Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
RENLEY
“Are you coming over to the shop today?” I ask Aunt Kitty as I pull my hair back into a loose bun on the top of my head.
“I don’t think so,” she says from her bedroom.
Disappointment hits me.
“You haven’t really seen it since I did the shelves and we started on the bathroom.”
“I’m sure it’s lovely.”
I tug two pieces of hair loose from the bun to frame my face and then I leave the bathroom to find Aunt Kitty in the upstairs hallway, putting her shoes on.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to train.”
This is going to sound very bitchy, but how can she think training for her hobby horse competition is more important than the store?
When I first thought of putting in a bid, she said that she’d be there for me, that we would do it together.
And sure there have been moments when I’ve asked Tilly to help me because Aunt Kitty can be a bit too much, but this was supposed to be her project too.
This was supposed to be something that we did together, and it hurts that she hasn’t paid much attention to it.
Instead she’s attempting to find success in a hobby that…that, frankly, not a lot of people take seriously.
Kind of like my dad and the beachcombing.
“Want to join?” Aunt Kitty asks as she lifts herself up from the ground. “Going to be sweltering out there, but Rupert promised a dip in the ocean after and then some ice cream.”
“I can’t,” I say. “I have to work on the shop, every day. You know this, Aunt Kitty. And when I’m not doing that, I’m still picking up the odd jobs around town. I could really use some help when I’m out fixing Mr. Herman’s toilet.”
“I know nothing about toilets,” Aunt Kitty says as she heads down the stairs.
“I mean when I’m fixing the toilet, it would be nice if you could clean out the second storage room, kind of like how you did the first. You said you would do the second.”
“Yes, we have time to get that done.”
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I say. “I want to get the shop opened before the end of summer. We need to hit up the tourist season before it ends.”
When we reach the entryway, she picks up her sweatband that’s hanging on the hat rack next to the door and fastens it over her hair.
“We’ll get it done.” She goes to open the door, but I stop her.
“Aunt Kitty, the bathroom is a bigger project than expected. I have to replace some of the drywall because of water damage and I spent all yesterday peeling back layer after layer of flooring. I wasn’t expecting it, and it just feels very overwhelming.”
She pauses and turns toward me. “But this is what you wanted.”
“This is what we wanted, remember? We talked about it.”
“Yes, and I still want this as well, but I’m not sure how long I have Rupert’s help and we’ve really made a breakthrough.”
I don’t understand how she can think working with Rupert is more important than helping with the store.
“How about this?” she continues. “I’ll stop by later today and help with the second storage space when I’m done training. How does that sound?”
Relief washes through me. “That would be so helpful. Thank you.”
“Of course.” She stands tall and brushes her shirt down. “Now, how do I look? Like I’m ready to take on an obstacle course?”
“Obstacle course?” I ask. “I thought you were just focusing on dressage.”
“Rupert said he thought I was limber enough to get back into obstacles, so I’m going to see.
” She opens up the door, and out front is Rupert with an obstacle course already set up, the ridiculous kayak off to the side with a water cooler perched on top, and a Bluetooth speaker already pumping music.
He’s wearing short red shorts, no shirt, and a straw hat while sporting a whistle around his neck.
“You’re late.” He checks the nonexistent watch on his wrist.
“Hold up,” I say, getting in front of Aunt Kitty so Rupert can’t hear what I’m saying. “I don’t know if this is a good idea. You could get hurt.”
And if she’s hurt, then she won’t be able to help. She won’t be able to see the candy store through, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it all on my own.
“I won’t get hurt. This is all stuff I’ve done before.”
“But not in a while, and frankly”—I glance over my shoulder and then back at her, wanting to be as polite about this as possible—“this is not where your attention should be focused. I know that it’s fun for you and that’s great, but we need to make money, Aunt Kitty. We have bills we need to pay.”
“I have the life insurance money.”
