The House on Mermaid Point

Chapter Twenty-six

Fred Strahlendorf, the electrician sent down from Miami by East Coast Electric, didn’t look like any electrician Avery had ever met. When he arrived on Mermaid Point, along with the plumber sent by Randolph Plumbing, the AC guys from Hendricks Heat and Air, the supervisor from Superior Pools, and the sales manager from Walls of Windows, Strahlendorf wore a short-sleeved plaid cotton shirt neatly tucked into belted khaki shorts. His tool belt was buffed and shined, his fingernails manicured, his iron gray hair buzz cut. A pocket protector housed a small assortment of mechanical pens and pencils.

All of the men who had been sent by the committed sponsoring companies for the walk-through promised to give her their estimates of time and materials before they left. But only Fred had arrived with a slightly battered but no doubt precision-packed suitcase prepared to get to work immediately. And so she loved him on sight.

“All I have to do is call my assistant with what I need and he’ll bring everything down with him tomorrow. He has family in Marathon, but if you can put me up here on Mermaid Point, I’m yours.” The electrician’s eyes, which were the same iron gray as his hair, twinkled.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“I need to spend time in all the structures, of course, to determine that, but if I’m here and I just roll out of bed in the morning?” He thought for a moment. “I’m starting a big job right after the Fourth. I’ll make it my business to be done before that, whatever it takes.”

Avery wanted to throw her arms around the man and kiss him, but she was afraid she might wrinkle something. The only question was where to put him. William Hightower had made it clear he wasn’t receiving “guests” until he absolutely had to and that he hoped that day would never come. They had no room on their houseboat and even if they had, Avery couldn’t quite picture this carefully pressed man standing in line for their only bathroom surrounded on every side by so much estrogen.

“He can bunk with me.” Roberto had come up while Strahlendorf was talking and had looked the electrician over. Now he offered his hand. “I’ve got an extra couple of beds.” He nodded toward his brightly painted houseboat.

“Thanks.” The electrician didn’t look at all worried about living with an aging hippie on a boat that was doing its best to imitate a Keys sunset. She looked and saw Troy and Anthony shooting, both of them smiling. No doubt they were already envisioning how much comedic relief might be provided by Mermaid Point’s very own Odd Couple.

When the day was over her brain actually hurt from the thousands of details that had been stuffed inside it, but she now had everything she needed to create a master construction schedule and she felt a relief that she hadn’t imagined just a day before.

If everyone followed through on their commitments and she was careful not to allow any overruns, they might actually be done by mid-August. Which would leave a couple of weeks’ grace for delays and spillover and for Deirdre to fluff and stage and put on the finishing touches. Her goal was to be off Mermaid Point before hurricane season kicked into high gear in September.

It was long past dinnertime when Avery stood on the dock waving good-bye and shouting her thanks as the subcontractors boarded Hudson’s skiff for the ride back to the marina. Back on the houseboat she watched Maddie throw together a salad, which they ate off paper plates. Slightly revived, they left Kyra tucking Dustin into bed and eased themselves into the hot tub just in time for sunset.

The only sounds were the occasional crescendo of the cicadas and boats passing Mermaid Point out in the channel. The air was warm and moist, the breeze mild. The quiet was as soothing as the water that bubbled gently around them. Maddie yawned and laid her head back against the edge of the Jacuzzi, her eyes tilted up toward the sky. Deirdre tilted her head back, too, but was careful not to get her hair wet. Nicole’s eyes were closed, her arms spread out to each side to hold herself in place. Even now after the day they’d all had, she looked oddly elegant, her hair still in its careless chignon, her lips, which were lightly coated with gloss, turned up in a small but satisfied smile. Avery smiled, too.

She contemplated Deirdre, who had belatedly donned the mantle of motherhood and refused to relinquish it, and admitted what she had never thought she would: Deirdre Morgan was an important part of their whole. A piece she wouldn’t want to be without.

“If I had a glass of anything in my hand, I’d be toasting all of you.” Avery raised her empty hand as if it were cupping a wineglass stem. “And especially all of the wonderful companies that sent subs our way and who Nicole and Deirdre have convinced to work for so little.”

“Here, here.” Nicole opened her eyes to chime in.

