Chapter 25
Anxiety tightened my chest. Eight days. That was all we had left to get this place in shape before Anya’s deadline.
Eight days to fix leaky pipes, deal with the water heater, and caulk or seal bathrooms and windows.
The electrician was scheduled to come in the next day to deal with the stove.
It amazed me that I had spent so much on the upgrades, and yet there was more to do.
Just like life, reconfiguring the layout doesn’t fix everything.
Sometimes you must tackle other issues along the way, especially when you’re under scrutiny.
The house was my life, basically.
I glanced around as the ladies of the Chapter Chatters, along with, Liz, Wardell, and Gabriella, sat around the living room on my side of the house. Even Valerie had come. “For support,” she said. “But nobody takes any pictures of me, understood?”
We all agreed.
This was the planning meeting. I’d called it so in the text message group I’d formed. It was a hot Thursday evening, 6:30 p.m. I’d turned up the air-conditioning so my guests would be comfortable. I picked up some cookies from the grocer as a form of thanks.
The only person missing was Richard, but he’d texted me that he was running a few minutes behind, so I wasn’t worried.
There was a strange mix of anticipation and uncertainty in the air. I could see it in their faces. This wasn’t going to be a quick fix, and we all knew it. Yet they’d all shown up for me. Even Wardell, though I suspect Christine had drug him by his ear.
“Thank you all for coming,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“We’ve only got eight days—really six, if you take away the time for the electrician—to get everything done.
APS will be back to inspect everything, and if we don’t meet their requirements…
Well, let’s just say I don’t want to find out what happens if we don’t.
We’re going to handle everything on her list, major and minor.
I want her to know that I’m okay. And I am, so long as I have you all with me. ”
There were nods and murmurs of understanding. Minus Wardell, of course. The frown on his face persisted, even as he availed himself of another cookie.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Richard stepped in, slightly out of breath but smiling. The sight of him brought ease to my body. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been looking forward to him showing up until he’d entered the living room.
“Hey there,” he said, walking straight toward me and pulling me into a brief but warm hug.
I hadn’t expected the hug, either, but I found myself leaning in to it just enough to feel the comfort in his arms. “Sorry I’m late.
” He turned to the rest of the group, offering a smile and a wave. “Hello, everyone. Name’s Richard.”
“Who doesn’t know you? Your business has been donating to the library’s programs for years,” Christine said.
“Glad to help. What’d I miss?”
“The cookies,” Wardell said as he swiped the last one out of the box.
Richard chuckled as he de-escalated Wardell’s jab. “No worries. Don’t need ’em anyway.”
“What we do need is a plan,” Christine said. “And I think my husband is the perfect person to help us with that. Right, Wardell?”
“Why does it always feel like I end up leadin’ these things?” he muttered under his breath.
Christine shot him a sharp look, her lips pressing together in that way that told him he better straighten up fast. “Because you’re good at it, Wardell.
And because you love helping people, whether you admit it or not,” she said, her voice firm but affectionate.
She gave his arm a light nudge. “So, go ahead and show these fine folks why I married you in the first place.”
Wardell grumbled under his breath again, but this time there was less resistance in his tone. He shifted in his seat, looking around at everyone, his frown softening slightly under the weight of Christine’s expectations.
I sighed, knowing I had to address him, too. I tried to remember exactly what went wrong with our first meeting. “Wardell, I know you and I didn’t have the best initial meeting. But we need you. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. And you’ve got the most experience when it comes to construction.”
Wardell’s eyes flickered over to me, a hint of that old stubbornness still there, but I could see him digesting my words.
His lips loosened when I mentioned his expertise.
The compliment worked like a charm. He reminded me of a lady at the church where I grew up who sang like a lark.
She wanted to sing, but she would always make the congregation beg for it.
She sat in her seat, shaking her head for at least a minute while people yelled out, “Let the Lord use you,” or “He will give you strength.”
And then she got up there and belted it out like she’d been practicing at home for weeks.
Like Wardell, she just needed a little encouragement. Also known as ego stroking.
