The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee Page B

technician/plumber.
    Caught off guard, Isabel waves back.
    “Fixing your porch?” Yvonne calls as she approaches.
    “Destroying it is more like it,” Isabel says with a grimace. It all seems so hopeless. She wishes she could undo what she’s done, but it’s too late. “It seemed like a good idea when I started.”
    Yvonne grins. “I wanted to stop by to tell you that a lot of these old houses are having plumbing issues,” she says. “You might want to have it checked out. Wouldn’t want it to slow up the sale of your house.” She nods at the FOR SALE sign.
    “Well, it’s not selling yet. Besides, I figure the new owners can take care of it.”
    “Yeah, I get it. I thought I should mention it, though—Bettie’s was the fourth house this month. I’m going to tell all the other neighbors, too. All things being equal, if you’ve already addressed the problem it might make your house stand out from the others.”
    Isabel considers this, knows Yvonne has a point. “How much would this cost me?”
    “There are plenty of plumbers who can take a look and give you an estimate, but you could probably take a look yourself and do your own assessment. You seem pretty handy.”
    “Me?” Isabel scoffs. “I’m the least handy person I know.”
    Yvonne peers up at the porch. “Could’ve fooled me. I see lots of remodels—you did a good job there. Framing’s still intact.” She looks at the boards on the lawn. “And you still have some pretty good boards there.”
    “Yeah, I figured that out a bit too late. Story of my life.”
    Yvonne raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
    “And,” Isabel says abruptly, leaning forward, “I’m sorry, but I have to ask. How is it that a plumber has perfectly plucked eyebrows? I mean, is that a job requirement?” Isabel knows she’s being blunt but she doesn’t care. How do some women make looking good seem so easy?
    Instead of being offended, Yvonne laughs. “Old habits die hard,” she says. “I think my mother put a pair of tweezers in my hand when I was ten. I was trained to pluck away unsightly body hair the second I got it.”
    Isabel flops down on the steps. “I bet you work out, too?”
    “My job is enough of a workout,” Yvonne says. “But I swim at the Avalon pool whenever I get a chance. I’m thirty-two and it definitely takes more work to stay in shape.”
    “I hate exercising,” Isabel says. Suddenly she feels old and frumpy.
    “You probably burned a decent amount of calories pulling up those boards,” Yvonne points out. “Beats the rowing machine, you know?”
    “Yeah.” Despite feeling sorry for herself, Isabel gives a small smile. “Hey, maybe I should reshingle my roof while I’m at it.”
    “Why not? You could remodel your kitchen, too.”
    “Or install a drop ceiling in my laundry room.”
    “Retile the bathrooms.”
    “Insulate my attic.”
    “Get new window treatments.”
    At this Isabel makes a face and the two women burst out laughing. “I don’t even know what a window treatment is,” Isabel says. “Curtains and blinds?”
    Yvonne nods. “Basically anything that goes in, on, or around a window. My mother lives for window treatments.” She gives a slight roll of her eyes. “It’s sad, really.”
    The women look at each other and burst out laughing again.
    “Isabel!” The two women turn to see Bettie Shelton standing in the frame of her doorway. “I certainly hope you plan to clean up that mess today. It’s unsightly and I wouldn’t want the neighbors to think your house has fallen to disrepair.”
    Isabel’s finally in a good mood and she’s not about to let Bettie get the better of her. “Bettie, I’m afraid that’s not going to happen,” she calls back. She gives a cheerful wave, something she’s never done before. “I’m beat. Maybe tomorrow. Or after the weekend. By Halloween for sure!”
    Bettie purses her lips and retreats into her house.
    Yvonne looks a bit guilty. “She’s a sweet lady,”