2019-08-15 - Fixing A Trailer

Declan texted and let Dahlia know that he was coming over to check out her place.

At eight in the morning, there's a knock on her door.

There was no answer at the door! Instead, a few minutes later, a blue Camry pulls up and Dahlia gets out of the back with her usual routine of thanking the driver. She' got two cups of coffee in a carton from one of the local coffee shops too. "You are way too early of a riser." Dahlia said with a laugh as she walks up the few stairs and kisses his cheek before finagling her key out of the pocket of her shorts and unlocking it. The trailer is old, worn out. There's a stale sort of smell lingering - like it's been closed up for a while. Which, it has. It's devoid of any personal belongings it seems aside some wickless scent warmers still dotted throughout, but turned off.

Setting the coffees on the counter of the little kitchen, she refocused on Declan. No makeup at all today since apparently she rushed out the door to meet him here. Hair left down with a quick brush through and a pair of shorts and a tank top. This is probably the most natural state he's ever seen her in. "I don't even know where to start, or where you want to start. But, you have the run of the place." A beat of pause before flashing another smile and offering him one of the coffees, "And Good morning."

"Some days," Declan replies. He smiles a little at the chaste kiss and follows her into the trailer. Looking around, he nods a few times and pushes up against the frame of the door. Next, the wall. "Looks like it's been empty awhile." He turns back. "It is. Any morning with you and coffee in it is a good one." He walks over, sets his bag down, and kisses her on the forehead. "Tell me what bothers you the most about it, and we'll go from there." He accepts the coffee and takes a sip.

The only thing remaining really is the big furniture. Couch, kitchen table, beds, that kind of stuff. Dahlia makes a pleased little noise at the kiss to her forehead as she sips her own coffee. "Since mom died. Justin let me move in with him after it happened." She frowned a touch, glancing down towards her mother's bedroom door. "I don't know really. It's just...old. And I mostly hate it for emotional reasons. So, lemme think a minute." Leaning against the counter and trying to assess the place without the colored glasses. "...Well, I know the water pressure sucks. And I think the electrics probably a little shoddy. The interior could use just...a whole update." It still looked like something right out of a 70s or 80s tv show. "But that's not really vital." Finally looking back to Declan. "And the outside could use a pressure washing - and get those damn christmas lights taken down."

"Electric in a trailer is tricky, but I can take a look. Water pressure probably means replacing the tank. Or a major repair. The rest is easy." Declan sets a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezes, then pulls her in for a hug. "You did right by your mom. You're still doing right by her. When this place is done, she'll be proud. Even if she knows you hate it." Declan smiles a little. "Who knows. Maybe you won't even recognize it when the decorations change."

Dahlia glanced over to his hand when he squeezed her shoulder and then smiled a bit up at him. "I keep telling myself that." She agreed. "Maybe! Maybe I'll even like it some. I'll give the estimate to Harlan and see what he thinks. Shouldn't be too difficult for him to okay stuff. Means he can rent it for a higher price when it's all done and I finally let it go." She wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug and breathing in his scent. "Okay. I'll let you work. Though lemme know if I can help. I'll try my best not to turn this into a porno situation." Giggling as she says it. "You're lucky. you caught me so early. Else I woulda put Justin's accidental suggestion into practice." Grinning a moment when she steps back from him and took another sip of her coffee.

Declan begins to reply, then frowns. "... wait, what?" he asks, pulling back a bit. His head tilts. "A porno?" It takes him a minute. "Oh." He laughs and sets the coffee down so that he can wipe at an eye. "Wow. Wooooow. Although, that's happened more than once. You'd be surprised. Handyman is a pretty popular fantasy." Smirking, he shakes his head and lowers the arm. "Let's go look at that tank first."

Dahlia just grinned as she watched him catch up. "Not surprising. You're a good lookin' guy. I'd let you fix me up any day." She teases and then moves past him. There's a long closet on the other side of the kitchen. It might look like a pantry but when you open it up it's actually the laundry area. Washer, dryer, and a large tank all nestled together. "This it?" She asked, honestly not sure. Running a hand through her hair and taking a step back to let him get a closer look.

"Would you? Not sure you can fix perfect," Declan replies with a wide smirk. "That's never getting old for me. You know that, right?" He follows and looks into the closet. "Yeah, it is." Declan squeezes in and takes a look at the pipes leading away from the tank. Any leaks? Next, he turns to the floor and sees if there's any water damage. "Wonder if it's original to the place."

"God damn it." Dahlia laughed. "Every time. But I am so far from perfect, I'm sure there's a couple places you could patch up." She mused, leaning against the kitchen table. It was a small kitchen! It was a wonder 6 people, then 5 managed to live here at once. The pipes are old, it's not leaking currently but it looks like it has in the past. Some light water damage. Nothing critical. "It might be? I dunno how long water tanks last. Harlan would know more I guess." She took another sip of coffee, shamelessly checking him out when he was all leaned over and stuff looking at the tank.

