Page 84 of Fierce-Ivan

He laughed, glad she could make a joke about it. “It doesn’t matter. I’m happy to spend time here too.”

“It’s not the same as relaxing at your place. You’ve got more room and it’s comfortable there.”

“It’s comfortable here too,” he said. “I like your place. It’s relaxing. Mine is boring.”

“It is,” she said, poking him in the belly. “But I like it.”

“What’s that noise?” he asked.

“What noise?”

“That drip,” he said and turned from her to move to the kitchen. Her sink was dripping.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t push it down all the way. I was washing the sink.” She lifted the handle and pushed it down, then waited. The drip was still there. It was slower, but it was there. She did it two more times and it finally stopped.

“Let me fix that,” he said.

“There isn’t anything wrong with it.”

“Of course there is,” he said. “I’m not sure what you’re wasting more water doing. Turning your faucet on and off enough times to get it tight enough to stop or just letting it drip.”

“I didn’t ask you here to do work. I thought we could relax and maybe play some games or something before we went downstairs for dinner.”

“Do you have to help your mother with dinner?” he asked.

“No. She put a roast beef in a rotisserie oven that we’ve got. It’s an old one we’ve had for years. It does all the work and it’s perfect and doesn’t need to be checked. I helped her put the beef in and she made the mashed potatoes while I was there earlier so they only need to be warmed up. The veggies are easy too, but you don’t eat much of them.”

“I eat them when they are there,” he said. “Most times. Where are your tools? I know you’ve got some.”

“I don’t need you to fix this,” she said again.

“You’re practical like me. I bet they are in your laundry room since you don’t have a lot of space for things like this.”

He moved past her, ignoring her statement and went into the laundry room. On the shelf he found a toolbag and pulled it down, then got the wrench and went to the kitchen.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried to fix it already?” she said. “I’m not stupid. I know how to do little things.”

“I know more than you when it comes to this,” he said.

He bent down and went under the cabinet and moved some of her cleaners out of the way to tighten a few things there. Everything looked good though and it was dry. It was probably a washer in the faucet, so he got up and started to take that apart.

“What are you doing?”

“Finding out what is causing the leak.”

“You’re going to make it worse,” she said.

“No, I’m not. But if I do, then I’ll fix it. If I have to replace it, I will.”

“I don’t need you to take care of this,” she argued. “I can do things myself or hire someone to do it.”

“You didn’t ask; I’m offering.”

“I don’t think this is offering. You just started to do it.”

“Because you wouldn’t have asked,” he pointed out. He had it apart. “There. Your washer is stripped. Easy fix. I’ll just run to the store and get another one.”

She stared at him. “Let me give you money?”