NIX
“You have to be fucking kidding me.” I turn the handle on the shower one more time, just to make sure I’m not the problem. It wouldn’t be the first time—or the last time—that my house issues were user error.
Nothing happens, which is exactly the problem I’ve had all morning. Nothing comes out of the sink faucet either. While I might normally convince myself that there’s a perfectly rational reason and not to panic, there’s a sinking feeling in my stomach that I can’t ignore.
Robe on to keep my neighbors from getting a little too much of a view this early in the morning, I head downstairs. In the kitchen, I send a quick prayer up to anyone who might be listening before I turn on the sink.
Whoever answers prayer requests is still asleep, because just like upstairs, it sputters briefly, then nothing.
That feeling in the pit of my stomach? It gets much worse.
A quick peek outside my window tells me that my neighbor, Margie, is awake and eating breakfast. Maybe there’s some sortof town-wide water outage that I haven’t heard about. Or a main on our street that broke. I decide to send her a quick text to check in.
Does your water work?
Through the window, I watch Margie pick up her phone and give the screen a scowl before typing back a reply.
Margie (neighbor)
Of course it works. Why wouldn’t it? What did you do?
I made one teeny tiny mistake while doing some electrical work, and the whole block never lets me forget. And really, it wasn’t that big of a deal. People were only without power for a few hours. And some of them were at work, so they didn’t even notice. At least until Margie spread the word. I’m convinced she went door to door, handing out flyers explaining how terrible it was that I moved in.
They never did that to my great-aunt. Probably. I’ll never get the chance to ask her. There are so many questions I have after living here for a few years that I wish I could ask. Sadly, I’m on my own to figure them out. Just like I’m on my own to solve the water problem.
Except that this seems beyond my wildly mediocre home-improvement skills. Which means calling a plumber. My least favorite thing.
It also means that at some point today, I’ll have to come home to meet the plumber. Not exactly an easy feat with the shop. It’s why I should really consider getting more help long-term, not just during the summer months. Someone I can trust to be in charge when I’m not there. It’s just hard to find someone that I trust with my baby.
Chase doesn’t count. It’s his first day working at the shop. I can’t very well leave him in charge for an unknown period of time. Sure, he was great yesterday, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to take over the shop.
Thirty minutes later,I arrive at the shop as fresh as possible without running water. The water in the pitcher I keep in the fridge came in handy for brushing my teeth and splashing some very cold water on my face. Not exactly the level of freshness I strive for, but it wasn’t enough for anything resembling a shower.
Would it be weird to ask Chase to let me use his? It is technically mine, but the space is his right now. I’m trying to be respectful of that and not interfere with whatever he has going on.
“Are you okay?” Chase is standing behind the counter when I arrive.
“I should ask you the same thing. You’re”—I check my watch—“fifty minutes ahead of your shift.” It’s not that I don’t have things for him to do, but what I really need is time to get myself together and figure out exactly what I’m going to have him do. If I’m going to keep from having a repeat of last night’s performance, I need him working at the opposite end of the shop. Preferably where I can’t see him or his short shorts.
“I was bored.” He shrugs. I’m not buying it. There are a million things he could be doing besides standing here staring at his phone. Like lying in bed, staring at his phone.
“Is Nick upstairs?” Whatever his deal is with Nick, it’s hilarious. Nick’s a beast, there’s no doubt about that, but he’s the sweetest and softest one imaginable.
“I don’t know how he’s getting in.” Chase throws his hands up in the air. “The door was shut and locked. It shouldn’t be possible, and yet, he’s up there having a nap on my bed right now.”
It would be funny if it didn’t pose a real problem for the space’s future marketability. Maybe a cat that joins you, uninvited, could be a selling point? Some people might even pay extra for a vacation cat. I would.
Of course, when those people were here, Nick would take the opportunity to disappear completely. Then I’d get complaints saying that I promised a cat that didn’t exist. I have a feeling that where Nick is concerned, there’s no winning. Except for Nick. Nick always wins.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Chase comes around the counter, making a beeline for me. God, I hope I don’t smell too bad. Oh God. What if I still smell like cum after last night? I cleaned up a bit, but I saved the rest for the shower I thought I was getting this morning. The washcloth I ran over my body might not be enough.
“Something’s wrong with the water at my place. There is none. I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I called a plumber who’s coming at two, but that means I have to close the shop for at least an hour. Then I have to hope the issue is small and not something massive. Plus, I have to work all day feeling gross because I didn’t get a shower this morning. Oh, and that cat is going to ruin all my plans.”
Chase stares at me, a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to word vomit all over you.” Like the water, my filter seems to be off this morning.
Suddenly, he snaps out of it. The exact moment is clear on his face, like a lightbulb literally turned on in his mind.
