Vanity Project - The Coconut Chronicles: Two Guys, One Caribbean Dream House - page 290

I wish I could have shared his delight. Instead, I was beginning to feel a bit like the
Tooth Fairy myself.
☼ ☼ ☼
After an ominous week-long silence from Vieques, I decided to call Freddy for an update.
“Those tiles is still not a good fit,” was his opening salvo.
Gulp.
“But you're making everything work, right?”
Long silence.
“More or less…”
Oh dear.
“What's actually going on?”
“Them tiles I don't like.”
While I wasn't exactly looking for a love-match between Freddy and our bathroom
walls, this didn't strike me as a particularly helpful development. An unhappy Freddy was
likely to be an unproductive Freddy.
“I'm really sorry this has been such a tough project,” I began.
“Is very difficult,” he all but whimpered.
Pretty soon he was sure to start sucking his thumb. Okay, time to ratchet up my game.
“But I know how skilled you are, and I have faith that you can get this job done soon,”
I said in my most businesslike voice.
“I dunno…”
I thought for a minute.
“Listen Freddy, do you have a camera?”
“Huh?”
“A camera.”
“No.”
“Okay, but you've got a cellphone, right?”
“ Sí .”
“Could you take a few photos of the bathroom so we can get a better idea of how it's
looking?”
I could almost hear the creaky wheels turning in his brain.
“Is broken, my phone.”
“Aren't you using it right now?”
“Eh…”
I waited.
“Yes, but my phone's camera, she's busted.”
“We need photos, Freddy,” I repeated.