Absolutely Not in Love (Sweater Weather, #7; Appies, #2)

by Jenny Proctor

“I’m just saying, darling,” Mom says, “he’s the perfect person to ask if you have questions about renovating an old building. I don’t know why you wouldn’t ask him.” I can think of a lot of reasons why I wouldn’t ask my father for his opinions, but as late as it is, I’m not in the mood to hash it out with Mom now. We’ve had a nice night. Great dinner, a great symphony concert. I don’t want to ruin it by talking about Dad. Especially not when I’ve got a game tomorrow. I’d rather not do anything to mess with my headspace. My mother leans over my kitchen table, eyes scanning over the four different plumbing estimates I’ve gotten regarding the very old pipes in my building. Well, in half my building. I knew the pipes were old when I first renovated, but the plumber who did the original work claimed they still had years of life left and there was no reason to replace what was still fully functional. Only the pipes in my apartment are new; the ones that lead from the main water line into the building, and then everything in Gracie’s apartment, are all still original. That decision came back to bite me pretty quickly. The old pipes are copper, giving our water a terrible, bitter taste, so I had to install a filter at the main line that cost more than replacing the plumbing would have. By the time I realized it, Gracie’s apartment was already fully renovated and finished, so the filter was the easiest solution. But now, there are a couple of places on the first floor where the pip...