THE HOUSE ETHAN COLE BUILT FOR TWO
Chapter 4
The house wasn’t ready.
Not even close.
Ethan had three weeks.
He had never worked so quickly.
He repaired the roof first.
Then the plumbing.
Then the electrical wiring.
He replaced damaged floorboards.
He painted the living room.
He sanded the porch.
Walter helped with the heavier work.
June showed up one afternoon with boxes.
“What are those?”
Ethan looked inside.
“Kitchen stuff.”
“I don’t need it.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because you don’t have a kitchen.”
Ethan stared at her.
“I have a kitchen.”
June looked through the doorway.
“You have a room with a sink.”
Ethan sighed.
“Fair.”
She handed him another box.
“Plates.”
He opened it.
There were four.
“Why four?”
June shrugged.
“You might have guests.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who?”
She smiled.
“You’d be surprised.”
By the end of the week, the house began to change.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
A table appeared in the kitchen.
Curtains went up.
A secondhand couch arrived.
The living room received a lamp.
A small bookshelf was installed near the window.
And upstairs, Ethan painted the smallest bedroom yellow.
He stood back when he finished.
The walls were uneven.
The paint wasn’t perfect.
There was a small streak near the door.
Walter looked at it.
“Not bad.”
Ethan nodded.
“She’ll like it.”
