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ELIZABETH
I was feeling churlish and decided to punish Tyler. Instead of calling him right away after finishing the inspection as the House Doctor, I waited an extra two hours. I started to feel bad which I didn’t like, so I waited another thirty minutes.
Yes, it was very petty, but my heart was on the line. The longer I stayed with him and was around him, the more I realized I didn’t need the romance or the Romeo or even the traditional relationship. I had come there expecting to jump into a relationship, a marriage, and I had been relegated to less than a friend, even less than a roommate.
I’m not sure there was a name for what I was.
At least when I spoke to him on the phone as the House Doctor, I was someone he was interested in, even if he didn’t know who I was.
When I finally did pick up the phone to call him, I made sure it was from the business line. He picked up on the first half of the first ring.
His prompt reaction irritated me even more, which I hadn’t thought was possible. I considered hanging up but I knew he would just call me right back and I’d have to lie and say we’d been disconnected.
I hadn’t told him what my name was, which made answering the phone extremely difficult. But I wasn’t going to outright lie to them. Omissions were one thing, outright lying was another. He hadn’t asked me my name yet anyway, so maybe he liked the anonymity of not knowing.
Affecting my customer service voice, I spoke brightly. “Hi, Mr. Manning? I’m calling from the House Doctor. I just wanted to let you know I have the house inspection report finished, the estimate, and what our suggestions are. I’ll email this to you, if you can get me your address. Then we can go from there.”
He didn’t mess around, but went straight for the flirtation. “I’m so glad to hear your voice. I was getting worried there that maybe I wouldn’t hear from you. I went to my house and you had already gone. That was a lot faster than most groups that have come in to consult.” Was he stalking me? No, I recognized the need to connect. Tyler was connecting with the wrong woman.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m pretty fast. It’s writing up the inspection that takes a while. Before I submit the report, can I ask why you’re selling? You mentioned your goal during our last phone conversation.” I settled into the couch at his house and stared out the big front window.
The sun shone through the glass, warming my toes. I wanted to be myself with him, but it wasn’t safe. He wasn’t proving to be the one I could trust.
“My mom doesn’t want the place. We grew up there and after we moved out, she got remarried and left everything for me and my brother to take care of. There’s no reason for either of us to want it. I would rather be on the other side of the bay. My brother is looking to move out of the state with his fiancée.” His reserved answer came at a sedate pace, like he recited from a script.
“Well, it’s a beautiful house. I could see it being on a historical landmark registry. It has all the classic lines of an original home. In fact, the plaster hasn’t even been redone since it was initially put in. I bet the home dates back to the early 1940s.” I didn’t have to hide myself or my appreciation for the home right then.
We sat silent for a pause that was pregnant with “what should I say?” and “what if I said that?”
I took it upon myself to break the ice with one of the unspoken topics we hadn’t addressed. I don’t know why I had to stir things up, but apparently it’s what I did. “Your complicated was very nice.” The extra emphasis would be hard to miss and I regretted it as soon as the words rolled through my lips.
A wall grew up between us on the phone line, like I’d magically conjured it with my words. His words became tighter and more controlled. “Yes, she is... something. I’m still getting to know her.” But he didn’t sound interested or disinterested – his diffidence came off sounding like apathy.
What sucked was I knew it was toward me – wife-me, not phone-me.
He spoke again, his voice lower, huskier. “Are you married?”
I knew how to answer that, because I had clicked I do and I wanted to be married. I wanted to be where I was. True, I also wanted my husband to be in the same place, too, but I couldn’t control everything, just myself. “Yes, I am. I definitely understand what you mean by complicated, but most relationships are. My mom and dad didn’t have a great relationship, but they tried. I think that is the most important thing.” I spoke the truth for once with him and it felt good. I couldn’t wait to do it again, with the important things.
“Well, if you’ll text me your email address to this number, I’ll send you the information. Let me know if you’re interested in hiring us for the job.” I didn’t want to pursue the flirtation any longer. Phone-me wanted to make sure wife-me was happy. Leading my husband along didn’t make all of me happy, so I wouldn’t be involved in ruining things for myself.
“I am interested. Are you the secretary or the manager?” He added that like he wasn’t riddled with curiosity.
He’d considered what I told him about what I’d heard. How much had it bothered him? I narrowed my gaze and prepared for the inevitable sexism to rear its ugly head. “I’m the handy woman. I thought you understood that. I’m the one that goes out and does the consults. I’m also the one that oversees the job. I do most of the work and I guarantee it. Usually I hire out for the menial things, but I guarantee even those parts.”
“Really?” His voice was disbelieving and part of me wanted to slap him.
I bristled. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, but knowing it came from Tyler just rubbed me the wrong way. I think I had higher expectations for my husband than others. Why? I wasn’t sure. “Yes. I’m very good at what I do. I have more experience in my finger than most men in the state have. I worked with my grandpa when I was extremely little and grew up working with my dad and brothers. I know the job. If you don’t want to work with me, though, because of my sex, that’s totally fine. I understand. Trust me, it won’t be the first time.”
Tyler’s soft laugh soothed me while it lacked derision or any mocking. “Whoa, it’s okay, I love the fact that you know the job. I’m glad you’re confident. That makes it easier for me. I believe you can do it. When do we start? I don’t even need to see the inspection report. Let’s just get this done.” His confidence in me broke some of my exterior shields.
“Really?” I might have let it out on a softer breath because I was so taken by surprise. That was the second time I’d jumped to conclusions about his thoughts and beliefs. Would he continue to shock me?
“Really. The last few consults scared me when they used words I don’t think they understood. One of the men wasn’t sure how much to charge me or even where to start. I believe you can do it because you say so.” He wasn’t coming on to me, he was steady and honest.
Dang, if that didn’t appeal to me.
As if I was challenging his wife, I grinned and let it show in my tone. “Let your complicated know I’m coming. I’ll be there tomorrow.” I didn’t want to talk to him anymore as phone-me or wife-me. I’d let myself down because I was too easily swayed by the softer side of him.
What I needed to do was go outside and plan my strategy for redoing his house.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t spend time running over our conversation and analyzing every word.
Who was I kidding? That’s all I would probably do.
