Part 2 (1/2)
”That's disgusting!”
”No argument there. And it also breaks a whole lot of laws. Never mind. Anyway, after my father catches this guy watering our yard, he got this ingenious idea to paint a sign.”
”Which said?”
”It said, Next Weekend Try Folly Beach! It was enormous. My mother and I were horrified. Not Rick. He thought Dad was a riot.”
”That is very funny,” Olivia said. ”Your dad must've been a character.”
”He sure was. He was a great guy. My brother Rick is a lot like him.”
”Isn't it funny how personalities are inherited? How's he doing?”
”No. He and Sheila are in Reno at an RV convention.”
”They really love that whole RV thing, don't they?” Olivia said, and thought she'd rather sleep in a ditch than in an RV but she had enough elasticity in her to respect their choices, and some RVs were actually gorgeous.
”Yeah. They go all over the country. They have more friends than anyone I know.”
”Probably because of his sense of humor. He's such a character.”
”Just like our father was. But the personality thing? Yes. It is funny. Haven't you ever noticed that musicians give birth to musicians and engineers to engineers?”
”And I must come from a long line of pack rats. Whoa, this light is so bright!”
Olivia raised her hand to s.h.i.+eld her eyes. Sungla.s.ses alone were not enough to block the merciless glare of the Lowcountry's afternoon sun.
”It's almost summer. We should go into the awning business,” Nick said. ”We could make a killing.”
”Maybe we should,” Olivia said. ”Awnings would sure make a lot of these houses more energy efficient.”
”That's why people build houses with deep porches.”
”Oh. But what about the second floors?”
”They need awnings.”
They moved past the fire department and another small strip of stores and farther down the island to Fort Moultrie. They pa.s.sed Stella Maris Church on their right and veered to the left.
”Next driveway,” Olivia said.
”So this is it?” Nick said in surprise. ”It's huge! I didn't remember it being this big!” What the h.e.l.l has she done? he thought.
”It's deceiving because it's on stilts,” she said, knowing he was right. ”You'll see. It shrinks.”
”I don't know, Olivia. I thought we agreed on something more modest.”
”Listen, Nick, we both know that if I'm to continue to work, we have to have a statement property. I can't live in some ratty old cottage with lopsided floors and warped walls and then tell my clients they shouldn't.”
”Right. Right.” He knew it was true.
”I have to set a certain tone.”
Nick inhaled and exhaled a sigh powerful enough to launch a paper s.h.i.+p across a swimming pool and said, ”I suppose.”
The yard was filled with trucks. A landscaper was consulting with someone from an irrigation service. Men on ladders were painting the sides of the house while others were walking across the roof. There were still other men throwing old insulation and other debris into a Dumpster and there was an outdoor toilet from Nature's Calling. And, as one would hope, they were all wearing sungla.s.ses.
”Well, one thing's for sure. You know you've arrived when you have your own portable john,” Nick said.
”Should have put one in your daddy's yard,” Olivia joked.
”Truly,” Nick said, ”with a coin slot.”
When he saw their SUV pull in, a handsome young man began walking toward them. Nick turned off the engine and got out, raising the hatchback with the click of a b.u.t.ton. Olivia hopped out and joined him to retrieve her bag.
”Here's Jason,” Olivia said. ”He's our contractor.”
”Really? He seems awfully young to me.”
”No, he's not. We're just awfully old.”
”Well, I just hate the h.e.l.l out of that,” Nick said.
Nick squinted his eyes in the young man's direction. In her peripheral vision, Olivia noticed Nick sucking in his stomach and standing up a little straighter. She bit the insides of her cheeks to hold back a burst of laughter.
”Let me help you with that, sir,” Jason said, taking Nick's suitcase from him. ”Ms. Ritchie? Let me take yours too.”
”Thanks, Jason,” Olivia said and handed over her duffel bag. ”Nick? Say h.e.l.lo to Jason Fowler. He and his dad Sam own Sea Island Builders. And they do gorgeous work.”
”I sure hope so,” Nick said and shook Jason's hand.
Olivia thought, This place is a money pit. It was going to be a while before she would do more to the house than had already been done. How was she going to tell Jason that they had to stop for a while? How embarra.s.sing would that be? It wouldn't be good for her business reputation, that much was certain.
”Nice to meet you, Mr. Ritchie.”
”Seymour. My wife is Ritchie. She's liberated.”
”Sorry?” Jason said.
”Honey? He's too young to even know what liberated woman means. Everybody's liberated these days.”
Nick was smiling, but behind that smile Olivia knew Nick was irked. It was bad enough to have his students defer to him. His position and years on the faculty demanded it. But when it happened in his personal life, it startled him, and not in a good way. She began to think that neither one of them would ever adjust to the fact that middle age had arrived, even though on an actuarial table middle age was well behind both of them.
”Well,” Jason said, ”let's get your stuff inside. I'm anxious for y'all to see all we've done.”
”Great,” Olivia said.
They climbed the long flight of steps made of handmade bricks. Jason pushed the front door open and stepped aside for them to pa.s.s.
”Oh, Jason. The door looks really, really good,” Olivia said, smiling and running her hand across the sheen of the varnish.