Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
MARLOWE
T wo days later Marlowe was in the middle of packing her Cuisinart pans when her phone rang. Gleaming pans were spread all over her counter. Anyone coming in would think that she actually cooked. Not so, but she did love attractive cookware. But why had she bought the entire set? The collection was blinding in the overhead lights.
The crazy packing was an effort to make her kitchen cupboards look tidy. Her condo would be listed soon. Shari had come through recently to size things up. Now settled in her new home, Shari had made some suggestions that made Marlowe blush. Although she’d made some half-hearted attempts to clean up her condo, she hadn’t reduced the number of pans and pyrex dishes. And she’d never thought of organizing her closet by color. But Shari was a pro and Marlowe took her suggestions to heart.
Her phone rang and she strained to see it over on the counter. Who was calling? Flat on the granite counter, the phone was almost vibrating off the surface. Tempted to ignore the call, she finally stood up, stretched and peeked. If this was Aunt Cate or one of her sisters, their name would pop up. That wasn’t happening but the area code was definitely Charlevoix. Maybe this would be a call related to Gabby. She answered.
“This is Marlowe.” She leaned against her circular breakfast table and sent some pans crashing to the floor. “Oh, those blasted things.”
Turning away from the mess, she was ready to punch the red button when a voice said, “Sorry, am I interrupting anything?” The voice was husky but timid. Sounded way too tired to be salesman.
“Yes. Sort of.” Was this Chip, Gabby’s husband? He was going to send her dates for the certification exam. She was tired of calls from other Naple’s realtors who wanted to list her property. They could be devious, and Shari had her condo well in hand. Stripping off her rubber gloves, Marlowe reached to grab the phone so she didn’t have to yell at it.
Yes, this was a Michigan number calling, and she lifted the phone to her ear. “Sorry. Now what is this about?”
Whoever it was cleared his throat. “Marlowe, this is Seth Barrett. Sorry to bother you but we're the company working on Sunnycrest.”
“Right, yes. Hi, Seth.” She slipped into a chair, nudging a sauce pot aside with one foot. Why is he calling me?
“Your aunt suggested that I call you…”
Oh, perfect. Aunt Cate was at it again. Well, Marlowe didn’t have time for this. She hadn’t had lunch and her head was throbbing. “Please ignore what my aunt says.”
“Ignore it? But I thought…”
“Oh, I know what you thought. You thought here’s a desperate woman coming to Charlevoix. And we’re doing business together so why not? But I’m not that desperate.”
Was he chuckling and trying to hide it? “Are you laughing at me?”
“No, I most certainly am not.” Seth paused while Marlowe fumed. What was going on? “But I am enjoying this.”
Enjoying this? The words set her off. “Okay, maybe I’m turning forty this year and yes, I’m single but I don’t need my aunt fixing me up. Please try to understand.” The last was added in an almost apologetic tone. Marlowe had to make the situation clear. No fixup. Never.
Silence hummed. “Are you still there?” Maybe she’d been too forceful.
“Um, well. I don’t know what to say.”
She dug one hand into her hair. “Me either. That’s just the way it is. I’m glad we’re straight about this. So, good-bye.”
“No, wait…we haven’t discussed…” The guy sounded upset. Frantic. Maybe there was a shortage of eligible women in Charlevoix.
“Discussed what? Your last relationship and why it didn’t work out? How many children you want?” Those had been some common topics during some disastrous blind dates. Her serving spoons were spread out on the table. Picking one up she began tapping it on the table. “What haven’t we discussed?”
“Bathroom fixtures.”
“What?” Had she heard him correctly?
“Yes, your aunt asked me to contact you about bathroom fixtures and closet design. We’re starting the renovation on your bedroom.”
His words stung her like pellets. What had she done? Dropping the spoon, she slumped down in her chair and groaned. “I am so sorry.”
Was he laughing? “If you really want to discuss those topics…if you have to get something off your chest, why I’m happy to listen.”
He was laughing at her. “No, no that’s not it.” With one hand over her face, Marlowe could hardly get the words out.
“Have at it. I’m, ah, really sorry. You seem to have had some painful experiences.”
So now she was a problem person? This mess was all her fault. “Well, I’m still alive.” She cleared her throat and made herself sit up straight. “I thought we already made the decision to have modern fixtures. Why did my aunt ask you to call?”
“She thought that since we’re starting with your bedroom, we could…er, you could iron out a lot of these questions.”
“Okay. Thought we already did that.” What had she missed?
“Cate wants me to check with you and make sure the changes are to your liking.” Oh, so now her aunt was Cate to Seth Barrett?
