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Usually I’m dealing with so much, but right now there’s someone helping me. It’s both weird and wonderful all at the same time.
And still the anxiousness for him scratches at me. “How is she? Should—”
“Gran’s going to bed early; she’s fine,” he says in that way people do when things aren’t fine but can’t do anything about them, “and thank you for worrying. But you don’t need to.”
Magnus doesn’t quite meet my gaze when he says that, but there’s only so far I can push, so I nod. There are things I can do, and he doesn’t have to know about them. But I also need to take care of the pipes.
But I can do it. I can do it all. Help his gran. Keep my building from the hands of the ominously quiet Edward Sinclair and get these pipes fixed.
“Hey. It really is going to be okay.”
“I don’t want to lose a day…do you think…?” I shake my head, stopping myself because how would he know? “Magnus, I’ll make sure everything is fine.”
“You’re not alone. And the plumber’s doing the work needed for now.”
“I should go and speak to him. Work out a plan.” I set the glass down and start to push up to my feet when he stops me.
His hand is warm on my arm as he does so. “I took care of this.”
“You can’t.” I don’t need to ask what he means by that.
“The guy’s Gran’s neighbor. It’s a discount, and…” He shrugs. “It sounds like there’ll be other work.”
Someone clears their throat and my stomach drops as the plumber comes in to the living room, wiping his hands on a rag. “You’ll have water, but those pipes gotta be upgraded soon.”
I stand, doing mental calculations in my head. “How long can I put it off?”
“Best case? A few more weeks, maybe a month; but…”
“Yeah, I know.” I nod. “Do you have a card?”
The guy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little flip tin and opens it, handing me a card. “I’ll be back tomorrow a.m. You might want to close up until after lunch.”
“I thought you said—”
“This is a quick fix. Tomorrow I’ll put in a permanent fix for this pipe. But everything will need an upgrade.”
I swallow, nodding. “And how much?”
The guy pauses a moment, glances at Magnus.
“How much?” I ask again.
“I’ll get you a quote.”
After he’s gone, I sit and close my eyes.
“Here.”
I open them, looking at Magnus’s proffered hand. He’s holding out my newly refilled glass.
“I’m not sure more booze is going to solve the problems.”
“It’s not just booze. I ordered pizza.” His tone is so serious I almost laugh. “And everyone knows that combination’s the sweet spot for problem solving.”
Now I do laugh, and put the card from the plumber on the coffee table. I take the glass and he holds the one in his other hand up. “Here’s to getting on a new and better road.”
“This road is okay,” I say, downing my drink. He does the same. “But I’d like better.”
