Home Is Wherever You Are

by Rose von Barnsley

  “No! This is my house!”

  “That could be your house, too, Addy! Matthew here seems to be handy enough to be able to keep things together for you. Are you in this for the long haul, Son?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “You really want to move to Woodville?” she asked annoyed.

  “I don’t know, I never been, but it just seems safer. That guy shot at you, Addy. If I hadn’t pushed you out of the way, he would’ve killed you.”

  “No, he would’ve just wounded me, you’re both being ridiculous. There’s nothing to do in Woodville.”

  “You can go to school,” her dad said.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “We’ve had this discussion, Dad. I’m not using your retirement fund for schooling!”

  “What about grant money? Matthew here said you could apply and get your school paid for.”

  Addy turned her glare on me.

  “What?” I asked her and then looked at her dad. “I said I was going to work on her.”

  “Work on her?” she snapped.

  “I told you, honey, being a waitress all your life is tough. I wanted you to be able to do something else, anything that makes you happy, really.”

  “Anything?” she said with a mischievous look. “So, I can go to bartender school or stripper school and learn pole dancing?”

  My eyes widened in panic, and I looked at her dad. “You…do something!”

  He looked at me and shook his head. “Boy, she was just riling you up. You’re gonna have to learn to take it better than this.”

  “What?” I asked and looked over at Addy. She just rolled her eyes. I looked back at her dad. “I just do my best not to piss her off.” I turned back to Addy. “Look, honey, you do what you want. I’ve got to get back to work on the bathroom,” I said, sneaking off with my tail between my legs.

  Daniel shook his head at me. “No backbone.”

  “I know who feeds me,” I called back to him.

  Addy started laughing. “He’s right, Dad, you’d better cool it, or I’m not cooking.”

  “Fine,” he conceded, making me not feel so bad about my running and hiding. I would just have to prove I was a man some other way.

  Chapter 12 – Out of the Woodwork

  Needless to say, I was relieved when Daniel decided to go home that afternoon. I knew there would be no chance of seeing my girl in my bed if he was around. Well, she might sneak in, but because I valued my life, I would have snuck out myself. Heaven help me, why did my girl have to have a gun-toting dad?

  Over the next few weeks, my girl would sneak into my room at night and snuggle up with me. I wondered why she even bothered to make a show of going to her bed at night. It was silly, really. So, I decided to surprise her one night.

  We went to our separate rooms, and I waited all of three minutes. She usually would wait until I fell asleep, but I wasn’t even going to bother with that. I was out to make a point. I came walking into her room, and she sat up and smiled at my boxers. These ones had camels all over them and said “Hump Expert.” I rolled my eyes at her giggling and crawled into bed next to her, not even waiting to be invited. I didn’t need to be invited. I already knew I was. She snuggled into my side right away, settling down with a sigh of contentment. “Your bed is bigger,” I said.

  She leaned up and kissed my cheek. “Yes, it is,” was her reply, and that was the end of it. The next night, she took my hand and led me to her room, not even pretending we had separate rooms. We had yet to move past kissing and my touching her chest with her night bra on, but I was okay with that. She was happy, so I was happy. That and the new shower surround I had put up was easy to wash down after my showers, if you know what I mean.

  When the bills came in, I snagged them and happily paid them before she got a chance to. Luckily, my old account was not overdrawn. I signed up to have my paycheck direct deposited and was able to get a new debit card. Addy started to complain about me paying the bills, but I told her she had paid last month’s bills when I didn’t have a job, so I was paying this month’s. “Next month we could split them,” I said, trying to settle her down.

  She seemed to buy it, but it was bull. I so was paying the bills again next month. I didn’t make a lot, but I made more than her now, so I was going to take care of my girl. I was able to put a little in savings as well. I kind of liked the idea of having my own handyman business. I knew Addy was against moving, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to save up, just in case I was able to convince her to move back to Woodville.

  When I asked her why she had moved, she said it was because she hated the people there. They had cliques, and they had been mean to her. I remembered what Kyle had said about that mean girl calling her a mouse. I couldn’t blame her. I think I wanted to smack the girl for hurting Addy. Good thing for her I didn’t hit girls. Maybe if we went back for a visit or something for the holidays, it wouldn’t be so bad.

  Christianson Electric was getting a lot of work from that new company, Venture Builders. Kyle and I seemed to be working nonstop. I loved that I was paid by the hour, because I was working a ton of hours. After a month with Kyle, Leon called me in and told me I was moving up, since I had proven myself. I was given a raise and my own company truck to drive, filled with equipment and tools. I decided to keep the company truck at the Christianson Electric garage. We were allowed to drive them home, but I didn’t like Addy’s neighborhood, and I didn’t want anything to get stolen off of it. I had that old bike I had gotten off of Freecycle, and I would ride that to work and home. I was sure some people thought me crazy, but I was just being safe.

