Surviving Love

Every Last Cabinet

I clamped my lips down on a couple screws, folding myself into God only knows what shape as I wiggled into my new kitchen cabinet I was installing. I groped blindly with my hand for my drill, before screwing the cabinet in place. I had dreaded working with my dad through high school and part of college but I appreciated the skills, especially now that I owned a house. I had bought the shittiest house in blocks, mostly because it was all I could afford. Right when I bought it I had to repipe and bring the electric up to code. Over the past year I'd been slowly making my way through the house. I redid the bathrooms first and then I resided it because it was ugly and rotting. I put new windows in to make it more energy efficient, the old windows swelled in the summer so you could barely open them and they'd shrink in the winter letting the cold air just rush in. My current project was the kitchen. Skylar and I had been eating microwave dinners and take out for about a month. I wiggled myself out of the cabinet, pushing myself up off the floor. I still had to do the uppers but I needed Skylar's lazy ass to wake up to help. I pushed the next cabinet into place, squaring it with the other one. I measured twice, made sure it was level and screwed it in place.

"Can you possibly make any more noise?" Skylar appeared behind me, grumbling.

His hair was a mess, his eyes still clouded with sleep. I pulled the trigger on my drill, zipping the screw into place.

"It's one in the afternoon, you can get up." I muttered. "Besides I need your help installing the upper cabinets."

"Why the rush?" He asked. "Where'd you put the damn coffee pot?"

"Living room." I called as I ducked my head into a cabinet. "My countertops are coming tomorrow." 

Skylar grunted in response, shuffling off to make some coffee. I continued to work in the cabinets. When I bought the house it was a bunch of tiny little rooms. It took some extra money that I didn't really have but I opened it all up. The kitchen was now a substantial size considering the house was rather small.  I went with light gray cabinets and white Quartz counter tops. It had nearly broke the bank but I had decided I was going to remodel it like I was going to sell it. And well kitchens and bathrooms sold houses. So I bit the bullet and spent the money.

"Jared!" Skylar yelled from the living room.

"What?" I yelled back.

"Where the hell is the damn coffee?" He called.

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Don't know."

He reappeared behind me. "What do you mean you don't know? Where'd you put it?"

"Can't remember. Haven't slept yet." I answered.

I had worked an overnight last night and when I got home I was too wound up to sleep so I started installing the cabinets that had been sitting in the empty kitchen for two weeks. Then when the warehouse opened I scheduled the countertops. I didn't work until tomorrow night and I was tired of eating frozen dinners and Chinese.

"How are you still awake?" Skylar asked.

For as much as he slept, I didn't sleep.

I pointed to the trash can a couple feet away. I had been surviving the past several hours on pure caffeine.

"For being a doctor you sure don't care about your health." He muttered. "I'm going to the corner to buy more coffee."

He left, still in what he slept in. I only had one more base cabinet and the island to install. I took a step back, surveying my work. The little old house was coming together. I just had to finish the trim in the kitchen, dining, and living room and resand the floors. It still had the original hardwood floors but they were beat to hell. I was hoping with a little sanding and the right stain I'd be able to keep them.  I sat down on one of the bar stools, leaning my back up against the wall. My limbs felt heavy and my eyes started to close against my own will. Apparently the caffeine was wearing off or I had become immune. I rested my head back against the wall, closing my eyes for what I thought was just a minute.