Page 4 of Under My Skin
Renting an apartment outside of the shop was starting to be a monthly drain, especially when I have a perfectly almost usable space here. So, the remodel began. I had to dip into my emergency savings, but I can’t wait to live here.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I rush forward as soon as I see my contractor tearing the fucking pipes out of the wall. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You’ve got galvanized pipes,” he answers gruffly as he tosses another piece onto the floor, and I wince at the sound. He adjusts his backward hat and wipes the sweat from his brow.
“So?” My voice spikes with panic. I don’t even know what galvanized pipes are. Gesturing to the open wall, I say, “What if I want galvanized pipes?”
Hal huffs a laugh. “It doesn’t matter what you want. If it isn’t up to code, you can’t keep it.”
Dropping my arm, I nod more than I probably need to. “Right. So, new pipes.”
“New pipes,” he confirms.
I hope he can’t see the math I’m trying and failing to do in my head. “How much will it be to replumb this place?”
Hal shrugs like the thought had never occurred to him. “Ah, should only be a couple grand. Maybe more.”
Jesus Christ.
I rub a hand over my face, but he breaks through with another chuckle.
Clapping a hand on my shoulder, he says, “Don’t worry. We’ll get it done. The water is off. My guy will be back later with supplies, so we can get you up and running.”
I rub a hand over my forehead. “The water’s off,” I repeat for no real reason. I’m running a tattoo studio downstairs, and the water is off. To be fair, we use sterile water for almost everything, but I don’t want to waste that on washing our hands. We need a working sink. “How long is this going to take?”
Hal looks around the place again. “Luckily, we found the issue this morning, so I’d say end of day tomorrow. There isn’t much to this place.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” My eyes track around the space the same way his just did. I’m starting to wonder if I should bother with finishing this apartment at all, or if I should have paid rent until I died. It wouldn’t have taken long. The cost of both places was slowly killing me anyway.
But as crazy as it sounds, I canseemy life here. When I decided it was finally time to finish the upstairs, I got the same undeniable feeling in my chest that drove me to buy this place a few years ago. And every time I stand in what will be my bathroom and imagine staring at myself in what will be a mirror, I imagine a new version of myself staring back at me. Sure, I’ll still have the same dark hairgrowing slightly over my ears because I’m too busy to get it cut on time. The same brown eyes and shadow of stubble on my chin. The same tattoos on my arms and back when I get dressed for work every day.
I’ll still be me, but I’ll be another step ahead. One less thing to stress about. One more building block cemented into place to solidify my future.
I can see it all so clearly. I can perfectly imagine the small kitchen that will be on the left when you first walk in, and the living space just beyond that. I’ll have my TV against the back wall, and my couch will sit past the two kitchen barstools I’ll hopefully have room for. On the right, there will be a bathroom the size of a broom closet and a divider wall to shield most of my bedroom from open view.
And the best part? I’ll behere.I’ll get to wake up every morning, drink my coffee, and walk down to the studio to prep for the day. This place is more than just my livelihood, it’s my life.I’ve poured everything I’ve got into this business, and renovating this apartment is taking the last of it.
Another metal pipe hits the unfinished floors, and I jump. Everything in here echoes. Another thing I probably should have considered before starting a construction project above a functioning business. My arms instinctively go up when he tosses another piece behind him, like I’ll somehow have the power to stop it mid-air. It crashes with another loud bang, and I wince. “Can we just try to keep the noise to a minimum?” Hal looks over his shoulder at me, and I back away toward the door. “You know, people in pain, steady hands?”
Hal just laughs. “We’ll do our best.”
Once I make it back downstairs, Toni stands at the sink near the back of the shop. “Uh . . . I think there’s something wrong with the water.”
Running my hand through my hair, I grip it a little at the roots. “Yeah, I know.” I glance toward the front door just in timeto see her client walking out with a new tiger face staring at me from the back of his arm. Even through the wrap, the thing still looks menacing. “Nice work.”
She follows my gaze. “Thanks,” she says, her voice lifting at the compliment. “He said he let his daughters decide which animal. I think they made a solid choice.”
The guy throws us a casual wave before the door closes behind him, and I nod in return. Without looking back at Toni, I say, “We need to reschedule our clients for the rest of the day, but we should be back up and running at some point tomorrow.”
“At some point?”
I grimace at her tone. Sometimes I wish she were the one running this place. It sure as hell would make my life easier. Toni would have convinced Hal to leave the galvanized pipes.
With a groan, I rub both hands over my face. “Yeah.”
She stares at me, and I swear I can feel her eyes focusing like tiny, dark brown lasers.
I finally look at her, only to be met with the terrifying sight I was trying to avoid. Toni may be petite, but underneath that long, jet-black hair and pink bangs cut straight across are two eyes that might as well be shooting daggers at my head.