“That’s not going to last forever. I thought you were going to get a job over at the beach shack. Weren’t you talking to someone about that?”
“They didn’t want me.” She waves her hand in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter because Rupert has been saying influencers get compensated. So I can make money doing the thing I love—hobby horsing.”
Freaking Rupert.
Of course a wealthy aristocrat who has money in his bank account just from breathing would say something like that. When you have money, it’s easy to chase your dreams.
“Aunt Kitty, you have to have a good amount of followers and views in order to be paid for content. And you know how much I love you, but hobby horses are a niche thing. I’m not sure how much you can make from attempting to be an influencer.”
“That’s because you’re not involved in the process.” She pats my shoulder. “Trust me, Renley, this will be very lucrative for us.”
Then she takes off down the stairs, where Rupert is holding out Marshmallow.
I sigh, knowing very well that this idea of hers will not be lucrative. But I don’t have it within me to fight with her, just like I didn’t have it within me to fight with my dad.
So I grab my travel toolbox and head on my way.
“I had no idea you could just cut a hole out of a wall and then patch it back up,” Theo says, staring at the wall in awe. “We did that.”
I chuckle and say, “We did.”
“I need to take a picture of this wall.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and then turns the camera to selfie mode. “Come on, get in here, Gossy. This is a momentous occasion that we need to document.”
He loops his arm around my shoulder, pulls me in close, and then squats ever so slightly so you can see the patchwork we did. With both of us smiling, he takes a picture.
He studies the image for a few seconds, a smile plastered on his face, as if he’s truly, genuinely proud.
It’s kind of sweet to see. It’s endearing to watch him puff his chest out while putting his hands to work.
I’ve always found comfort in the fact that I can fix things myself, and I guess I’ve taken it for granted up until this point, because the satisfaction he has is just adorable.
And it would do me good to remember that feeling.
He sticks his phone back in his pocket and then says, “Okay, should we wallpaper it now?”
Wallpaper it? After we just patched it?
He really is adorable.
“First of all, it has to dry. Second of all, we have to sand it down, and also, we don’t have the wallpaper yet.”
“Did you not order the one that we picked out?”
“I did, but it’s not an overnight delivery.” I laugh. “Takes some time.”
“Okay, so what do we do now?”
“I was going to replace the toilet, as the new one was delivered today. It’s in the main space.”
“Is that what the big box is?” he asks.
“Yes, so we have to remove this old one and then we can get the new one in.”
“What goes into removing it? Are we going to have excrement all over us?”
I lean against the bathroom wall. “How do you think toilets work? Do you think they just maintain all deposits, never pushing them anywhere?”
“Well, no.”
“Then why would we get excrement on us?”
“I don’t know.” He laughs. “All I know is that I’m developing calluses for the first time in my cushy life, but I don’t know if I’m ready for a toilet.”
“You’re ready for a toilet.” I move past him and look at the time on my phone. “Did you happen to run into Rupert and Aunt Kitty before you came here?”
“They were on their way to the beach,” Theo says. “They were practicing out front all morning and I think she pulled something, so they were headed to the ocean to try to ease some of the pain. I’m not sure how the ocean would do that, but I didn’t ask questions.”
My expression falls in disappointment.
“From the look in your eyes, I’m guessing that’s not what you wanted to hear.”
I shake my head. “No, she was supposed to come help, but whatever. It’s fine.”
“What do you need help with?” Theo asks. “I can do it.”
“You’re helping me with the toilet.”
“Yeah, but I can do other things.”
“She was supposed to clean out the storage closet, the second one. But it’s fine. I’ll do it another time.” I let out a heavy sigh, trying not to let the disappointment affect my mood. Been there, done that with my dad.
And with Aunt Kitty.
This isn’t the first time she’s ditched me in a business venture. She was supposed to help me with my Jackie of all trades work but ended up ducking out after I got started.
Kind of like this.
“Hey, are you okay?” Theo asks, coming up to me and lifting my chin with his finger.