“I move we go to Islamorada for a celebratory dinner ASAP so that we can toast this up right.” Deirdre raised an imaginary glass and leaned forward to “clink” it against Avery’s.

“I second that motion.” Maddie raised her imaginary glass to theirs.

“What happens next, O fearless leader?” Nicole asked Avery as they settled back into optimal soaking positions.

“For the next weeks, or at least until it’s time to paint, refinish the floors, and add final decorative touches under Deirdre’s supervision, we’re going to assist our subcontractors in every way possible. I’m going to pair each of us with a sponsoring company as a runner/facilitator/interpreter—whatever it takes. Everybody needs to learn as much as they can with an eye toward future renovations and lend a hand wherever it’s needed. It’ll be up to all of us to keep everybody moving forward as seamlessly and quickly as possible.

“If we keep our heads down for the next two weeks, take off the Fourth to recharge, and then settle in to finish, I feel pretty sure we can be up and running by Labor Day.”

“That’s good. Because Labor Day is a biggie here. That’s when the 1935 hurricane hit and more than four hundred people died.” Maddie swallowed. “I’m not sure I could face the memorial service they do every year. I can still remember Hurricane Charlene and cowering in that motel bathroom when she was barreling past Pass-a-Grille.”

“Hey, from what I hear it’s been an abnormally dry, calm summer. But I’m all for being done ahead of schedule,” Avery said. “And if we’re going to make it we’re going to need a designated ‘Hightower Handler.’”

“I hope you weren’t looking at me when you said that.” Maddie folded her arms across her chest.

“Of course I was looking at you. We need someone to keep him . . . well, maybe not happy but at least cooperative.”

“That’s not as easy as you seem to think,” Maddie said. “The last time you gave me ‘Hightower detail’ he caught me with his underwear in my hands.”

“I’m sorry I missed that.” Nicole’s voice rang with suppressed laughter.

“We’re all sorry we missed that,” Deirdre added.

“I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d missed that,” Maddie said drily.

“But you got him to agree to donate some things,” Avery pointed out.

“Hell, it sounds like we could have auctioned off some of his underwear, too.” Nicole looked wide awake now. Even in the fading light Avery could see her eyes glinting with humor.

“Oh, no.” Maddie’s voice took on a teasing tone. “He specifically exempted them.”

Nicole snorted and then there was no holding back the laughter.

“You should have seen his face when the underwear went flying in the air and landed all around us.” Maddie joined in the laughter.

Soon all of them were howling, clutching their sides. Deirdre didn’t seem to care if she got her head wet anymore. Roberto and Fred had stopped looking at the sky and were watching them in surprise. Avery wiped tears of laughter from her face. Nicole was still laughing so hard she looked at risk of going under.

“Fine. It was completely ridiculous.” Maddie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “But the man was royally pissed off.”

“But he does listen to you.” Deirdre was the first to get herself under control. “Whether you want the title or not I think you’re the perfect pick for William the Wild Whisperer.”

This had them cracking up all over again. The sky grew dark and the stars began to come out. It was Deirdre who finally cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Where do we stand with the zoning issues?”

“I really can’t think about it,” Avery replied honestly. “I’m thrilled with the subs we have lined up. We now have a first-rate carpenter and electrician in residence. I saw online that there’s talk about lifting the ban on B and Bs.” She shrugged. “I’ve got too many other things that I can control to worry about the ones I can’t. We’re not tied to land, we’re not changing the footprint of any of the structures, and so far no one has tried to prevent us from pulling permits. As far as I’m concerned this is the network’s legal department’s problem.”

“Except that Lisa Hogan is already trying to make it ours,” Nicole said quietly.

Avery shrugged again. “She just said we had to be done by Labor Day, and we’re going to do everything humanly possible to meet that deadline. But I can’t force William Hightower to be standing at the front door greeting guests with a smile on his face. And I can’t be expected to go out and book those guests, either. As my father used to say, all we can do is the best we can do.”

They left the hot tub extremely shriveled but oddly hopeful. Avery said her good nights to everyone and watched them head back to the houseboat. Alone, she stepped out onto the moonlit sliver of beach and pulled out her cell phone, eager to call Chase and fill him in.