Chapter 7
"It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?" Caitlin Lewis said, her eyes on the bright blue sky overhead. She turned to Michael, her boyfriend, and smiled warmly. "I love spring. It's like everything starts to feel more alive. More full of potential."
It was a beautiful Tuesday morning. Both Michael and Caitlin had off of work that day, and she had called him earlier, asking if he wanted to come out and enjoy the sunshine with her.
"And warmth." He winked, and she laughed. She knew that Michael's favorite part of the warm weather was surfing, and he was looking forward to starting that up again.
The couple was on their way to one of Blueberry Bay's parks with Pearl, Caitlin's adorable seven-year-old daughter. The curls on the little girl's head were bouncing as she hurried along the sidewalk in front of them. She stopped every once in a while—sometimes to look up at something in the sky, like a bird, and sometimes to look down at something on the ground, like a beetle. She seemed boundlessly enthusiastic about everything.
"I'd say at this point it's not spring anymore." He slipped his hand inside one of Caitlin's. "This feels like early summer to me."
"You're right." She smiled at him, feeling her stomach flip-flop over how handsome he was. He still filled her with butterflies, even after months of dating. "It does feel like summer now."
"Sunshine. Warmth. Walking next to the most wonderful woman in the world." He flashed a grin at her. "It's a perfect day."
She blushed and laughed breathlessly. They were nearly to the park now, and Pearl took off toward the playground, whooping as she ran.
"Be careful!" Caitlin called, and her daughter yelled back, "I will, Mommy!" without slowing down in her pace at all. "Oh, she's darling." Caitlin sighed, her eyes sparkling as she watched her daughter hurry up the side of the jungle gym.
Michael squeezed her hand. "Thanks for taking me along today."
She shook her head. "You're amazing, do you know that? Not only are you here with us, but you just thanked me for letting you be here."
He didn't say anything, but for a moment they looked into each other's eyes, smiling warmly. She thought she could feel something unspoken pass between them. She wondered if he was feeling as strongly about their relationship as she was.
"How are Alissa and Dane doing?" he asked as they reached the edge of the playground and sat down together on a colorfully painted bench.
"Great!" She grinned, excited at the thought of everything that had been going so well for her sister. "I'm so happy that they had that house to move into the moment they got back from their honeymoon. It's such a cute place. I can't wait to see it once they're all settled in."
He nodded. "I'm sure they'll invite us over soon. Dane mentioned something about it the other day."
"Yes! Alissa said they're in the final stages of unpacking and redecorating. She didn't talk very much about the house though. I guess she's had her hands full bringing back the Summer Smash."
"Oh, that's right! That was a great idea. I'm glad she was able to convince the town council to bring it back." Absentmindedly, he took her hand in his and held onto it, caressing it gently as if it wasn't even something he needed to think about. Her heart felt warmed by his action.
"She loves this town. And she's really got a way with words." She laughed. "And from what she's said about the Summer Smash, I can understand why everyone's so excited about it. It sounds like a wonderful time."
She hesitated before saying her next words. She'd gotten the idea a while ago to ask Michael about doing a joint costume with her and Pearl, but she didn't know how he would feel about something like that.
He probably won't want to,she thought. He'll probably think it's kind of silly, or he won't want to dress up. But I should at least ask him and see what he says.
"I have a question," she said, tapping his hand with her thumb affectionately.
"Ask away." He smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"Would—well, I had the idea of making costumes for me and Pearl, for the costume competition at the Summer Smash. And I thought, maybe you'd like to join us in that?"
"I'd love to!" He grinned. "That sounds like a lot of fun."
"Really?"
"Yeah, absolutely. I mean, please don't put me in tights or anything, but that sounds like a lot of fun."
She laughed, thrilled by his response. "Okay! Thanks, sweetheart. That means a lot to me, and I know Pearl will be really happy about it too."
I'm so glad he said yes,she thought, feeling her heart swirl. And he genuinely seems excited about it. I know it's a silly thing, a costume competition, but I like that he can get into and enjoy something like this.
For a moment, she started to picture what it would be like to have a future with him. The three of them could have so much fun together, in so many ways. And he would be such a great stepfather to Pearl.
Her heart fluttered a little at the thought. She and Michael hadn't talked about marriage, and she knew that he was taking things slowly because she'd asked him to. She'd wanted to take things at a cautious pace because she'd been so recently divorced. But more and more often, she was starting to find herself thinking about "forever" with him.
