in. I’ve got coffee ready. Have you finished the estimates?”
“Started but not finished, and no, thanks. I don’t need more caffeine. I told a few people about your furniture and...” He turned and extended his hand toward the truck pulling into the driveway. “They’re quite anxious to get started.” Several older men and a teenager exited the truck and came onto the porch. “This is Reverend Meyer from the Methodist church, his son and his grandson, and they’ll be happy to take anything you want to get rid of.”
Reverend Meyer grasped her hand in a firm shake. “I knew your grandmother. A wonderful woman and a pillar of the community.” With that said, he walked past her, obviously anxious to get started. And she hadn’t even determined what she wanted to give away.
Deciding certain eyesores had to go, Trish pulled the door open so they could enter. “You’ll be able to fill your truck.”
“So kind of you. We have several families who were devastated by the floods, and we can use anything you want to give us. All tax deductible, of course.” He followed her into the living room. “Just point out what we can take.”
“Everything in this room—couch, chairs, tables and lamps. Leave the secretary.” She turned to Craig. “What do you think? Anything else in here that Henry’s Antiques might have an interest in?”
Reverend Meyer stopped moving one of the chairs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t consulted the antiques dealer yet.” He swept a hand around the room. “Just about everything here looks like something Henry might want.”
Trish hesitated, weighing the financial benefits against helping people who’d been devastated by a flood. “You take what’s in the living room. That should pretty much fill your truck, and I’ll get back to you about the rest after I’ve spoken to the antiques dealer. You can have anything else he won’t consider for his store.”
After several nods in her direction, Reverend Meyer motioned his helpers over to the sofa. “Let’s start with this.” While they worked on removing the furniture, Craig directed her to the secretary.
“I’d like to buy this once you find out the value from Henry.” When she didn’t immediately reply, he added, “You were going to sell it, weren’t you?”
Trish’s ambivalence had her wondering, not for the first time, if her decision to sell everything might be a mistake. With her fingers barely touching the wood, Trish felt a connection to her past. “It has memories. So many.” After pressing her lips together to keep from getting too sentimental, she turned to Craig. “You’re first on the list.”
He reached over and drew his finger under her eyelash, sweeping away the tear that had slipped onto her cheek. “Maybe you shouldn’t rush into anything.”
She forced a laugh and backed away. The touch was too sweet, too intimate. “I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional. I’d have no place for this desk. It’s too large.” And she doubted if Harrison would ever want anything this archaic.
Reverend Meyer came back into the room. “Okay if we take the matching chairs?”
“Of course.”
The reverend hesitated. “I don’t mean to be unappreciative, but what we could really use is a few beds. Do you have any of those? Something basic. So many people haven’t a decent place to sleep.”
“Of course. Come upstairs and I’ll show you the beds that can go.” Trish went up the large curved staircase and motioned for the men to follow.
“I’m heading for the roof,” Craig said and disappeared out the front door.
Once they reached one of the guest bedrooms, Trish pointed to the double bed. “There are linens for this. I’ll get them for you.” While the men removed the bed, she gathered sheets, pillows and several blankets from the hall closet.
When they returned, she pointed to two of the other bedrooms and had the men remove the beds. “The mattresses have seen better days, I’m sorry to say.” She followed through with the linens needed for those.
“Anything we can get is a blessing.”
They left the nightstands and dressers, saying she should find out their potential value. Her grandmother’s room she left intact for now. It contained several antique pieces, including an elegant armoire. She’d have to take a picture of that to show Henry.
She found several large plastic bags and stuffed them with usable items from the closet while the men worked. It made her feel as though she’d finally managed to make a dent in all that she had to do, and she was grateful to Craig for finding people who needed all these unwanted items. Once she was ready to leave the house, she could give up the cot in the downstairs bedroom, as well.
“That’s it for now,” the reverend said. “The truck’s full.” He handed her a list of the items he’d packed away. “You can add the values for tax purposes. The church’s logo is at the top with our phone number. Call us whenever you want another pickup.”
“Will do.” Trish shook his hand and grinned. With the beds gone, along with most of the living room furniture, she had more space to move around and see the condition of the rooms.
Craig came in just then. “You won’t need a whole new roof after all. Just a section. I can give you the estimate on that now.” He handed her a printed paper with a detailed description of all the items needed practically down to the last nail, including a meticulous drawing of the roof section in three dimensions.
Trish glanced at it before looking back at him. “How’d you do this?” Had he prepared the information before coming over here and actually looking at the problem? She hadn’t heard him drive away to go print out a report. And how did she know if it was accurate?
“I inspected the roof.”
“When?”
“A few minutes ago. While you were working with Reverend Meyer.”
“How did you do all of this?” Trish waved the sheet in front of him.
Craig’s eyebrow went up, giving him a quizzical expression. “On my computer.” He nodded toward his van. “I have everything I need in there.” He grabbed the paper from her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Trish followed him and waited while he slid the side door of the van open. “My office.” He stepped in and offered her a hand to pull her up onto the metal floor. “I took a picture, put that and all my figures in a program I’ve developed, and out comes what I’ll need to complete the project.”
“Craig Cadman, you invented this?”
He grinned. “Well, yeah, pretty much. I’ve taken courses in CAD...” When her eyebrows went up, he explained, “...computer-aided drafting/design, and created something that combines several programs. It’s patented, and a few other people have shown an interest. I sell it through my website, cadsbycadman.com.” He paused while she continued to stare.
“Show me what the roof looks like now.” She jumped out onto the driveway and waited for him. He hesitated before following her.
“Trish, I don’t think you should go up there.”