I offer him a soft smile. “Yup, fine. Umm, let me just look over the instructions for the new toilet to make sure I have everything correct and then we can get started.”
“Sure.” His eyes remain on mine. “Want me to go grab us drinks from the unnecessarily expensive market on the corner?”
I laugh. “That would be great. I’d love one of their mint juleps.”
“They have mint juleps?”
“There’s a drink bar in the back, all nonalcoholic. I don’t go there often because it’s, as you said, overly expensive. But it’s delicious.”
“Then consider it done,” he says. “Anything else you need?”
I shake my head. “I’m good.”
“Okay.” He smiles and then grabs his shirt that’s on the counter of the bar and slips it back on, taking away the view I’ve started to grow accustomed to seeing.
He goes out the back of the shop and I move toward the toilet to pluck the instructions from the front of the box.
I open up the booklet, take one look at the words that seem to all swim together, and then lean my head against the wall, irritation starting to eat away at me.
She said she was going to be here and she’s not.
It’s bringing back a lot of disappointing memories, feelings…
Being let down.
Being promised things, but with no follow-through.
Being laughed at and mocked for not having a stable parental figure in my life. Instead I had my dad out at all hours, searching through the sand, and Aunt Kitty out on the front lawn with a play horse between her legs.
Tears sting my eyes, but I try to hold them back.
There is no reason to cry.
Not a single reason.
And yet my emotions get the best of me, and tears start to stream down my face.
Ugh, don’t do this, Renley.
Not again…
“Hey, I just remembered they have cookies…”
I quickly wipe at my cheeks as Theo comes back into the room, his eyes landing on me as I attempt to clear away the emotions on my face, but I’m not quick enough as his head tilts to the side, concern etched in his expression.
“What’s going on?” he asks, coming to my side and kneeling down.
“Nothing.” I shake my head.
“Tears aren’t nothing.” He swipes at my cheek. “What’s going on, Gossy?”
“Toilets are hard,” I say, trying to just pass this off as nothing.
“How come I don’t believe you?”
“Because you don’t understand toilets.”
“Gossy,” he says softly, taking a seat next to me and connecting my hand with his. “I know this is not about toilets.”
Another tear stains my cheek and I quickly wipe it away. “It could be about toilets. They can be quite complicated.”
“But is it?” he asks.
“No,” I answer. “But I don’t want to talk about what it really is, so if we can just say it’s about toilets, I’d appreciate it.”
His thumb rubs over my knuckles, his silence leading me to believe that he wants to press but is also warring with my request. After a few agonizing moments, he says, “You know, I once heard that toilets can cause stress and uneasiness.” He plucks the instruction manual from my hands and sets it to the side.
“Let’s just set that to the side. We don’t need to be triggered any more than we are.
” Then he shakes his head and mumbles, “Fucking toilets.”
I snort, because…God, he gets it. Anyone else would press, would question, would demand answers. But not Theo.
And it just makes me like him that much more, something that I loathe, but that I can’t help.
“No wonder they call them shitters.”
I cover my mouth, another snort coming from me. “Low-hanging fruit,” I say to him.
“Made you smile though.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side before placing a kiss on the top of my head. “I came back to see if you wanted some of those chocolate chip cookies with sea salt that they make.”
“I feel like you should know at this point what my answer would be.”
“I never want to assume, because what if you were looking for a meatball sandwich and not a cookie?”
“I think it’s safe to say that half a dozen cookies are in order.”
“Yes, that’s what I was thinking too.” He kisses the top of my head again. “Are you good? You can handle the evil toilets while I’m gone?”
I nod. “I can.”
“Okay.”
He goes to stand but I stop him. When our eyes connect, I say, “Thank you.”
The softest, most comforting smile tugs on his lips. “Anytime, Gossy.”
Then he takes off, leaving me to question…why the hell did I ask for rule number eleven?