The Regretful Lives of Richard Bell: A Middle Falls Time Travel Story by Shawn Inmon

Author:Shawn Inmon [Inmon, Shawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time travel, regret
Publisher: Pertime Publishing
Published: 2022-08-24T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Richard hired Antonio to help him hang and tape the drywall. In the end, Richard helped Antonio, but not much more than that. Where Herbert had told Richard how to do something, then watched him do it, Antonio took a more efficient path.

He took charge and did the work, all the while telling Richard what he was doing and why. At the end of the three days, the room had begun to really look like a room, though Richard still wasn’t confident in his ability to do any of the things he had just seen.

Will, on the other hand, was fascinated by Antonio. As soon as he got home from school each day, he ran to his room to change into his play clothes and headed for the garage.

It did not go unnoticed by Antonio.

“I think you’ve got a future contractor here,” he said, nodding at Will.

That wouldn’t be bad, would it? Richard tried to remember what occupation Will had in Richard’s first life. To his shame, he couldn’t remember. Something in computers, he thought, but he wasn’t even sure of that.

In any case, when Friday evening rolled around, the room was framed and drywalled and the mud had been applied. They ran out of time before Antonio could sand the mud down, but he showed Richard how to do it—to sand the horizontal joints first, then the vertical.

“When you get that all done, call me and I’ll pop back and spray some texture on the walls. No charge. It’ll look weird if you don’t do that, and I’ve got all the equipment we need to do it.”

The room was a little dark because there were no windows to the outside, but Richard thought he could just up the wattage of the overhead lightbulbs and put in a few table lamps and it would be cozy. He figured it would be the last place his mom ever saw on Earth, and he wanted to make it nice.

The next morning, he went to the small carpeting store tucked off of Main Street. He talked the project over with the man who owned the store, Mr. Robinson. He recommended that, to keep costs down, Richard should go with inexpensive, contractor-grade carpeting. But, because it would be on a concrete floor, he should go for the nicer pad so it would feel better on his mother’s feet.

Richard thanked him for being kind on his budget. He explained he was already in hot water with his wife for spending the money on the project.

“For your mom?” Mr. Robinson asked, shaking his head. “I don’t understand people.”

“It’s complicated,” Richard said, hauling out a phrase that would be more popular in another few decades.

“Family should never be complicated. I’m going to give you half off on the installation, too. When do you want my guys to show up?”

“How about late afternoon Monday? I’ve got to work, but I can be home a little after five o’clock.”

“My guys are like vampires. They like working at night. That will be fine.

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