The Friendship List(41)

“You’re right. I mean why? I’m nobody. I’m not interesting. I might even be lost.” She seemed to shrink as she spoke, hunching in the chair.

“I’ll accept confused or in transition,” he told her. “Not lost. Being lost implies a lack of strength. You have strength.”

His words obviously startled her. “Maybe you’re seeing more than there is.”

“I have good instincts about women.” An inability to find one he wanted to marry, but that was different. “You have potential.”

“Potential without action is wasted.”

“Then act.”

One corner of her mouth turned up. “You’re very free with advice.”

“Most people are. Tell me about your business. It’s unusual for a woman to be a handyman.”

She reached for her champagne. “It is, but where I live, I think it gives me an advantage. I’m instantly trustworthy.” She smiled. “Let’s see. I grew up knowing when something broke, new wasn’t an option. We repaired, reused, made do. When I was little, I helped my dad a lot. He showed me how to do things.”

“Sounds like a good dad.”

“He was. When I married Stuart, we lived in base housing. It’s not luxurious, as you can imagine. My sink had a leaky faucet that was driving me crazy. I reported it, but they said it would be a couple of weeks for someone to get there. So I went to the hardware store and bought a couple of washers and fixed it myself.”

He liked that she’d taken action. He also enjoyed listening to her talk. When she forgot to be sad, her whole face relaxed. She was animated and genuine.

“I started helping out a few friends with small projects. Word got out and people I didn’t know called me to do things. I made a price list and it became a part-time job. When we moved to the next base, I started up again.”

“So when you had to move back to Willowbrook, opening your own business was a natural transition.”

She nodded. “I like what I do. Having Silver Pines nearby means there is always work. I have a good reputation in the community and I’m one of their go-to people.”

She drank more champagne. “My friend Ellen thinks I need to hire a real full-time person to work for me.”

“Who works for you now?”

“A group of retired guys. I have help, they get to travel when they want. It works.” She leaned toward him, her elbows on the table. “I’ll admit I don’t take my business as seriously as I probably should. I turn down work constantly. Having someone full-time would mean getting more jobs, especially the bigger ones that pay more.”

“But?” he asked.

“I work out of my garage. If I got a full-time person, I’d probably need to move into a real business location. That scares me. I’ve never had a rent payment.”

“Have you run the numbers?”

She ducked her head. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“You figure out what your expenses would be, then look at how much you think you would earn.”

Their food arrived. He’d ordered fish and chips, while Unity had chosen a burger.

“Math isn’t my thing,” she said before taking a big bite. “I don’t do computers and spreadsheets. My guys are always after me to get a smartphone so we can use one of the business apps to schedule jobs and stuff.”

“And yet you resist.”

“I don’t like change.”

“You’re afraid of change, there’s a difference.”

She put down her burger and wiped her hands. “How did you know that?”

“It’s pretty obvious, Unity. You’re bright, you’re capable, but you don’t want to challenge yourself.” He smiled. “Excluding today’s adventure.”

“I don’t think I like being that transparent.”

“Too late now.”

“What else can you see?”

A smart man would change the subject. “You’re in a lot of pain and you don’t know how to process it. I’m not sure if you want to move forward, or if you simply think you should. As you said, you’re afraid of change.”

“Actually you said that.” She picked up a french fry and ate it. “You’re not wrong.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome. All this talk of what you can see makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t think you’re being mean about it.”

“I’m not.”

She studied him. “You’d be a good dad.”

“My ex and I broke up before that could happen. I want children.”

“Me, too,” she said, then frowned. “I mean I did.”

“But not anymore?”

She looked surprised by the question. “I can’t. Stuart’s gone.”

More information he should pay attention to. “You won’t have children without him?”

She paused, a french fry halfway to her mouth. “You’re saying I could have a child with someone else.” She sounded scandalized by the concept.

“It’s not unheard of.”

She set down the fry. “I never really thought about it—having children now.” She shook her head as if trying to dislodge the concept.