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I turn to go, then hesitate.
‘Um … just so I don’t put my foot in it, or anything. Do you mind if I ask when her husband died? I heard her daughter talking about it.’
‘About sixteen months ago in a tragic accident. A tyre blowout on the motorway. It’s considerate of you to ask. So easy to assume a husband is around and she’s very fragile still, naturally.’
I nod my thanks, holding up the cheque in acknowledgement and head off to the van.
It’s a bit chilly, but with the radio playing in the background I’m happy enough sitting here eating my sandwiches and looking out over the extensive views. If only I could stop my mind wandering and wondering ‘what if’. If Anita wasn’t so bitter, if I’d realised how trapped she’d end up feeling—
A movement in front of me makes me jerk my head up and I see Elana parking her car up by the garage. As she walks down the path it would be rude not to wave. She smiles and when she draws alongside the van I wind the window down, because she appears to be slowing her pace.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, Luke. When you’ve finished do you think you could pop in and take a look at something?’
‘Will do, Mrs James – I mean, Elana. I’ll be in shortly.’
Even when she smiles there’s that little hint of sadness in those green eyes of hers. Something that she probably isn’t even aware is there, or maybe it takes one to know one. People who have sadness in their lives often carry it inside, unseen, but the eyes are the windows of the soul. When a hurt runs deep there’s no getting away from it. I wonder if that’s what people see when they look at me – the disappointment and sense of failure I feel.
I straighten my back and stretch out my arms, my muscles beginning to ache a little from sitting in a cramped space. I can’t wait to get to the gym tonight and have a really good workout. Then it’s a takeaway pizza and a little software program to test out. One of these days, hopefully, I’ll have something to sell that will take away all of my money worries. Until then, though, it’s back to the job in hand.
As I walk up to the front door of Bay Tree Cottage, Elana is looking out for me and immediately opens the door.
‘Thanks, Luke. Much appreciated. The problem is in the utility room, this way. Don’t bother about your boots, it’s hardly pristine in here.’
She sounds accepting of the situation and I feel for her, now I understand the position she’s in. She appears to be quite a proud lady and it must hurt, being alone with a child and living in something that is only partially completed.
I follow her into the narrow utility room and she pulls open the doors to the sink unit, exposing a large bucket half-full of water. A constant drip that is running quite fast is like a low drumbeat.
‘How long’s it been leaking?’
I look across at her and she grimaces.
“A while. I have to empty the bucket several times a day. And it’s getting worse.’
A quick glance isn’t enough to discover what’s causing the leak, although it’s sufficient to establish that this probably wasn’t done by the best plumber in the world. If her husband did it I have to be careful. In fairness, it’s not a really bad job, but there’s a lot of pipe work running off to service the washing machine and dishwasher. I would have configured it differently, flush against the back wall so that if there was a problem everything was easier to access. Quite simply, this is a pig of a job, because it’s going to be difficult to get a wrench in there to tighten up whichever joint is leaking.
‘It’s not a problem. I’ll go and grab some tools.’
She lets out a sharp breath, clearly relieved it’s something I can fix.
‘I was rather worried you’d say it was a major problem. I’m afraid the plumber we used wasn’t the best. My husband wasn’t here when the work was done and when he saw it he thought it was a bit of a mess.’
I smile and shrug, but she looks back at me rather flustered. I’m not sure she meant to share that, so I make a quick exit and when I return she’s nowhere in sight. I throw a dust sheet on the floor and open the doors wide, then take out the shelf. Lying down on my back I ease myself into the cabinet and stare up at the maze of pipes. Isn’t it always the way that the leak comes from the top? It’s the cold tap that’s leaking; the drip is almost constant. I can just about get my hand up between the pipes and get the wrench in place, but when it bites I can only twist it about a millimetre at a time. Even then, nothing seems to be happening. Then it dawns upon me that whoever installed this probably cross-threaded it when they tightened it up. Every time I move it slightly, it’s just going around the same thread. Nothing I do seems to stem the dribble of water. I hear a cough and as I begin easing myself back out, I find myself looking up at Elana.
‘It’s not going to be an easy fix, is it?’
I guess she can tell from the look on my face.
‘Hey, it’s not as bad as that. Someone has over-tightened the nut at some point and it looks like the tap itself is crossed-threaded. That means when I try to do it up it’s not making any difference.’
‘There’s an “and”, isn’t there?’
I nod.
‘And that means a new tap. The problem with the layout underneath there is that the taps were put in first. All the extra pipe work was installed without any thought to accessing the taps. In all honesty I’m better off doing a quick re-design so that it’s easier for the future. If I try to replace the tap as it is now, it will probably take me longer than sorting it out once and for all.’
She nods. ‘Okay. Thanks. No point in cutting corners. To be honest, I’m getting a little sick of the word leak. Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?’
