Handyman 11

Gravel crunched under the tires of the silver gray Corolla as Sophia rolled to a stop, the sun shining through the leaves of an oak tree casting dappled moving shadows of light on the hatchback. The white two story farmhouse was just as pretty as the pictures Sophia had seen with a reddish brown barn just to the north and even a white painted wooden fence surrounding a paddock for horses. All the windows had actual working wooden storm shutters, the trim painted in a dark green, a bright copper weathervane in the shape of a rooster crowning the roof peak.

"Well, Ezzy, we're hom..." Sophia began before chocking back a sob.

She angrily sniffed and palmed away the tears in the corner of her eyes before taking a deep, calming breath. Ezmerelda jumped onto the back of the seat to press a furry head against Sophia's check, the cat's purr vibrating against Sophia's skin until she reached up to scratch beneath the cat's chin.

"We're home," Sophia said again and was pleased at how steady her voice sounded.

Sophia turned her head to kiss Ezmerelda on the top of the head before noticing a woman with a leather binder in hand wearing a cream blouse and tan slacks walking down the steps of the wrap around porch. The blond woman was smiling broadly, but her narrow face and pinched expression made her look like someone who had just pit into an unripe persimmon. With another deep breath Sophia opened the door and stepped out, the humidity making her feel damp and clammy the moment the door opened.

"Ezzy!" Sophia cried as Ezmerelda suddenly made a dash out the car door to streak across the long, uncut grass before disappearing through the crisscrossing X's of the lattice skirt beneath the porch.

"Oh, she's a beautiful tortoiseshell kitty!" the woman exclaimed as she reached the paving stone path to the driveway, "I'm Charlotte."

The woman held out a hand to shake Sophia's who ignored her to hurry over to the lattice skirt and kneel down.

"Ezzy!" Sophia cried while peering into the gloom.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Charlotte said after a moment, "I... um... I have your keys... and I'd be happy to show you around before I leave."

Sophia glanced up at Charlotte before gazing back into the gloom beneath the porch.

"What if there's something under there?" Sophia demanded.

Charlotte seemed to hesitate for a moment before walking over to pat Sophia on the shoulder.

"I'm sure whatever is under there is much more likely to get eaten by your kitty... Ezzy?... than Ezzy is to get hurt by it," Charlotte said reassuringly, "Why don't I show you around and we can leave out a little bit of cat food by the door and I'm sure Ezzy will be right along."

"You're sure?" Sophia asked while still looking beneath the porch.

"I'm sure," Charlotte replied with a smile, "Just make sure to have Ezzy in before it starts to get dark and she'll be fine."

Sophia stood and brushed away bits of gravel that had dug into the skin of her knees before holding out her hand sheepishly.

"I'm Sophia," Sophia said while the woman reached out and shook her hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you instead of talking on the phone or by email all the time," Charlotte replied.

"It is!" Sophia said, "And I have to say, the house is just as beautiful as what I thought it would be from the pictures!"

"It's a shame that Mr Bartlette's son decided to sell after his passing, but I'm sure you'll be very happy here," Charlotte said before gesturing towards the porch, "How about we set out a bowl for Ezzy and I'll show you around?"

Sophia nodded and then after setting out cat food spent the next hour being shown her new home. The house had been built in the early 50's with a spacious, open family room in the front that led into a dining room, the stairs with a finely carved and polished walnut banister on the left and a half octagonal solarium on the right. The kitchen was at the rear of the house to the left of the dinning room, and although large enough, Sophia could have wished for more up to date appliances since everything from the stove and refrigerator to the kitchen sink and faucets looked to be all 50's originals. The stairs led up to a second story balcony with a walnut balustrade overlooking the family room with doors for a master bedroom, a bedroom converted into an office and a furnished guest room.

"I love everything!" Sophia exclaimed over an hour later while running a hand over the heavy oak dinning room table that had been polished from years of use, "I didn't expect it to be furnished though!"

"Mr Bartlette's son tried to auction off most of the furnishings, but what didn't sell he simply left for whomever decided to buy the house," Charlotte said with a shrug, "There's also the garage, barn, well house, and what's left of the old silo if you'd like me to show you those?"

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, but I think I really need to get unpacked," Sophia said and then grinned mischievously, "And it might be fun to explore a bit on my own too."

