“There seems to be a leak right above my bed in the master bedroom. The damp section on the ceiling is about the size of a golf ball, so it’s not anything that needs to be taken care of right away. But I just wanted to get it on your radar.”
“No, it absolutely does need to be taken care of right away. Unfortunately, I’m in town working on another repair for Mrs. Pembrooke at the preschool, so I won’t be back for a few hours.”
“I’m surprised Camille let you out of her sights for that long.”
Foster chuckled. “I managed to sneak out before she was awake.”
“Smart man.”
“Or really stupid, because I’m sure I’ll hear all about it once I get back,” he admitted. “Either way, we can’t have that leak of yours ruining your mattress. I believe Josh is around. I’ll give him a call and see if he can come by with a bucket and some tarp so we can patch it up in the meantime. I should be able to take a look at it later this afternoon.”
“I really appreciate that. Again, it’s not an emergency—”
“We’ll get it fixed. You’ve got my word.”
Edie clicked out of the phone call, already more at ease despite the constant drip, drip, drip that plunked into the filling water cup.
It was nice to have someone like Foster around, someone so reliable and capable. She was happy Camille had found love again, and with a man that absolutely cherished her.
At one point in time, Edie had wanted that for herself. No, at one point in time she’d actually had that. Evan, her husband, had been the love of her life. Sure, they’d married young. Started a family soon after. Some said they’d rushed into things, but it didn’t feel that way to Edie. It felt like finally starting the life she’d always wanted with a man she could love forever.
But fate had other plans.
Goodness, Evan had been gone so many years, but her heart still quickened when she thought back to their life and their love. There was so much promise, so much potential, all to be cut tragically short.
But Edie believed in second chances. There had been one for Camille, who found Foster when she wasn’t even looking. That’s how it always seemed to go. And even Tabitha and Ben were giving their love another attempt.
Edie had to believe her ever after was out there, too, whatever it looked like and whoever it was with.
As promised, Josh showed up within ten minutes, all of the supplies Foster had mentioned in hand, big grin on his face.
“Foster gave me pretty clear instructions, but I’m going to be brutally honest, this will be my first attempt doing any sort of ceiling repair,” he said, following closely behind Edie as they ascended the stairs toward the offending leak.
“I’m sure you’ll do better than I would.”
When they came into the room, Josh’s gaze landed on the little cup doing its best to keep the water contained. The sight was pitifully endearing. “That’s the biggest bucket you’ve got?” he teased.
“It was the first thing I could find. I panicked.”
“This one should be able to hold quite a bit more.” Josh positioned the five-gallon bucket directly beneath the damaged portion of ceiling, then pulled out a funnel, long tube, section of tarp, and duct tape from within it. “I watched a YouTube video, so you know, I’m practically an expert on this now.”
Edie laughed. She really enjoyed being around Josh. Something about the man always put her at ease. Even when Camille had twisted her own crazy story about him before they knew the real reason for his stay in Seascape Shores, Edie had felt differently. They had a connection. Maybe it was because they’d both lost their spouses. Maybe it was because something in Edie had recognized Josh—like his relation to Camille and Tabitha was a tangible thing. Maybe they were just compatible. She wasn’t sure. She just knew that she enjoyed the time they spent together.
Well, the one-on-one time, that was.
“Do you think you’d be able to give me a hand? Foster said it doesn’t need to be perfect, just good enough until he’s able to come over and take a look.”
“Of course. Happy to help.”
Josh slipped his sneakers from his feet and pinched the thigh on his joggers to hike up his pantleg, then climbed onto the bed. Edie followed, taking his hand when he offered his assistance. The plush mattress gave under their collective weight, dipping in the middle.
“We’re going to want to cut a little hole in the center of the tarp where the funnel and tubing will go. Then we can tape it soit sags a bit in the middle to let the water collect and go down the hose and into the bucket.”
“Got it. Makes sense.”
With a pocketknife, Josh made the necessary cuts and together they got all the pieces into place.
“I’ll hold it up if you can tear off some sections of tape to secure it to the ceiling.”
