“We’re not even pretending to call the maintenance company this time, then?” I asked when I came to a stop by his side a minute later, my shoes on.
He turned his light-blue stare from the panel to me. “We’re here and we’re capable. That’s enough.”
My skin warmed at the passive praise, and I tucked those words away in my memory as firmly as I could, willing them to stay.
“Now,” he said, thrusting his tool belt at me. “This is yours. After we fixed that leaking shower last week, I figure you need one. I have several, and this is my least favorite, so don’t make a fuss.”
I eyed the worn belt and prepared to do exactly that.
“Just take it,” he grumbled.
I reached for it hesitantly, and he pushed the heavy belt, filled with the tools I knew the names of now, into my hands. There was no way this wasn’t his go-to tool belt.
I was about to point that out, but at his stern look of warning, I swallowed it. “Thank you.”
He grunted. “Now. Open the panel and let’s talk about the best way to not electrocute ourselves.”
I put the belt around my waist, adjusting the strap to fit snug against my hips, then got to work.
Gil quizzed me on parts of the breaker box and especially about safety when working with it, his short corrections doing wonders for distracting me from his generous gift.
The first time Gil had shown me how to fix something was still a vivid memory, but I’d never expected it to turn into this sort of… apprenticeship. There was no job waiting at the end of it for me, so that wasn’t the right word, and it wasn’t even his job. He was just volunteering his expertise. But it was fulfilling, learning how to fix things, and it gave me a sliver of control I desperately needed. I’d even used what Gil taught me to do some small repairs when house-sitting for Miss Lenny, which had thrilled her to no end.
Once the power was back on, Gil scooped up the picture frame—the one from the class he’d just taught—from where he’d set it on the floor and handed it to me.
“Here.”
This time, I took his gift without protest.
Embarrassingly, the longer I stared at the frame in my hands, the more intense the buzzing in my nose became until I was afraid I’d have to flee the scene.
“Kid, if you cry, I’m going to take it back,” Gil warned.
I laughed under my breath, then looked up at the older man. “I would never.”
2
IRELAND
My phone beeped, and my stomach clenched.
I was already here, on time, as always.
I stared at the electronic lock in front of me.Key card or knock? I never knew which was better.
I raised my fist but then dropped it.
Shaking myself, I pressed my card to the scanner, and it beeped, allowing me inside.
Apartment 2C of Zinnia House was open concept and more like a dorm room than an apartment, with one living space and a door that led to a small bedroom with an attached bathroom.
The living room was empty, and anxiety pushed me right back out into the hallway.
It should not be this fucking hard to walk into the place where you lived even if you lived there semi-illegally. I caught the door with my foot before it closed all the way but didn’t move to go inside. I just… stared at the wood, pulling the loose threads at the hem of my cut-offs for several seconds before raising my fist to knock on the open door.
Like a coward.
My knuckles rapped on the door three times before I stepped back inside and called out, “Hey! Anyone home?”