DAVID LANCASTER (DERRICK HILL) + ERIC MARLAR (MARCUS FLINT)
PG | COMPLETE
There was a hole in the wall of the tub where the shower's faucet used to be. The pipe and adjustable shower-head had been placed off to the side on the counter, and there were pieces of drywall laying around the drain.
Eric stepped over the rim of the tub, pushing the curtain out of his way as he moved. He squinted as he held a flashlight to examine the hole further. He probed a finger to find the spot where the pipe had snapped and was not surprised to see it stained with rust when he removed it. Glancing over to the door where David stood, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't know your own strength, eh?"
Leaning against the frame, David's lip curled with a hint of sarcasm. He didn't bother to offer that this was not actually the first time it had happened to him. "Something like that. Madison said that the shower-head was stuck at an awkward angle, and when I tried to adjust it, the whole shower head came out of the wall with the pipe attached to it."
After a beat of silence he added, "So can you fix it?"
With the slightest of chuckles, Eric looked back at the hole. "Not with what I have in my toolbox."
David frowned. "So you can't fix it."
Eric shook his head. "That's not what I said," he replied as he moved to step out of the tub. "I'm just going to have to replace a huge chunk of wall after I knock it out and find out how much of the pipe needs to be replaced."
David sighed as the two men walked out of the bathroom and toward the entrance. "That sounds expensive," he said with a frown.
Moving to the coffee table to put the flashlight back in his toolbox, Eric shook his head. "Why don't you talk to your landlord? This sort of thing should be covered by in-house maintenance."
Watching the other man move about the room, David grimaced at the question. "Weeelll," he began in a sheepish tone. "There may have been a section in the rental agreement about not replacing the standard shower-heads without written permission."
Remembering the detachable shower head that was sitting on the sink, Eric could guess what the unspoken end of that comment was. "There's probably also a section about not doing massive repairs without written permission as well."
"Massive?"
Seeing the look of concern on David's face and hearing his tone, Eric decided to take pity on the other man. As he picked up his toolbox he offered, "I'll do it on two conditions."
David felt both skeptical and optimistic at that response. "OK..."
"40 hours of babysitting."
At that, David smiled. Since the fancy shower-head was Madison's request, he had no problem volunteering his teenage daughter to fulfill that request.
"And someone's gotta convince Laura that a dog is a much better pet than a damn goat."
With a chuckle, David nodded. "I think we can manage that. Are you sure that's it?"
Eric shrugged. "You can pay for the drywall and the paint I'm going to have to replace... If you really wanted."
Feeling that he was getting far more out of this deal than the man standing by his front door, David readily agreed, moving over to offer him a handshake. "Deal."
He took the offered hand, shaking it briskly before turning to leave. As he stepped through the door, Eric paused. "You might want to tell your neighbors it's going to be loud in here in a few hours, so they don't call the landlord on you and blow your cover."
Snapping his fingers, David nodded in agreement. "Good catch. I'll do that, pick up some pizza and beer and meet you back here in an hour?"
Eric nodded in response, and headed down the four flights of stairs toward his truck. As he walked, he retrieved his phone with his free hand and called Charlie to let her know of his plans.
As David locked the door behind him, he could hear the other man's voice carry through the stairwell.
"Hey babe. It's going to be a late night, so you and Laura should eat without me." There was a brief pause, silent save for his heavy footfalls down the stairs. "No, it's fine. We've got a free babysitter for the next month or so. I'll make it up to you."