Page 41 of Autumn on My Mind

“Reese,” he calls softly, and I scramble off the bed, popping my head out the door.

“Yeah,” I say, as though I haven’t been waiting for him to finish. “Figure it out?”

He nods as he steps fully out of the water heater closet. “I think you need a new thermocouple.”

The word rings a bell, doubtless from spending time in my dad’s shop, but I don’t recall much now. “Is it one-size-fits-all? Can I order it online?”

“Eh,” he says slowly. “I can run and grab one for you. That would probably be easier.”

I blink, trailing down the hall to him. “Really?”

“Sure,” he says with a shrug. “It would probably have to be tomorrow, but I can do it.”

“Can I buy you lunch as a thank you?” That’s not a weird thing to ask him, is it? And lunch should be allowed. He’s doing work for me.

“Depends,” he says, exhaling loudly and stretching. “Are you going to make me eat chicken salad?”

I can’t help smiling at this. “You would be lucky if I did, but no. Your choice. Within reason,” I add hastily.

“In that case, yes. I guess I’ll allow you to feed me lunch tomorrow.”

“Good of you.”

He hums and closes the closet, heading back to the front door.

“One more thing,” I say as his hand comes to rest on the door knob.

He turns to look at me, his brows lifting.

“Want to be the official handyman of this apartment?”

A small but genuine smile tugs over his lips, and his eyes sparkle. “I would love nothing more.”

And it sounds like he means it.

Dominic

So how should I do this hair thing? Do I just buy bleach and then mix it in with my dad’s shampoo?

Me

I’m not sure that would work like we wanted.

Let me look a few things up.

Okay, what you’ll want to do is a bleach bath.

Dominic

You must know this means nothing to me.

ME

Hair bleach powder and developer added to shampoo.

On second thought, I will take care of the actual bleach.

Dominic