‘It’s a couple of hours’ work and a tap, that’s all. It won’t be a lot. As I’m here working anyway, it will just be a small add-on.’
‘Thanks, I appreciate that. Can I make you a drink?’
‘That’s very kind, but I’ll pop off now to pick up a replacement tap. I have everything else I need in the van. It going to take me a couple of hours, tops.’
‘Sorry to have pulled you away from the roof. Oh, there’s my phone – I’ll leave you to it. I’ll make a cuppa when you get back. And thanks for not making a drama out of my little crisis.’ She gives me a warm smile and the little furrow in her forehead disappears for a second or two.
***
Elana opens the door and I step inside, slipping off my boots.
‘You know, there’s really no need. It’s not as if the floor is clean, the concrete constantly throws up a white dust and I’ve given up on it.’
‘It’s a habit – we like to respect our customers’ homes. I’m going to have to turn off the water for a while, so if you need to run a tap for anything let me know when you’re done.’
‘The kettle is full, so no problem. It’s only me here during the day when Maya is at school, so you aren’t disrupting anything. One sugar, white – right?’
‘Thanks. I’ll make a start, then.’
As Elana disappears into the kitchen, I head off to the utility room. Walking past the computer in the corner of the dining room, I can’t help but notice the photo of a rather good-looking guy on the screen. It must be so hard to lose the person you love, just like that; having to juggle not only your own emotions, but those of a child, too. It makes me think of the Santa thing and her daughter. It’s not something I can bring up, but I sincerely hope she’s aware of what’s going on inside that little girl’s head.
Anyway, it’s none of my business and now I have a mess of pipes to hack about, so I can start again and do the job as it should have been done in the first place. Shoddy workmanship just annoys the heck out of me.
Chapter 6 (#ulink_ea0cf9ce-bb7e-5eb7-bcb7-1ece700f63c2)
Luke (#ulink_ea0cf9ce-bb7e-5eb7-bcb7-1ece700f63c2)
Dad For the Day
Picking up Joe is always a bittersweet moment. It’s great to know I have some quality time with him and yet the handover is always upsetting. What I wish is that we could have family time together, all three of us. It can’t happen, I know, as whatever was good between Anita and me has completely disappeared. Maybe it’s just too soon to expect her to be able to put her feelings to one side to join in our fun. But I always try.
‘We’re going swimming, would you like to come?’
She looks directly at me, raising one eyebrow with disdain.
‘Swimming? You know the chlorine isn’t good for my hair. I think I’ll pass. Besides, I’m meeting up with a friend at the mall to do some shopping. Goodness knows, I don’t get much time to myself and I deserve a few hours off.’
I’m such a fool, I didn’t mean to upset her, or make her feel guilty for grabbing a few carefree hours. I just thought … hoped—
‘No, it’s fine. I understand. I thought I’d ask, as you know what Joe’s like. He loves splashing about in the water and it’s great fun.’
The eyebrow doesn’t lower and I hold Joe up for a goodbye kiss. She hugs him close, plants a kiss on his forehead and says, ‘Mumma loves you. See you later, little guy.’
I know she’s pulled between the sadness of letting him go and the desire to grab some precious me time. It’s different for the guys, isn’t it? Most men don’t even consider that when a baby arrives it’s a truly life-changing event being a mum. It’s often something we take for granted. We tend to dip in and out of our kids’ lives, a lot of men still being the traditional main provider. And even when both parents are working, I wonder how many men jump out of bed in the middle of the night when the kids start crying? I like to think I did my share, but Anita was always awake before me and out of bed before it registered with me that Joe was even awake. Perhaps it’s all down to how we are wired up.
Joe wriggles, clearly eager to be put down and for us to get on our way. He looks up at me expectantly as I grasp his little hand in mine.
‘Swimming, Joe?’
He nods. ‘Water,’ he says in that sing-songy little voice of his. It sounds more like ‘vauta’, but his words are getting much easier to understand as the weeks go by. Apparently he’s a little behind on his speech, considering he’s now seventeen months old, but my mum says boys are often like that. Girls, apparently, are much quicker to talk.
‘Right, little man. We have one job to do on the way to the pool. Daddy has to drop something off as Granddad forgot, so we’re taking the scenic route and going via the forest. Trees, Joe? Wanna see some big trees?’
Joe nods enthusiastically, although I’m not sure he understands. You don’t get many big trees in the middle of a busy town, so I hope he’s going to love the detour.
He’s happy enough in his car seat and as we leave behind the built-up area of town and the landscape changes, he’s fascinated by the open fields.
‘Look Joe, sheep!’
‘Eep.’ He repeats, pulling his finger out of his mouth and pushing the wet digit against the car window. ‘Eep.’ A once-clean window is now covered in smears and it makes me smile. Today I feel like a dad again.