It would be a huge commitment,she thought, and not something I'd want either of us to rush into. But right now, I don't have any reservations about him. He's so kind. He cares so much about both of us.
At that moment, her phone began to vibrate inside her purse. She pulled it out and saw that Alissa was calling her.
"Go ahead and take that," Michael told her. "I'll go hang out with Pearl."
She squeezed his hand gratefully, beaming at him, and answered the phone.
"Hey, you!" A warm summer breeze ruffled against her face. She watched as her boyfriend jogged across the playground toward Pearl, who whooped and leapt into his arms from a higher tier of the jungle gym.
"Hey! How's your day going?"
"Really well. Michael and I are at a park with Pearl right now. This weather is incredible. How's your day going?"
"Oh, fine, fine. I'm at the house trying to get some of these last tasks done. I can't wait till you see this place!"
"We were just taking about that! No rush, do what you need to do, but yes, I absolutely can't wait to see what you've done with it."
"Thanks! I feel like we're a little behind though. There's been some things that have come up."
"Like what? You mean planning the Summer Smash?"
"Yeah, that's definitely been part of it. Worth it, though! How excited are you?" Caitlin could hear that her twin sister was grinning through the tone of her voice.
"So excited!" She watched as Michael started to push Pearl on the swing set. She smiled. "I just asked Michael if he'd be interested in being part of the costume competition with Pearl and me, and he said yes!"
"Oh, that's great! He's such a sweetheart. He's perfect for you."
Caitlin's lips parted. She didn't know what to say—it wasn't a phrase she'd used herself yet, although she realized that she agreed with her sister. "He is a sweetheart. He—"
Suddenly, Alissa yelped. "Oh no!" Caitlin heard her sister take a sharp inhale.
"What happened?" Caitlin asked, suddenly worried.
"Our basement is flooded!" Alissa's tone was almost a wail. "Just—absolutely flooded. A pipe must have burst or something."
"Oh no! Did you have anything down there?"
"Hardly anything, thankfully. But we were planning on—oh, never mind. I've got to go, I'm sorry. I'll call you later?"
"Don't be sorry, do what you need to do! Let me know if you need anything!"
"I will! Love you, bye."
"Love you!"
Alissa hung up, and Caitlin stared straight ahead, feeling her heart twist with worry for her sister's situation. She grimaced.
Oh, I hope everything is okay, she thought. I hope their dream house doesn't turn out to be a nightmare.
* * *
"Oh, this is a nightmare!" Alissa groaned, staring down at the basement floor. She was at the top of the steps, and below her was what looked like a lake where no lake should ever be.
For a moment, she was frozen. She didn't move as her mind raced, wondering what to do. She saw that the water—while everywhere—wasn't very deep. It looked like it was only about an inch or so.
That's good at least,she thought. Probably nothing got ruined. She took a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed. But I don't know what to do!
She felt a sense of urgency, feeling like she had to clean up the water as fast as possible. She hurried down the steps of the basement, looking around for something she could use. Her eyes lighted on a plastic bucket, sitting on a shelf in a corner. She snatched it up and crouched down, trying to scoop water into the bucket by dragging it across the floor.
"Alissa? Where are you?"
She paused and looked up as she heard Dane calling for her upstairs. She didn't want him to get upset about the basement, but she was glad he was there. He always helped her feel better about things, and maybe he would have a better idea of what to do.
At that moment, Dane appeared in the doorway at the top of the stairs and froze when he saw her.
"What are you—" He stopped as his eyes took in the giant puddle that was filling their basement. Then he looked back at his wife. "Are you trying to clean up that flood with a bucket?"
She paused, and all at once realized how silly she was being. She threw back her head, laughing. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I was trying to do that."
At the top of the stairs, Dane started laughing too. For a moment they stood and grinned at each other. She was thankful to be married to someone like him, who could laugh with her even through a small disaster like the one they were in.
"What do we do, though?" she asked as he started down the basement stairs toward her. "Since you shot down my bucket idea." She winked.
He laughed and pulled her into a hug at the foot of the stairs.
"First," he said, "you take off those wet socks and change your pants. They're soaked around the ankles. While you do that, I'm going to figure out what pipe burst and turn off the water leading to it. Then I think we should rent a water vac so we can get this cleaned up."
"You're so smart." She stood on tiptoes to kiss his nose. "And then we should call a plumber."
