Chapter 32
H arper huffed and puffed her way up to the third floor under the weight of an ottoman. Making it to the top of the stairs, she took the final steps into Gloria’s new one-bedroom and collapsed on top of the ottoman in the middle of the living room.
“You’re going to be in amazing shape just from bringing groceries home,” Harper gasped. “I can’t believe we got the couch up here ourselves.”
Gloria laughed from the tiny kitchen where she was unpacking brand-new dinner service for four.
“I can’t believe it’s mine,” she said with a happy sigh. “I can put something on the counter, and it will still be there when I come back. I can watch anything I want on TV. I can lounge around naked all day if I want!”
Harper sat up and surveyed the apartment.
Scarred hardwood floors, a handful of cracks in the plaster.
But the view of Main Street Benevolence was straight out of a painting.
Gloria was three floors over Dawson’s Pizza, and the living room’s huge bow window overlooked the police station and Common Grounds Café.
She was walking distance to work and the grocery store.
“This is pretty perfect,” Harper agreed.
“Want a drink?” Gloria offered.
“For the love of God, yes! Please!” Sophie’s voice was muffled by the box of kitchen miscellany she was hefting. She dumped it unceremoniously in the middle of the kitchen floor and collapsed onto a dining chair. “That’s literally the last thing. You’re all moved in.”
Harper jumped up and reached into her bag. “Wait, Gloria! Put the can down. We can’t let the first drink in your very own home be diet soda.” She pulled out the chilled bottle of champagne she had picked up on the last car trip between Gloria’s mom’s and the new apartment.
“Nothing happier than the sound of champagne being uncorked,” Sophie said, clapping her hands. Harper poured the bubbles into coffee mugs and handed them around.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Gloria announced. “Thank you both so much. It means the world to me to be independent, but it’s even better to have you two as friends that I can depend on if I need to.”
“Aw! Cheers,” Harper said, clinking her mug to Gloria’s.
Sophie left shortly after to go rescue Ty from Josh who had decided he was a dog like Bitsy and would only go to the bathroom outside. Harper stuck around to help with some of the unpacking.
“I really appreciate the help,” Gloria said, stacking glasses neatly in the cabinet next to the sink.
“I’m happy to help,” Harper said, taking another sip of champagne as she untangled cords wrapped around the DVD player. “I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to set this up so you can at least watch movies tonight.”
She scooted across the floor to sneak a peek behind the TV.
Gloria abandoned the kitchen and sat down on the couch. “So, how’s Aldo doing since he came home?” She hugged a cheery yellow pillow to her chest.
Harper’s fingers fumbled with an input. “He’s, uh, doing okay. I think the therapy is helping mentally. Physically he’s a beast.”
“He always was,” Gloria said a little sadly.
Harper stopped her fiddling. “Listen, Gloria, I don’t know exactly what his problem is, but I hope you know that that’s what it is. His problem. It has nothing to do with you.”
“I think I had got my hopes up a little too high that we could be something together. That I could be something to him. ”
“Whoa! Let’s back that truck up real fast.” Harper grabbed her mug and sat down next to Gloria.
“You can’t put your worth in someone else’s hands like that.
Whether those hands are stroking you or hurting you.
It doesn’t matter. Your value comes from inside.
Whether you mean something to him or not has nothing to do with how inherently valuable you are. ”
Gloria sighed and flopped back against the cushion. “I get it. And I think I’m starting to believe it. I know I’ll be okay without Aldo Moretta, but I’d still like to at least give it a shot.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.”
“Is that how you felt about Luke?”
“That’s how I still feel about Luke. I know that I’d be okay without him—after an exceptionally long mourning period, of course. But I want to be great with him.”
“So now that I can cross off ‘get apartment’ from my list, my next goal is to be great no matter who is in my life.”
“Bingo,” Harper nodded.
“Men,” Gloria said into her champagne mug.
“Tell me about it,” Harper sighed.
“Let’s order some pizza.”
“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had in this apartment.”
For the next three days, Harper ached and pained her way through life. A couple dozen trips up three flights of stairs carrying objects of varying weight had been an eye-opening experience.
She was woefully out of shape.
Harper groaned as she bent to grab a new ream of paper for the printer.
“You want some ibuprofen?” Beth offered.
“Ugh. No. I need to suffer the consequences of my inaction.”
“I go to the gym over on Baker Street. It’s cheap, clean, and has a ton of equipment I don’t know how to use.”
“I need to do something,” Harper sighed, shuffling across the office. “I can practically hear my arteries clogging.”
“My granny has a cane you can borrow,” Frank said, stomping into the office.
Harper rolled her eyes at Beth’s giggle. “Thanks for your concern, Frank.”
He shook his head. “Just trying to be hospitable.”
