Page 51 of Screwed (Dad Bod Contracting 4)
I frown at Jesse. “Why would you make that call? I’m just curious. I thought James was the lead, or whatever.”
Jesse and Franco exchange glances. “James is the builder, so he leads the general stuff. Lines up subcontractors as necessary, assures quality and standards, makes sure things are code, all that. But when it comes to the aesthetics of interior design, Jesse has the best eye of any of us.” He chuckles. “Funny enough, he really does have the best taste in terms of interior design.”
“Plus, James is working through some shit right now, so he’s pawned the start of this project off on us,” Jesse says.
Franco nails him in the shoulder with a fist. “You weren’t supposed to say that, you tool.”
Jesse shrugs. “What? It’s true. And it’s not like she’s not gonna figure it out. She’s a smart chick, bro.”
I sigh. “I figured as much when you two showed up.” I hesitate, but then figure I may as well just trust these guys with the truth. “I also know he’s working through things. We talked after the workout a few weeks ago, and he said he needed time to work on things.” I eye them. “Do you happen to know what exactly he’s ‘working’ on?” I ask, using air quotes around the emphasized word.
Franco and Jesse both shrug.
“Nah, not really,” Franco says.
Jesse says, “I’ve known him longest, and I’m only guessing, but I’d say he’s finally trying to come to grips with losing Renée. He grieved as well as anyone can, but he never dealt with it in terms of, like, moving on. He’s gone for an hour, hour and a half every other day for lunch and won’t talk about where he’s going, or what he’s doing, which makes me think he’s seeing someone.” Jesse pauses, then stumbles over his words. “Seeing someone, like a therapist, I mean. Not another woman. I mean, the therapist could be a woman, but not seeing her like that…I mean—”
I laugh. “I know what you meant, Jess.”
Franco rolls his eyes with a sigh. “You’re a blabbermouth, you know that?”
“Was it supposed to be a secret?” Jesse asks. “Besides, I’m just guessing. He could be…I dunno, doing something else during his long weird lunch breaks he won’t talk about.”
I tap the blueprints. “Let’s focus, guys. Conjecture about what James is doing is futile. He’ll explain what he’s doing if and when we need to know. For now, let’s stick to talking about my house.”
“Sounds great to me,” Franco says. “So. Kitchen gets rearranged a little. Stove in the island, larger window over the sink, which also gets replaced. New countertops. Push this wall here backward, taking room from the bathroom, which becomes—not quite a powder room, but not a full bathroom. Toilet, vanity, and a small shower in the corner. The extra space from the bathroom becomes a built-in refrigerator and freezer unit. Something by Subzero, probably. Nice and big, with beautiful cabinet exteriors to match the new cabinets everywhere else.”
I think about that last part. “When he was here, he talked about it being a walk-in pantry.”
Jess nods, answering for Franco. “Yeah, he said that. But then he realized in taking out the wall you lose not just the stove, which is gonna be a cool induction unit, but also the fridge, and it has to go somewhere. It makes more sense to use the space for a built-in freezer-fridge combo—and by combo, I mean a full-size fridge and full-size freezer side by side. Super lux, super upscale. Big splurge, but it’ll take the kitchen from an eight to a ten. It’ll be cool and it’ll be worth the expense just in terms of resale value alone.”
“And new cabinets everywhere?” I ask.
Jesse nods, excited. “Oh yeah. If you do a nice dark butcher block like Franco was talking about, I’d like to see some cool white cabinets—either open-face, or glass fronted. Dark floors to match the counters, so you have dark floors and counters, white cabinets, white ceiling, and we’re putting in a huge thick dark beam—probably a piece of the black walnut Franco has, so it’ll all tie together. It’ll look amazing.”
I visualize it, and my stomach flips. “Like something out of HGTV.”
Jesse brings his fingertips together and then explodes them outward. “Kaboom, baby. This place is gonna be lit.”
I laugh. “Lit? What are you, fifteen?”
Jesse just laughs and shrugs. “I’m cool enough to get away with slang.”
“Sure you are,” Franco says drily. “Keep telling yourself that, big guy.”
Franco taps the bedroom and bathroom wall. “This wall won’t be removed entirely, just opened up for a doorway—James mentioned you liked the idea of an open archway.”
I tilt my head. “I don’t know. He also mentioned one those barn doors on an exposed rail. I like that, too. I live alone, but I still like to close the door while I take a shower, so I think I’d feel a little weird having my bedroom be totally open to the bathroom. I don’t know.” I glance at Jesse. “What do you think?”