"Alright," Charlotte said and handed the leather binder to Sophia, "I've included a list of contacts... the county Sherif, Ash, our local handyman if you need any help with repairs or such, your neighbors the O'dale's up the road to the north and the Hartley's to the south, and a map with our one dinner and two coffee shops in town.

"Most folks in town stop by The Duck Inn for breakfast or lunch on Sunday, be a good way to make everyone's acquaintance."

"I'll..." Sophia began and had to clear her throat, "I'll... ahh, try to stop by then."

"Look, there's your kitty!" Charlotte said with a smile and a nod before walking out of the family room and onto the porch.

"Ezzy!" Sophia cried happily before scooping the cat up and depositing her inside the screen door.

"Well, enjoy the rest of your day," Charlotte said with a quick handshake, "I really hope you'll come to think of Bicknell as your home!"

Sophia watched Charlotte drive away in an old, but perfectly maintained Station Wagon that even had the fake wood paneling on the side and gave a wave just as the car turned onto the two lane county blacktop and disappeared. She listened to the harsh rise and fall of a cicada somewhere in the oak while hugging her arms tightly before turning to smile at Ezzy's demanding mewling.

"You are not coming back outside!" Sophia declared and tried not to laugh at Ezzy's spiteful flick of her tail before turning to stalk away to explore her new home as well.

It took the rest of the afternoon to unload her Carolla, the back of the car packed as tight as any Tetris player could manage with a score or more trips up and down the stairs to the master bedroom. The blouse she had started the day wearing had been quickly replaced by a sports bra, her jeans by a pair of light athletic shorts. Sophia tied her long, sleek black hair in a ponytail, sweat beading along her brow to drip into her eyes as she padded barefoot back and forth between her car and the house, more often than not having to use a foot to push Ezzy away from the screen door every time she came inside. She had to pause and spend almost a half an hour searching from room to room for light switches when the sun began to set, the heat and humidity not giving up in the least.

"Oh!" Sophia cried on one of her final trips out to the car and froze in her tracks.

A dozen flickers of yellow light flared briefly before quickly fading along a row of hedges that separated the grass of the lawn from the tall green stalks of corn beyond. Sophia stood and just watched as the lightning bugs lit up the night, the soft chirps of crickets a backdrop as she stood in amazement.

Several sharp yaps from coyotes sounded from what seemed like only a dozen paces away, Sophia jumping and her eyes widening in alarm before she made one more final trip to her Carolla. She hastily grabbed an armful of boxes without even bothering to check the labels before slamming the hatchback and hurrying as fast as she could to the safety of the porch.

"Oh my gosh!" Sophia said breathlessly as the screen door swung closed with a creak of springs and a bang.

She sat the boxes down on the wood and velvet couch that looked like it belonged in a museum before glancing around to find Ezzy slinking up the stairs with her belly to the ground.

"Oh, not so committed to going outside now, are you!" Sophia said with a smile.

The yip of coyotes caused her to jump and then hurry over and close the front door and twist the deadbolt. She glanced guiltily up at the second story balcony and Ezzy who had her head poked between two of the balustrades while watching her.

"What?" Sophia demanded and then hurried into the dinning room to close the glass double doors onto the porch quickly followed by the kitchen door.

Sophia stood hugging her arms while staring at the kitchen door for a moment before glancing down at her chest and grimacing at the clean tracks of skin left where her sweat had washed trails through the dust. Sophia's belly took that moment to growl noisily.

"Food, shower, bed," Sophia said to herself and began to rummage through the boxes she had stacked in the kitchen until she found a teapot, silverware and three Nissin Hot & Spice ramen noodle bowls.

As far as dinner, it wasn't much, but it would at least do for the night until she could head into town to stock up on groceries. A box that she had set to the side labeled Vino caught her eye and after a moment she opened it to retrieve a bottle of Bartenura Moscato and after another moment of searching found a waterglass. Sophia quickly filled the teapot and set it on the gas stove to boil and poured herself a glass of wine.

"Ezzy!" Sophia called after a sip, "Food!"

