Chapter Thirty-Three
“Damn, Jamie. Did you buy the whole store?” Salzy huffed as he pulled the big bag of clothes that had been squished behind the front seats.
“You sure do complain a lot.” Jamie paused at the bottom of the stairs, checking the color again.
“And you got enough food for an army.” Salzy pushed him from behind.
“I hope to not have to do much grocery shopping for a few weeks, is all.”
They piled all the bags onto the old sofa; a cloud of dust ensued.
“Yuck,” Salzy choked, fanning the air.
“I agree.” Jamie looked around the space. “I think as soon as the diner is done, I’m going to ask Joesph to do something about this apartment. I’m not sure, but I think Papaw got most of this stuff second-hand and that was before I was even born.”
Salzy laughed. “That sounds like him.”
“Jamie, there’s someone here to see you,” Joesph hollered up the stairs.
“Be right there.” He looked at his watch. “I bet that’s the HVAC guys. As soon as I’m done with them, I’ll help you in the garage. Oh, and make sure your apartment is open.”
“Why?” Salzy was already starting for the door.
“You want heat and air-conditioning?”
“Consider it open.”
Indeed it was the air-conditioning guys. “Why if it isn’t Jamie Puckett,” the younger of the two men greeted him.
“Uh... Jerome.” Jamie looked at his old schoolmate, who had also bullied him.
“This is my boss, Gene Weston. He’s the sales rep.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Puckett,” Gene said, vigorously shaking Jamie’s hand with his damp grip.
“It’s Mr. Throneaux,” Jamie said, avoiding looking at Jerome Daniels.
“Oh, since when?” Jerome was grinning. His look was slimy, just like his boss, Gene.
Jamie ignored the question. “Mr. Weston, I need to update the heat and air unit in the diner. I would appreciate a quote, please.”
“Sure, sure.” Gene looked around the place. “Where’s the outside unit and the inside intake?”
“The outside unit is out back, under the stairs.” Jamie showed the two men through the kitchen to the back door. “The inside part is behind the drink station.” He pointed. “The door is in the break room.” He gestured towards the back area.
“Okay, sure, sure.” Gene opened the clipboard box and took out a form. “We’ll have a look-see and see what we’ve got here.” He exited through the back door, Jerome right behind him, still grinning at Jamie.
As soon as they had gone out back, Jamie made a beeline for Joesph. “Get Terry Hanson on the phone and see if she can’t recommend a HVAC company. We won’t be using these guys.”
Joesph nodded and stepped outside in front of the diner, his phone in hand.
Jamie got himself a glass of ice water. I need to try and wash the foul taste out of my mouth. He downed the water and got a box of mushrooms from the walk-in.
“Mr. Thornow,” Gene Watson said, returning from examining the outside part of the HVAC system.
“It’s Throneaux,” Jamie corrected the man, having stopped slicing mushrooms. A big bag of baby spinach sat next to him.
“Oh, sorry, Mr. Thornow. That unit out there has to be over twenty years old. I doubt we’d even be able to get parts for it. I’d suggest replacing it.”
“Okay, that’s what I said. As I mentioned before, I’m only looking at getting quotes at the moment.
” He started chopping mushrooms, loudly, his gaze never leaving the man, his knife moving continuously.
“Perhaps a quote to replace the entire system?” He looked down, scooping up the fungi into a bowl.
“I’ll have a look at the intake unit.” Gene entered the staff room to access the other part of the AC.
“How ya been, Jamie?” Jerome all but leered at Jamie.
“Very well, thank you for asking, Jerome.”
“I’ve been really good too. Got hitched and got a couple of kids.” His grin, which looked more like a sneer, remained on his face. “You got any kids?”
Jamie looked at him.
“Oh, right... of course not. Fags can’t have kids, can they?”
“You might be surprised.” Jamie ripped open the bag of spinach.
“Mr. Thornow, I’ll get you a quote made up—”
“Don’t bother, Mr. Watson. I will not be using your company. Thank you for coming. You know the way out.”
“But, why?” Watson asked, his face turning red.
