Page 18 of Stained Hearts
“Six weeks is fine. Take longer if you need. I was just curious. By the way, can I say something and be frank with you?”
He nodded.
“I think you’re undervaluing the price of your work. Looking at your creations, it’s clear to me you should probably be charging at least twice what you’re doing.”
The shock on Aiden’s face was evident. “But…. Why?”
“Well, when you come up with pricing, what do you factor in?”
“The cost of the material mostly, but I also need to go out to use specialized equipment at some shops around town.”
“And do you charge for that?”
“Yeah, a few bucks.”
“See, that’s where you’re not charging what you’re worth. You should be factoring in the costs of materials, the use or rental of equipment, your time, contingencies, and how long it takes you to make a product.”
Aiden gawped. “That seems… I don’t know. Excessive.”
“Okay, let’s put this another way. You said it would be several weeks to take care of my order. During that time, how many other projects will you be able to work on? What you’re doing is very specialized, so you need to look at that too. That thousand dollars? That’s not nearly enough for the time and effort you’re putting in.”
“So you’re saying youwantme to charge you more?”
I chuckled. He reached for the donuts like he was on autopilot, snagged a chocolate glazed filled with jelly, and sat there nibbling it while I continued.
“I’m saying if you want this to be something more than a hobby, you need to cost out your products and get paid what you’re worth.”
“Mm. I underftand.” His cheeks were stuffed with the entire donut, and it made his words sound funny.
“Bet Olivia would love to see you now.”
Those chipmunk cheeks of his went scarlet. He swallowed hard and brushed the corners of his lips. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you’re so into your food.”
I glanced into the kitchen, and the clock on the microwave told me I’d been there for almost five hours. When Aiden yawned, I knew it was time for me to go. “All right, thank you for letting me come by to see the project in the works. It’s fascinating.”
He actually seemed disappointed. He made to stand, but I waved him off.
“Rest, it’s fine.” I got up. “I’ll close the door behind me.”
He cocked his head and regarded me curiously. “Before you go, can I ask you a question?”
I settled in the chair once more. “Okay, shoot.”
“How come you haven’t asked about my walker and chair?” He tapped a hand on his leg. “It’s usually one of the first things people ask. Especially when they take on a project with me. They seem to think that these,” he said, indicating his legs again, “will keep me from getting the work done properly. But you? You didn’t even look at them.”
How best to answer that…. “I knew you had something wrong with your legs. I saw it when we were at the diner, and with the way Olivia hovered, I figured it must be something pretty severe. But, and this is just my thoughts, that doesn’t mean a damned thing. Your work is done with your hands, and I’m willing to bet that even if something was wrong with those, you’d still find a way to create incredible things.” I grinned, trying to put Aiden at ease. “You’re the first person I’ve met who can stuff three donuts in his mouth at once. You’re not the type to give up easily when you want something.”
His cheeks pinked. “Thank you.”
“Did you want to tell me about your legs? No matter what, it won’t impact my wanting you to do the glass.”
He blew out a breath. “It’s called Legg-Calvé-Perthes, a hip disorder initiated by a disruption of blood flow to the head of the femur. Due to the lack of blood flow, the bone dies and stops growing.”
I’d never heard of such a thing. “And what have they done? Or, I guess, what can they do?”
“Maybe if my parents had taken me to the doctor sooner, things wouldn’t have progressed to the point they have. Who knows? Either way, the damage was done by the time Livvy took me in. They had to reorient the bones and put in some pins and screws to stabilize everything. It’s a lot better than it was, but it’s never going to be 100 percent. I get tired if I have to move around a lot, and there are days I have quite a bit of pain.” He brightened. “But I’m not going to let it keep me from doing what I love.”
