Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oh, and he had curly orange hair.
I kid you not.
All in all, it wasn't what you'd normally think of as an interview outfit unless you're
hoping to snag a position at Barnum and Bailey's . And yet, despite my undoubtedly aghast
expression, Freddy got right down to business.
“What overall look do you want and how much do you want to spend?” he asked poin-
tedly.
I kept expecting him to hop into a tiny car and speed around our great room or shoot
seltzer water down my pants. But he remained admirably on topic.
“And what's your color palette?” he continued.
“White,” I replied numbly.
He wrote it down. I was impressed. Maybe he wasn't so freakish after all. And when he
whipped out a camera and began snapping photos of the shower stall I was further swayed.
Lots of people wear unusual clothes, I told myself—just take a stroll through the main con-
course of any major American airport if you need a refresher course in what not to wear.
In fact, by the time he had measured the walls down to the last quarter inch I found
myself mentally extolling the virtues of comfortable casual wear.
“You're hired!” I blurted out, when he handed me a remarkably accurate looking off-
the-cuff rendering of the space.
“And by the way, where did you get that shirt?”
Frankly, I've always had a soft spot for the big top.
☼ ☼ ☼
Despite his sartorial eccentricities, Freddy gave every impression of being a serious crafts-
man who knew his trade.
And, unlike so many other workmen we'd hired on Vieques, he kept the project mov-
ing. We could hardly believe our luck. In no time flat, the old bathroom had been gut-
ted—we joked that it looked better demolished than intact—and soon it was time to start
rebuilding it from the ground up.
Leaving nothing to chance, Michael and I had bought the tile for the renovation at the
local hardware store and had it delivered to the house, where it was stored in our lock-up
downstairs. We'd also bought a new sink console in San Juan and had it shipped over, as
well as new hardware for the sink and shower and matching towel bars.
We'd even shelled out for a new toilet.
In other words, everything was ready for action. All Freddy had to supply was adhesive,
grout and massive amounts of elbow grease.
“I start tiling today!” he announced by phone one morning.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search