Page 14 of Summer Message

“True. Or I'd call back and ask to speak to your mother.”

“Oh, that's not fair. You're playing dirty now.” I laugh at Matthew.

“I do need to go though. My parents should be getting up. I need to see what they have planned.” I smack my forehead as I look out the window. “Oh wait, I forgot the electrician is coming today. He just pulled into my driveway.” I sigh. “I guess the time has come to be an adult and work.” I laugh.

“Go off and adult, fair lady.” Matthew replies in a horrible British accent. “Have a good rest of your morning, Kristina. I'll talk to you later on.”

“Let me know how things go with the doctor.” I hang up the phone and head out front.“Hello.” I say with a smile on my face.

“I'm looking for a Kristina West.” The man is staring at his paper.

I look down to see that I'm wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Thankfully, it's nothing too revealing or embarrassing.

“I'm Kristina West. How are you?”

He grunts and asks me to show him to the fuse box. I take him inside and into the mudroom with the fuse box.

“Do you need me here with you or can I go and start moving furniture around?”

“I'm good. Do what you need to do.” He tells me and I walk away into the kitchen.

On my list of things to do is wash the dishes to put away. There is a dishwasher, so that will make things nice since I have a lot of dishes to do. I'm wiping down counters, cleaning the new fridge out. I don't know why I'm doing it, but I'm paranoid about things. After a while I take a break and look at the clock and it's almost noon. My parents haven't come down yet. I start to head out of the kitchen to see my mom and dad coming down the stairs laughing at something.

“Good morning dear.” My mom says. She looks younger each day. “Thank you for letting me sleep in.”

There's a knock on the door. Before I can answer it, my dad is letting in a younger man.

“I'm looking for Kristina West.” He doesn't seem so sure about it.

“I'm here. And you are?” I ask.

“Roger. I was wondering if we were on the same schedule.” The electrician comes out of the mudroom.“Stan. How's it going?” They shake hands. “I'm the plumber and looking to check things over. I did the plumbing in the house about ten years ago. It's all copper piping, but I can change it to PVC if you want. I recommend it because it does last longer and doesn't corrode.”

“Okay. Whatever you think is best for the house. I’m not—” I tell Roger, but my dad interrupts me.

“How much is that going to cost?”

I always forget that I should ask about the price before saying yes to things. I know that I have the money because I've still got about thirty grand in the bank. I do need to slow down on the spending, though, because I don't start to get paid until August.

“To change the house over to PVC would be about six grand, give or take a couple hundred dollars.” Roger tells me.

My dad gives him the okay. I trust my dad. The electrician is standing there and I'm worried that I'm going to have to get all new wiring.

“Stan, what's the word?” I ask hesitantly.

“The wiring is still good, but in about ten years, I'd replace it. I do suggest that you replace the fuse box because it is looking a little worn. Here is my estimate. Also, I might suggest you look into getting central air for the house. It does get hot here, and it’ll save on the electric too. There are a lot of energy saving tools out there. I can recommend a good company for you. They won't screw you over.”

“I'd like you to do the fuse box and I'd like that recommendation.” I smile at him.

“Roger's company does it. They're fast and efficient.” Stan tells me. “I'll get started on the fuse box, but I'll be turning off the electric. So if you want to enjoy some time outside before it rains, now’s the time to go for it.”

“Thank you so much, Stan. I'll go talk to Roger since he's outside.” I walk outside and see Roger is on the phone. I wait for a couple of minutes for him to finish the call.

“Sorry about that. I was on the phone with my guys. What can I do for you?”

“I was talking to Stan about central air. He recommended you. I'd like to put one in. Could you do that?”

“Yes, ma'am, but I need to put in a work order for that. Let me get started on the plumbing, and I'll call my wife to do the order and we’ll see what I have at the house.” He starts to walk away and stops, slowly turning to look at me, “The central air is going to cost about eight thousand. That’s with labor. Is that okay?” He looks a little worried.

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