Page 74 of Sort of Seeing Someone

As he says that word,intimate, my mind jumps to the prior vision I had of him and I in this very apartment doing some version of the horizontal tango. Sultry vision aside, I’d have to agree. We’ve covered some good ground already.

“Sure,” I respond back. Before I can think any more about just how intimate things are, or are about to be, I change the subject. “So what else do you have planned for today?”

“Probably just fixing up this shit-hole apartment.”

“Or you could just…move?” I suggest.

“No, I searched high and low for this place. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“I’m confused. Most people don’t want to live in a self-proclaimedshit-hole.”

“I wanted a dilapidated diamond in the rough with flexible lease terms. So I signed an agreement with the landlord under the pretense that I’d bring his property into the twenty-first century while living here, however long that will be. I’ve been here six months already. Been working on the behind-the-walls type stuff. And now I’m ready to flip the rest of the apartment so the landlord can rent it out for five times more than what he is currently makingonce I finish.”

“What is there left to do?”

“Let’s see. I’ve already redone the plumbing and the electrical. Next, I’ve got to rip out these radiators and put in forced heat and air. Add a garbage disposal to the kitchen sink, make a little powder room where that wasted space in the corner is, and when I’m near-done, bring in all-new flooring. I’m still on the fence about whether I want to do a laminate or not. It is a rental property after all.”

“You’re doing all that by yourself?” I ask, mentally noting the phrase he served me earlier about many hands making for lighter work.

“Well, I want it done right, so yes, I am.”

“How do you know how to do all this?”

“I know you said your memory isn’t as good as mine. But surely you recall that I’m an engineer, right? This is all I’ve ever known,Moonie. I’m self-taught. It’s what I grew up doing. When things broke at The Grand Hotel, my dad’s first call was to me—not because he thought I already knew how to do it, but because he wanted me to learn. We engineers, we’re problem solvers. We’ve got this innate desire to understand the mechanics of everything. When we know how stuff works, we can figure out how to make it better. That’s why you don’t see me living in some modern high-rise condo in River North. Or working at some brand-new swank hotel built for the Instagram posts. Places like that? That’s lipstick on a pig. I’ll take the vintage relic with the questionably flushing toilets any day of the week. Plus, my rent is offset by my handyman abilities which means I can grow a bit of nest egg while I stay here—dingy as it may be.”

“What are you saving up for?”

“A place of my own to buy.”

“Why would you buy if you can live rent-free for the rest of your life fixing up shitty apartments?”

“Roots, Moonie. I want roots. My career bounces me around from place to place to work on thing to thing. I knew that when I took the job with WorldEnge. I’m fine with that, as long as I have a place to come home to. A place to call my own. It’s not easy to keep picking up your life and moving all around, you know?”

I do. Which is why it may seem crazy that every cent I put in my bank account from MBA is getting me one step closer to moving back to Ocean Beach. Truth is, I’d move across the country tenfold if it meant seeing seals on my walks and having a glass of wine withYason the regular. I’m tired of the air hurting my face when I go outside.

“I gave up my Swedish friends and my whole routine when I came to Chicago,” Ollie goes on to explain.

“Ditto,” I interject.

“Sure, I got really busy with school and what not, but now that I’m an adult and all my training is behind me, I realize just how important a good foundation is—and that starts with a place to call home. I love Chicago. Which is why a little pocket of the city called North Park is calling my name.”

“Never heard of it.”

“It’s way up on the north side; a quaint Swedish neighborhood. Old, cute houses. Shops that sell clogs. A diner that servespannkakor24/7.”

“They can’t be as good as these.”

“Even I can admit Tre Kronor knows their Nordic. We’ll have to go sometime. You can be the judge which is better.”

I like when Ollie surprises me by referencing doing things together in the future.This, I remind myself, is why I spent a hundred bucks mixing up some good, old-fashioned cock block spray.

“Well if you change your mind about laying down roots in a house of your own, I smell the makings of a hit HGTV series.”

Ollie goes in for another scoop of lingonberry as I explain the concept.

“Think about it: lowly big city apartments get made over by a hot Swedish handyman? I mean, I’d tune intothatweekend marathon.”

“I’m not exactly keen on you referring to me as a ‘handyman,’ but Iamokay with you thinking I’m ahot Swede.”

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