Sunny-Side Up Feud

Chapter 8 - Beetle

In just a few days, Jacob and I have scraped and painted the ceiling of the dining area, pasted the wallpaper and placed the flooring. The ground floor is bare, but the chores from his list are complete.

When he came with his tools to assess what he couldn't on the first day he was here, I braced myself for bad news. Especially when he was checking the roof. He kept humming and clicking his tongue, and I feared the worst. Luckily there was nothing wrong with it. My heart, and wallet, sighed with relief. Now he's inspecting the bathrooms on the second floor and I'm hoping the sounds he's making are also a positive sign.

"The tiles are in good shape. Can't find any hollow spots. The grout needs through cleaning and the ceiling needs a coat of mold-resistant paint, but there's nothing that tells me we have water damage around here. The bit of mold I could find seems to be contained to the sink areas, which is logic when the mechanical ventilation looks as if it has never been cleaned before. Funky color scheme these folks had, but not the worst I've seen," Jacob says with his nose almost touching the tiles.

The previous owners seemed to love avocado green. All tubs, toilets and sinks are that shade of green. It's not my favorite color, but since I don't have to replace the bathroom items I can learn to love it. Maybe I can once more make use of Lisa's creativity when it comes to decorating them.

The doorbell rings, but Jacob doesn't seem to notice.

"I better see who it is," I say to him, but I'm not sure he's heard me as he's already opening a ladder and has a drill in his hand.

Downstairs, I open the door to find a man around my age wearing old clothes with paint splatters. He looks familiar.

"Hello? How can I help you?" I ask.

"I'm Elijah Cox. I'm looking for my dad," he says, and then I notice how much he looks like Jacob. "You must be Declan."

"I am. Pleasure to meet you. Your father is upstairs."

"Nice to meet you too." He shakes hands with me. "He called me yesterday, said he could use a hand around here. By now, you must have figured out how hard it is to say no to him."

"Yeah, I get it." I chuckle. "I barely manage to change his mind about stuff when it's my house we are talking about. But really, thank you for coming. If I'm to open in two months, I appreciate all the help I can get."

Elijah follows me upstairs and his father smiles when he sees him.

"Good that you are here. Many hands make the work light. I'm just checking the ventilation here. We were about to clear the wallpaper in the first bedroom. If you get started in the backyard removing the planks I marked that would be helpful. But be careful because those are as crumbly as crackers."

With a simple nod, Elijah heads downstairs and I wait for instructions from Jacob. "I'll be fine here, kiddo. Go and help my son with the deck, and I'll call you when we are ready to start with the wallpaper."

I head to the backyard and find Elijah inspecting the hole left by Nina's foot.

"Crackers is almost a compliment," he says almost to himself. "Let's get rid of this. I think building a new deck would be more efficient, but I guess we are trying to save some budget here."

"My budget is limited indeed, and your dad said it would be a sin to get rid of the good wood. Have you built a deck before?" I ask as I put on my gloves.

"I built the one at my house. I enjoy working with wood. When my sister Nina moved into grandma's place, I made all the wood fixes at the barn before she could turn it into her store."

"Do you also work in construction like your father?"

Elijah smiles and shakes his head. "No, I run my own business. I train service dogs, run a doggy daycare with my wife and teach dog obedience courses."