“Hey, Phoebe. Let’s go find the bug guy.”
I walked down the hall to the kitchen, then stopped in my tracks, looking down at the black ball of fluff.Phoebe worked.She looked like a Phoebe.
She was a Phoebe.My Phoebe.
“Alright, Mark. I’m all done,” Bill said, breaking my train of thought.
“Is it bad?”
“Yes and no. There’s damage to several of the support beams underneath the house. It’s fairly easy to get rid of the infestation, but the repairs will take time and a construction crew trained to handle this type of situation. I can give you a recommendation or two if needed.”
Bill wrote out his report and waited for me to process the information. I shook my head and closed my eyes. I was probably going to have to move out for who knew how long.
Where would I stay?
I could bunk with Miller and Magnum, but Phoebe would get lost under the mounds of dirty laundry, and my oldest brother, Maverick, was more of a recluse than me.
“Thanks for your help, Bill. I’ll get someone started on the repairs right away.”
“Glad to hear it. We’ll make sure the wood’s been treated properly so this doesn’t happen again.”
“I appreciate it. Thanks for coming out.”
Of all the crazy shit that had gone wrong with the house, that was the last thing I expected. My salary was decent, and I had some money saved, but this would take a big chunk. I was planning to upgrade the house, and most of what I had would go toward rebuilding it.
It could be worse,I grumbled, kicking a stone on the pavement. The roof could have collapsed while I was sleeping.
At least I was going to see Jenna later. That should get me out of this shitty mood and this dumpster fire of a morning.
By the afternoon, I needed another shower before taking Phoebe toAMC. I’d thrown myself into ripping up the rest of the steps. It was a pretty stupid thing to do because now I had to jump from the porch to the sidewalk, making the house look like one gigantic eyesore.
After showering and getting dressed, I picked up my phone and stared at the screen. I should text my brothers and see who they’d recommend. Groaning, I pulled up the group text and quickly scrolled through the dozens of messages I missed. My brothers mostly talked in GIFs and sarcastic comments, so it was easy enough to skim through everything I missed.
Me: I need a construction company recommendation that won’t rip me off.
Mil: Well, hello, younger brother. How are you on this glorious day?
Mag: We are doing fine, bro. Thanks for asking. And could you please stop texting us so much? It’s annoying.
Mav: Why do you need a recommendation?
Me: The house has termite damage.
Mil: WTF?
Mag: GIF of bomb exploding
Mav: What’s the extent of the damage?
Me: I don’t know, but it looks like the porch will have to be replaced and a good portion of the downstairs and roof.
Mil: Holy shit. How did we not know?
Me: Because we took mom’s word all was well with the house and didn’t check for ourselves.
Mav: Ouch.
Mil: We suck.
