Page 29 of Ghost
“I sure as hell hope she doesn’t keep me up at night.”Mason shook his head and went to check on Mitch.
* * * * *
Paul was putting inthe last of the circuit breakers, sweat running down both sides of his face.It was almost five in the afternoon, but it was still hotter than blue blazes.While he was finishing that up, Mason and Mitch were wiring in all the new overhead fixtures, light switches and power outlets.
After lunch, Mason had gone and gotten some more gasoline to power the generator.It was his hope that they’d be able to test at least a few things that day.It meant that he was that much closer to being able to move in, which he really wanted to do so that he could save as much money as he could.His bank account had taken a pretty big hit with all this electrical work.If he wasn’t careful, he’d be out of money before the end of the month and for sure the following month.
By five-thirty, Paul announced that he was ready to test the top floor and the main floor.Mason couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.It was already Tuesday, and it had been their hope to have all the electrical work done no later than Friday.He was then hoping that he could get the inspection done by Monday, since Paul had to leave on Tuesday, and Mitch said he had to be back home no later than Thursday.If he didn’t pass inspection, then Mason was well and truly screwed.
Mason hurriedly went up the stairs, two at a time.Mitch was standing in the central hallway while Paul was next to the electrical panel.The plan was to test room by room, Mason turning on lights, and testing each power outlet.He then could call down to Mitch, who would then relay the results down to Paul.
The first room was a success.“Oh, thank god.”Mason sighed in relief.
The second room had one wire that had come lose on the light switch, but that was easily enough corrected.They tested the whole upper floor without many issues at all.When that was done, Mason moved down to the main level, the center one.Again, they went room by room, making small adjustments along the way.It didn’t take them very long to get it all done.At six o’clock, they were all sitting in the courtyard toasting with cold beers.
“Wow,” Mason said.“That went faster than I thought it would.
“That’s what happens when you have professionals doing the work,” Mitch piped up.“Good looking ones at that.”
“Pfft,” Paul huffed.“You mean skinny ass professionals.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news there, bud,” Mitch said rather haughtily, “But there ain’t nothin’ skinny about that ass of yours!”
Mason snorted beer through his nose.“Please, stop,” he begged.“You’ve both done a great job, and I don’t want to talk about either of your asses, so please...for all that is holy, let’s not talk about it.”
Mitch snorted before taking a long swig of his beer.He looked at Paul and then at Mason.“My ass ain’t skinny and that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”
Paul shook his head and looked at Mason.“He’s always got to have the last word, don’t he?”
Mason drained the last of his beer and stood up.He took out his wallet and handed some cash to Paul.“Why don’t you go and get us some more beer while I lock everything up for the night.”Mason shoved his wallet back into his back pocket.“I need to ask Nick if I can’t just open an account.”
Paul stood up and stretched.“Sure, I can do that.”
“What about dinner?”Mitch asked.
“There’s enough of that lasagna left,” Mason said as he climbed the steps up to the deck.He turned to look at Mitch.“Why don’t you go ahead and get a shower, then Paul and I can have one.With any luck, we can all be sitting with some food before the Braves game starts.”
Mitch grinned.“Perfect.Good food, plenty of beer and some baseball.”He started walking across the courtyard singing the ‘tomahawk’ song, making a chopping motion with his arm.
Damn, that man is funny.Too bad he’s so damn straight,Mason thought.On second thought, I’d rather have a good friend.
Mason didn’t know about the other two, but he was exhausted.Between the heat, the physical work and long hours, he was beat.He wasn’t even sure if he’d make it through the entire game tonight.
He was breathing a bit easier, though.Just knowing that they were very close to being ready for the electrical inspection set him at ease.Tomorrow, he planned on getting the water turned on.After that, he could easily move into the lower level and hopefully not have to pay another month’s rent.Mason was glad he had listened to Mitch and only agreed to rent on a month-to-month basis.The realtor wasn’t happy with that arrangement but seeing as the apartment hadn’t been rented in several months, he was happy to get anything he could out of the place.
Mason made a mental note to himself to make sure that when it came time to get ready to rent out his lower-level apartment, he needed to upscale it as much as he it could.He couldn’t afford for it to sit empty.He also needed to get as much as he could so he could continue the renovations upstairs.Things were looking up for Mason.As he made his way to the small rental apartment he muttered, “It’s about time I had a decent run of luck.”
