Luckily for me, Jamie came home late Saturday night, and spent most of the day Sunday working on his laptop while I stopped off at the mall to pick up a couple more sweaters and scarfs for the week ahead.
Normally, a little retail therapy does me some good, but given the circumstance, it was hard to take anything positive from it.
I find it horribly difficult to be around Jamie now. The days following an argument between us are often rigid and fraught with tension while we navigate our way through it. Jamie is usually in search of forgiveness, while I'm trying to forget whatever he might have done. However, I think we both know that neither of those things are coming our way this time.
Whatever damage there is now is entirely irreparable.
A tiny grunt escapes me as I stare down at my phone. I'm not meant to start work at the shop until ten today, but when my screen lights up at eight a.m, I know it can only be one person.
Jeremy is opening the store alone for the first time today, it's a Monday, our slowest day of the week. It should be relatively easy for him to get things up and running, however, given that it's his name flashing across my screen right now, I can only assume that something has gone awry.
"Hi Jeremy," I grumble with a mouth full of cereal, he's lucky that I was already up.
"Izzy? Izzy I need your help!"
I roll my eyes, I've quickly learnt that he's often a tad over dramatic.
"You have to wiggle the key a little when unlocking the door Jeremy," I say, assuming thats the problem, "it just gets stuck sometimes."
"No, it's not that, one of the pipes in the stock room has burst!" he shrieks, "there's water everywhere!"
"What!?"
"I'm not sure what happened," he says, completely panicked, "I found the valve under the sink in the back, I turned it off but now I don't know what to do. Everything is soaking wet!"
"What about the shop Jeremy? Did any water make it out there?"
"No, it's just the stock room, but there's boxes everywhere and they're all completely destroyed!"
Crap.
"Okay, have you called Carol or Michelle?,"
I ask him.
"I can't get hold off either of them," he says. "Michelle mentioned that they were travelling to visit Carols sister today, maybe they've left already, I don't know. But Izzy, I don't have a clue what to do here, can you come in?"
His voice raises about three octaves over the course of that sentence. I grab my jacket with my keys already in hand, I'm way ahead of him.
"Alright," I tell him, "listen to me, try not to panic. I want you to focus on getting the store ready to open for now, keep the water off and ignore whats going on out back, I'll be there shortly okay? Keep yourself calm."
"Okay, sure," he agrees, "I can do that, but please hurry!"
"I'll see you soon."
This is not the day I had in mind when Carol mentioned that they were going out of town. I thought it would be an oppertunity to show them that they can do it more often, but no, why would it ever be that easy.
Carol hasn't seen her sister in months either, this is the last thing she's going to want to hear.
On the drive to the shop I call around for an emergency plumber. Monday might be a slow day for us, but it's certainly not for them. I have to practically beg, but I manage to get one who's willing to come out in an hour, I don't even want to know what his rate is, I just give him the address of the store in the hope he can come and fix it so we don't have to close for the day.
When I get there Jeremy is literally pacing, and looks like he's aged ten years overnight.
"Oh Izzy," he says, "thank god!"
There's not much time for pleasantry's, I get my ass straight to the stock room to survay the damage. And damage there is. Jeremy wasn't exaggerating when he said the place was destroyed.
In a way we're lucky the place is so old, the musty carpet that's in here has taken most of the impact, but its already starting to stink.
Jeremy points out the rusted pipe he saw the water gushing from. Its tucked in behind some shelving, and has managed to spray a lot of the products we have stored on it. It looks like there'll be a good chunk of money lost from this.
My shoes and socks are already soaked, and all I've done so far is stand here. This clean up is sure going to be fun.
"So," I say, turning back to Jeremy and clasping my hands together. "Here's what I want you to do."
He immediately starts biting his nails, staring at me like I'm about to ask him to explain subatomic particles.
"Let's divide and conquer, I'll make back here my problem, and out front will be yours until the plumber gets here and we know how bad it is. We can circle back afterward and make a plan then. Deal?"
"Yes defiantly," he says, nodding his head the whole time I talk, "I can do that." He wrings his hands every now and then, and I'm sure the glisten on his forehead is sweat and not water from the leak. The guy is a nervous wreck.
