offered to do it for less, so I said, “I’d love to.” This was definitely going to solve my money problems, and it presented me with a way to diversify my business for the future.
“Good.” She nodded. “I tend to trust my gut, and it’s saying you’re the right person for the job. Can you start tomorrow?”
“Yes.” That would give me a chance to go home and pack a bag.
“Come on. I’ll give you the tour.”
As I stood up and looked out of her window, I caught a glimpse of Noah’s house.
And it was only then that I realized I was about to become his closest neighbor for the next two weeks.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Gladys’s house had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She showed me the guest room and where she kept the spare linens and towels. In the hallway there was a picture of Gladys and Bruce on their wedding day. She was wearing a long, flowy yellow dress and had a wreath of flowers in her hair.
“You look so beautiful in this photo,” I told her.
“My Bruce convinced me to elope. I wore my prom dress. He always did have fool ideas about things.”
In the family room, she showed me the TV and the various necessary remotes. I was instructed not to mess with the DVR recordings of her “stories.”
“My Bruce was always messing with the timers,” she said. I could hear the ache in her voice every time she mentioned her husband. She probably just thought they had been average people in a regular relationship, not knowing how many people probably looked at them and hoped they would find what she’d already had.
I know I did, even if it was impossible for me to have that in my own life.
We went into her kitchen, and she pointed out several places where the wood floors were buckling. “We had some water damage a few years ago. My Bruce always intended to replace them but he never had the time, and then he got sick . . .” She trailed off and shook her head. “Just keep an eye out when you’re in here.”
She showed me where she kept Sunshine’s food. She had already written out her daily routine with her dog, and it boiled down to feeding him at specific times in the morning and evening and taking him for two daily walks. Easy.
Sunshine also had an orange teddy bear that he adored but was often misplacing. She told me to keep an eye on it. I told her I would.
“Any questions?” Gladys asked.
“Not that I can think of.”
I put my phone number into her cell phone and then called it so that we’d have each other’s numbers. She told me she would Venmo me the seven hundred and fifty dollars, and I tried not to look surprised that she knew how to do that. She then went to a drawer to give me a copy of her front door key. “I’ll be leaving for my flight at six in the morning tomorrow. You should come over sometime after that.”
“I will,” I said as I tucked the key into my front pocket. “Thanks for the opportunity. I will take really good care of Sunshine.”
She walked me to the front door, and when Magnus and I stepped out onto the porch, she said, “You feel like an answer to a prayer, although I haven’t spoken to God since my Bruce died.”
“You’re kind of an answer to a prayer for me, too.”
But apparently that was too much emotion for her, as she just muttered, “Bah,” and shut the door in my face.
I grinned. I liked Gladys.
I walked back up the road toward Noah’s house while Magnus tried to sniff every rock and twig we passed. The moving crew’s van was gone, but Shelby’s car was still out front. I let myself inside the house, calling her name.
She came out of the kitchen. “Hey! You were gone awhile.”
“Yeah, I just got a job with Noah’s neighbor. She’s going to pay me to dog sit, so I’ll be there for a couple of weeks.” Then I told her about how my morning had gone and my checking account situation and that the down payment Gladys had given me would tide me over until the bank put my money back.
“That’s a relief,” she said. “And yay for you for expanding your business. Speaking of business, have I mentioned that this is my dream job?”