The Only Purple House in Town (Fix-It Witches, #4)(74)

“I’ll ask Rowan to give me a hand when they have a minute. We’ll take care of it.”

Henry Dale’s easy use of Rowan’s preferred pronouns made Iris curious, though. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, I can postpone my important business meetings.” Henry Dale pretended to get on his cell phone. “Mildred, cancel my two o’clock and push my three to four. Unfortunately I won’t be able to buy MySpace today after all.”

Iris burst out laughing. “Sally’s rubbing off on you.”

“Hardly. My sense of humor is much sharper. Anyway, what did you want to ask?”

“Some older people complain that they don’t understand and refuse to honor nonbinary pronouns, so I was wondering—”

“Everything comes down to manners,” said Henry Dale. “Maybe I don’t understand, but here’s an example—you meet somebody who says, ‘My name’s Bradley, but everybody calls me Buzz.’ So you call ’em Buzz. You don’t need to understand, do you? They don’t have to share their life story and justify that name. It’s just good manners, so for me, it’s that simple.”

That made a lot of sense, given what she knew about him. “Thanks for telling me.”

“It wasn’t a secret, that’s just how I feel.” Henry Dale had inspections on his mind, though. “Oh, you’ll likely need a fire extinguisher too. Maybe check into how many the house needs to get licensed.”

More dollar signs flashed before her eyes. Iris tried not to panic. I have some room on my card, but I thought renting rooms would help me get out of debt. The barter system had made good sense when she agreed to it; otherwise, the house wouldn’t look nearly as nice as it did now, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

I can’t believe we’re jumping through all these hoops because of one grouchy neighbor.

Nobody else on the block seems to care.

To her surprise, Henry Dale reached over and patted her hand. “I know it seems like a lot, but try making a list. And write down easy tasks for motivation. I enjoy drawing a line through the ones I finish. Maybe it’ll help you too.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Iris decided.

Doing that also let her procrastinate filling out the licensing application, so she obviously decided to make the checklist first:

Price fire alarms

Price carbon monoxide detectors

Price fire extinguishers

Buy all of the above

Repair rotten gingerbread (somehow)

Fill out forms

Turn in forms

Bribe someone who works for the city

Spin straw into gold???



Henry Dale watched her write things down for a bit, then he tapped the “gingerbread” one. “I have plenty of wood, and I think I can replicate those pieces if you let me take one down to use as a sample. Do you want me to try?”

“If you don’t mind. You’ve already done so much, and I feel like I’m taking advantage.” She should probably decline, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Not when everyone was counting on her to make this work. Screw my pride.

“No, I’m looking forward to it. I found a saw in the shed that makes complicated cuts, and I’ve been wanting to try it.”

“Huh. I wonder why auntie had so many tools.”

“Maybe she lived with someone who used them?”

Iris blinked. While Gertie had never married, Iris had no clue whether she’d always lived alone. Hazel might know more? Although that wasn’t her most pressing concern.

“Anyway,” Henry Dale went on, “I imagine you’re joking about the bribery thing, but it might help if we could get in touch with someone who works for the city.”

“Leanne’s on the city council,” Mira said.

Iris jumped a little, as she hadn’t even heard Mira come in. “Oh wow, you’re home already? How long have I been staring at these forms? What day is it?”

Laughing quietly, Mira sat down at the table. “I’m a professional at forms. Let me fill some of it out. Ah, lots of repeated data blocks. Give me five minutes.”

Henry Dale got up. “That’s my cue. I’ll roust Rowan and start those measurements.”

It took all of Iris’s composure not to burst into tears. She was so bad at…freaking everything, and here her housemates were, taking up the slack. Why am I like this?

“There.” With a satisfied pat, Mira angled the pages so Iris could see the parts she’d filled in. “It’s not as bad as it looks, I swear.”

“The paperwork or my life?” Iris asked wryly.

Mira chuckled. “Would you believe me if I said both?”

Later, Iris put the application in the mailbox and retrieved her mail. She had two letters from a new collection agency, telling her one of her cards had been closed and charged off. Now the real fun would begin. She sucked in a breath and tried not to cry as she opened the statement for the one card she’d managed to keep active. Even the minimum payment was too much.

Right now, everything felt like it was too much.



* * *



When Eli spoke to Henry Dale the next day, he had misgivings about stepping in.

But the more he saw of Iris’s worried face, the less he liked it. They still hadn’t heard from the city, but at least she’d submitted the application. So if the inspector came regarding the complaint, they’d started the approval process. Liz said that should muddy the waters a bit, and at worst, they should receive a fine and time to get their documentation in order.