With a deep sigh, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and looked at me more directly. “APS is strict. We gotta go by the book if we want them to approve the work. You got a certified electrician for the oven?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
Wardell stood up, stretching his arms out as if shaking off the reluctance. He rolled his shoulders back, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and looked around the room like he was surveying his new domain. He let out a grunt as though inspecting possible NFL draft picks.
Gabriella covered her mouth, apparently stifling a giggle. I shushed her.
“All right,” he said, clapping his hands together once, the sound sharp enough to get everyone’s attention. He hooked his thumbs in his belt and gave a slight nod toward me. “Joyce, tell me specifically what’s on the list of stuff we need to fix.”
I handed him a printout of the paper Anya had emailed me, and he scanned it. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the paper. After a moment, he exhaled, clearly taking stock of the situation.
“Okay, here’s how we’re gonna do this.” He began pacing a little, back and forth across the room, his eyes flicking from one person to the next, as though mentally assigning tasks.
“We’ll break this down into teams. Plumbing’s gonna need at least two people; the water heater team needs strength.
That’ll be me and Richard. Caulking and sealing—that’s anybody’s game.
And of course, we’ll leave the kitchen wiring to the pros. ”
Lupita asked, “What materials do we need? I have a hookup at the hardware store.”
“If you give me your number, I’ll send a list.”
Christine intervened, “I will handle the communication.” The woman knew her husband had no business adding women’s phone numbers to his phone.
Gabriella said, “And I’ll work on a menu for the celebratory dinner, when we’ve finished the work and this is all behind us.”
Valerie raised her hand. “May I request more of the black bean and sweet potato taquitos? I swear, I can’t even sleep through the night without thinking about them.”
“Sure thing,” Gabriella said.
Wardell’s stern face took center stage again. He crossed his arms and glanced around the group. “Y’all better go home tonight and watch some of my YouTube videos, because I’m not explainin’ every little thing again.”
A few more chuckles rippled through the room, and Wardell nodded, seeming satisfied that he’d empowered his teams. His tone had softened, but his direction was clear. He was stepping into the leadership role. He was the boss, and we were his underlings. Gladly.
I couldn’t help but smile at that. Even though Wardell grumbled, there was a part of him that enjoyed this—leading, organizing, showing people what to do.
So be it.
“Young lady”—he pointed at Gabriella—“can you go on the internet and send my videos on caulking to everyone? My wife will give you my website name.”
“I’m on it.”
Valerie announced, “I’m out. Looks like y’all are about to start moving around. I’ve got a bad back; can’t risk injuries. My prayers are with you all.”
Wardell nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Don’t want you getting hurt.”
Valerie tipped out, throwing kisses and hope at us.
The door had barely shut behind her when Wardell barked, “The rest of y’all start watching. Joyce, show me and Richard to the water heater.” He gestured for Richard to follow along. With a third party present, I felt safe leading Wardell to the tiny closet closest just beside the laundry room.
The water heater was slightly off-kilter, leaning a bit to one side. It wasn’t drastic, but enough to catch the eye. There was some wear and tear, rust around the edges, and the pipes were older, though nothing seemed immediately dangerous.
Wardell knelt down, inspecting the base and pipes.
“It’s tilted, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.
The base might just need leveling. We can fix that with some cinder blocks and shims, no problem.
And these pipes”—he pointed—“we’ll swap them out with flexible copper ones.
That should hold it steady, rectify the problem, and pass the APS inspection easily. ”
I nodded, feeling a bit of relief. “So we don’t need to replace it?”
“Nah, not yet. This thing’s still got some life in it. If we stabilize it and update the connections, we’ll be fine.”
I nodded, trying to absorb the technical details. “I don’t know half of what you said, but the half I do comprehend sounded good,” I said. “Thank you.”
“We should take before-and-after pictures,” Richard said. He tapped his pocket. “Shoot, I left my phone in the car. I’ll be right back.” He dashed off, leaving me alone with Wardell.
Before I could even process what had happened, Wardell said quietly, “Joyce, I just want to say… I’m sorry. For comin’ on too strong when we first met. I know it wasn’t right.”