Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
My father had trouble with arthritis in his hands. My mom taught me how to massage them when they felt locked up. He was a stubborn man, so he often refused to leave the office or whatever site we were working that day.
I am so tempted to take Reid’s big hands in mine and show him some relief.
But only because it’s the nice thing to do.
“Just explain what you did today.” Patrick nods to the cameraman.
“Well, I woke up,” I begin.
The cameraman is named Mike, and he chuckles. “She caught on quickly.”
“She’s made of sarcasm, like the other one. The one with the computers,” Patrick says with a shake of his head. “All right, Harper, could you please explain the trouble you had today and why it’s important.”
I have gotten more comfortable in front of the camera. Especially when we’re talking strictly about work. They sometimes try to slip in questions like “how is it going working with the Dorsey brothers?” That’s when I freeze up, but this is the last shot of the day, and everyone seems eager to go home. It’s late, and I’m looking forward to having a quiet workplace. I’m looking forward to some quiet because when Reid finds out we’ve hit a big pause in the kitchen, he’s going to… Well, I have no idea what he’s going to do. He’s kind of been a rock through everything. This might not freak him out at all.
I face Patrick, who stands slightly to the left of the camera. We discovered this is the best way for me to handle these piece-to-camera scenes. “So we got a surprise when we opened up the west side wall of the kitchen. According to the records with the city, Banover Place was rewired in the eighties. Now as all of my Gen X relatives will tell you, the eighties were a free-wheeling time, and apparently that applies to following code. Whoever was responsible for the rewiring not only didn’t bother to take out the old knob and tube wiring, they left it live. Knob and tube was used in homes in the States from…the late nineteenth century through roughly 1940. Think first-generation electricity. And it’s sitting there still connected while the updated lighting is as well. It’s all connected. Like a string puzzle. Except this string puzzle could potentially shock the hell out of you, and it’s a big old fire hazard. So it has to be dealt with.”
“Can you deal with it?”
Patrick often asks questions during the sessions, but I’ve been told it’s to prompt me for more material since his voice will be edited out. So it’s up to me to in some way repeat the question so the viewer knows what I’m talking about. “This is the kind of electrical work that requires a specialist. Molly is a wiz with modern electricity, but she’s never worked with knob and tube since she wasn’t even born when it was phased out. I’m pretty sure her grandma might not have been born. I mean this stuff is old, and given how it’s wired, we need someone with experience dealing with it. We need to basically take everything out and start over again.”
“What’s the cost we’re looking at?”
This was the bad part. Besides taking time, it’s going to take cash to fix this problem. A lot of it. “Depending on whether we find it in other parts of the house—and I have no reason to think they properly wired the rest of it—we’re looking at rewiring a twelve-thousand-square-foot house. At the very least I estimate a hundred K. It’s more than enough to throw the whole project into chaos. This is the kind of news no one wants to hear.”
A groan goes through the small crew.
Patrick sighs, and the assistant director calls it for the night. “Well, you are a fount of happy news, Harper.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much in the job description.” There’s a reason people hate contractors, but we have to be realistic. “I already talked to Ani. She’s going to discuss it with Luca and their mysterious buyer.”
I do not ever mention the mysterious buyer on camera. That’s a no-no. We actually don’t talk about the fact that there is often a buyer when they start filming, but we’re running with a skeleton crew right now, and they all know the truth.
“Tomorrow is going to be a fun day,” Patrick says with a huff. “I’m going up to the office. Everyone wrap up. We’ve got an eight a.m. call.”
I step back into the kitchen as the crew starts to put away the equipment for the night.
It’s getting late, but it’s not like I have anything better to do. I look over at the shelving units that were delivered today. They’re lovely. White Oak. Very high end and will go beautifully in what we’re calling the great room.