Page 6 of Finding Basil (Foggy Basin Season Two)
Well, at least his gaydar was still functional.
With an extra skip in his step, he went up the stairs with another box to unpack in his room and heard pipes clanging together in the bathroom. As he stuck his head in, he asked, “Going okay?”
“Oh sure, but you might want to order some fixtures. These in here are shot. The main line is done so once you get those, I can have your water running again. O’ course, the water heater is shot too, so you’ll need one of those.”
His sigh was of resignation. “Great.”
When Basil came to get him the following day, Herb got into the truck and admitted, “You were absolutely right. I really do need to know where the hardware store is. I need all new fixtures for my plumbing.”
He laughed a little and said, “Yeah, old houses, huh?”
“Well, maybe you can help me pick out some faucets before you get the glass cut?”
He started the truck and headed it toward town.
“Sure. I measured last night, and you need a lot of glass, so I actually thought we’d order them, and I’d go back later, but you will need some other things from the hardware store for the farm.
They have new irrigation valves, a new pump for the well in the field, and a bunch of soil for seed starting.
In the shed and greenhouse are all the pots you’ll need to get you started, grow lights, seed cells.
We need hoses, a couple outside faucets and a few things for the greenhouse. ”
“That’s a hell of a list,” he said, laughing dryly. “God, this is an undertaking.”
“Think of it this way. Once you get all these things fixed, you won’t have to worry about them for a long time. Years. So, in a way, you’ve made the house new, for you. And new faucets mean new tiles, because I’m betting the bathroom is as outdated as the kitchen.”
“You would be right about that.”
“Well, it will feel more like your home the more you put into it. And still hold the character and good vibes of the people that lived there before you. Kind of perfect.”
Herb smiled over at him, and his profile was every bit as handsome. “Are you one of those annoying, glass half full, optimist people?”
“I’ve been told that, yeah.”
“I used to be until I bought this house.”
“Well, you’ll be that again. I’ll help.”
His smile lit his face. He was a lovely person, giving, friendly, actually nice. He couldn’t remember the last actually nice person he’d met, and especially one he was attracted to.
Herb was…trite and cliché as it was, drawn to bad boys.
His last boyfriend was a football player for a minor league.
The reason he was in the minor leagues was his bad temper.
He’d never been physically violent with Herb, thankfully, but the guys on opposing teams, and sadly his own team, weren’t so lucky.
The hardware store was bustling, which surprised him. “Did everyone here just buy an old house?”
“No, it’s harvest time; it’s the end of the season, which is as much work as the beginning of it. People need things they have one choice in Foggy Basin.”
The hardware store was bigger than he’d anticipated too, with aisles and aisles of things he thought were alien. Not once in his life had he thought about the maintenance that went into a home.
Calling the super, seeing his butt crack as he worked under his mother’s kitchen sink, or the ultra-thin super in his last building, that showed no crack, but Herb was pretty sure smoked some crack, changing the lightbulbs in the hall.
Basil went through the aisles with the carts as they made their way to the back, where he gave the man behind the counter a list of the glass panes he’d need to repair the greenhouse.
Everything looked terribly interesting. The plumbing aisle alone showed Herb what the plumber had spoken about, copper, PVC, which was a thick plastic piping.
Then, the lumber aisle had only samples, as to get the actual lumber, the customer would have to go outside in the yard to pick it up after paying for it and keeping a slip to give to the men who’d load it.
What a busy and active place it was, the most active of any establishment in town except for the diner.
Basil knew his way around, and he knew most of the people there as well, speaking to each with a smile and a handshake, introducing Herb to all of them too.
“I’ll never remember all these names.”
“You’ll learn pretty fast. You tend to see the same people over and over here.”
“I don’t know if I saw the same people in my own building more than once back in Denver.”
“This isn’t Denver,” he said, laughing. “This is small-town America, where everyone will know your business within ten minutes of the time you step into the town limits, and you’ll be stared at like a zoo animal for the first three years at least.”
“Three years?”
Basil nodded. “You are the outsider, and people in small towns don’t trust the outside. Until you become a fully integrated part of the town, you’ll be the outsider.”
“That’s incredibly insightful. Were you from…outside?”
“Nope. I’m one of the people judging you,” he whispered. “And I can spread the word whether or not you’re okay.”
His proximity and whisper made Herb’s neck sweat. “I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior around you.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know if you have to go that far.”
The forwardness took aback Herb, but he didn’t back down from it. “Okay, I’ll try to constrain my impulses of goody two shoe-ness.”
“That’s not a word.”
“It could be.”
He was having a great time, and his mind was perfectly taken off how much money the house was costing him.
When they got back to the house, however, Basil dropped him off so he could continue on to the back where he’d unload the purchases that were just for the greenhouse, Herb saw the porch. The hole wasn’t only repaired, the entire porch was finished. “What the hell?”
Cordelia pulled up just then, and she hollered, “Oh, good! They’re done!”
Herb waved to her as she got out of the car. “You did this?”
“Well, I didn’t do it, obviously. Can you imagine me doing this kind of work in heels?
No, I called in a favor. A man that recently retired to Florida from here sold his company to a friend.
They’re always busy, but he’s got a ten-man crew and could spare five of them today. They were done with it in two hours.”
“I was gone for two hours?”
“How would I know?” Out came her tablet again. “All right…let’s see…oh, there’s that. Hmmm.”
“Cordelia?”
“Mmhmm?”
“What else can you get done for me that needs done?”
“What do you think I’m doing? Oh, for sure, you need another car. That thing will never navigate the roads around here in the winter, and it’s just…well…”
“What? I love that car!”
Ger face scrunched up as she said, “Right, well…it’s pretentious.”
After rolling his eyes, Herb said, “So?” Then he remembered what Basil had told him at the hardware store. “They’re judging me.”
“Harshly. You may want to…dress and drive…down.”
“Got it. How about I park my baby in the garage and get a…truck or something? I can always drive my car to go visit my folks or friends in the city.”
“That would help. Here is the used car lot you should use,” she said and handed him a card.
She thought of everything. She could make millions as a personal assistant in the city, but he had the feeling she’d make nearly that much from him before he didn’t need her anymore.
“Okay. And the clothes?”
“There are two places in town to get some jeans, casual shirts. Flannel for spring and fall, t-shirt for summer. Winter will be layers, of course, and when it comes to that, I’ll just go with you. You’ll be looking for what looks good, I suspect.”
“I like to look good. Is that a problem?”
“No, but…not sooo good.”
He smiled and said, “Well, that is either a weird compliment or terribly judgy.”
“It’s both. You are a very handsome man, which turns heads of the female persuasion, as you should know. So, you’re gay? Doesn’t stop small town women from looking at the new guy, which makes the men in town less than cordial.”
“So much politics.”
“Welcome to small-town living. Now, what else? I think that’s it for a bit.”
“The groceries are great,” he began, unwilling to offend her. “But…does the local store have, well, more exotic foods? And where can I find good wine?”
“All can be found in town. The grocery store has local foods, but for certain spices and such, you may have to order those online. We have great produce and local cattle, pork and chicken.”
“Great.”
“You cook?”
“It’s a hobby. I think it’s why I’m interested in growing herbs. I know how much better a recipe is with good, fresh ingredients.”
“You’ll cook for me, of course?”
“Of course,” he said, laughing. “Let me get settled, and I’ll invite you and your family over for a meal.”
“It’s a date, once you get settled, and running water, and we should probably check your gas lines and electrical.”
As his jaw dropped, Cordelia was on the phone with an electrician.
“What the hell have I gotten myself into?”