"Hey," I say, placing my hands on his shoulders, "it's nobodies fault, shit happens, we'll get it cleaned up and go from there okay?"
Jeremy looks at the damaged stock and equipment that surrounds us, he might need a little more convincing than that, but we don't have the time. I usher him out to the front and start pulling boxes up off the floor, throwing them up onto the shelves that have managed to go unscathed.
As promised, the plumber arrives within the hour. He's actually super sweet and so helpful. Not what I was expecting at all when I was doing my best to guilt him into coming out here.
He's able to remove the section of the pipe that's damaged and replace it, allowing us to turn back on the water and stay open. I leave him to it and watch the store while I send Jeramy out to buy some towels, mops, a dehumidifier and as many packs of kitchen towels as he can fit into his car. Honestly, I think he needs the break, he's been fidgeting and flapping so much that you'd swear he burst the damn pipe himself.
Every now and again I pop my head back and look over the mess out back. It's going to take forever to sort out.
As soon as Jeremy gets back, and the plumber leaves a bill for a distastefully extortionate amount, I get to work. I mop, soak, and whatever else it takes to remove as much water as I possibly can. An hour or so in and I'm drenched right down to my underwear, but there's progress being made and thats all that matters.
"Oh gosh, Izzy?"
It's impossible not to hear the shards of panic in Jeremy's voice again as he pushes open the door behind me. If he's found a rat or something I swear I'm done.
"What is it?" I ask, looking up at him. He lifts his phone to show me Carols name, she's calling him back.
"Oh, give it here," I say, "I can talk to her."
I wipe my hands on a towel and prepare to break the news, she's not going to take this well.
The call doesn't go so bad, I explain exactly what I know to Carol, and what we've done to mitigate it all so far. She's happy with how we're looking after things, but I can tell she wants to see how bad it is for herself. I try to diswade her from cutting her visit with her sister short.
"Honestly, there's no point coming back now Carol," I tell her, "it's going to take you hours. Stick with your plan, Jeremy and I have things under control."
"I don't know Izzy," she says, unsure about what she should do.
"There's very little you'll be able to control now Carol. I'll assess what's lost once I go through it all and I'll call you. Unfortunately it is some big ticket items, all the base drums for sure..."
I can sense her confliction, and ultimately she decides to leave her sisters early and come see the damage for herself. I'm confident I've made the right decisions here, so I know the fact they're rushing back isn't down to how this was handled. The store is pretty much their baby, it should be no big shock that they want to look it over, so don't dwell on it too much and get back to work.
By the time I've soaked up all the water, it's the middle of the afternoon. That one task took so much longer than I anticipated, and the place looks no better than when I started.
I'm starting to get flustered, and it doesn't help knowing that the ladies will be back in just a few hours. To top it all off, Jeremy comes looking for me yet again. Please don't be more bad news.
"Sorry to interupt Izzy," he says, "but there's a gentleman out front looking for you."
"Oh." I look down at my clothing, I'm in no state to serve a customer, I'm wet through. "Do you think you could look after it?" I ask.
"I did tell him you were busy, but he's adamant that he wants to talk to you, nobody else."
You've got to be kidding me.
"Ugh, fine!," I huff, " I guess I'll just do everything around here!"
I throw my pen and notepad onto a shelf, knocking over a box of harmonicas in the process and sending them scattering to the floor.
Jeremy shuffles backward, making space for the hurricane coming his direction. I don't even make it two steps out the door of the stock room before I'm feeling like I've kicked a puppy.
I pinch the bridge of my nose as I come to a stop and take a breath.
"I'm sorry," I say, "that was unnesseary, it's been a hell of a morning, I don't mean to take it out on you."
"Oh hey, don't worry," he says, "I get it."
He's far too quick to forgive me, and now his kindness makes me feel like I've kicked two puppies. Nice Izzy.
I try to be a little more understanding, reminding myself that he is still new after all.
"I hate customers like this," I tell him, "It's probably just a regular that knows you've just started here, that's all. I bet the guy only wants some guitar strings or something."
As we step out front, I'm expecting to see some older man based on Jeremy's use of the word 'gentleman'. But standing there waiting for me by the checkout is the one person I didn't expect. Will.
