Page 14 of Show Me

“Both.”

“At least you’re honest.”

I step past her into the house, walking through the enclosed back porch. The trim is painted. Clean lines. Same shade all the way across. At least, she went with one color.

The kitchen…. Not finished. Not anything close to done. Her phone is propped up on the counter, paused on a video explaining something she clearly doesn’t understand.

I step closer to the wall, running my hand along the edge, feeling where it gives and where it shouldn’t. “You take anything out?”

“No.” She wipes her hands on her jeans.

“Good.” The scent of citrus, paint, and vanilla fills the space around me. Even though the place is disorganized, it’s been scrubbed clean.

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

“It’s not supposed to be.”

She exhales. “Great.”

I crouch, checking the framing. “You’ve got a load-bearing section here.”

“I just heard those words like five minutes ago.”

“And?”

“I don’t know what they mean.”

My mouth almost lifts. “Means if you take the wrong thing out, your ceiling ends up in your kitchen.”

She stares at me. “That feels like important information.”

“It is.”

“Would’ve been nice to know before I started.” She walks across the kitchen floor, picks up a coffee cup and places it in the sink.

“You didn’t start.”

She glances over her shoulder as she twists on the hot water. “I thought about starting.”

After standing, I shove my hands into my pockets. “That’s worse.”

“That’s not helpful.”

I step back, looking at the whole space again. “You finished the back porch.”

“I did.”

“All the same color.”

She narrows her eyes. “Don’t.”

I don’t say anything. Don’t have to. A quiet stretch takes root between us. Not awkward. Just…. There.

“Pigs look good.”

“Thank you.” One corner of her mouth raises upward, twitches and then returns to a flat line. “I might be better at raising pigs than picking out sheetrock anchors.”

A small snout pokes out from the dog bed tucked into the corner. Squirt lifts his head just enough to acknowledge us before dropping it back onto something balled beneath his chin. Something pink.