“Why?” JC asked again as he followed her down the hall.
Laura wouldn’t seem to answer him. “Where’s your basement?”
“The door on your right.”
Laura opened the door to the basement and looked down into the shadows. JC reached around her and hit the light switch. A layer of water covered the cement floor and he raised an eyebrow as if to say, “See?”
“Oh no, this is really a mess,” she told him as carefully she stepped down the stairs. “I always wonder why these sort of things happen. No storm, no excess rain water… it has to be,”
“The pipes,” JC finished for her.
Laura looked at the ceiling and gave him a look of pity. “I’m really sorry for what I’m about to tell you.”
“Oh, no,” JC gulped.
“These type of pipes were only made for a short period in the seventies, and they aren’t usually covered by insurance because of their history of… well, how do I put this… exploding. I’m sorry to say, Josh, but that’s exactly what happened, and we just can’t cover you.” She looked up at his shocked expression. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.
JC leaned against the basement railing and put his hand to his forehead. “Oh great…this is just fantastic. Now, what am I supposed to do?”
The air was getting colder; he could feel it in his bones as he looked down into the murky water. Good-bye, Minnesota. Hello, Florida. He really wasn’t excited at all about the trip. Minnesota was his home now, and it was the only home that Angel had ever known. Besides, Florida meant Justin, the past, and all the other things he wished to forget.
The truth was, he couldn’t forget. He thought about them everyday without fail. And, most of all, he couldn’t get the idea out of his head that Justin was still seeking revenge.
That TV show… the one where Justin had looked so sincere, so concerned… it had really thrown JC for a loop. The look on Justin’s face when they were at Carrie’s funeral had been permanently embedded in his mind, so this new Justin… JC was having trouble replacing the old one with him.
What could he do? His mother was calling him at least once a day, begging for him to bring Angel down to Florida, and his house was practically in ruins. Worst of all, his funds, for the second time in his life, were running low. The damn insurance company wouldn’t pay for pipe damage, so he was forced to take money out of his own company to pay for repairs. If the totals got any higher, he didn’t know where he’d come up with the money, but shutting down Chords was his very last option.
“Daddy?” Angel said, tugging at the end of her father’s shirt. “Your phone is… I mean, WAS ringing.”
JC turned around and she handed him his cell phone. He glanced down at the screen. Angel was right. It WAS his mom. He put the phone into his pocket and then bent over to pick his daughter up. Once she was gathered up in his arms, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Angel, honey, I have something I need to talk to you about.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. “Sure, Daddy.”
He carried her up the dock, and toward the house. “You know how Grandma’s been calling a lot lately?”
“Yeah?”
“And do you remember when we went to visit her and Grandpa last Christmas?”
“Mmm hm?”
“How would you feel about going to visit now for a few weeks?” He set her down on the sidewalk and she smiled up at him.
“I wanna go to Grandma’s, but what about school?” she wondered. “Won’t they wonder where I am?”
“It’ll be okay to miss a few days, honey. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call the school and let them know exactly what’s going on, okay?”
Angel grabbed his hand, and took a deep breath. “Okay, Daddy.”
It was nine on Tuesday morning when JC opened Chords. He was about to shut and lock the door behind himself, when he heard someone calling his name down the block. When he stuck his head out the window, he saw Laura jogging toward him with a stack of papers in her hands.
“Oh, thank God,” she gasped when he let her inside. “I’m so glad I caught you. I was driving by in my car, and,” she stopped to catch her breath. “And I saw you outside the store. I realize that you don’t open till ten, but I wanted to catch you before you locked the doors.”
“Is everything okay?” JC wondered. She looked distressed.
“I feel really bad about not covering you, but there’s just nothing I can do about it. I realize what a situation you’re in, and again, I’m really sorry. I just wanted to tell you so… so you didn’t hate me.” She paused, giving him a long look as if to be studying his expression. “I’m really sorry, Josh.”
“I don’t hate you, Laura, but you don’t have to be sorry. It’s your JOB, Laura. This is what you do. Like it’s your fault if you your company doesn’t cover my pipes busting… it’s not, and that’s all there is to it.” He sighed, seeing that she wasn’t satisfied with his answer. “I know you want to help but,”
“What can I do to help?” she interrupted. “Anything, Josh, I feel so bad about this.”
JC leaned against the grand piano and grinned at her. “Do all insurance providers offer their customers this sort of help?”
“I’m not joking, Josh. I really feel bad about what happened. Sometimes… sometimes insurance companies keep unlikely things… like busting pipes out of agreements, and I realize that it’s not my fault, but I still feel bad.”
He still had a grin on his face.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked, a little smile cracking her own face.
“Why are you so intent on helping me? I’ve never had an insurance person so… so… willing to help a guy out when he’s in need. They always hang up the phone so quickly. ‘Sorry we couldn’t help you, have a nice day,’ and that’s it. But you… you’re not like that. Why?”
Chapter 9
Not A Day Goes By
JC {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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