Page 22 of Isolated
Truth be told, it seemed the gym was now the onlyplace where I could expect to have some normalcy. And though I never mentioned it to him, my workout sessions with Landen were one of the only things left providing me with a sense of peace. Obviously, I was aware that exercise itself was a great form of stress relief, but that I got that while being around him made it so much better.
Of course, any stress I’d rid myself of this morning had returned with a vengeance the moment I’d gotten back home. I’d been forced to take a cold shower. While that could have been intentional in some scenarios—no doubt I had moments after workouts with Landen where it might have been necessary—that was not the case today.
Nope.
No matter that I’d turned the water to boiling, all I got was miserable, ice-cold water. It was the worst shower I could ever recall taking in my entire adult life. Sadly, I hadn’t been able to stick around the house earlier today in order to deal with the problem. With the way things were going at work, I needed to be on my A-game. There wasn’t a chance I was going to do anything to create any additional doubt about my ability to do my job and do it well.
So, I went to work, did my job, and avoided the lunchroom. Granted, my reason for steering clear of that spot had been two-fold. I was still seeing so many sidelong glances from my colleagues, and it was clear many of them believed I played a part in the steps being taken by the consultant that Robert had hired.
And though Kasey and Steph felt some uneasiness about it, they hadn’t shunned me. Thankfully, they seemed to believe I was just as surprised by the news of the interviews as the rest of our coworkers.
I could have joined them for lunch today as I didyesterday and ignored the stares and quiet murmurs from others as I walked past, but the other reason I decided to remain in my office was so that I could deal with the latest catastrophe in my life. I’d spent my entire lunch break making calls to find someone who might be able to diagnose and repair the problem with my water.
For most of my life, I’d excelled at coming up with solutions to problems. But it had been rare to have this much trouble all at once. And in most of those instances, the issues weren’t exactly impacting me directly. It was almost always related to a problem a client, friend, or family member might have been having.
My hot water situation was not something I was equipped to deal with. And while some of the folks I’d called during my lunch break had offered to help me, timing was the issue. Everybody seemed to be swamped, and the soonest anyone could help was a week away. With everything else going on in my life, having to add a week or more of cold showers to the mix was likely to push me over the edge to insanity.
At this point, all I’d wanted was to come home, call my sisters to check in, and make myself a delicious dinner. But it seemed that was going to have to wait, because I needed to continue making calls.
“What are you running for?”
I spun around at the sound of Walter’s voice. Judging by the rocker that was moving on his porch, it appeared he’d been outside enjoying the weather, but now he was making his way in my direction.
Sometimes, he did this. Every so often, Walter would approach me when I got home from work, simply because he wanted to have a conversation with someone. Normally,I didn’t mind, and I understood he was lonely. But I really didn’t have the time today.
As he closed the distance between us, I answered, “Oh, hi, Walter. I’m so distracted, I didn’t even see you sitting outside.”
“Is everything okay?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly. I’ve got a fire I need to put out.”
“A fire? Where?”
“A figurative one,” I clarified. “Something is wrong with my hot water. I had to take a cold shower this morning, and everyone I’ve called today in hopes they might be able to come and look at it can’t come out for at least a week.”
“It’s probably your hot water heater. I can check it out for you.”
Shocked, I asked, “You know how?”
He shrugged. “It’s pretty easy. If you touch the tank and it’s cold, that’s usually a good sign the hot water heater needs to be replaced.”
“Oh. Okay. You wouldn’t mind?”
“I don’t have anything else to do at the moment.”
At least I could have an official diagnosis of the problem. It might not fix it, but it’d get me one step closer. “I’d really appreciate that, Walter.”
He followed me inside, and I led him down into the basement. Sure enough, the hot water tank wasn’t warm.
“So, this means the hot water heater needs to be replaced?” I asked him.
“Yep.”
“Great,” I muttered. “I have to try to find someone that can do that.”
“For what?”
At this point, all I could do was laugh. “Well, I prefer to take warm showers. And I know this may come as a shock to you, but I do not have the skills to replace it myself. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
