“Damn, girl, did you buy out the whole place?” Nora laughed as I walked in, taking care to step over the boxes of hardwood taking up space in the front hall.
I put down the bags to give her a hug. “Hair looks great, as usual. I hate you.”
Nora had a mane that drew stares, a bright blonde curtain that looked like she had a blowout every day.
She laughed. “You want straight, I want curly. It always happens that way.”
“Where did you set everything up?”
She smirked. “Not in the disaster zone, that’s for sure. We’re out back.”
Nora gestured around the upheaval that would some day turn the rundown Craftsman house into a cozy, beautiful, updated home. For now it was a work in progress, with lighting hanging down on wires and exposed support beams.
There was so much that needed to be done that I had to pick and choose priorities—that meant that the work was happening piecemeal. Thankfully, even though the house was in a state of “work needs to be donenow,not later,” it wasn’t quite at “not safe for man or beast.” Icouldlive here while the renovations played out. It was just…challenging at times. It was a mess, but it wasmymess thanks to my grandfather, my Poppy. He’d gifted me the house to take care of when he moved into an assisted living home. It was the only way he’d go, knowing that I’d move in and take care of our family legacy.
Our legacy,plushis best friend.
I grabbed two bottles and wine glasses and followed Nora to the backyard, the one spot that was free from upheaval. I’d turned it into the perfect habitat for both my housemate and me, with lush plants and café lights strung above us.
“Hey Win, baby, where are you?”
Turtles got a bad rap for being slow but my man Winston the desert tortoise could haul shell when he was motivated, and saying hello to me was plenty motivating. He appeared from beneath a shrub with half a pink hibiscus blossom hanging out of his mouth.
“Hey there, bud,” I said as I got down on my knees. “Enjoying a snack?”
He stretched his neck out and we booped noses, our standard greeting. He looked like a wizened old man, but in tortoise calculations Winston was still a toddler at fifteen years old. My grandfather always joked that Winston was going to outlive him, but given that they could keep kicking until eighty, the truth was that he was probably going to live on long after I was gone.
“I love that dude,” Nora said. “Such a tough guy.”
“Speaking of, I need to show you the new hats I got for him off of Etsy. The flower crown makes people misgender him, so I got a crochet beret, a cowboy hat, and a football helmet.”
“Hey, Winston is confident in his masculinity, let him wear flowers if he wants.”
“True,” I agreed, giving his shell one last scratch. “Okay, where’s my food?”
“More importantly, where’s your drink?” Nora laughed. “Here. Sit.”
She pulled another chair to the small café table and plopped down.
My yard was our only sanctuary given the renovations. Any time the debris spilled out the back door and threatened the tranquility of it I got itchy. I didn’t like living in disarray, but I didn’t have a choice. The work the house needed wasn’t cosmetic. Without Poppy noticing, things reallyhadgotten worn down over the years in a way that wasn’t dangerous yet but could be in just a few years if I didn’t actnow.This house meant too much to me to allow it to fall apart.
I took a long draw from the glass of pinot. “Ahhh.”
“Yeah, same,” Nora agreed. “Rough day for me as well. Why the hell did I agree to work with Brittany?”
I squinted at her. “Oh no. You too? I got about two dozen texts from her today.”
“I took some shrapnel as well,” she agreed. “She’s now asking for a specific filter on all of her photos. It’s this gross rose tint that’ll make my work look like it was shot by a faux-tographer. I’m trying to talk her out of it but you know Brittany.”
“Whoops.” I scrunched up my nose. “Sorry for referring her to you.”
“Hey, she’s a luxury bride and I can’t argue with the invoice she’s going to pay.”
“That’s a win,” I agreed. “I like to focus on wins when I have a rough day, so what was yours?”
“This,” she replied, gesturing around my little yard. “Being here with you and Win. How about you?”
“Seeing Poppy and giving him a slice of an Ashford Resort chocolate cake. It’s been his favorite since he went to a party there years ago. Any time I’m close I swing by to get him a slice.”