"Only place I can think of patching... okay, this one's a reach. Nevermind," Declan says with a wide smile. "And I know you aren't perfect. It's just a dumb line," Declan replies. "It always seems like you need some laughter. Besides, it's a good one. Laugh, I mean." He shoots her a glance and catches her checking him out. After a wink, he reaches into his bag and pulls out the drill. A panel to the tank is removed so that he can look inside. "Yeah," he sighs. "I see the problem. Basically, you've two options. I can patch this with parts, and it'll probably stay kicking for another two to five years. Or I can replace it, but it'll be good to go. But six, seven grand instead of two hundred bucks or so."

Dahlia's eyes sparkled with amusement as he backtracks out of whatever he was going to say. "Now ya got me all curious." She shifts and pulls herself up so she's sitting on the table. Legs dangling off the side. "I always like a good laugh, and I like that you make me laugh." She nodded. Glancing towards the tank and cringing at the price differences. "Damn. Well. Patching with parts is probably the way to go with that. So long as there isn't gonna be some electrical mishap because of electricity and water and all that."

"I almost said I'd patch up your lips with tape," Declan says. "Which... I probably would. I just don't think that's really patching," Declan explains with a laugh. "And me, too Dahlia." He puts the panel back on the tank, moving quick. "There won't be any issues with that. I just need to replace a valve and a panel inside. It'll be fine, but I do have to order those parts. Let's look at where the electric was finicky next?"

Dahlia feigned an offended look. "Are you saying I talk too much?" Putting a hand over her chest as if she was wounded. Then giggled a bit, watching him work. "Okay, good. Let me know when you do, I'll give you the money for it if you need it up front." She said, sliding off the table and leading him towards her mother's bedroom. She sighed softly, steeling herself before going inside. "The panel's in here. The lights are normally good. But sometimes they just flicker. Kitchen, living room."

Declan comes up behind Dahlia and wraps his arms around her shoulders. "You don't talk too much. I just like focusing on your eyes sometimes." He kisses the top of her head. "I'll let you know how much it is. I have to research the part first." When they're near the box, he looks it over slowly. Popping it open... he sighs. Oops. Declan checks the switches, then flips the whole thing off. The power goes, and he begins to remove the panel. "Yeah, let's see what's happening underneath. But, if I'm being honest already, this should just be replaced. If it's in decent shape beneath, I can swap a few fuses. But yeah. Let's see."

Dahlia leans into Declan's embrace contently for those few seconds. Then they are walking into the room. She settles on the edge of the bed, letting him do what he wants and needs to with the panel. A little jump when the power went out. Plunging them into darkness aside the daylight filtering in from the window. "How much is it to replace?"

"Depends? Place like this, probably three or four grand for something middle of the road. I can shop around and see if there's something cheaper. Trailers really don't take a lot." Once the panel's off, Declan sighs again. He taps at a fuse and black crap crumbles down. He wipes at his nose. "At least they didn't double tap anything. Alright. I can patch this up a bit, but I'm not sure it's the safest. It might be okay, but when you see that black stuff it means there's been way too much heat already. I can replace things to make those connections safer, but if the heat affected anything else and it's failing, too? That means trouble. Professional advice: don't mess with electricity." He shrugs. "I'd replace it. No judgment, no matter what you want to do."

Dahlia got off the bed, moving closer so she could peek at the black crud. "I mean, Harlan's got the final say. Not sure he'll want to drop three grand. I'd replace it and figure out something if it was me but let's go with just...patching it up for now. I can give him both options." She decided, leaning against the wall and peeking out the window to look at a couple of the neighboring trailers. "He could surprise me." Looking back to Declan with a smile. "I appreciate you giving it all a look over either way."

"Sure," Declan says. He starts popping fuses off, checking them. A few are put in his bag, the others go in his pocket. Next, he starts to carefully scrape away the burnt plastic and metal, careful not to let it fall on the floor. "This will take me at least thirty minutes. I'll run and get the replacement fuses from the hardware store after. Those are about ten bucks per." He looks over at Dahlia. "And I'll get my power washer while I'm out. That'll take me about an hour and a half." He turns back. "There's um. There's something we should talk about while I work here. I meant to bring it up the other night, but I didn't want to dump... more. On top of that."

"Sure. Let me know if I can help with anything or get anything ready to make it all easier." Dahlia offered. Though her demeanor shifted a touch when he said they needed to talk. Damn, she hated talking and it was written all over her face. "Uh, okay." She finally managed. Realizing she'd just been sort of staring at him. Straightening a bit. "What's up?"

"Your friend Mae, she invited me over to look at her condo. Nothing happened, but she flirted with me pretty hard. I'm not sure if she knows about us, I don't really care. But the topic of sex did come up sort of... abruptly." Declan shrugs. "I think she's lonely. As we talked, I realized we'd never had the conversation. You and me, I mean. We're in that limbo stage. Dating not-dating. Not really sure what we are as you figure things out with your ex." Declan scrapes. "I don't want you to feel pressure, alright? That's not what I'm about. I can wait, I'm patient. I'm not going to get beat up if you want to wait and then decide we aren't going to work out. But I'd like you to keep it in the back of your mind. Give it a week, maybe two."

