Charlie, wearing his work uniform, was working his way through the wholesale club when his brother called. "You really need to come by" Jeff had said, somberly. "I did the inspection."
Charlie left the flatbed full of merchandise in the middle of the warehouse and sprinted to his SUV, driving quickly to Jenny's house. He jumped out and looked around, finding Jenny on a porch across the street.
He tried not to frown as he noticed the man giving her a bottle of Diet Dr Pepper. Jenny loved that soda. He must know her awfully well.
He felt the old jealousy rising up, and reminded himself if she had a connection, it was his fault. He'd rejected her, neglected her, and ignored her. If he wanted her, he'd have to win her back.
He tried his best to smile as he wandered up to the chain link fence. Caught aback, he admired the roses for a moment and smiled. "These are lovely".
Steve nodded quietly, watching him, as they sized each other up. They introduced themselves. Damn. Why did Jenny have to fall for a doctor? How could he measure up?
Jenny swallowed, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and capped the soda. "Jeff's waiting, Char, let's go." She turned and bade Steve goodbye, her voice warm.
Charlie floundered, offering his elbow like a wedding usher. She smiled gently at him and took it. "Thank you, sir." She told him how she'd come home to find Jeff on her house, thinking he was a hallucination.
"Happily Steve saw him too so I didn't have to call my doctor." Charlie thought, sourly, that Dr Steve would have been happy to fix her up. Bad thoughts. Gotta work on the bad thoughts.
He'd read that in Jenny's blog. She'd been strangely quiet of late, ever since he told her he'd been reading. He felt bad about that.
The three of them sat down in Jenny's living room as Jeff asked Jenny various questions. What was her water bill? Did outlets ever go out for no reason? Did she have leaks? Jenny answered them as best she could, and sat back to wait for Jeff's reply.
"Your house should be condemned" he began, as Jenny gasped. She didn't process a lot of the following statements, but noted Charlie making notes on a sheet of paper. Plumbing leaks. Foundation issues. Termites. Electrical issues. Fire hazard. Roofing issues. Thousands - not just thousands, but dozens of thousands of dollars in repairs.
Jenny began to hyperventilate and put her head between her knees, as Charlie placed a comforting hand on her back.
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