  Thankfully, Addy was able to cut back on her hours and was back to only working one shift and picking up a second one every few days, which was way better than the three shifts she had been trying to pull. I was working like crazy on the house on the weekends, or whenever I had free time, which wasn’t often. I had fixed her bathroom and had finished all the electrical, plumbing and sheetrock work that needed to be done and had the place ready for painting. I wanted to fix the roof and some of the siding slats that needed to be replaced as well. Her little house was a lot of work, but I was willing to do it.

  I came home from work one evening to hear Addy on the phone, sounding very distressed. “No, Sir, please…if you can just close the account or stop her from using it anymore...I understand, but I’m not using it. It’s my mother…”

  That was first I had heard of her mother at all.

  “I understand, but I don’t have twelve hundred dollars. Isn’t there any way you can just freeze it, please? Yes, I know it’s growing with interest, but I don’t have it. I’ll have to find another way to take care of it. No, Sir, I don’t know where Tamera is. I haven’t heard from her in five years.”

  I waved at her to give me the phone. She frowned, but I pulled it from her. “Hello, I’m representing Ms. Stratton. I understand she has a large debt? When was the last payment made on it?”

  “I can’t release that information to you, Sir.”

  “You can with her authorization. Here, I’ll give you to her again, and she’ll let you know you can speak to me.”

  Addy looked annoyed at me. “Trust me, I used to be the guy on the phone, I know how to take care of this.”

  She let out a defeated sigh, taking the phone. “I’d like you to tell Matthew everything and let him take care of this account for me.” She pouted and handed the phone back to me.

  “Now, when was the last payment made on the account?” I asked.

  “There were never any payments made on the account, Sir.”

  “Never? Why was this account not frozen beforehand? Are you sure it’s even her mother using the account? How do we know it isn’t a case of stolen identity?”

  “The account was opened eight years ago, Sir, by both women. Ms. Stratton was a secondary minor on the account. We’ve been unable to locate Tamera Lynn Jenkins, who’s the main account holder. The card remained dormant until about two years ago
, and then it was quickly run up and has been accumulating interest since then.”

  “What’s the interest rate on this card?”

  “Originally, it was twelve percent, but once the balance was pushed over the limit, it became thirty-three percent.”

  “What was the original limit on the card?”

  “Five hundred dollars was the original limit, Sir.”

  “What’s the balance on the account now?”

  “That’d be $1,223.45, that’s what I’m showing on the screen.”

  “Alright, let me talk to your manager. It’s time we settle this account.”

  Addy looked at me confused. I just winked at her.

  I heard a woman come on the line. “You want to settle this account, Sir?”

  “Yes, it needs to be closed immediately. We’re unsure of who ran it up and have not been in contact with the other account holder in over five years. It’s time we get this taken care of.”

  “Alright, Sir, what kind of payments would you be able to make?”

  “We can’t afford to make payments. I know over half of that debt is interest. I want it frozen and closed. What settlement can you give me for the account? We could make a one-time payment and be done with it if it’s reasonable,” I said.

  Addy was waving frantically. I was sure she was freaking out that she would have to come up with twelve hundred dollars somehow, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  “A one-time payment? Let me look at this account.”

  I pulled out my wallet, knowing there was money in my checking account from my paycheck, which had just been deposited earlier that day.

  “Well, I can get you down to five hundred fifty dollars, Sir. Would you be able to do that over the phone with me now?”

  “Yes, I can do that now, and then I want the account closed for good.”

  “Alright,” the manager said with a smile in her voice. I knew she just wanted to get this account cleared off her books.

  I gave her my bank information, and Addy scowled at me the whole time. They thanked me for the payment and told me we would receive a notice in the mail, telling us the account had been settled and closed.

  Once I got off the phone, Addy snapped at me. “I could’ve taken care of it.”

  “Yes and you would’ve been paying for the rest of your life on an account that you didn’t even have control over! Look, I used to be in collections processing. Believe me, you just have to know the right words to say to them to get them to drop the account and close it.”

  “I can’t believe you paid twelve hundred dollars! That’s your whole paycheck!” she complained.

  “No, I settled the account for five hundred fifty dollars, and it’s closed and considered paid up.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup, I told you, I know how to handle them. Are there any more bill collectors looking for you?”

  “Not that I know of, that was the only account I’d had with my mother,” she said with a grimace. “It was originally opened because she was leaving town a lot, and if something happened, I’d have the card to pay for emergencies. I never had any emergencies, thankfully. I’d totally forgotten about that card until they started hounding me.” She plopped down on the couch, suddenly looking very tired. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her head.

  “Well, there’ll be no more hounding my girl. I’m here for you, Addy. No matter what you need, I’ve got your back.”

  I really would take care of anything she needed, no matter what. She had picked me up when I was down and had taken care of me when no one else would, so I would definitely not be letting her down. I think she knew that now.

  Chapter 13 - Trouble on the Horizon

  Things had been going good, too good. I should have seen this coming, but I hadn’t. I had been working for Christianson Electric for five months. Most of those jobs had been for Venture Builders. We were in the middle of a job, when we got a call from Leon, and he told me and the other guys to leave the Venture site and move to the subdivision Kyle was heading up. We hurried over there and got to work. I thought it odd, but I didn’t put two and two together until it was too late.

