are offering, and I think it’s a noble offer. Let’s just talk about it on Monday when we are all at work.”
Dan sighs, “Okay, Myles. We’ll speak on Monday. In the meantime, I’ll get the costs and everything together.”
“Great. Okay, I’ve gotta run, got things to do.”
An hour later, I’m sitting at Clem’s with a cinnamon roll in my hand and a glass of something…Well, I’m not sure what it is to be exact. It’s very green!
“My friend is happy to do the job in as early as two weeks, but do you think that’s too early? I think we need to get it done when my friend can fit it in,” Whitney asks as she drinks from her glass of green sludge. That’s what it feels like in your mouth, sludge.
Maylee is sitting on the couch with Oren, watching a cartoon on the TV. Turning to join the conversation, she says, “If you have the go-ahead, the keys, and it’s all signed, then in my humble opinion there is no reason not to make a start on the sign outside. You just said you were going to rip out the apartment, so what’s the difference?”
The cottage silence is deafening, if that is a description! Maylee is right! We are organizing the renovation of the apartment starting next week. “The only thing I see is if we put the sign outside will it attract more business, which we are not ready for. It could take six weeks to get the apartmentand the garage fitted out. Then we can start using the space as a repair shop,” I add to the conversation.
Clem grunts in agreement, and Whitney frowns. “No, in my opinion, it is a case of getting it done. He’s going to clean the front of the building after removing the old sign, then put up the fresh sign after he’s repainted any area that needs it. He’s going to be working for a week to do all that. We have to fit into his time frame or not get it done at all.”
Now, I can see we have to fit everything in when people can and are willing to do it. “Okay, I’m okay with it. We can take bookings for the future if needed.”
“I can do the bookings,” Oren pipes up, and we give each other ahow do we get out of this onelook.
But Maylee, as always comes to the rescue. “Well, hmm, you could, but can you subtract, divide, and do percentages?”
Oren turns to Maylee with a look of horror on his face, but after blinking a few times, states loudly, “Nope, I don’t want to do it now.”
Crisis over!
“Would you like to have some days out with Dan’s wife, Synthia, while we work?” I ask, thinking this is an ideal opportunity. I look at Maylee rather than Oren because I have a feeling I may have just put my foot in my mouth.
Oren looks at Maylee, and I can see he wants to go do something, but doesn’t want to leave Maylee.
“Well, let’s see.” Maylee taps her finger on her chin. She makes a huge thing of thinking, very theatrical, which has the rest of us smirking. “If you go for the day with Synthia do you think you could bring something in for us all to eat? If I give you the cash will you keep hold of it, not lose it anywhere?”
Oren sits up as straight as he can, giving Maylee a serious look. “I can do that, Mom. I’ll not lose it. You can trust me.”
“Okay, so the day you go with Synthia I’ll write a note and give you the money so you can get our evening meal. Bring it back with Synthia and make sure you ask if she and her husband, Dan, want to join us.” Maylee bops his nose before she grabs him around the neck and scrunches his hair.
Giggling, Oren wraps his arms around Maylee. The love between them is easy to see, and this is another time I know I’ve been very lucky.
Much later, sitting in bed with Maylee snuggling under my arm, we are watching TV, which I’ve only lately added to the bedroom. I look down at Maylee when she speaks.
“I’ve had a health check at the doctor’s office. I forgot to tell you. I had blood taken, blood pressure checked, and I had a script filled.”
“Are you okay?” I ask, showing the concern I’m feeling.
“I’m fine. I wanted to be checked before I stop taking the pill. It could take a while before we get pregnant, but it doesn’t matter does it. We are not under any kind of time limit.” Maylee looks up at me, and I kiss her gently.
