“No dramatics here. Just shocked is all.”
“Well, if you’re here to work, then please be shocked inside.”
“I can do that.” I take a step toward the door, but her hand meets my chest, stopping me. “Uh, are you trying to feel me up?”
“No, I told you to go in from the back.”
“Oh, right.” I scratch my head. “How do I get to the back again?”
“Read your text message,” she says right before she shuts and locks the door.
“She seems pleasant,” Rupert says as he passes me. “Have fun, mate.” Then he takes off, leaving me to the wolf.
“Wow,” I say, looking at the freshly sanded floors. She did two rounds, and she just finished up.
I’ll be honest, I thought she’d have to replace them, given how shabby they looked the other day, but it’s like she brought the floors back to life.
Shuffling my bootie-covered feet across the floor, I say, “I’m impressed. The floors look so good. I had no idea they could be transformed like this.”
“Since they’re real hardwood floors, that made the decision to keep them easy. I knew they needed some love and we’re halfway there. Once I clean up, then I can stain them.”
“Will they stay this color?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’d like them to match the dark shelves. That way, the color of the candy pops in the store.”
“That’s a really good idea.”
“Thank you.” She stares down at the floors, admiring her work. I don’t blame her; it’s quite the transformation.
“So, what can I help with?”
“Well, I need to clean every dust particle up so that when I go to stain, I don’t stain dust into the floorboards.”
“I can do that.”
“Really? Have you ever cleaned anything before?”
“That’s neither here nor there,” I say. “Just tell me what to do.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, brow raised.
“Positive.”
“Okay.” She leaves for a moment and then brings in two vacuum-like machines.
Ooh, those look like fun.
“Do I get to use one of those?”
“Yes, can you handle it?”
“Of course, but, uh…what is it exactly?”
“Shop-vacs. They can suck up pretty much anything and are quite powerful, so I think we should split the room in half. You take one side and I’ll take the other.”
“And we can meet in the middle, like Lady and the Tramp with their spaghetti.”
“It concerns me how ridiculous you are.”