Sophia set a cat bowl of dry food and water dish on the floor and smiled at the rapid thumps as Ezzy came bolting down the stairs. She took another sip of wine and walked over to stare out the kitchen window, the night surprisingly dark without any street lamps, houses, or even a the passing headlights of a car in sight. She spent the time waiting for her water to boil looking for an exterior porch light but gave up when the piercing whistle from the teapot sounded. Sophia filled her ramen bowl with boiling water and then sat at the table to sip her wine and watch Ezzy crunch contentedly at her dry kibbles.

"What do you think?" Sophia asked softly after a minute, "Personally, I'm going to be filing a complaint about the lack of disclosure about those coyotes!

"No one told me we'd be having them as neighbors!"

Ezzy's purr was loud enough to be heard from where Sophia sat. After dinner for what it was worth Sophia refilled her waterglass and made her way upstairs. She had stripped the musty, mothball smelling coverlet and blankets from the king size bed and replaced them with fresh sheets earlier in the day. Ezzy followed Sophia into the bedroom with an affectionate head bump against her ankles before jumping up to curl up in the middle of the bed.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Sohpia asked plaintively with Ezzy only giving a twitch of her ears.

"Fine!" Sophia exclaimed and then glanced nervously at the bedroom window and the glaring lack of curtains.

Sophia stared out into the inky blackness of the night, but with the nearest neighbor nearly three miles away finally reached down to pull her sports bra over her head. She gave the damp cloth a sniff, her nose wrinkling in disgust before tossing it onto the pile of musty bedding, a distinct line of dirt crossing her upper chest just above her breasts. Sophia gave another glance at the window and the imagined peeping Tom's lurking outside before slipping her athletic shorts off. She didn't dare smell her shorts and simply tossed them on the pile before cupping her breasts.

Even naked with the widow open to catch the slightest breeze it was still oppressively hot and muggy. Sophia cupped her C cup breasts, her fingers pinching her nipples between her knuckles while she padded into the bathroom. No matter how hot it was, it was still nice to be naked. Being casually naked was even something that...

The thought broke off only half formed, tears suddenly prickling her eyes while she gritted her teeth. She glared around the bathroom as a way to distract herself when she stepped inside. It was large and spacious, but like everything else in the house, the bathroom was straight out of the 1950's with faded and cracked linoleum tiles on the floor, a chipped porcelain sink with brass fixtures and white porcelain knobs in the shape of plus signs, and a massive claw foot tub.

At least the toilet was new and had obviously been replaced in the last few years, but she couldn't wait to have the entire bathroom ripped out and remodeled.

She stepped over the claw foot tub that had a copper pipe rising up several feet with a shower head attached at the far end. A shower curtain on an overhead rod encircled the tub with porcelain knobs at waist height attached to the copper pipe. Sophia twisted the knobs and stepped back in alarm at the groaning, gurgling noise while the copper pipe began to shake. Ezzy sprinted from the bedroom at the sound, but after a moment and several false starts water began to spray from the showerhead.

"I gotta get this redone!" Sophia said while holding her hand beneath the spray of water.

Sophia adjusted the water temperature until it was just shy of scalding before stepping into the tub and closing the shower curtain. She quickly rinsed out her hair and let the hot water sluice over her body before adjusting the temperature down until the water felt cool before beginning to shampoo her hair. She tilted her head back, fingertips scrubbing her scalp until her hair was full of lather.

Suddenly the water gave several sharp spurts, the groaning, gurgling noise returning while the copper pipe shook alarmingly.

"Shit!" Sophia exclaimed as the water went from a spray to only a trickle.

She reached down to turn the water off and then back on several times, the groaning and shaking of the pipes quickly growing weaker and stopping altogether.

"What the hell?" Sophia demanded while still twisting the knobs uselessly.

Sophia suddenly had to blink back tears as some of the shampoo suds got into her eyes. She palmed away the suds and then pulled back the curtain to step carefully out onto the linoleum. In seconds she was by the sink and turned the water on with only a few drops of water dripping down before those stopped as well.

"God damn it! The water is supposed to be on!" Sophia said angrily.

She reached over to wrap a towel around her hair full of later, the towel squishing unpleasantly. She glared around the bathroom but without another towel to use she stalked out into the bedroom and down to the kitchen dripping water the entire way. A quick check of the kitchen sink produced only a few drops of water while Sophia glared.

"What the hell?" Sophia demanded again while still glaring at the sink.

