It was a busy end of the week for Grace. She had been changing bed linens, and trying her best to make sure the cottage was relatively clean. She knew the girls would help her do a deep cleaning over the weekend. Surface dust was gone, and she was getting bath linens set out when she heard a knock at the door.
“Ello, anybody home?” came the voice from outside.
Grace was still not up to running downstairs, so shouted that she was coming. As she opened the door there stood a stocky white-haired, blue-eyed gentleman clad in paint spattered overalls.
“Donnie's my name, lass. I see you are in need of a painter. Donovan told me to come call on you about a job,” Donnie said as he turned to wander around the front of the cottage. Grace quickly fell in behind him as he checked out the place.
“It's been left alone too long,” Grace explained apologetically.
“No worries, lass. She's a grand ole place. She'll clean up just fine. Now what all was it you was wantin?” Donnie asked.
“I do know that outside needs painting and the windows need a good washing. I can do the inside, but don't have the notion to climb up a ladder to do the upper floor. Donovan said you may do both the painting and window washing. I don't have a lot of money. Is it going to cost a fortune?” Grace now was worrying about how much of her savings she could afford to spend.
Donnie walked around to the back and then back to the front of the cottage, rubbing his chin and making some notes on a scratch pad as he walked, not saying anything to Grace. Finally, as they reached the front again, he turned to her with his response.
“Well, lassie, I know I can do it. Nice and proper it will be. I think we can agree on a price that's fair for both us. Window cleaning included. Do ya mind a bright yellow? I have some left from another job and it might just do. With a nice blue door and window trim. What d'ya think?” Donnie seemed to be trying to accommodate Grace's budget.
“Donnie, that actually seems like what my grandmother would have liked. Let's do it. And if you do it during the next week, I'll throw in lunch each day for you too,” Grace knew she would be getting a great deal.
Grace and Donnie agreed that he would start on Monday and be finished mid week giving her time to put the cottage on the market before she had to leave to return to Dublin. She was happy that things were moving in the right direction. It wasn't long after Donnie left that she heard a vehicle on the gravel driveway. It was time to get some Internet access and cable in the cottage.
Peter had taken care of contacting the Internet company to have them come out and connect her cable. Up until now Grace felt so disconnected to everyone in Dublin. She missed all the chatter at work and evenings with her friends. One more reason she was so excited for this upcoming weekend.
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