"Absolutely." He grimaced, and she knew he was thinking about costs. She felt worried about it herself. Generally, they didn't lack for money, but they hadn't been expecting problems like this.
She peeled off her soaking socks at the bottom of the steps and rolled up her sopping pants legs. Then she hurried upstairs to change. By the time she got back to the basement door, Dane was walking around in his rain boots, muttering things under his breath.
"How's it going?" she called to him from the top of the stairs.
He looked up. "Fine, I guess. I got the water turned off and asked Josie to look into the water vac situation for us. The closest hardware store that has a water vac that we can rent is forty minutes away."
"Oh wow. There's nothing closer?"
"I mean, I trust Josie to figure this out better than anyone and that's what she said."
She smiled, glad that their extra-efficient friend was helping them out. "Yeah, you're
right."
"Do you want to leave now?" he asked, looking up at her from the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, I guess we'd better. I'll throw us some sandwiches together quick!"
It was still the morning, but she knew that it would be nearly lunchtime by the time they were driving back, and she didn't want a hangry husband on her hands. While Dane got out of his rainboots and got ready to leave, she quickly toasted bread, and then filled the slices with pieces of chicken, fresh spinach, and a thin layer of peanut butter. It was an imitation of a sandwich that she'd had at a tea shop once, and it was now one of Dane's favorites.
Ten minutes later, they were getting into Dane's car. She could tell that he was stressed about the flooding, but he was trying to put a brave face on for her, and she was grateful. She reached over and stroked his shoulder with her hand.
"We can just think of this as an unexpected adventure," she told him.
He laughed. "It's definitely unexpected." He smiled, glancing at her briefly as he drove. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
They listened to an audiobook together during the car ride. After they picked up the water vac at the hardware store, they started straight back for the house, munching on the sandwiches as they went.
"These are better warm," she said regretfully.
He shook his head. "They're great. Thanks for looking out for us like that."
She winked. "You're welcome." She was trying to keep her spirits up, but she was feeling anxious and overwhelmed. They only had the water vac for twenty-four hours, so they would have to bring it back after work or the next morning. That was a lot of time spent on driving.
The water vac worked wonders on the basement, however, and it was even a little fun to use. Once they'd cleared out all the flooding with it, they dried the remaining traces of water with towels, and then brought a couple of fans downstairs to help dry everything faster.
"Time to call a plumber," Dane said as they walked back up the stairs. Alissa was starting to feel tired, and he looked tired as well. "The only problem is, I have no idea who we should call."
"I'll call Sandy," she offered. "She should have a good idea of someone local that we can trust."
Sandy was very sympathetic to their plight and recommended a plumber right away. Alissa called him, and he assured her that he would come by their house later to check on the pipes.
"Well, that at least is a relief," she said as she hung up the phone. She and Dane were standing in the kitchen, and he started to rub her shoulders. "He said he'll come by later today. Hopefully he can fix everything pretty quickly."
"Hopefully."
She turned her head to look at his face and saw that he was frowning as he stared into space.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He chuckled wryly. "Well, I'm afraid pennies is just it. I'm worried about money. This all really could become an issue."
"I know what you mean," she said, leaning back into his embrace. "The unexpected problems with the house are starting to pile up, and it isn't going to be cheap to fix any of them."
"No, it isn't."
For a moment, they stood quietly, both lost in thought.
"I'm glad we're here," she said finally. "I still love this house. It's wonderful to have our own place, and it's a place that we both love. But…" Her voice trailed off. She wasn't quite sure how to say it.
"Home ownership is great, but it sure has its stresses," he said, and she laughed.
"Yes, that's it exactly." She turned around and kissed him. "Hey, speaking of money, we've got a newspaper to run."
"I know," he groaned. "We've lost half the day already."
"We'll be fine," she assured him. "I'm just happy I have such an understanding boss who let me take the morning off."
"Mm, well, that's because you're the greatest employee anyone ever had," he said, grinning.
She winked at him, and then glanced at the clock. She sighed. "Yeah, we should go. We can deal with our house problems later."
"Later, when we'll have a better idea of what the costs will be." He grimaced.
She stroked his arm and he turned to her with a smile. "We'll figure it out. Maybe some of the repairs can wait, or maybe it won't be all that bad."
"I hope so. Well, beautiful reporter, would you like to make a newspaper with me?"
"Absolutely." Laughing, she took his arm, and they walked outside together.