As we pull up outside Bay Tree Cottage, I unclip Joe from the seat and he claps his hands. ‘Baa, baa,’ he shouts. He thinks we’re going to look at the sheep up close.
‘No, Joe. But we are going to see a great view.’
I grab the roll of flashing from the boot and walk down to the cottage, both arms full. Then I realise I need to ring the doorbell, but the lead is even heavier than Joe. Just as I’m considering my dilemma the door opens and it’s Maya.
‘Hi, Maya. I’m just dropping this off and wondered if your mummy was around?’
‘Baba,’ Joe says, not wanting to be left out.
‘Maya’s a big girl, Joe. You’re the baba.’
Maya laughs. ‘He’s funny and cute!’ She reaches out and he grabs her hand. Elana walks up behind Maya, smiling.
‘Ah, what a sweetie. Who is this little chap?’
‘His name is Joe.’
‘Mum. Can he come in and play, please?’
Elana looks at me and then smiles down at Maya.
‘I think that’s rather up to Luke.’
She tilts her head in my direction, clearly quite happy to invite us in.
‘Well, I didn’t mean to interrupt your day. I was just going to ask if I could store this in the hallway. I’ll need it on Monday and it’s not something I can leave outside. It’s just that I don’t have the van at weekends.’ I turn my gaze in the direction of Joe.
‘Oh, sorry. That’s heavy and you have your hands full. Step inside, please. I’ll put the kettle on.’
Elana disappears and I put Joe down. At first he clings to my leg, but Maya starts talking to him and, before I know it, he’s toddling after her as she encourages him inside.
I’m relieved to dump the roll of lead as I’m not sure how much longer I could have carried it. It’s only as I turn to enter the cottage that I notice the photo on the windowsill. It’s Elana and her husband. I recognise him from her screensaver; he’s holding Maya, who is probably only a few weeks old.
‘What will Joe drink?’
Elana’s voice catches my attention and I quickly check on the kids before I join her in the kitchen.
‘Water will be fine. He’s not very good with a cup still, but he’s okay if I hold it for him.’
She hands me a mug of coffee and carries a tray through into the sitting room.
‘Take a seat, Luke. So, do you babysit often?’
Maya is on the floor showing Joe one of the apps on her iPad. There’s a small monkey running around collecting bananas and as they both stab their fingers at the screen, he runs faster and faster.
‘Sort of, he’s my son, actually.’
Elana takes the seat opposite me, a look of mild surprise on her face.
‘Oh, I didn’t realise you were a family man.’ Her face looks a little flushed.
‘I’m older than I look,’ I retort. Her cheeks are now beginning to glow. ‘It’s complicated. We split up when Joe was six months old. I have him every Saturday.’
Quiet ensues as we both turn our attention to taking sips of coffee that is way too hot to drink. Maya and Joe are having lots of fun and now they have crayons and a colouring book.
‘Just make sure he keeps his crayon on the paper, Maya. He’s still learning the rules.’ Maya smiles back at me as Joe does a squiggle all over a Christmas tree she drew for him.
‘That’s sad,’ Elana says after a few minutes have elapsed.
‘Yeah, well, it wasn’t my decision. But you know what it’s like, life has to go on.’ The moment I finish speaking I realise that she might think I was referring to her situation, too. She probably doesn’t realise I know, so now I’m the one feeling embarrassed. I glance across at her and our eyes meet.
‘It certainly does,’ is all that she says. There’s no emotion in her voice, though, and no hint of acknowledgement beyond the obvious. It’s a relief, as I have to remember she’s a client.
‘He’s a happy little chappie, so you must be doing something right. It’s hard for the kids when things go wrong. It’s a constant worry, isn’t it?’
‘Yep. I don’t like to think of him paying the price for our mistakes. But you’re right, he is happy most of the time. Sometimes on handover he wails when I have to leave and that breaks my heart.’
‘Do you want to try him with his drink?’ Elana holds out the plastic cup.
I take it and hold it out to Joe. He immediately toddles over and with his hand on one handle, and mine on the other, he drinks half of it in one go.
‘Ta,’ he mutters and then heads straight back to Maya and the colouring book.
‘Aww … he’s a little darling. I can’t really remember Maya at that age; I’d have to look back at the photos. I vaguely remember that every time she tried to pick something up off the floor she would topple over. Her head seemed to be heavier than her body for ages, as she was very slim. She constantly walked around with a forehead that looked like she’d been fighting!’
We laugh and for some reason Joe decides to join in, which makes Maya laugh, too.
‘Look, I really didn’t intend to disrupt your day and we’d better get off. I’m taking Joe swimming and then we’re going to visit my parents. Thanks so much for the coffee and I’ll be here at seven on Monday. The weather forecast is dry but overcast, so fingers crossed I can get that lead work sorted and then make a start on the repointing.’