"I'm all set for those strings," he says, his humour letting the dimples in his cheeks show, "but thanks anyway."
I feel myself becoming flushed. What the hell is he doing here? And how quick can I make him leave?
He looks as bewildered by my appearance as I am about his presence.
"What happened here?" he asks, pointing at my wet clothes. His confusion only grows as he glances down at my shoes, which make a noisy squelching sound every time I move.
Quickly crossing my arms, I try to cover myself, suddenly a lot more self conscious of my dishevelled appearance than I was when I came storming out here.
"We had a leak," I explain, "a real one... what are you doing here?"
Will glances past me to where Jeremy stands, watching us with interest, but he's undetered.
"We need to talk Izzy," he says, "can you take a break? We can go grab a coffee, or maybe a towel."
The quirk of his eyebrow makes that flush of embarassment sweep across my whole face, I'm all too aware of how this might look to Jermy, and I don't want him getting the wrong idea. Slanting my body towards Will, I keep my voice low.
"It's not a good time right now, you need to leave."
"Not until you talk to me," he says, hellbent on making things difficult.
This is a pain in the ass. As if having him arrive here unannounced wasnt bad enough, now he expects me to drop everything for him too?
Somehow unaware that I'm trying to get rid of Will, Jeremy encourages the break.
"You should go Izzy," he says enthusiastically, "you must be starving. I'll be okay here by myself for awhile."
I feel the muscles in my shoulders tense as I clench my teeth together, regretting that apology already.
"Jeremy, I think there's someone looking for help over there by the music books."
He hears my clipped tone and takes the hint, practically racing to get away from me.
Glaring back at Will, I know I need to make this short and very very clear.
"I can't go anywhere like this, or with you," I tell him, "and you can't be here either."
"Why's that?" he asks, being deliberately obtuse.
"You know why!" I hiss.
"Ah yes, because your insane boyfriend wants to control every move you make, how could I forget."
If only he knew.
"I'm glad you find it so funny Will. But you know what? You're right, I can't risk seeing you and Jamie finding out about it, so do me favour and leave."
"Why do you think I came here and not your apartment?" he asks, but I really hope thats meant to be a joke too. Will shakes his head, letting out a sigh. "I can't tell you how many times I talked myself out of going there yesterday Izzy."
There's that sharp heat in my chest again. I can't belive he'd consider being so reckless.
"Are you insane Will? You can't do that. You have to promise me," I say, practically begging him . "You don't underatand what could happen."
The heat rises up my neck, causing little beads of sweat to mix with the damp coating already on my skin.
Wills twitchy expression reveals his suspicion as he scans his eyes over me for any obvious bruises or marks. He knows without even having to ask.
"What happened to all the stuff you said about him changing Isobel?" he asks, but all I can think about is him knocking on my door and Jamie answering. It would be like a red flag to a bull.
"Promise me I said." I can barely keep the tremmor from my voice.
Wills eyes close, his body becoming ridged. He takes a moment to gather himself before raising his eyes to me again.
"Okay, I promise," he says reluctantly. "You know I'd never do anything that stupid Izzy, that's why I'm here. I want to help you. I want to get you as far away from that guy as possible. He won't ever put a hand on you again."
I stare back at him in amazement, the very idea of what he just said makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. It must seem so simple to him, but I know that it's not.
"Nobody can help me with this Will," I say quietly, holding back tears.
He takes a step closer to me, his fingers itching to reach me.
"We can figure it out Iz."
I wish we could, but Will being here right now is dangerous enough, I can't risk him getting hurt.
"No," I tell him as I back away. "If you want to help me, you can turn around and walk right back out that door. That's the only possible way you can help."
I feel my bottom lip tremble as he watches me, I really wish he'd get out of here.
Suddenly, a loud pop sounds from behind me, one that pulls my attention away from Will entirely. It's followed by a strange hissing noise that registers with me instantly, sending me running straight for the stock room.
This has to be a some kind of cruel prank, there's water spraying everywhere! Again!
Will appears behind me, squeezing his way passed, I hadn't even realised he was following me. He grabs one of the towels from the floor, and wraps it as best he can around the pipe.
