10. Hannah
10
Hannah
Hannah finished the final stroke on the magical unicorn and held up a hand mirror. “What do you think, Miss Charlotte?”
The little girl grinned as she spotted herself in the mirror. “I love it!” the child squealed. “It’s my favorite. You are my favorite.”
Hannah laughed and hugged the little girl, grateful some of her students’ parents had dropped in. Her students were always her favorite customers. “Thanks for coming to see me. The unicorn only makes you more beautiful.”
Other kids tried to cut into her line, but the event was over, and she was nearly out of paint. “Come visit me another time,” she called as dejected kids walked away.
She sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her elbow. The Civic Center gym was stifling, and other than a few large fans, there was little to no air circulation. She hadn’t been surprised when she’d seen paint start to slide down the face of one of her first customers from the beginning of the fundraiser.
“Another great event.”
She turned to see Gretel coming toward her, her arms open wide. Hannah laughed to herself as she remembered the first time she had startled Gretel with a hug.
“It was great,” Hannah said, “but maybe let’s do an event outside next time. Or in air conditioning.”
“Noted,” Gretel said, wiping a handkerchief across her face. “Do you need any help packing up?”
Hannah’s phone buzzed right then, and she shooed Gretel away when she saw it was Jason. “I’m fine,” she hurried to whisper. “See you next time.”
She grinned as she held the phone in one hand and packed with the other.
“Calling after hours, I see. Don’t tell me you need me to come back to the office. I am completely wiped.” It was silent on the other end. Her hand froze on a stack of paintbrushes. “Jason, are you there?”
“I really didn’t want to call, at least not about something like this, but I have no one else to turn to.”
Hannah straightened and switched the phone to her other ear to hear better. “What is it? Did something happen?”
“Yeah, I need some help.”
“What is it?”
“The city sewer backed up in my house, and twenty inches of sewage later, I’m stranded. The hotels are all booked because of the—”
“Comic Con Convention,” she said more to herself. “Most of the traffic at the blood drive was from out-of-towners.”
“I’d go to my grandpa’s house, but he lives an hour away. I literally don’t know anyone else to ask.”
“It’s okay,” she said, holding the phone with her chin and shoving things into her cart haphazardly. “I’ll text you my address, and you can come over.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Come to my house, and we’ll figure something out. If nothing else, I’m pretty sure I can clean my spare room in time for you to sleep.”
He gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t want to put you out or anything.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll text you the address and will be there soon.”
Her art cart was a mess, but she didn’t care. She threw the last of her paint in and wheeled it to her car, all the while making a mental list of everything she had to do. She needed to clean out that room and maybe wash the bedding. She slapped her forehead. Oh, why did she live in a mess? Hopefully, it didn’t send the poor man running.
She sent him a text and then headed home.
As she turned down her street, she slowed her car to a crawl. “It’s so dark,” she mumbled. “What a terrible situ—”
A lone figure stood on her doorstep. His car was parked on the street, directly in front. Her heart did a little jump to see Jason.
She parked in the driveway and hurried out. “Hey, sorry it took so long to get here. The traffic has been a nightmare all day.” When she reached her top step, she looked at the multiple bags at his feet. “I’m glad your things aren’t damaged.”
Jason frowned. “Well, not the things hung in the closet or stored in the upper drawers. And luckily the townhouse on the other side didn’t have any issues. I’m the only lucky one.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Everything’s a mess.”
“How bad is it?”
“Since a lot of the backup happened in the garage and main living areas, the bedrooms were basically untouched. But the smell.” He gagged and slapped a hand over his mouth.
“It’s okay, I get it,” she said, coming to his side. Without thinking, she patted his shoulder .
Instantly, he batted her away.
His eyes grew wide as she took back her injured hand and rested it by her side. “I’m so sorry.” He reached for her hand, but stopped himself. “I just—I’m sorry for snapping,” he said, softer. “It’s been a long night.”
Swallowing down the disappointment, she nodded. “I should’ve known. It’s fine.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I really want—I’m a mess right now, and I need a shower.”
“Jason, it’s okay. I’ll be more careful. And, yes, you can take a shower.” She shook her keys nervously. Hopefully, her bathroom was clean enough.
“Have you lived here long?”
She looked around. “Yeah. Ever since graduating college. I got it before the prices went up.”
“Me too.”
She reached for one of his bags and then stopped. “You live here too.”
He pointed to the last townhouse at the end of the street. “When I got your text, I was a little shocked. I haven’t seen you in the neighborhood once. Not that I would. I stick to myself most days—”
“And park in your garage. My neighbors talk about the recluse at the end of the street all the time.”
He raised a brow. “Well, guess a stinky house will give them something new to talk about. Now, can we go in? I really need to get this smell out of my nose.”
She bit her lip nervously as she turned to the door and started unlocking it. “I should warn you about a few things. I don’t want you to be shocked.”
“Okay,” he said, drawing out the word.