She stared out the kitchen window into the inky blackness of the night before spinning around to glare at the leather binder laying on the kitchen table. It was almost 9pm so she doubted Charlotte would be asleep yet, but if she was Sophia really didn't give a shit. She stormed over to the binder and threw it open, Charlotte's business card inside a clear plastic slip. She started to draw the card out before noticing the list of numbers on the coversheet, the one for Ash, general maintenance and odd jobs catching her eye. Instead of the business card she took the coversheet and hurried back upstairs. If she called Charlotte she'd almost certainly tell Sophia to call the handyman, so why bother with Charlotte at all.

Still dripping water Sophia snatched her iPhone off the nightstand and quickly punched in the number. The phone rang for a half dozen times and just when Sophia was sure no one was there the line picked up.

"Yea," a voice muffled and indistinct from being on speakerphone said.

"Ahh, hi," Sophia began suddenly nervous and unsure, "I... I was given this number by my real estate agent, Charlotte Flock, for odd jobs and... um, just general maintenance."

The line was dead for a half a minute and except for the indistinct sounds of a radio Sophia would have thought that the call had cut out.

"Yea, I know Charlotte," the voice finally replied, "It's almost nine oclock."

"I know, and I am so sorry to call you, but this is a bit of an emergency," Sophia replied, "The water in my house just.... stopped."

Sophia could hear the person sigh as if in exasperation and waited almost another minute before they spoke again.

"Where you at?" the voice said.

"Ummm, 1022 east Royal Oak road," Sophia said.

"You just moved into John's old place?" the voice asked in an odd tone.

"I'm... I'm not sure, I think Charlotte mentioned a Mr Bartlette?" Sophia said.

"Yea, John Bartlette," the voice said and even being muffled by the speakerphone and background noise Sophia could hear the sadness, "Listen, I did a lot of work for John so I can already tell you what's wrong.

"Your well pump's been going out for near a year now, all you have to do is go reset the breakers in your pump house."

"What?" Sophia asked in surprise, "I... I'm not sure where a pump house is."

"Well, for Chri..." the voice cut off and after several seconds started over, "I'm on my way home right now, so I can swing by and show you where the breaker box is and maybe talk about getting a new pump installed. I usually charge sixty dollars an hour, but with it being damn near nine oclock I'm willing to call us even at a hundred.

"I can be there in 'bout fifteen minutes."

"Oh my god, please!" Sophia said in a rush, "You would be such a lifesaver!"

"Yea, I'll be there in a few minutes," the voice said before the line went suddenly dead.

Sophia held the phone out and stared at it in surprise for a moment and then realized she was still naked and dripping water all over the hardwood floor. She glanced around at the boxes piled haphazardly around the room until spotting one that had a kimono bathrobe inside. In moments she had the deep red bathrobe wrapped around herself and was downstairs next to the front door.

The suds from her shampoo still matted and squished in her hair wrapped up tight in a towel, the silk bathrobe much to clingy and revealing against her wet skin for meeting a stranger, but Sophia just couldn't care. She thought about some of the other times she had worn this same bathrobe with nothing on beneath, waiting for someone else to arrive home before her thoughts skittered like a car on a sheet of black ice to a different topic.

Just over ten minutes later headlights pulled onto the long gravel drive that led up to the farmhouse, a dark green 60's Ford F 100 rolling to a stop. Sophia opened the door and stepped out onto the porch as a silhouette of a person stepped out of the trunk and made their way towards her.

"I am sooo sorry to call you so late," Sophia began.

"Why aint your yard lights on?" the person asked.

"My what?" Sophia asked as she stared in surprise.

"You really are shitting me," the young, slender woman asked in exasperation, "Charlotte not bother showing you shit?"

"What?" Sophia asked again.

The woman shook her head in disgust while Sophia stared. She was a head shorter than Sophia's five foot eight in heels with dirty blond hair cut short with a tiny ponytail, narrow, boyish hips and what could have maybe been A cup breasts.

The woman glanced at Sophia's hair wrapped in a towel and her red kimono with a smirk before gesturing towards the front door.

"Charlotte probably turned off the yard lights," the woman said, "I'll show you the breakers and then we'll walk out to the pump house.

"My name's Ash," the woman said bounding up the porch steps and pushing past Sophia.