Page 14 of Etched in Stone
“It was on sale.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a hint or not. Was he trying to get invited in for a glass of milk or a bowl of cereal or was he just being a slightly weird old man trying to make conversation?
“Would you like some?” she offered, grudgingly.
“Sure. Let me move this.”
He disappeared out the door with another load so Jesse decided to take a peek at the bathroom.
“Holy cow!”
He had managed to take half of the bathroom down to the studs. How one man had managed that much demolition in an hour was beyond her. Okay, so maybe he was thirsty.
Jesse grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and poured a full glass of milk. Ray came in and she handed it to him. He stood there and put the glass to his lips. The entire situation was odd. Like she’d stepped into an episode of Twilight Zone. Jesse realized that not only was Ray not sweating or flushed from all the labor, there wasn’t a spot of dirt on him.
Had he had time to change while wheeling the bathtub out of the room? She imagined that he had an entire wardrobe full of the navy sweaters, but even his hat looked fresh and clean from the start.
She watched him drink the whole glass without stopping. He handed it to her and she filled it up again. He drank the second glass as quickly as the first.
“Thank you. I’ll leave the toilet for now. I’m sure you’ll want at least that. I can start work on building the new substructure.”
“Are you doing all the work yourself?”
He shrugged. “Most of the demolition. I find it cathartic. I’m good at tearing things apart. I’ve got a contractor that will do some of the fine detail work. I’m done for now. I’ll let you get back to-whatever.”
Jesse nodded and he left. They just couldn’t seem to manage a long conversation. Everything was down to business, and she couldn’t quite seem to wedge in personal questions like “how do you stay so clean?” or “exactly how many navy blue sweaters do you own?” They never seemed to get anywhere close to that point.
Jesse just chalked it up to old man and continued working on her project. It took a few more hours but she was quite happy with the results. Although she'd never held the original amulet in her hands, she was fairly certain it was a reasonable facsimile. She couldn't judge the weight, but the characters and the color had been painstakingly matched. She had set the gem in the middle and the whole thing seemed to be as perfect as could be.
She wasn't in a hurry to talk to Pablo again, but it would definitely give her piece of mind to be able to hand over the whole check and have her rent taken care of, both the back rent and the next few months. That would give her time to finish her painting and possibly a few more on the same theme.
She was sure that this painting would be picked up in the gallery. It was right up their alley and was the kind of thing that millennials loved to gobble up.
Jesse snapped a picture with her phone and then sent it off to the number on the front of Pablo's card. She had no idea how soon he would call, but just thinking about him sitting on her couch sipping that ridiculous cup of coffee suddenly gave her the urge to drink some coffee of her own. She put the amulet creation in the box with all the pictures except one. She planned to keep that for herself, just in case she ever got the urge to make a second one.
Coffee and a painting in the fall evening light, that's exactly what she was in the mood for. She grabbed an easel and a canvas and set them up outside. The air had a bit of a bite, but a sweatshirt would take care of that. She'd paint another amulet-inspired painting. This one was beginning to take shape in her head already. Jesse went inside and grabbed the paints that she would need.
She had just finished putting a background base on the canvas when she heard a noise behind her.
Pablo was standing at the garden door, holding up the crystal amulet to examine it in the fading light.
Jesse definitely knew that her door had been locked this time. Her throat tightened. Just who did this guy think he was? Nevermind. As soon as he handed over the money, she’d shoo him away and be done with him.
“There were some that doubted you could do the work. This is remarkable.”
“Check, or are you going to put it on a card?”Jesse was even more anxious to get rid of him. His lemon suit had been discarded for a violet number. He was purple from head to toe, and Jesse really wanted to tell him that it wasn't his color.
“I'm sure that you could see it in your heart to do us one more favor, for another small fee, of course.”
Jesse sighed. The only thing she wanted to do was get him out of there and call a locksmith to come change her locks.
“I'm a little too busy for any more commission pieces right now.”
“This isn't a commission job. You see, the original of this piece was on loan to us, but has since been taken back by its owner. Your aunt was quite a friend of the steward of that particular collection.”
“I don't see how any of this is relevant.”
“But it is. Because we need you to do a subtle exchange.”
