Page 48 of The Sweet Part
“Should I not have called you? I didn’t know who else to call. My parents are on vacation with—”
“It’s fine.” He doesn’t sound like it’s fine.
I lead the way out. On the way downstairs, he says, “I’ll fix the drywall on the ceiling too. Just need to let it dry out for a week. Fixable. Got a bucket?”
“Yeah, I’ll get it.”
When I return with the bucket, he takes out a multi-use pocketknife and makes a small cut in the bubble. Dad would approve. He always says everyone should carry a multi-use pocketknife because you never know. I keep that to myself.
Water drips into the bucket. Not a flood like I thought. Maybe this isn’t so bad.
“You don’t need a plumber,” Mason says. “What you need is a better constructed floor that’s sealed in the bathroom, but unless you want to demo the bathroom and renovate again, I think the corner lip on the tub should do the trick.”
Sophie looks up from the floor at Mason. “Are you going to fix it?”
“Yup. Just need to get a few items from the hardware store for the tub. It’ll take three days to repair the drywall on the ceiling. I’ll come back in a week for that.”
Sophie sits up. “Mommy, are you going to pay him with dinner again?”
“Uh…”
Mason holds up a palm. “Not necessary. Alright, I’ll be back in a bit.”
He leaves.
I close the door behind him and lean against it. He’s respecting the line I drew, no warm smiles, no flirting. It’s much worse than a clean break because I miss his warm smiles.
I’m so confused.
* * *
The next day after dinner, the doorbell rings. It can’t be Mason. He said he’d be back in a week for the ceiling repair, and he already added that lip thingy to the tub.
I peek through the peephole. It’s a woman with a short bob of brown hair, wearing a silver puffy coat.Oh shit.It’s Mason’s mom.What’s she doing here?
I open the door. “Hi, is everything okay?”
Her expression is fierce. “Not really. Remember me from the wedding?” I back up as she advances, letting herself in.
“Of course, you’re Mason’s mom. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” She looks up at the damaged ceiling. “You got a water leak.”
“Yes. It’ll be fixed in a week.”
“Mason again.”
“Mrs. Shaw—”
“Madison.”
“Madison, Mason has been a huge help to me. I’m sure you can imagine how costly it is to turn an old house into an inn. And then all these extra repairs keep popping up. I want to open on Valentine’s Day, which is only four weeks away.” I put a hand to my forehead, suddenly overwhelmed. “I have so much work to do. I didn’t even start getting the word out. I’ve been so busy trying to get everything set up.”
She puts a palm up. “I don’t care about any of that. I’m here about Mason. This situation isn’t going to work. He’s not ready for…” She trails off as Sophie runs in wearing a dress, pants, fairy wings and a fireman’s helmet.
She stops short in front of Madison. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?” Madison returns.