She turned the key and then waited. “I may look put together at work, but I allow my home life to be a bit of a mess. My injured hand hasn’t helped much either. But that’s just an excuse. I really am okay with mess. And I have a bird.” She spoke so quickly that she was sure he was ready to run home, poop smell and everything.
“Do you clean up after your bird?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Luckily, she had started that habit years ago. “And I clean ten minutes a day, so it should be fine.”
The poor guy looked so scared that she laughed. “If it’s not comfortable enough, I won’t feel bad if you find a hotel out of town. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
He shook his head. “I’d have to drive pretty far away. In that case, going to Grandpa’s house would be better. But I’m sure it’ll be fine for one night. A hotel room will be open tomorrow, and if insurance approves it, I’ll be out of your hair.”
“All right then.” She blew out a slow breath. “Keep expectations low.”
Looking ready to fall apart any minute, he gave a curt nod and grabbed two of the suitcases. Hopefully, the look of her place wouldn’t completely keel him over.
She pushed the door open, but was stopped by the jacket she’d thrown in front of the door.
“Ah, sorry.” She hurried to pick it up and hang it on the wall rack already weighed down by jackets that didn’t fit in her closet.
She did a quick scan of the house and sighed. Her ten minutes from the previous night had at least been enough to clean the front room. She turned and watched for Jason’s reaction, but he was in survival mode. “The bathroom, please.”
“Let me just run in there really quick.” She left him at the door and ran ten steps down the hallway to the bathroom. Her cheeks burned as she looked at her pajamas on the floor, the ring of hair in the drain and the toothpaste in the sink. She grabbed a towel and used it to wipe out the sink. Then she cleaned the drain and buried the small stack of hair in the depths of an overfilled trash can. “Crap,” she muttered to herself.
Her hand throbbed as she grabbed the clothes and towel, gave the bathroom another look, and shrugged. If she hadn’t already scared him away, there was at least hope he would look past this weakness.
She dropped the clothes in a hamper in her bedroom and closed the door. It was the danger zone she hoped he’d never see.
“Okay,” she called, closing the spare bedroom’s door on her way back down the hall. When he was in the shower, she was going to blitz-clean that first. There had to be some space left in her bedroom where she could shove some more things.
His expression was blank as he carried a bag with him to the bathroom.
“There are towels in the drawer, maybe.”
“It’s fine,” he barely whispered. “I’ve got my own.”
She sighed in relief. “Right. Okay, well, take your time. Please.”
As soon as she heard the water turn on, she went into demolition mode, picking up whatever didn’t belong and either putting it away or shoving it somewhere else. She took her bird and placed the cage in the only empty spot in the front room. She fed him, then covered the cage to keep him quiet. Her closets were stuffed to the brim with craft projects she had never finished and playground equipment she could use but hadn’t yet found a fit for within one of her lessons. Somehow, she squeezed in more. The spare bedroom was another story. Bags of clothes that didn’t fit in her closet were all over the floor, and although the bed was made and somewhat clean, clearing it off was another matter .
She grabbed armfuls of clothes and plopped them on her bed, prepared to sleep on the couch if needed. When that was done, she pulled out the vacuum, ran it over the ratty carpet she had been meaning to replace, and then straightened things on the bookshelf. The room was full of high school pictures, memorabilia, and dried flowers from prom dates. Despite her parents' inability to see the good in her, guys in high school liked energetic girls, and she’d had her fair share of dating experiences, good and bad.
When she was satisfied the room was decent enough, she placed his things on the bed and closed the door. The water was still running, so she headed to the kitchen and blazed through a sink full of dishes, finally cleaned the jam stains off the counter, and ran a broom over the floor. When she heard the bathroom door creak open, she was exhausted and her hand was on fire, but the kitchen looked clean enough. The counters were packed with dishes that didn’t fit in the cupboard and baking supplies she used often enough that she didn’t want to put them away. She needed to stop taking free things others gave her. She opened her fridge and pulled together a quick spaghetti dinner as he settled into the spare room.
When he didn’t come out by the time she was ready to eat, she went to his room and knocked softly. “I made some spaghetti. Are you hungry?”
She leaned her ear against the door, but all she heard was mumbling. She cracked the door open as quietly as possible, but the door always stuck, and she practically had to push it open with her hip.
The light was off, and there was a lump in the middle of the bed where his blanket was. She scanned the room and then turned around. Had he gone back to the bathroom?
“Jason?”
“I’m here,” he said softly .
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to bring you a plate?”
“Thanks, but I doubt I’d be able to swallow anything at this point. Do you mind if we talk tomorrow?”
“Yeah, of course. If you need anything, just text me.”
“Thanks. Sorry. I just need to sleep, and I’ll be better.”
She backed out of the room. “It’s fine, Jason. Goodnight.”
She sighed and headed back to the kitchen to eat the rest of her dinner alone. After a few minutes, she scraped off her dish and threw it in the dishwasher.
Then she cleaned up her dinner mess and headed to the bathroom to clean herself up. It was surreal to have Jason so close but so far away. She had imagined what it would be like to spend time with him away from work and dog-walking responsibilities, but this was not what she’d hoped for.