“What are you doing here?” Harper grumbled.
“I’m waiting for you to crawl back to your desk so I can go over some of the specs on the doc’s reno.”
Sinking back into her chair, she groaned and only partly in annoyance.
Frank ran the figures on Dr. Dunnigan’s addition to her practice, which included a new imaging suite and expanded kitchen and lounge.
“We went over on the tile,” he pointed at a figure on the spreadsheet.
“Price jumped up a bit, but it matches what she’s already got.
So I’m proposing we eat the cost instead of passing it on to her.
Everything else is looking on budget or under, so I think we can afford to be a little generous.
Besides, she and her partner are thinking about building a house next year, and guess whose name is at the top of the builder’s list? ”
“Why, Garrison Construction, of course.” Harper batted her eyelashes.
Frank nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“What do you need from me?”
“Yes or no on eating the cost.”
Harper blinked. Frank was asking her permission. She cleared her throat and reached for her calculator.
“Yes,” she said, looking at the total. “It’s a good idea, Frank.”
He nodded briskly and gathered up his papers before stomping out without a word.
“What was that all about?” Harper asked, spinning in her chair so she didn’t have to turn her head to see Beth.
“I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said, shaking her head.
Harper swiveled back to her screen. Maybe she was wearing Frank down with her boatloads of charm. Or maybe Luke told him to deal with her directly. Or maybe she was finally starting to fit in.
If she was starting to fit in, there was no time to slack off. She would continue to show Frank and everyone how seriously she took this job, no matter how she had gotten it. She jumped back into job costing with energy.
A few minutes shy of noon, Charlie walked in.
“I was looking for two lovely ladies to take to lunch.” He was dressed in jeans and a Garrison polo, which meant he had just come from a meeting with potential clients on a job.
“I think I can scrounge some up for you,” Harper teased. “I just may need to be carried down the stairs. Beth, are you in?”
Beth was already waiting at the door holding her purse. “What?” she shrugged. “I’m starving.”
Harper snickered. “I’ll drive myself. I’m taking Aldo to PT after lunch.”
Charlie took them to the diner where the smell of grilled bread and coffee hung in a delicious cloud.
Harper slid gingerly into the booth next to Beth. “So what’s the occasion, Charlie?”
“It’s Tuesday,” he said, winking at Sandra as she arrived with his soda. “And I’m hungry for a tuna melt.”
“Looks like you’ve got two hot dates,” Sandra said. “You must be the infamous Harper. I’ve been meaning to get over to Remo’s to check you out on a Friday. Just haven’t made it yet.”
Harper laughed. “I should have just called a town meeting to introduce myself. ”
“Next time you do that. It’ll save us all the trouble of stalking you. Welcome to Benevolence. What can I get you ladies?”
They ordered, and Harper wondered if she’d ever get used to small town expectations.
“You talk to Luke lately?” Charlie asked, taking the straw out of his soda.
“I talked loudly to him about neglecting to tell us about Aldo’s rescue. He said he’s going to try to call you guys this week.”
“My son, the tight-lipped hero.”
“I wonder where he gets it.” Harper wiggled her eyebrows.
“Probably Claire,” Charlie quipped. “But now that we’re talking about talking. I wanted to run something by you. I just came from an unofficial meeting with potentials. It’s a young couple with a plot of land outside of town on the edge of the woods. They’re looking for something… unique.”
“Like missile silo unique or cookie cutter with a slightly different stone than their fifty neighbors?” Beth asked.
“In the middle. You all ever hear of tiny houses?”
Harper and Beth shared a glance. Both were obsessed with the new lineup of TV shows on the topic. “We’re familiar,” Harper said casually.
“Well they’re thinking small, not tiny. A cottage around five hundred square feet with geothermal, solar, the whole green design, plus all this built-in storage.
I think it would be a real interesting project to get.
But I don’t want to do it if it’s some dumb-looking box on wheels that they’re after. ”
Harper held up a finger and reached for her phone. She opened her Teeny But Adorbs Houses Pinterest board and passed the phone over to Charlie.
“Something like this Craftsman, maybe?” She swiped the screen for him knowing he could barely work his flip phone. “Or, what about something modern like this one? Depending on the land, you could position it so the whole front gets southern exposure. Nice for the heating bill in the winter.”
“Huh. Is there any way you could send those pictures to me by email or something?”
Harper smiled. “Sure, no problem, Charlie.”
“So you think it’s something worth pursuing?”
Harper and Beth both nodded vigorously. “Homes like these are getting more and more popular. They’re not for everyone, but a lot of people are really looking for downsized luxury.” She made a mental note to have Claire record some of the tiny house episodes for Charlie.
He slid her phone back to Harper. “All right then. I’ll take that under advisement and see if I can put together some plans.”