8
When I arrive homeafter six, I’m pleasantly surprised that the tree is no longer in my house. In fact, the entire tree has been cut down from Jimmy’s yard and all that remains is a stump. Excited as I am to have the tree gone, there’s a new eye sore in its place—a huge board covering part of the window and a tarp covering the rest of it.
That damn tree. Mother Nature.Jimmy. He’s the one I blame for all of this. That tree seemed to be in fine condition. Then after a storm it weakened. A week later I walked over to ask the owner to do something about it. He didn’t answer. I came to find out he passed away. His wife died the year before him. Then Jimmy moved in, planning to fix it up and sell it. He should have started with that tree!
Why does this crap always happen to me?
A knock on my window startles me. It’s Jimmy, and he’s holding Kale in his arms. I open the door and step out.
“How was work today?” He asks this as if we’re a couple and it’s the thing to do.
“Um, fine?”
“You’re stating that as a question. So you’re not sure how it was?”
Kale is panting, his big tongue sticking out with that weird smile on his face. He wriggles in Jimmy’s arms and Jimmy reaches Kale out to me.
“What? You want me to take him?”
“He wants you.”
“Me? Okay…I’ve never even held a dog before.” I reach out and he practically leaps into my arms. When I have a hold of him, he starts licking my face. It tickles and I can’t help but laugh.
“Kale, no kisses,” Jimmy says. Kale listens, stopping immediately, which shocks me.
“Wow. He’s a good boy, isn’t he?” When I say the phrase “good boy,” Kale kisses me again.
“Kale!” Jimmy scolds him. “Usually, yes, he’s very good. He’s a great companion, fun to play with, and, if you haven’t noticed, a fabulous kisser.”
It’s clear how much Jimmy loves this dog and for some reason I hate that. I don’t want a reason to think good of Jimmy. It’s, like, my job to hate him. I hope Kale doesn’t think all these kisses clear him and Jimmy of past indiscretions.
We start walking together toward my house. “I see your friend took care of the tree. How much do I owe him?”
“No charge.”
“What?” I stop walking. “No charge? I mean, does insurance cover it? Even so, there should be a deductible.”
“Don’t worry about it. Besides, he owes me a favor. I tossed a lot of business his way lately. If he had a stamp card to fill out, I more than likely have already filled it.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, please thank him for me. How about fixing the hole in my house? Do you have any idea how long that will take?” I don’t want to rush him, but seeing the tarp on my house is making my head hurt. I can’t deal with this stress right now, not with what is going on with Alvin.
Jimmy rubs his hand on his neck and his nose twitches. “About that. I went in and took a look around when the insurance company was here. There’s a structural issue as a result of the tree hitting the house. The entire wall will have to be torn down and rebuilt.”
“Excuse me?” No. This was supposed to take no time at all. Take the tree out, fix the drywall, and put up new siding. There wasn’t any mention of tearing anything apart. Hasn’t my house been torn up enough? “What is the timeline on that?”
“Well, that depends. This is a busy time of year for contractors. It’s possible it could be a month or two before someone can fix this.”
“A month before someone can evenstart?” My heart starts pounding as I imagine living with a board covering my house. I take pride in my home and don’t want it to be in shambles like this. A clean home is an organized home. An organized home is one that reduces stress for me. I don’t need any more stress right now.
“Yes. Don’t forget, though, that this is my livelihood. I can take a break from working on my house and fix yours up before you’d even be able to schedule someone else to do it.”
“That’s not fair to you. I don’t want to take you away from what you’re doing.”
“It’s not a big deal, Reese. I’m happy to do it.”
I’m faced with having to wait for my house to be fixed or giving the job to Jimmy, someone I don’t like very much. I mean, I guess he’s notsobad if he’s offering to stop work and focus on my priorities.
“What is this going to cost me?” I don’t have time to be calling around to different contractors anyway. On top of collecting bids, I’d have to figure out who I could even trust. I’ve heard many horror stories of people paying thousands of dollars to remodel their homes and the contractors run off with the money without doing any work. At least Jimmy lives right next door and I’m not shy about pounding on his door. If his work ethic is not up to my satisfaction, I can make him answer to me.
