35. Ainsley
Chapter 35
Ainsley
“ H ey, hey. Slow down, okay? Just tell me what’s going on.” I try to keep any panic out of my own voice as I try to subdue a clearly aggravated Taylor.
“The pump,” he yells, booming through the phone so loud I hold it away from my ear.
“Yes, the pump. You’ve said that many times. I just don’t?—”
“I have to be down here to keep the pump running. It keeps fucking up and then the basement fills with water again. This was my brother’s job, but he’s gone conveniently AWOL and left it to my dad, who isn’t up to the job. I’ve only just got it dry down here. I can’t let it fill back up. There’s no time to pump it all back out again before the inspector comes.”
“And you’re missing a permit?”
“The auditor’s final survey. I thought we had everything we needed, but they say we’re missing the property survey that shows we even have the rights to dig where we need to dig. It’s all fucked, like everything has been this whole time, but I need it. This is my last shot at this. ”
“It’s not a problem, Taylor. I can get it. I’m just finishing up a paper, shouldn’t take me more than an hour to get this sent off, and then I’ll take a cab downtown.”
“I’ll text you the address of the office. Just make sure you’re there by four when they close. And get on the next ferry out here tonight, okay? The inspector is coming over on the last ferry, and I guess it’s okay if you catch that one, but the sooner the better. I need you here. I can’t do this all by myself.”
His voice is strained, and he does a shit job of hiding how close he is to emotional breakdown. This last month has been one thing after another for this nightmare of a renovation project, and I’ve seen firsthand the stress it’s put him and his family under.There’s nothing I’d like more than to blow the place up and build a brand-new house on top of the wreckage, but I’ve stopped offering any kind of help in that regard. As a matter of fact, this is the very first time he’s ever asked me for anything.
“I’ll be there, Taylor. Don’t worry.”
“All I do is worry.”
The line goes dead in my hand.
I text Gem about the new development but don’t expect an answer. She’s taking the very last of her finals right now. I include some love and good luck in the message and tuck my phone away, turning back to my computer screen and the paper on aqueducts I desperately need to finish—now in less than an hour.
I’m two words in when a knock at the front door sends Doc skittering and howling through the dining room.I follow him with a smile on my face, ready to take Gem in my arms and hear how great she did on her exam.
But that all changes when I open the door.
“Hello, Son.”