Her aunt had left messages on her phone for the past two days and Marlowe had not had a chance to get back to her. Aunt Cate had said that nothing was urgent. Once Shari’s boxes arrived and Marlowe started packing up her stuff, she seemed to run into... more stuff. Instead of pitching things, she'd tossed a lot into boxes and labeled them. They were resigned to her basement storage closet. Maybe she should have bitten the bullet and hired a moving company to handle the packing. But she was worried about her budget.
“I'm so sorry.” And mortified . “Guess I'm a bit behind on all of this. What exactly did my aunt want you to check on? We're adding a bathroom and a closet, right?”
“Correct.” Now he was all business. “Fortunately those bedrooms are a generous size. We’re shaving off the room along one wall to accommodate a bathroom and expanded closet.”
Her mind was fried. Her condo was going on the market in three days. She was seriously involved in decluttering. Once she finished with the storage shed she had to work on her closets. Sticky notes with lists were posted all over her condo.
“Didn’t I see some drawings? I can't recall the details.” She rubbed her forehead.
“I can e-mail that sketch to you. No problem. Your aunt just wanted to know if you wanted any special detailing in the closet.”
“You'll have to bring me up to speed. What is she talking about?”
“You can have the California closet with all the wire racks or...”
“I prefer shelving.” She’d had her condo closet in Naples designed with special glass enclosures for her shoes so they didn't get dusty. The clothing racks were different heights and the shelving were the same, tailored to her needs. But she didn't want to go through that now. Did she have to be in charge of everything?
But that wasn’t fair. Poor Izzy was the one living at the house with her baby. And her sister was petrified of ending up being the sole decision maker.
“Although I know I'm in charge of decorating that room, I'm really not sure where I'll end up.” Now that was way more frank than she wanted to admit. How long would she live there with Izzy? And would Aunt Cate stay at Sunnycrest too? What were Sam’s plans? Sometimes Marlowe worried that Sam would move in with Josh. But that family dinner at his home had probably put the kibosh on any hasty plans like that. “I’m not sure where we’ll be living.”
“I see. I didn't realize that you had someone else to consider. But if that's the case you'll surely want to involve that person.” Seth sounded about as confused as she was feeling.
“No, no that's not what I mean.” She pushed back her hair. Was she sweating along her hairline? “Right now we all have our own bedroom. But I don't know if any of us will end up living in that house. For right, we’re doing Facetime calls to work things out.”
“So you don't want to design a closet in case the next person doesn't like the design?”
Now that Seth put it that way, her reservations did seem foolish. She’d designed the closet in the condo and they worked out fine. Although she hadn't had many visitors, when people saw them, they usually liked them.
So she spent a few minutes listing the specialized areas she found helpful in a closet.” And I realize that's a lot,” she said in closing. “But that's the way I like it.”
“You’ve got some great ideas here.” Seth sounded like he was scribbling away. “And you really know what you want.”
Didn’t she just wish? She wanted Charlevoix. She wanted a change of season. And she wanted to be with her family. Her wish list stopped right there. “Sometimes I do.” Why was she having this conversation with a total stranger? Dropping her head into her hands, she suddenly felt very tired and very hungry.
“Well listen, I'm not going to take up your time. I'll have the closet company do a sketch. You can look it over and I’ll take it from there.”
At least the conversation had moved away from that humiliating beginning. Bathrooms could be expensive. She knew that. “As far as the bathrooms go, whatever my sisters want will be fine with me.”
“Got it. Look, thank you for your time. I know you're busy on your relocation. Transferring here and everything involved must be very time consuming. I appreciate you giving me your time.” The guy sounded rattled…and repetitive. He probably couldn't wait to get off the phone. “I don't want to come up with something that people don't like. That’s disappointing and expensive.”
He meant well and her embarrassment grew. “I appreciate your concern for the details.” Maybe she’d talk to Sam. See what her thoughts were on this. She did not want to have all this work done and then have her sisters not like it. “I'm going to call for a joint Facetime call to get this settled.”
“Probably a good idea. Should I be involved in that?”
“No.” The word exploded, loud and decisive. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “I mean, why waste your time? I'll get in touch with Aunt Cate…,” she stressed the name, “…and my sisters. We'll give you a list for both the bedroom closet and the bathroom.”
“Whatever you say.” The poor man sounded exhausted.
“Thank you for your call.” She’d worn the poor man out.
“Right. And again, thank you for your time.” He was being overly polite. The smile in his voice wasn't lost on her. Right. He probably would have a good laugh after he hung up.
After she'd ended the call, she got up from the chair on wobbly legs and bumped into a saucepan. One swift kick sent it into the bottom of a cupboard, where it left a dent.
Perfect. Just perfect.