Page 35 of Sweet Surprises

“Oh, just fine,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Nice and warm up there, isn’t it?” he asked.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything about the apartment,” she said, feeling horrible all over again. “I really just thought it was drafty and that I was being a baby since I’m not from up here.”

“Oh dear,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to say anything like that. And believe me, that story will get you plenty of credibility in Sugarville Grove. No one can call you a flatlander if you can sleep without the heat on in a Vermont December.”

“What does that mean?” she asked. “Flatlander?”

“Oh, it’s a term for people who aren’t from Vermont,” Daniel said, looking a little ashamed.

“Like an outsider?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. “It implies other things too.”

“Like that the person will get too cold in winter?” she asked.

“And that maybe they’ll pay too much for fancy groceries and not appreciate the natural beauty of the place,” he said, nodding. “It’s probably not very kind of us to have the nickname, but the winters here can be rough, so we’re proud to consider ourselves strong enough not to be broken by them. You included, young lady.”

She was hoping that she might just finish the conversation and disappear upstairs when the back door opened and closed.

“Dad,” Tag said as he stepped into the kitchen.

“The insurance man is going to meet me over at the shop in a few minutes,” Daniel told him. “I thought you and Charlotte might like to be there.”

“Absolutely,” Charlotte said.

Tag scowled, but he nodded.

“Great,” Daniel said. “I’ll see you two over there.”

An hour later,the three of them were standing in the shop, stone silent after hearing what the man from the insurance company had to say.

“So, there’s minimal damage to the walls, and none to the appliances?” Daniel asked the man, who had told them all to call him Barry. “And we have to replace the ceiling?”

“That’s correct,” Barry said, wiping a hand over his bald head and looking a little uncomfortable.

“But even though there’s no damage, we have to open up every wall anyway, and replaceallthe wiring?” Tag asked.

“Correct,” the man said again, nodding.

“So, we have to make the electricalbetterthan it was before,” Tag said. “And our insurance won’t cover it?”

“Your policy doesn’t cover knob and tube wiring,” Barry replied. “I honestly wouldn’t even be able to issue you one these days without the update.”

The look on his face was sympathetic, but with a touch of fear. Charlotte couldn’t blame him. Tag looked like steam was about to blast out of his ears.

“We’re grateful to you for finding it, Barry,” Daniel said calmly. “We don’t want dangerous wiring in the building.”

The man nodded, a relieved expression on his face.

“So, we have sixty days to replace all the wiring in this building if we want to keep our coverage?” Tag asked.

“That’s correct,” the man said. “We’re giving you a grace period to update your wiring since you’ve been with us for so long.”

“Thank you for your time,” Daniel said, patting Tag on the back in an obvious effort to calm his frustration. “You’ll send all of this in writing?”

“You’ll have an email before the end of business,” Barry said, clearly relieved to be out from under Tag’s withering gaze.

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