Rock Hard Neighbor

“Oh, fuck yes. He was beautiful.”

“But a raging cockhead. So, he’s hot but not attractive. Got it? Are you attracted to him?” she asked, again.

I paused for a second before I hopped up onto the counter. I heard something creak and groaned, hoping the entire damn thing wouldn’t give way underneath my body weight. I could still see some dust floating around in the streams of light coming through the window, and I tried to swat them away.

Was I attracted to him?

“Manda?”

“Yeah? Sorry. Dust and shit. I mean, I am—I think. I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“Well, he can be standoffish. I’d call him a dick if I couldn’t throw the same treatment back at him.”

“Ah, so he’s tugging at your sassy side. Okay, but he’s not, like, bullying you or anything.”

“Hell, no. Nothing like that. It’s almost like he’s being mean so I’ll leave him alone. Except Lanie keeps destroying his plans.”

“Yep. That’s a recluse if I’ve ever heard of one.”

“I like his looks more than his attitude. Let’s just put it that way,” I said.

Sarah laughed in my ear, and it pulled a smile across my cheeks.

“You ready to move on from Daryl?”

I sighed into the phone as the counter creaked underneath me again.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to date, but I know I’m over him,” I said.

“That’s better than what I expected. Daryl was a dick, and I had no idea what you saw in him from the beginning.”

“He was sweet to me at the beginning, and that’s all that mattered at the time,” I said.

“But he was never supportive of your art.”

“I figured he would come around eventually. I mean, that’s what people always said about my art. Everyone would have to ‘come around’ to it. I figured he was the same.”

“Manda, you’re smarter than that,” she said.

“I know. At least, I am now.”

“Are you okay living in that house alone with all the issues it has?” she asked.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you my list of stuff. Okay, the furniture needs to be cleaned, the staircase needs to be repaired, the entire kitchen needs an update, but I would settle for just repairing the things that are broken.”

The counter creaked underneath me again, and I slid off before I caused any more damage.

“Do you have that kind of money?” Sarah asked.

“I’m trying to figure it out. I need to go into town and price some things out, but if I can find the right contractor, I should be able to get the bigger things fixed.”

“Do you at least have electricity and running water?” she asked.

“Oh yeah. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Actually, my grandmother’s bathroom has one of those walk-in shower-tub combination things. The bath has a fucking seat in it. I’m going to go take one now.”

“Sounds like you need it with all that dust. I can hear your voice already getting scratchy.”

“Yep, allergy meds are on my list too! Call you later this week?” I asked.

“Manda, are you sure you’re okay staying there by yourself?”

I sighed as I looked around the room, allowing the silent memories to crash to the forefront of my mind.

“It’s weird, being here without her. And it’s definitely bringing back memories. But I’m okay. They’re all good memories once I get past the custody battle years. There are some pictures still hanging on the wall that haven’t been damaged, and those make me smile.”

“Your grandmother always knew how to take a good picture,” Sarah said.

“Hell yeah, she did.”

“Well, let me know how your trip into town goes. Some things happening at work, so I’m not sure if I can get to you this weekend or next. But, if I can’t get out this weekend then I’ll ship you your art stuff.”

“Don’t worry about it. With the cabin still in disarray, I don’t want to taint my art supplies with the dust and shit just yet. Thank you, though. When I’m ready for them, we’ll figure it out then.”

“Sounds good. I’ll talk with you soon.”

“See ya, Sarah.”

I could hear the hot water calling my name as I made my way to the back of the house. My grandmother, in her last years before the nursing home, couldn’t get up the steps. So she had a back portion added to the cabin which had become her new master bedroom and her bathroom. I stripped myself of my clothes and stepped into the tub, then turned on the hot water and let it flow. I didn’t have any bubbles to make it nice or anything, but what I did have was a seat to lean back in as the water crept up my body.

I closed my eyes and the steam wafted around me. I loved hot baths. The kind that turned my skin red and made me sweat. I tossed my leg over the edge of the tub and stretched, allowing the water to wash away the sweat and grime from my day of cleaning. I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting memories bombard me as I thought about my grandmother.