The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(67)
She reached up for her parents’ rings and felt the shock of their loss all over again. Maybe she would never get used to it. She closed her eyes for a moment. It was odd how quickly a person could become attached to a situation and how long it took to relearn it. A week ago, she would have loved to go out to lunch with Al. Even now, it sounded like a pretty good idea. But the reality was that since Paul had taken up residence in her head, she couldn’t help comparing every other guy to him.
Stacking the papers with a little more force than necessary, Alice straightened her shoulders. She would go to lunch and have a wonderful time. The best way to get Paul out of her head was to give herself some space from the store, from the building, and from Paul.
***
Chapter Twenty
The internet is a telephone system that’s gotten uppity. ― Clifford Stoll
“We need to be wired for several routers,” Paul said.
The cable guy pushed his cap back on his head. “Sure, we can get ya set up, but we’re gonna have to make some holes. We’ll bring it up the side of the building and drill right about here.” He pointed to an area near the windows that faced the river.
Paul glanced around. The exposed-brick living room wall wasn’t going to make setting up their gaming gear very easy but it had to be done. They’d been here almost a week and had been limping along with tablets and 4G hotspots. Even getting into his email was painfully slow unless he used his phone. “Do what you need to do. It had to be updated sometime, I guess.”
The man nodded and went downstairs to start the rest of the crew on the outside work. Paul wondered if Alice had considered having her apartment wired at the same time. It would be silly to have them come back. But he didn’t have a key so it wasn’t going to happen right now. He supposed he could try to call her cell phone but he was pretty sure it wasn’t anywhere near her, especially as she was out on lunch date.
Paul walked to the window and looked out. There wasn’t any reason that Alice couldn’t date someone else. They’d never even gotten close to that conversation. Al looked like just the kind of guy Alice would choose. Besides being pretty good looking, he was local, clearly steeped in Creole tradition and played in a band. Wasn’t playing in a band like some sort of super power? Women just loved that, more than a secret book seller.
He rubbed a hand over his face. That wasn’t really fair to Alice. She obviously loved books, too. He turned and paced the living room. Being jealous wasn’t a great feeling and it had been a long time since he’d been jealous over something other than another company’s graphics.
The cable guy came through the front door, barking into his walkie talkie. “Yer gonna have to drill it!” He looked up. “These old places are a pain and a half. We was gonna run the cable right up the front but I remembered Miss Alice said she don’t want it seen from the banquet.” The man clarified. “Ya know, from the sidewalk. So now we gotta go ‘round the side. Takes a lot more time and manpower. But nobody wants to pay the extra fees. Everybody’s got champagne tastes on a beer pocketbook.”
“I’ll cover any extra time and equipment. We just need to get some decent speeds in here,” Paul said.
“Gotcha. And what about the inside? Where’s your flat screen gonna go?” He walked to the fireplace. “It would look real nice right up here.”
Paul considered the room. They hadn’t bothered to set up the couch or chairs in any particular way, but the man was right. “Sure. Let’s do that. We might have another screen over on this side, but we can get a stand for it.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ve got them waiting in a warehouse near here. I’ll have them come and deliver the equipment now so we can get everything hooked up and working.”
“I’ll go down and get my tools. I hope the bricks aren’t real crumbly. Sometimes the drill don’t make much of a punch, but then the bricks start to fall apart. We might have to put in some spacers,” he said, walking through the front door.
Paul looked around at the apartment. He didn’t want to have piles of wires and cables hanging out in the open but this place wasn’t his New York City apartment, with the temperature, lights, and security controlled from any room, by voice.
Andy walked through the door and dropped his laptop on the couch. “Please tell me the cable guys are here to bring this place into the twenty-first century.”
Perching on the arm of a chair, Paul opened his arms to indicate the whole room. “Soon to be ScreenStop gaming central. No more ten-inch screens and dropped connections and music sounding like it’s coming from a toilet paper tube. The gear should be here anytime.”
“That’s a relief. I was about to join the Amish because it at this point it wouldn’t even be a hardship.”
“I’ve always wanted to live in one of these old places but I would have to make some serious renovations,” Paul said.
“Well, we’ll get ya started today.” The cable guy had come back through the door. “So, tell me how we’re gonna do this. All rooms? Or just the one?”
“All,” said Paul and Andy at the same time, then both laughed.
“Man, I miss watching TV in bed,” Andy said.
“Each room could function like a private office while we’ve got games running out here.” Paul glanced around. “This would make a great office building. Lots of character. They’d probably tear out the dividing wall and keep one kitchen, just updated as a break room.”