32. Talks About You
TALKS ABOUT YOU
“ T hanks for coming so quickly,” Brittany Brennan said to Abe five days later. “I know that there is no way I’ll get this project done this year, but I’m curious about the cost and when you could do it.”
“Not a problem,” he said. His phone had been ringing off the hook for quotes. Not all panned out, but he wasn’t going to be slow getting to people either. “Tell me exactly what it is you’re looking for.”
“Why don’t you come around back,” Brittany said. “My husband is working late tonight, but he said this was my thing anyway, so I can give you an idea. I can change it though before it’s done, right?”
“Sure,” he said. “It might change the quote, depending on what it is you’re going to adjust.”
Brittany laughed. “I know. I think what I’d change is the materials not what I want built.”
“Then yes, that is what would affect the quote more than anything,” he said, following her around back.
It’d been a long day for him and this was on his way home. It was easier for most people for him to come after hours so they didn’t have to take time off of work. He just hated that he looked as if he’d worked a full day.
But he knew he didn’t stink. He’d checked and reapplied deodorant that he kept in his truck. He even had Handi Wipes for his face and hands. One thing he couldn’t stand was dirt under his nails if he wasn’t actually at the site working.
If he’d been at the McGill Estate today, he would have showered quickly at Daphne’s, but he wasn’t. Mac was there watching the crew and Abe was getting Travis set up for a two-day job that he trusted Travis could handle once he’d done a bit of work himself.
“As you can see, the yard is plain. I hate it. We like to sit back here on the deck, but I hate the grill here too. I’d like to move the grill down and build an outdoor kitchen of sorts. So we’d need a patio to have it all on. It’d be nice to have a built-in fire pit with it.”
He was writing it all on his pad. It was quicker for him to do that than type on a laptop. He’d do that later tonight when he was putting a quote together. He actually spent some more time plugging it all into software, generating a draft with measurements and 3D pictures.
Abe didn’t care if it took more time. It looked more professional. If he wanted to grow, he had to show he played with the big boys.
He pulled out a tape measure. “How far out do you want to go?” he asked.
Brittany walked several feet. “I’d say to about here, give or take.”
He measured the distance out. “And wide?”
He did the same once she moved. “This is so exciting.”
He smiled. He loved when people got as giddy over projects as he did. “What kind of materials are you thinking for the patio? Concrete or stone? We can pour concrete and make it look like stone too. It’s a new method we’ve been using.”
He was pretty proud of the few he’d done. He’d tested it at his house first. Then did another run of it at Mac’s. So far he hadn’t been able to get a client to grab it, but understood the reluctance too. Concrete could shift and crack in the range of temperatures they had in the Northeast.
“I’ve found some stone I like,” Brittany said. “Can I show it to you?”
“Please do,” he said. She pulled her phone out, showed him the pictures and he took note of what they were. “I can get that. You want the different sizes and a pattern like that?” It was more labor intensive so he’d factor that in.
“Yes. That’s part of the appeal,” Brittany said.
“For the kitchen, are you putting in appliances here and just want me to build it out or install them also?”
“Install them. The same with the fire pit. This is what I want,” Brittany said.
He took note of the make and model. They were going high-end.
“I’ll break up everything,” he said. “The cost of the patio and kitchen, then the cost of the fire pit. If you’ve got the appliances you want to buy, you can text them to me, they won’t be part of the quote.
We’ll figure it out when we get to sizes closer to the date of the project. ”
“Great,” Brittany said. “Do you think this is something you can do in the spring at least? So that we can enjoy it all summer.”
“Depending on how early of a spring we get, I think so,” he said.
“I can’t put a firm date on it. If the fall stays warm, I’m pushing projects up for people who are interested from early spring to now.
You can let me know if you want to be on the list. Some people haven’t budgeted for it or don’t want it done until next year. ”
“Oh, I want this done as fast as possible. So if there is a way this year,” Brittany said, “put me on that list.”
“I can’t guarantee it,” he said, laughing. “There is a greater chance it won’t happen, but it might push you earlier into the spring. Worst case, I’d say we can get this in by late May of next year.”
Which sometimes lost him the contract, but he wouldn’t lie to people either.
“That works for me,” Brittany said.
He nodded, walked around some more taking notes, and then closed his book and handed over his card.
“If you’ve got any questions or think of anything else, let me know. I probably won’t get a quote to you until Monday. I’ll put this all into my software and give you a design and layout so you can see your vision in 3D. That takes a bit more time than crunching the numbers.”
