Page 27 of Some Things Never Change

I arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m not any different from you when you talk about Legos, pretty boy.”

He laughed again as he turned to glance at me once he pulled up to a stoplight. “I miss seeing you like this—all eager and ecstatic—just to scrape some paint off of old furniture.”

I smiled back, grateful that he suggested that I started doing this again. “I missed this too, to be honest. Thanks for pushing me to start doing this again. I haven’t felt this excited in a long time.”

Andy smiled back as he turned his gaze back onto the road. “You’re welcome. Furniture flipping was something I knew you loved doing and were amazing at. So, I just really wanted to see you back in love with it again. I honestly can’t wait to see what great things you do with this dresser.”

“I’m excited, but I don’t know if I’ll actually do a good job. It’s been years since I last did this. Now I just feel like a newbie all over again.”

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, Tink.”

“I know, but still. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to furniture flipping.”

“You and Anthony are exactly alike. It won’t be perfect the first try, but take it easy and learn from your mistakes. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.”

“What if your garage gets piled up with furniture before I actually get better?”

“Like I said the other night, it’s fine. If it ever gets to that, we’ll just have a big yard sale to get rid of it all. Someone’s bound to fall in love with your amazing work.”

“You really don’t mind me filling up your garage with horribly flipped furniture?”

“Of course not. Take all the space you need until you feel confident in your work. I don’t mind as long as you keep at it.”

I felt my heart swell as I let Andy’s words and encouragement sink. He was right. It took me at least two years before the furniture flipping I did started to look professional. Since I took such a long break from this hobby, it would probably take me another year before I could reach that point again.

“Thank you, Andy, again. You really are the greatest friend anyone could ask for.”

He let out a chuckle. “You’re welcome, Tink. I figured the least I could do was push you to do something great for yourself again.”

As we drove to the hardware store to grab the things I needed for my new creative endeavor, I couldn't help but feel grateful for a friend like Andy in my life.

Chapter

Eleven

“Let’s carpool to work since we’ll be working in the same building anyway,” said Andy, casually.

Much to my surprise, Andy and I would be working in the same business building. Andy, on the other hand, wasn’t even fazed when we both looked up where my company was located downtown, which was at the exact location as his. But, in different suites and floors. It still shocked me that I’d be working so close to him.

I glanced up from my plate of food as we were just about to dig in. Andy undid the tie he still had on, his eyes glued to the plate of honey soy sauce glazed salmon, roasted veggies, and rice I made tonight. Since I hadn’t started work yet, I had been making dinner for the two of us.

“This looks amazing,” he commented. “Sorry about coming home late. I think there was an accident on the freeway and traffic looked bad from the view of our building, so I stayed an extra hour.”

I shrugged as I watched him excitedly dig in. “Don’t worry. It’s fine.”

Andy finally glanced up and our eyes met. He was wearing a wide grin as he stared back at me with bright eyes. “This is great, Tink. Thanks for making dinner. So, what do you think about carpooling?”

“I think it’s a great idea, but we can’t always carpool to work. Not with me and my job, at least.”

“Because you have project sites to visit?”

I nodded. “Pretty much. There will be some days where I will be holed up in the office and others when I need to do site checkups to make sure the projects are going to plan. But, since I’m a newbie at this firm, I’m sure it’ll be another few weeks before I get any projects going.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t we just carpool until you do need to drive on your own?”

I smiled at him. “We can, but why don’t you just carpool with me? I drive, and you can be my passenger prince.”

“What do you mean? I’m supposed to be the driver and you, the passenger princess.”

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