"Izzy!" he shouts over the noise, "the water, can you turn it off?"
The useless towel he holds onto does nothing to stem the gush of water that now sprays every inch of him, he's just short of being hosed down head to toe when he shouts for me to shut off the valve again.
By the time I get to it and turn it off, there's now another pool of water in the stock room and a whole new mess I need to deal with.
Will pulls the towel away, inspecting where the leak came from.
"You're going to need a plumber to look at this," he says.
My shoulders drop.
"I had one here just this morning," I whine, pushing passed him so I can take a look at it myself, not that I have a clue what I'm supposed to be looking at.
I feel like I've bitten off far more than I can chew, and on top of it, I now get to have Will here to watch me fail .
I bury my head in my hands, contemplating my next move when I feel Wills hand on my a shoulder.
"Isobel, it's not your fault, there's not much you can do here."
"Just, shush for a second!" I snap, raising my finger up to silence him. "I'm trying to think."
Will is right, theres not much I can do now. Whatever is wrong with that stupid pipe is something that I can't fix. It's already the afternoon and I probably won't get another plumber to look at it until tomorrow, so theres no other choice but to close the store. There's no running water, which means we can't even flush the toilet, it's a no brainer.
I give Jeremy a shout to let him know that we're calling it a day, and ask him lock up out front.
"And you!," I say, turning back and narrowing in on Will, "I need you to leave. I can't concentrate on any of this with you here."
And more to the point, I'm terrified that Jamie will somehow find out that I saw him.
"I think I'll stick around if it's all the same," he says offhandedly, still checking over the pipe, although I have a feeling that he's just faking an interest.
"It isn't, you should go." I place my hands on my hips, trying to show some form of authority, not that he's paying much attention.
"Would it change your mind if I told you that I think I can fix this leak?," he says. "I'll need some tools though, do you have any here?"
I blink at him dumbfounded. Is he not hearing the words coming out of my mouth? Have I been talkimg to myself this whole time? He sure makes it seem that way, because he's already started working before I can even say no, moving the shelving out of his way so he can get a better look at things.
Little drops of water are falling from the strands of his hair because he hasn't made any attempt to dry himself off yet. Tiny trickles run down the side of his face, making me notice the stubble that sits around his jawline. He's normally clean shaven, but I like it like this too. His t-shirt was a nice olive green colour when he arrived, is more like damp spinach now that it's wet, all the same, when it's clung to him like that, it makes me feel like there's a tornado brewing in the pit my stomach.
No. He has to leave.
Without so much as looking at me, Will makes a counter point before I even begin to argue with him.
"Izzy, I'm going to keep on coming back here until you talk to me, so why not hear me out now and get this fixed at the same time?"
He gives me a very quick glance before twisting something, it looks like he might actually know what he's doing after all. I'm torn between not wanting to let the ladies down, and absolutely not wanting to find myself in any trouble with Jamie, but if Will says he's going to keep on coming back then I've a better chance of Jamie staying oblivious if I go ahead and get this over with now.
"Should it take long?" I ask, hopeful that the day hasn't been entirely lost.
"Couple of hours maybe, it really depends."
"On what?"
"On how much sass you're going to throw at me before you give in and let me start."
His smart ass commentary only serves to rile me up, but I drop my hands from my hips anyway, giving in just like he said.
"Fine." I tell him. "What tools do you need? I'll see what we have."
"A wrench to start, please."
"Sure. I'll get you a clean towel too before you make an even bigger mess for me to clean up."
My nostrils flare as I see his eyes light up in amusement.
"What's so funny?" I ask, already irritated by whatever answer he has.
"Nothing, I just never imagined you being so bossy before."
"I'm not bossy!," I protest.
"If you say so," he says, chuckling softly. "But I didn't say that I didn't like it."
I don't engage him any further, especially because I can't tell if that was an attempt to flirt with me or not. There'll be plenty of time to talk once the store is locked up and I get Jeremy out of here. I could probably use his help out back, but if I've to hash all this out with Will I don't want any extra ears in on the conversation.
I've got to bite the bullet and get this over with.