  I was lucky I was good and fast when it came to pulling wire, because in the end, I was more efficient than the other guys. Leon let them go slowly, and each time he showed up on the site, I would freak out, worried I would be next. I was working my butt off, and in the end, it was down to me and Kyle. I knew Leon wouldn’t fire Kyle. He was close to their family. He was always asking about Kyle’s wife, Darlene, and their little boy.

  We were finishing up the last of the jobs, when Leon gave it to us straight. They were going under, but they would have a few more months of work for just Kyle and I. Leon was selling off the work trucks to keep them afloat. When I told Addy about it, she picked up a couple more shifts at work, and I felt like I had failed her.

  I had been working for Leon for almost a year, when he finally pulled Kyle and me aside. “Well, boys, I told you this day would come, and now it’s here,” he said, motioning for us to follow him. “You have a decision to make. I’m selling the last two trucks, but it’ll be without the tools. Now, you can either take the tools as payment and sell them or use them yourself, or you can let me sell off the tools and wait for your paycheck in the mail. Either way, this is it. Today was your last day of work.”

  I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I had been pricing tools and stuff for my little handyman business, and I knew for a fact that what was on the truck was worth more than what I was owed. “I’ll take the tools,” I said.

  Kyle rubbed his chin. “I’m going to need the paycheck. I’m sorry, Leon, I know it’ll be more work for you, but I can’t risk not being able to sell them to pay our bills.”

  “I understand. Matthew, will you need a ride home?” he asked, looking at my little bike. I realized there was no way I would be able to get the tools home with it.

  “Yeah, if that’s okay.”

  Leon patted my back. “I really appreciate you boys sticking with me, even when you knew we weren’t going to stay in business. Venture Builders claiming bankruptcy and stiffing us really killed us. I filed several mechanics’ liens on the buildings we worked on, but I suspect we’re not the only ones who did. Those building will be hard to sell half-finished. I don’t imagine I’ll be seeing that money anytime soon,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a shame they were allowed to do such a thing.”

  Leon and Kyle helped me load the tools up into Leon’s truck. The amount of equipment he gave me was amazing, and I wondered if Kyle regretted the choice he had made about not taking the tools. Leon even helped me unload them into the house, and I put them in my room. I didn’t trust that they wouldn’t get stolen in the shed, and it wasn’t like I was using that room, anyway. Addy and I had moved past the show of going to separate rooms long ago. Every night after dinner, she would lead me back to her room, where we would strip down and snuggle.

  I made dinner tonight and waited for her to come home. She came in looking exhausted, so I made her a plate and took to rubbing her feet, like my father had taught me. She groaned and sighed in relief.

  “How was your day?” I asked.

  “Good, I made out great tip-wise,” she said, dropping the wad from her apron on the table.

  “That’s good. Today was my last day. Leon wasn’t able to give me a paycheck, but he gave me a truckload of tools, which are worth more than what he owed me. I put them in the second bedroom, so they wouldn’t get stolen.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “He gave me his personal number, so I can use him on my resume, but I was thinking I wanted to look into starting my own business. I have most of the tools I’d need to do that handyman thing like your father suggested.”

  She let out a sigh and rubbed her face. “I don’t want to go back to Woodville, Matthew.”

  We had gone back for Thanksgiving, and things hadn’t gone well. We had been in the grocery store, grabbing some last minute
things, when some girl approached me. She was far from pretty, and the way she touched my arm made my skin crawl. I saw Addy tear up further down the aisle and decided to not play so nice, pushing the girl away and telling her I had to get back to my girlfriend.

  I quickly pulled Addy into my arms, kissing her soundly. Then the witch screeched, “The mouse? Whatever! You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  Truth was I was glad I was missing it. I later found out that witch was the infamous Jennifer, and I was glad I had offended her and wished I could run into her again, so I could give her a piece of my mind.

  I didn’t push the issue of going back to Woodville after that. We stayed at Daniel’s, and I slept on the couch. We would have to get married before we ever moved back to Woodville, so Daniel wouldn’t kill me on the spot, when he found out I had been sleeping in the same room as his baby girl.

  Our physical relationship was still moving slowly. I was not saying that is wasn’t moving. It was just really slowly. We were up to third base touching now. So yeah, thankfully, we were getting off. Even if it wasn’t sex, it was close enough for me. It wasn’t like I had a lot of experience with it, anyway, so I was cool with moving slow, now that I was getting some release, and like Addy pointed out, she didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant this way. Neither of us was in a position to handle taking care of a baby. We just weren’t financially stable enough. That and we weren’t married. Daniel would kill me dead without remorse if I impregnated his baby girl out of wedlock.

  “I’m going to work on the yard a little and get the house looking nice. I don’t know of much else that needs to be done to the place.”

  “No, you’ve fixed everything and kept up with it really well. Maybe you could just do a little touchup painting on the siding?” she suggested.