“The library, huh? I’ve been spending some time in our library here. I had to do some studying up for a job I’m working on.” I had to change the subject quickly, or else he would want to know what I’d been doing and why I couldn’t afford to come home for a visit.
“Matt, honey, who are you talking to?” I heard my mother call.
“Your long lost son decided to give us a call,” he answered.
Before I knew it, my mother was on the phone. “Matthew, honey, where’ve you been? I tried calling, but the phone was disconnected, and the address we have for you didn’t work.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Mom. It was a sudden move I had to make when I changed jobs.”
“Well, you need to call us more often. I’ve been worried sick!” I held the phone off my ear a little, because my mother was so loud.
Addy smirked and pointed at me, mouthing, “Told you.”
“Give me your address, and is this your new number?” my mother nearly shouted at me. I looked worriedly at Addy.
“See,” I mouthed back, “What do I tell her?”
“Yes,” she whispered back.
“Matthew, are you there, honey?” my mom called.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m here.”
“So, is this your new number?”
“This is the number of where I’m staying.” That must have appeased her, because she went right for the address.
“Okay, baby, now give me an address. I have a box I want to send to you.”
I looked at Addy worriedly again, but she just slid a piece of mail with her address on it in front of me.
“I’m ready when you are, baby, give me your address.”
“Um, okay, Mom.” I relayed Addy’s address, and my mother seemed satisfied. She went on to ask if I was seeing anyone, and I told her there was someone I was interested in, trying to hide my blush from Addy.
I finally got my mom off the phone and started in on my dinner that had sat waiting for me. Addy was almost done with hers. “You go ahead and get ready for bed, Addy. I can do the dishes,” I offered. She smiled and disappeared down the hall.
As I finished up, I thought of everything that had transpired. I’d kissed Addy, and she’d kissed me. She had told me to tell my parents her number and address. I didn’t know what that meant to her, but I was grateful to her. I really didn’t want my parents to worry about me.
The rest of the week went well, and I finished up most of the electrical work, leaving the walls open for the inspector. It was late in the afternoon, when there was a knock at the door.
I answered it, a little nervous about my appearance. I was covered in dust, since I was rebuilding the wall in the guestroom.
“Hey, you must be Matthew. Addy said you’d be here working,” the big man said, patting my shoulder and stepped inside the house.
“And you are…?”
“Kyle McGregor, with Christianson Electric, I’m the inspector.”
“Oh, well, that’s great. Come on, I’ll show you what I’ve done,” I offered, showing him through the house.
“It’s good to see she got some real furniture, though I didn’t take her for such a girly pink chick.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He completely ignored me, going straight for the wall. He looked over his shoulder at me. “Did you do this work yourself?”
“Yes, I did.” I tried to sound polite, but it came out a little defiant.
“You’ve done this bit wrong,” he said, pointing to something, and I rushed over to get a better look at the wires. It all looked fine to me, but I ran to the kitchen, grabbing my book from the table. I flipped frantically to the appropriate page. I didn’t want to be wrong. I knew Addy didn’t have the money to pay the inspector to come out twice.
When I came back in with my book, Mr. McGregor smiled.
I checked again using the book. “It’s right, I know it is,” I said, holding up the book.
“I know. I was just seeing if you knew your stuff. Addy’s a close friend of my family. I wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing and not setting her house up to burn down.”
“I wouldn’t do that to her! Do you know how hard she’s worked for this place?” I yelled at him.
He put his hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. “Look, buddy, you’d be amazed at how many assholes would take advantage of someone like Addy. It looks like she put her trust in the right guy, though,” he said, walking to the next portion of open wall.
He was quiet after that, and the inspection went rather quickly. He took notes as he worked.
“So, Matthew, who do you work for?”
“I, um...”
He smiled and shook his head. “I should’ve known she wouldn’t have been able to afford a certified electrician. You obviously know what you’re doing, though. I know a place that can certify you and defer the cost if you have a job lined up.”
“But I don’t…” I started, but he cut me off.
“Do me a favor and hold off on closing this up for now, and I’ll talk to my boss about a job for you. I can’t make any promises, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Would you be interested?”
“Yes, I would!” I jumped at the chance to work.
“Great, I’ll be back here in about an hour,” he said looking at his watch, and then he was out the door. It was then I realized the only reason I wasn’t holding a job was because I didn’t actually have an address to give them.
The cell phone rang, and I quickly answered it. “Hello?”
“Matthew, I was just calling to let you know Kyle is coming by to do an inspection for me,” Addy said happily.
“Yeah, I know, he was just here.”
She could hear the reluctance in my voice. “Were you not ready for him yet?”
“No, I was, but he offered me a job.”
“That’s great, Matthew!”
“No, it’s not, Addy. I don’t have a home address, so they won’t give it to me. It’s going to come out that I’m homeless.”
“Matthew, just give them my address. If you have a job, you’ll only be able to work on the house on the weekends, so you’ll be staying with me longer, it isn’t a lie.”