Brittany was almost dancing on her toes. “I had no idea. That’s exciting. I’ve heard great things about you. I know that you’ve got this huge project at the McGill Estate. Do you have pictures I can see of it?”
He pulled his phone out. No way he was showing pictures of the house. He’d honor Poppy and Reese’s privacy.
“We’ve been putting in walkways from the house to the water,” he said. He wasn’t volunteering more on the property. That Reese had a massive work barn or there was a cabin for a nanny.
“I love that stone,” Brittany said. “I’m sure that’s crazy expensive.”
“It’s pricey,” he said, grinning. “Might go nice with detail and edging work around the fire pit though. Looks as if it’d match what you want.”
“I’d love something like that,” Brittany said. “Ella told me you did great work.”
“Ella?” he asked. He kept his grin in place. “You know each other?”
“We work together,” Brittany said. “I know you two had a thing for a few years. Kind of off and on. I know she never got over you.”
He snorted. “I’m sure that isn’t the case,” he said. Considering Ella was the one who ended things twice and the third time it was just mutual.
They’d been fighting way too much and he was just done feeling as if he couldn’t give her what she wanted.
Not without being someone else and he wasn’t changing.
“She still talks about you. I know she’s dating Nash and all, but I can see it. He’s not you.”
Nash? What kind of name was that?
Someone that didn’t get his hands dirty, he was betting.
“I’ve been told I’m one of a kind,” he said, laughing. “If there is anything else, just let me know.”
“Uh, how about some plants around the patio too. What do you think? Should I put urns with plants in them or in the ground to kind of surround it?”
“You could do both,” he said. “Do you want low-growing plants that are easy to maintain? Like hostas?”
“I know hostas are easy and my husband mentioned them, but they are so basic and boring.”
“They’ve got colorful ones,” he said and pulled his phone out to show her.
“Oh,” Brittany said. “Yes. That would look great.”
“Easy enough,” he said. “I’ll add that to the design.”
“Add anything else you think might be simple easy maintenance.”
“I can do that,” he said. “Those are things that can be changed out too. I’ll separate it on the quote.”
Some people would rather do it themselves at a later date if the price was too high.
“Great,” Brittany said. She kept looking at her watch and hesitating.
“Is there anything else you need?” he asked.
“No,” Brittany said. “I think that’s it.”
“I’ll get something to you by Monday,” he said again, turning to walk back to his truck.
When he got out front, he saw a car behind his truck in the road. Ella was standing against it.
He’d heard a car door but hadn’t thought anything of it. He turned to see if Brittany was with him and she wasn’t, but she was in the house and looked out the window.
He wanted to grind his teeth over the fact he might have just wasted thirty minutes of his time on a wild goose chase for a friend.
“Hi, Abe,” Ella said.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” he asked. He wasn’t going to be a dick. He never really was, but if anyone could bring it out of him, it was his ex.
“I’m having dinner with Brittany,” Ella said, holding up the bag in front of her. A bag of food.
“So it’s just a coincidence that it’s the same day I’m here giving a quote to your coworker?”
“Kind of,” Ella said. “I recommended you to her.”
“Thanks,” he said. “But I don’t need you to drum me up business. Especially if it was some ploy to see me.”
Ella sighed. “No. I mean, Brittany is serious about this. Don’t think otherwise. Her husband has been talking about it for years. Trust me, I’ve been listening to it forever. I mentioned that you do this kind of work, not just landscaping. I said you were at the McGills’ working on a big project.”
He nodded not realizing Ella kept such detailed tabs on him. “So she decided to give me a call and then told you when I’d be here?”
Had to be short notice. He got the call yesterday.
“Yes,” Ella said. “I think she was just excited about it more than trying to set up anything. Don’t think that or hold it against her.” Ella stopped and Abe went to get in his truck. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”
“Not sure why,” he said, opening the door to his truck. He didn’t want to have this conversation and put his notebook in there.
“I can’t get you out of my mind. We were good together.”
“No,” he said. “We weren’t. You wanted what I couldn’t give you. Sorry.”
No reason to add he’d felt inadequate multiple times around her for those reasons.
Nothing he ever felt when he was with Daphne.
“Don’t be sorry,” Ella said. “I didn’t know what I wanted. I mean, I always knew I wanted you. Maybe I was focused on the wrong things.”
“You were,” he said. “Not my problem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got things to do.”
He climbed into his truck, started it up, and drove away. Maybe he was wishing he’d leave a big old puff of smoke in his wake as part of his exit, but he didn’t.
He quietly left as he had so many times with her.