JESSICA'S MARKS
“Good morning Sir, how may I help you?”
“Please, it’s Adam.”
“Okay Adam, what can I do for you?”
“I’d like to get fifty call cards printed please. The words are, ‘ADAM FIXX – GENERAL REPAIRS’ and the number is on this piece of paper.”
“So Adam, as you can see, we have a variety of colors and styles to choose from.”
“I’ll take the black paper with the red letters……and….could you like, put the name in a drawing of a wrench?”
“Yes, that’s a great idea. Okay, just hold on for a few minutes.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Suddenly, a soft female voice. “So you fix things?”
Adam turns around and says, “Yes I do.”
“I hope I didn’t startle you.” She puts out her right hand and says, “Hi, I’m Jessica.”
He smiles, shakes her hand and says, “I’m Adam, nice to meet you Jessica.”
“Well, Adam, I got a faucet that won’t stop dripping. I had it fixed twice already or at least so I thought. Think you can handle it?”
“Yeah sure, no problem.”
She takes out a pen and piece of paper from her handbag and starts scribbling. “Okay, here’s my number and address.”
“Oh, it’s only a few blocks away?”
“Yeah, so give me call when you’re there.”
“Sure thing Jessica, I’ll call you within the next hour.”
“Here you go Adam, fifty call cards. That’ll be eight fifty.”
“Thanks man, keep the change.”
A half hour later. Phone dialing under the sound of an old V8 engine idling. “Hello Jessica? It’s Adam, I’m here, I think. Is your front door green?”
“Yes it is. Okay Adam, come right up.”
He switches off the engine and walks to her door. Knock knock. “Jessica?”
The door squeaks as it opens. “Hey Adam, sorry I took so long, I was just out of the shower and searching for a top.” Jessica was a very attractive hazel eyed brunette.
Adam quietly clears his throat and says, “That’s alright but I’m not so sure that the shower cap matches that top though.” They both chuckle as she quickly removes the cap.
You’re not an axe murderer are you?” she asks, squinting her eyes.
“No, I use my bare hands.” After three seconds they both laughed.
“Follow me Mr. Fixx.”
“Sure.” As he enters her house, he instantly notices the antique furniture and fixtures because of his passion for the historical craftsmanship. It is at this moment that Adam also notices some marks on Jessica’s back, like bruises.
“This is the faucet I told you about. Sorry about the mess, I have to do some organizing.”
“It’s alright, I’ve seen worse. Let me grab my tool bag from the truck.” As Adam turns around, Jessica then suddenly realizes that the top she has on exposes her marks and quickly goes to change it.
“So how long have you lived here Jessica? Adam already noticed that she changed her top to hide the marks but he pretended that it was nothing. He strikes up a conversation for her to feel at ease but what he saw tells him that something is definitely not right.
“My whole life. This house belonged to my grandfather and when my parents recently died I inherited it.”
He sincerely says, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s okay, I’m taking it one day at a time.”
“Could you hand me that wrench please?”
“Yeah sure, here you go.”
“Thanks.”
“Soooo……Adam, where are you from?”
“Uhhh….here and there.”
Jessica smiles and says, “Is that a real place?”
He replies, “Kinda.” Adam never goes in detail about his past.
“My parents moved from the Caribbean to Miami when I was younger, but when they died, I decided to start over. So I move around a lot.” Or at least that’s what he says to satisfy the somewhat curious appetite of the inquisitive.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about your parents. Forgive me for prying.”
“It’s fine, it was a long time ago. New places and new people…..it takes your mind off things you know. I like the States, lots of good people to help repair stuff in their everyday lives.” Adam smiles and looks at her, and she blushes. “No matter what part of the world you go to, things always get broken.”
“Welll….I guess you have permanent employment?” she remarked.
“I guess so.” They both chuckle.
“Okay, the faucet is fixed.”
“Really? How much do I owe you?”
“Welll….I had the part left over from another job so it’s okay. No charge.”
“Wow, my lucky day huh? That thing has been leaking for months. Hows about this, I cook you dinner?”
“Okay, I can’t refuse a home cooked dinner and besides, the fast food is probably killing me, slowly of course.” They both chuckle.
“Great, it’ll be ready by seven.”
“Seven it is.”
“Bye Adam.
“See you later Jessica.” Adam’s suspicion is what compelled him to agree to dinner with Jessica. He just had to find out how she got those marks on her back.