Jamie pointed his knife at Jerome. “Ask him. Have a good day, Mr. Watson.”
“But, but—”
“Have a good day, sir. You may leave now.” Jamie did his best to keep his face blank.
The look on Jerome’s face was pure rage, his face red and blotchy.
When the two men left, Jamie leaned over his workbench, his hands resting on the cool metal surface.
“You okay, Jamie?” Joesph asked quietly.
Jamie took a big breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. Just a flash from the past.”
“Not a good one, I’d say from the look on your face.”
“No. Not at all.” Jamie glanced over at Joesph. “I want a security system with CCTV.”
“Oh. That bad.” Joesph nodded. “Got it.”
“I’m going to finish up with this spinach and then help Sal for a bit. If you need either of us, we’ll be in the garage.”
Jamie refilled his water glass and got one for Salzy. It was close to three o’clock and the sun was blazing down. He could see Salzy in the shade of the garage, his shirt off. It really is a shame the guy isn’t gay.
He presented Salzy with the water. He downed it and handed the glass back to Jamie. “It’s hot,” Salzy said, wiping his face with the discarded T-shirt. He looked around the garage.
“You’ve gotten a lot done already.”
“Yeah.” Salzy pointed to one pile. “Most of that is stuff needing to go to the dump. That other pile I wasn’t sure about. I thought you could have a look at it.”
Jamie poked through the bags and boxes, moving almost all of them to the dump pile. He was directly in the sun and was soon covered in sweat. He also shucked his T-shirt off, tucking it into the back of his jeans.
“Jamie,” Joesph called out, crossing the back parking lot.
“I’ve lined up several painters to come and give quotes.
Terry Hanson approved of the two I had lined up but gave me the name of another one.
The first one will be here this afternoon, and the other two tomorrow. ” He looked down at his notebook.
“I knew Terry would know.” Jamie stood up, stretching out his back.
Joesph looked at Jamie. “For the life of me I don’t know why you’re single. Man, you are ripped!”
Jamie looked down at himself. “Not really, but thanks. How about a HVAC company?”
“Yep. Got that sorted, too. Terry only gave me two names. One she preferred, but they sometimes can be really backed up.”
“Sounds perfect. You can decide on which one will work best with your timeline.” He looked over his shoulder at Salzy. “Want some more water?”
“How about a Coke. I need some sugar and caffeine.”
Jamie picked up the two empty glasses. “I was serious about the security system,” Jamie said before he walked towards the diner.
“Terry was helpful there as well, too. She said there was only one that she’d recommend. They’ll be here tomorrow,” Joesph said as held the screen door open for Jamie.
“Excellent.” Jamie welcomed the cool of the diner’s kitchen, which wasn’t all that cool but more so than being out in the direct sun or that stuffy garage.
“You may need to take it easy out there in the sun. You’re already turning red.”
Jamie looked at his chest and shoulders. “Yeah, I’ve not been in the sun at all this year.”
“Just be careful.” Joesph looked at his notebook. “I think that’s almost everything on my list and yours. There’s just... Mike coming about four thirty.” Joesph looked up, his head still lowered over his notebook. “You sure that’s not a problem?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jamie downed the water and refilled it and then got a Coke for Salzy.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Steak, sauteed mushrooms, and creamed spinach.” Jamie looked at his longtime friend. “I should start making you pay for food.”
A faux look of outrage covered Joesph’s face. “Excuse me? And here I thought we were friends!”
“We are, but you do eat a lot, and this is supposed to be a professional situation.”
Joesph rolled his eyes. “Next thing ya know, you’ll be trying to charge me rent. It’s like... like being a slave.”
“Oh, brother.” Jamie couldn’t help but laugh. “Will you do me a favour? Could you please ask Mike if he wants to stay for dinner?”
Joesph sobered up quickly. “Are you sure?”
“I am. I did offer and I like to stick to my word, no matter what.”
Joesph nodded.
“I need to get back to helping Sal.”
“I hope you plan on taking a shower before you start cooking,” Joesph called out as the screen door shut. “You kinda stink.”