Two days after my 18th birthday, I awoke to the sound of our doorbell.
I quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants and whatever shirt I could find on the ground, which was just a basic blue V-neck sweater. I made my way down the stairs, finding a note on the kitchen counter in my uncle's neat handwriting that stated, "plumber coming at 9:15" with a nice stack of cash placed on top.
I answered the door and before me stood a tall man, probably 6'4, in overalls with a long sleeve tan t-shirt underneath. He appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. He had longer brown hair and a light, well kept beard. He also appeared to be well caught up on his daily workout with his massive arms and chest. The very sight of him made me blush.
"H-hi there." I managed to stutter out, suddenly aware of my unbrushed teeth, unkept hair, and potentially harmful armpits.
"Hi, I'm Aaron. Here about a pipe that's leaking?"
I stood there nodding like a dork for a bit before realizing he was expecting me to show him where. Except I wasn't really sure where. "My uncle made the call, I guess. Didn't really designate which pipe. Maybe the kitchen sink?" I said, pointing him over to the stainless steel sink that was always a bitch to clean. The plates Uncle Cooper and I had eaten large portions of cake off of remained in there.
"Someone's birthday?" Aaron grinned, noticing the cake crumbles left on the plates.
"Oh, yeah. Mine." I said, turning red once again.
"Well, happy birthday! Lemme guess...16?"
"18."
His eyebrows rose a little, his expression turning a little more smug. Or maybe I was just making that up. Either way, he bent down and opened the cabinet underneath the sink. I used this as my getaway time.
I shuffled into my bathroom, quickly putting toothpaste on my brush and broke records on brushing speed. Next, I ran the deodorant over my armpits, sniffing to assure I had done the best job I could. Then I wet the comb and then ran it through my hair. I topped it all off with a little bit of the fancy cologne I had gotten as a Christmas gift the year before and made my way back to the kitchen.
Aaron stood there, already looking packed up to leave. He looked up and noticed I looked a lot more, well, human. "Got a hot date or something?'
"N-no. I just...I figured I shouldn't look like a zombie when I have a guest in my home."
"Even if the guest is just a plumber?"
"We don't have company often; gotta savor the moment."
He smiles, his smile calming my heartbeat...and then making it race again.
"Not too bad of a leak", he said, gesturing underneath the sink, "patched it up real quick."