Page 50 of Ghost
Mason could feel himself blush.
“Momma, I asked them to come and look at the apartment upstairs.”Nick was going behind the counter.“I need to just get the key.”
“Why?Is one of you planning on renting that rat hole?It’s not fit to live in.”She glared at Nick.“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, Nicholas Davies, we need to fix that place up.No one will want to live in that apartment.”
Nick grinned at his wife.“That’s why they are here to look at it, dear.”Nick held up a key.“I’m finally going to take you at your word and get it remodeled.You wouldn’t believe what these men have been able to do with just the basement in the Watson house.”Nick looked at Mason.“Do you think you’d let Momma have a look so she can see?”
“Sure,” Mason answered.“I’d be delighted to show Mrs.Davies around.”
“Piffle, we’ll have none of this Mrs.Davies.I’m Patty.Actually, my name is Patricia, but all my friends call me Patty.”
“Okay, Patty it is, then.”Mason couldn’t help but like the stout woman.
“Come on, then, I’ll be interested in seeing what you think of that rat’s nest upstairs.”Patty snatched the keys from Nick’s hand.“I want to get this started before he,” she pointed to Nick, “changes his mind.Strike while the iron is hot, as my momma used to say.”
They all went outside, and into a door that opened out onto the street.They trudged up the stairs, which needed little more than a good cleaning, some paint and a better light.
While Patty fiddled with the lock she said, “I personally think the whole place needs to be gutted and redone.When we bought the store, the old man who’d originally owned it didn’t seem to care how he lived.”She got the door opened and walked in.“Don’t tell anyone, but he died up here.No one figured out he was dead for a few days when he didn’t open up the store downstairs.Nick here, had the bright idea that we could live here.”Patty rolled her eyes.“This was no place to have a small child, not that we had any as yet, and...well you can see for yourself, it’s a dump.”
Mason stepped into the apartment and had to agree with Patty.It was a dump and in need of some major renovation.
“Uh...it does need some work,” Paul said.
Mason walked around.It was basically the same size as the store downstairs, which was a good size.There was a sink on legs, one base cabinet with no door, and some shelves above that.The bathroom consisted of an old clawfoot tub that was probably beyond saving, an old toilet and a tiny pedestal sink, and the bathroom didn’t even have a door.The windows were big and looked original.There was a lot of light flooding into the apartment.
There were two refrigerators, a dresser with only two drawers, a wooden folding chair and some boxes of stuff, that had obviously been just dumped there for a lack of a better place to put them.
Paul turned around.“You could easily fit in a nice-sized bedroom and still have room for a big living, dining, kitchen combo and a good-sized bathroom.”
Mason nodded.“It would be like working from a clean slate.”He looked at what was used as a kitchen.“After demoing out that mess,” he said, pointing towards the kitchen and what passed as a bathroom.
“Good.”Patty stepped in front of Mason.“When can you start?The sooner the better.”
“Wait a minute, Momma,” Nick said.“He hasn’t told us how much yet.”
“Nope, you’re not backing out of it this time, Nick.”She poked him in the chest with her forefinger.“I don’t care what it costs to get this place livable.You should be ashamed to have let this place stand empty for as long as it has.It’s just money not coming in.”
“But, Momma—”
“No buts about it.”She turned back to Mason.“Now, show me what you’ve managed to get done on your place.When did you say you could start?”