“Addy, I…”
She cut me off. “Matthew, this is a great opportunity. Take it,” she insisted. “You’re staying with me, so your address and phone number are the same as mine. You’re not homeless.”
My chest clenched. “Addy, I…”
“It isn’t up for discussion, Matthew. I have to get back to work, we’ll talk more tonight.” At that, she hung up on me, leaving me waiting for Kyle’s return.
I cleaned up my work area more so it was neater, and then I studied over the books as I waited. I didn’t want them to ask me a question I didn’t know the answer to. I wanted to work. Maybe, if I could just get on my feet, then I could get back into school.
There was a knock on the door, and I just about jumped out of my skin. I hurried to open it and found Kyle standing there with another man who looked too clean to be in construction. He was looking everywhere except at me. He went right to the walls and walked through the house, inspecting the work himself, as Kyle followed silently. He was very curious in the kitchen and in the bathrooms, and he even moved up into the attic to see how I had run the lines to the breaker box.
He turned to Kyle, frowning. “This whole house was stripped?” he asked.
“Yes, I know it was for sure, because I did the wiring for the appliances and for one plug each in the bedroom and bathroom, so she’d have some light.”
“Yes, I recognized your work. It was a bit sloppy compared to this fellow’s. What’s your name, young man?” he asked, finally addressing me.
“Matthew Martin, Sir.”
“Where did you learn to run line so well?”
“The library and internet, I wanted to make sure I did it all right for Addy. I did it all by the book.”
“Did you have to consult the books constantly, or do you thin
k you’ve got this stuff down?”
“I have it all pretty much memorized, Sir. I’d go back and check frequently, just to be sure, but I was always right.”
“So you just need some confidence. Would you mind apprenticing for a while?”
“That’d be great, actually.”
“Well, I see great potential in you as an electrician. If you take just as much care as you have with this house, you’ll go far.”
“Thank you, Sir,” I said, shaking his hand.
He nodded, and then he patted Kyle’s shoulder. “Good eye, McGregor. Make sure you get him certified. He’s your new apprentice, but I have a feeling you can learn a lot from each other.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Kyle said, and then he stalled in the doorway. We watched as my new boss man left.
“Hey, I’m sorry he got on your case,” I said.
Kyle laughed. “Nah, he just likes to give me a hard time, because I go through apprentices so fast.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t know what else to say to that.
“Yeah, you’ll be trained by the best and then off working on your own calls in no time, you’ll see.”
I smiled at his encouragement and said goodbye. It was time to get to work closing the walls.
By the end of the day, I had gotten a lot done. I quickly cleaned up my construction mess, using some of the cleaning stuff and the vacuum I had gotten yesterday. I had been working on the drywall since the inspection was passed, but the whole place was covered in white dust. I knew Addy would be home soon, and I wanted the place to look more homey and less like a warzone when she returned. I finally got the floor swept up and cleaned, and then I headed for the shower. I figured I would have enough time to shower and change and maybe start dinner for her if I hurried.
I hopped out of the shower and was drying off, when I heard her pull up. Frantically, I grabbed the first pair of boxers from the box and threw them on, just in time for her to make her way inside. I quickly grabbed a shirt and pulled it over my head. But when I looked up, I realized she was staring at my boxers. “I’m sorry. I thought I had time to get dressed,” I said, nervously trying to cover my junk.
Her eyes met mine, and she looked amused. I guessed that wasn’t bad.
“Where did you get those?” she asked, pointing to my jungle print boxers covered in monkeys. They were holding bright yellow bananas. I hadn’t noticed it before, but they might have glowed in the dark.
“I, um, from the box,” I said, pointing nervously to my free box of clothes, and she started giggling.
I blushed hard. I knew they were kind of silly, but they were free, so who was I to say anything?
“Matthew, did you read the waistband on those?”
“What?”
“The waistband,” she said pointing.
I looked down at my shorts. The shirt I was wearing was covering it, and I shook my head no. She just giggled some more at me and walked out of the room. “You should!” she called back to me.
Once she was out of sight, I lifted my shirt and read “Want to taste my banana?” It was printed in big bold black letters across the bright yellow elastic waistband. “How did I miss that?” I mumbled to myself. I quickly jerked my pants on and hurried to the kitchen. “I had no idea! I swear I don’t want you to taste my banana.”
She just burst out laughing. “Oh, Matthew, that’s such a shame,” she said teasingly, confusing me more.
“You want to taste my banana?”
“You know what makes this so funny?” she laughed, pulling out a to-go box. “I brought home banana cream pie for dessert to celebrate passing inspection!” she said, dipping her finger into the cream and slowly sucking it clean. I swallowed hard. I didn’t think I could ever blush any redder than I did in that moment.
Chapter 8 - Unexpected
The next morning, I woke to the sound of Addy in the kitchen. I made my way in, scratching my belly and yawning, and she looked at me and giggled. “What? Is it my hair again?” I asked, patting it down.
She shook her head no and then glanced at my waist. The yellow band was peeking out at her. I pulled my shirt down and pulled my pajama pants up. “Sorry,” I mumbled, but she just burst into giggles again.