Dahlia listened quietly. There was a tightness in her jaw, like she was trying to think before she spoke. Then it relaxed. "I talked about a guy, didn't specify you by name." She offered in answer. So no, Mae didn't know about them. Whatever they were. "Javier is out of the hospital now. We'll be having dinner soon. I'll give you an answer after that." Her answer simple, though the expression on her face was more complex. "What do you want Declan?" She asked after a moment of silence. "I know I have to figure my shit out. And I'm going to but...at the end of the day...what do you want out of us? Do you want something serious, do you want it casual? Do you want to be exclusive do you want to be open? What do you want in a relationship? In this relationship?"

Declan smiles. "Wish I could remember how many times I've been asked that question," he replies. The scraping is stopped so that he can turn and look at her. "Every relationship is different. I don't think you can force something with expectations like what I want from us." He thinks for a moment. "I want someone who's honest with me. Who I can talk to, and they feel like they can talk to me. Someone who likes sex, too. That's pretty important for me, a lot of the physical stuff." He wipes his hand on his pants. "And I need someone who understands I like to work, and accepts the work I do." He leans back. "I think as long as those things are met, I'd be open to a lot of other needs, really."

Dahlia was still leaning against the wall, watching him work, rolling over a few things in her mind. But when he turns to her, she's focused on him completely again. "Sounds reasonable enough." She offered up afterwards. "I'll have you a decent answer soon enough. Because, I mean, I have an answer now. I do. But it's that needling little voice in the back of my head that's telling me I need to just...put my feelings for Javier and where we stand in a more permanent, proper, perspective so it doesn't come back to bite me - or us - in the ass later."

"Sure. Like I said, take your time." Declan smiles and returns to work. "We can put the brakes on us, too, if it makes it easier with your ex. I don't want to be a complication in your life. I just want to help you find the solution, whatever that may be." He glances at her. "Sound good? Oh, and... I won't answer Mae until after our talk. But I did invite her out for a drink and conversation. She sounded like she needed a friend. A real one."

"You aren't a complication. I'm my own complication." Dahlia pushed a hand through her hair. "I will say I don't know how things are going to go at dinner? There's a lot of...various tensions lingering at least for me. I don't know what will or won't happen." Feeling just a touch awkward even talking about it before shaking her head a bit. "But, no matter what...we'll have our talk . Mae seems like a good person. A little rough around the edges but, alright. And I think she needs friends too. It's good to have different people to talk to and all that." Shifting away from the wall and moving back over to the bed to sit down.

"Me neither. Given your last talk, he'll piss you off. I'll make sure I know where the rope is." He finishes a scrape and turns on a light to look inside. "But if he doesn't and you guys become a thing again, it'll be fine. It happens. I'll still be around." Declan wipes his brow. "Mae seems... uh. Complicated. But yeah, that's what happened. I hope she settles and finds some people to hang with. Outside of work."

"It's really anyone's guess, but if I come storming in, be ready to tie me up." There a touch of a wry smile on her lips as she teases. Half-teases. She was trying to stay optimistic that dinner would be civil at least. They'd talk, catch up, she'd figure out where they stand and then...well, they'd be friends at least. Sort of. Dahlia shook her head again. "I'm glad you told me. Even if nothing happened." Leaning back a bit, resting on her hands. "I hope so too. I know she's got her roommate, whose name I still don't know...but yeah. I think we'll end up friends on some level. But it's important to have non-work friends too." She agreed.

"Sure. Maybe I'll do your legs, too." Declan smirks a little as he works. Almost finished. "Like I said, I'm big into honesty. You never know what'll bother people. At least if you're honest, you did your best." He lowers the screwdriver and wipes it off on his pants, then puts it back in the bag. "She said she had a couple. Anyway, I'm ready to head to the store. Do you want to come with? Or do you have stuff you need to do?"

"Very true." Dahlia agreed, sitting up some when he's finished. "I'll come with. Won't kill me to walk into a hardware store. I wanted to check out some shelving possibilities for my craft room anyhow. So, get to do that maybe and spend some time learning how you work. Two birds, one stone." She rises to her feet, stretching some. "I'll treat you to lunch later on too if you want. Least I can do." Flashing him another smile and then heading out of the room., towards the front door.

Declan follows her, taking his bag. "Sure, I can show you what I do." Declan moves along. "Oh, you don't need to. We can hit up a place together, but don't feel like you need to treat me to anything. By the way, don't flip the electric back on until I get those fuses in." Once they make it into the driveway, he unlocks his truck and says, "I'll drive, though." Once they're in the truck, he pulls out and takes them down the road to the store. It's not a very long visit. After, he picks up that power washer... and then they do lunch. It takes him until two in the afternoon to wrap up what he can at the trailer. It's boring work, but if she sticks around Declan teases her and tries to keep things light.