Elle got back to the cottage just as the roofing guy showed up. He was on the roof looking at the shingles when the window guy showed up. The painter had left the estimate on the counter as promised. She figured she’d have costs to share with her mother by the end of the day and then she could decide how she wanted to proceed with the sale. Forward progress. She made herself a sandwich and sat on the deck while she ate it, the sun sparkling on the ocean. Kites flitted across the sky and laughter from the shoreline drifted in the air. The roofer came down off the roof and left her with a sloppily written estimate and the window guy gave her a printed out estimate that spit out from his portable printer. She thanked them, laid the paperwork with the other estimates on the counter and turned toward her bedroom. She should change into work clothes, she thought. Put on a ragged t-shirt and a pair of old shorts and tackle the weeds. Or the wallpaper.