“It’s fine, really. I could use a good laugh, and the fact that you wear them and are so oblivious is just hilarious.”
“Just for that, I should get you some silly cherry pie panties or something,” I grumbled.
She put a bowl in front of me, smirking. “Who says I don’t have some already?” she flirted back, and I suddenly felt a little more awake.
The rest of the week was much the same…well, sort of. I think we were flirting. I had always been decent looking, or so I’d thought, but my social and financial status had always worked against me. That and after spending all day processing collections, I tended to be a bit of a grump. Okay, I was a total grump, but you would have been, too, if you’d spent all day talking to angry people. Anyway, my point being, I was in new territory. I was pretty sure Addy was flirting with me, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I flirted back, and I wanted to kiss her again, but I didn’t know how to go about doing it.
I had been spending the days working on Addy’s house and the evenings studying. Kyle had called me and told me I was scheduled for my certification test on Thursday evening. I was excited and scared at the same time. I really didn’t want to fail, and I was freaking out that I might tank the test. Addy would calm me down, when she saw I was stressed, but she had been working an extra shift for the past couple of days. When I asked her about it, she said she knew her electric bill was going to go up, and she needed to be ready for it. That just made me want to study harder and be sure to pass. I wanted to be able to help Addy with her bills. I hated that I was taking so much from her.
I had finished repairing and patching the walls in the second room and was cleaning up the mess, when I heard a knock at the door. At first, I didn’t recognize the sound and looked to see what had fallen on the floor, but then I heard the steady rap again.
I made my way to the door and opened it, only to be shocked by who was on the other side. My mother stood with a wide smile. She grabbed me and kissed my cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re home, baby! I wasn’t sure with you working and all,” she said and then turned to my father’s wheelchair. “Can you help me get him up, dear?” she asked.
My first thought was, “Crap, how did I explain this to Addy?” My second thought was, “We need a ramp.”
“Hold on, Mom, I have some boards we can lay over the steps.”
I rushed to the back shed, where I had saved a few two-by-sixes. The tops of them were not rotted, so I had cut off the bad parts and saved the good. I had done a lot of research on termites and found that it wasn’t termite damage in the wall, just some ants, and I had been able to get rid of them rather easily. The dirt they had brought in had rotted the bottoms of the wood in the wall, but as I’d said before, the tops were fine.
I laid two two-by-sixes down over the steps and popped my father’s front wheels up over the edge of them, so I could push him up and into the house.
“This is a beautiful house, Matthew,” my mother gushed. “It’s so much homier than that little cramped apartment.”
I didn’t know what to say, and my father started laughing. “So, when do we meet her?” he asked, and my eyes popped open wide.
“Oh, please, dear. We have caller ID, remember? Last I checked, I didn’t name you Adeline Stratton,” my mother said grinning.
“She’s working at the diner now. She’s been taking a few later shifts.”
My mother nodded. “Of course, winter does make for a horrid electric bill. Remember, dear, I’d spend most of my time at the diner as well?”
“So,” my dad, said clapping his hands, “What have you been working on?” he asked, eyeing the patched walls.
I scratched the back of my neck. “I’ve been fixing up the house. It was stripped and…well, just
old in general, so I’ve been trying to get that all taken care of.”
“Stripped?” my father asked.
“Yeah, someone had gone through and pulled all of the electrical wires out. I had to replace them. That’s why the walls are patched the way they are,” I said, pointing to some of my handiwork. “I also replaced some rotted boards in the wall in the second bedroom. I was just cleaning that up when you came.”
“Well, let’s have a look,” my dad said, wheeling himself down the hall. I opened the door to the small room with the pile I had just swept up. I picked up the dustpan and finished, as he looked around the room. “So, you going to put my grandkids in here?” he asked.
I dropped the dustpan, startled.
My father started laughing, and my mother walked in, smacking him on the shoulder. “Way to be subtle about it, Matt.” She smiled at me, and I knew I was in for it. “It must be serious if you’re living together, right?”
I swallowed hard. This was going to be a lot harder to explain than I thought.
“Matthew?” I heard Addy call from the front room and heard her coming down the hall. “Do you know who’s parked in the driveway?” she asked and then stepped into the room.
I was sure I looked like a deer caught in headlights.
My mother turned to her, smiling widely. “You must be Adeline. I’m Dorothy, Matthew’s mother, but you can call me Dottie.”
Now Addy looked just as stunned as I did. I looked back and forth between the two, and my father started laughing. “Looks like we broke our son, Dottie.” He rolled over to Addy and took her hand. “I’m Matt, the nut’s father. You’re definitely out of his league,” he said with a wink, and my mom smacked his shoulder again.
Addy cleared her throat and plastered on a smile, but I could tell it was forced. Heck, I think we all knew it was by how pale she was. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coming, or I would’ve…” She looked down at the to-go box she had.
I hurried over to her and took it from her, leading her out of the room. “You didn’t have to bring me lunch,” I said, pulling her aside. I felt horrible. She looked absolutely sick. “I didn’t know they were coming,” I blurted out.
Home Is Wherever You Are Page 5