Ryan slumped back, defeated.
“Do you really love me, or was that something that accidentally slipped out?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “I meant every word, every time I’ve said it. I love you.”
“Then it’s you and me against the world, and we don’t deviate from that course. That’s our story, remember?”
He tossed his blue papers onto the coffee table and reached for me, hugging me tightly.
Pete and Tammy arrived fifteen minutes later. Pete had his toolbox in one hand and was wearing his tape measure as an attachment to his belt.
Ryan greeted them when he slipped into the kitchen. We talked about how we could seal off the original door that opened into the pub and relocate the door to open into the kitchen. It was the quickest fix.
“But that means if I ever try to rent the apartment out, the tenant would have to still come through the kitchen to get in. Ahh, I’m not so sure I like this. What would keep them from going right out into the bar?” I said, pushing the kitchen swing door with my fingers.
“That certainly is a problem,” Pete added. “These old buildings were never meant to be businesses; they were all homes. And if we seal off the kitchen then you’ll have safety violations for not having an emergency exit.”
I looked around the kitchen. There was just no good way of relocating the stairwell. Pete and Ryan ran back upstairs to deliberate. I could hear them tapping on the inside of the stairwell wall.
“I spoke to my brother,” Tammy whispered. “Does Ryan know about the restraining order?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’d like to keep it that way for now.” I didn’t want to add any more stress to Ryan’s life. “What did you find out?”
“He said you could get one if you feel she is stalking you. But you’d have to go to the police and then file papers at the courthouse. You’d also have to appear in court. It didn’t sound simple.”
“Nothing’s ever simple. But I did get her name today though,” I said proudly. “She came into the bar earlier and I carded her.”
“No way!” Tammy said in surprise.
“On Monday she slipped a card for him through my mail slot and she signed it ‘Angel’ but when I carded her, her license said her name was Angelica. Angelica Staunton, all the way from Brooklyn.”
“Write her name down for me. I’ll see if Tony can run a background check on her.”
I had just slipped the paper with her name on it to Tammy when Pete and Ryan came back into the kitchen.
“Tar, I think we’ve solved your problem,” Pete boomed happily. “Here, look at this.”
Pete was smiling at Ryan, like they just solved world hunger.
“What’s this line?” I asked, looking at their drawing.
“That’s a new wall. Ryan, let’s measure it. What you got?”
“Thirty two and a half,” Ryan said.
“That’s going to be a long-ass wall! It’s going to go straight to the back wall there.” Pete pointed. “You’ll have a separate outside entrance from the alley and then we can cut a door here in the middle so you don’t have to go outside to get up to your apartment. One day if you decide you want to block it off, it’s an easy fix.”
Pete tapped his finger on the drawing. “The stairs would stop there and then I’ll put in two steps to reach the floor. You’ll only end up losing four feet. That counter there would have to go.
“Ryan, hold the tape measure again. See, you were right. We wouldn’t even have to move the back door; it’s fine where it is. The new wall will come here – six inches away from the frame.”
Pete’s metal tape measure snapped back in the casing. “Taking out the brick wall will be a pain, but it’s doable. You’ll need a new steel door… and a construction permit.”
“This is brilliant!” I was quite excited. “Pete, you’re so freaking smart!”
“Don’t look at me - it’s his design.” He pointed a thumb at Ryan.
“At least my two years at Pitt weren’t a total waste,” Ryan said confidently, twitching his head like it was no big deal.
I secretly added one more trait that I loved about him to my list.
“Ryan, can I get you to re-draw this rough sketch? Then I can attach it to the construction permit application,” Pete asked.
“Yeah, sure. No problem. Tammy, how big of an oven would you need back here? I guess this stove has to go too; it looks like a fire hazard.”