Short Story--Easy Peasy--Day 4

Thanks so much for joining us this week to read my birthday gift to you, a short story. If you need to catch up, the first day is here, Tuesday is here, and yesterday is here. Have fun!

Jane leaned against the bathroom counter and rubbed her hands over her face. What had she been thinking? She knew better than to suggest a project as a birthday present. Not that she didn’t want the microwave. But Chris wasn’t her dad.

He’d reminded her over and over again that he wasn’t as handy as the men in her family. Had brought up the ceiling fan fiasco from a year before whenever she came up with these ideas. But she just couldn’t help herself.

“Jane?”
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Chris’s voice outside the door had her straightening and blinking. He didn’t need to see how upset she was. After all, it had been him who had almost gotten killed over this stupid plan.

“Jane?” Chris knocked. “Hey. I talked to Tyler and he’s going to run by this afternoon to look at that wire and see if he can help us get it taken out.”
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Jane opened the door and blinked at her husband. “That sounds good.”

“Yep. Because I’m not putting that new microwave in with a live wire sticking out of the wall. It’s a miracle something hasn’t caught on fire the way that old one was wired in.”

“No wonder those under-the-cabinet lights didn’t work, huh?” Jane toed the space where the carpet met the linoleum.

“Hey.” Chris pulled her to his chest and wrapped her up tight. “It’s okay. Not our fault the homeowners before us were idiots.”

A giggle merged with a sob and choked up her throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For suggesting this. I should’ve just been happy with the microwave I had.”

“No.” He pulled back just enough to be able to look into her eyes. “You were right. It should’ve been an easy fix. And it would’ve been if the people who put that thing in hadn’t considered themselves electricians. Neither one of us foresaw that disaster. And at least I had moved the stove out of the way, so all we broke was the already broken microwave and a couple of the tiles that will be under the oven anyway.”

“I feel like we’ve changed places. You’re usually the one looking for all the bad things and I’m the one trying to see the bright side.” Jane cocked her head to the side. “Did getting zapped with electricity switch our personalities?”

“I don’t think so.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “I think it’s just my turn to comfort you.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

“Tyler won’t be by until later. Want to go out and grab a bite to eat since our kitchen is in a shambles?” Chris motioned toward the door.

“Let me guess. You want a cheeseburger.” Jane’s lips twitched in amusement.

“Even microwave repairmen have to eat.” He rubbed his belly and grinned.

“Let’s go, then. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back so Tyler can get that wire out of the wall. I’m still a bit nervous leaving it there.”

“I don’t think it will do anything right now. I have the switch off. And nothing else will be around to touch it until we get back.”

“Okay.” She cast one more glance over her shoulder before allowing him to escort her out into the early afternoon heat to grab lunch.

She still sort of regretted asking for the microwave for her birthday.

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Do you think Jane will get her new microwave? Will there be more problems? One more day to find out! Come back tomorrow and see how it ends.