I'm been up since four-thirty this morning. I've had three giant mugs of coffee and five chocolate-chip cookies. The rest of the day should go well because I'm on a jittery roll.
I opened all the shutters on the windows, let the fire go out in the woodstove and the sun is pouring into the great room presently. It is part of the kitchen but is separated by a huge island and a table too so it was totally meant to be a sunroom. Only it's hardly ever sunny here so mostly it's a cozy area where it's perpetually warm and safe.
Sam is stretched out on the couch like a cat. The sun has turned his hair to gold and he's soaking up the warmth as I type. He was the first to come to me to negotiate a price and a timeline for me to do his taxes. Getting the jump on the rest, I hope, he said and I was so dismayed at the thought of having to do everyone's taxes again this year (they don't trust outsiders) that I doubled the price on a whim to try and dissuade him.
Ouch. Inflation?
Yes. Of course. I wink at him. Do you want that time slot or not? Hurry up, I have a waiting list.
Sure. Just tell me that you'll charge everyone even more and that I get a discount because I'm your favorite.
I'll charge everyone even more and you get a discount because you're my favorite. I wink at him and he laughs.
Right. I get it.
I hate taxes, Sam!
But you're really good at it and I don't understand it at all.
The fee is negotiable by the way.
Wait. What? How? Umm....
Not like that, though, that thought is useful. I mean I'll cut your bill in half if you want to pay in goods.
Goods?
The belt buckle, Sam. It needs to go. Let me have it and I'll put it away for posterity in a safe place and you can stop being an eighties cowboy.
This...this is part of me, Bridget. How dare you? I'll pay your whole fee. In fact, I'll pay fifty dollars more! But I'm keeping the buckle. Have you always felt this way?
I could care less. I just wanted to see if I could shake you down for a bigger fee. It worked. Imagine by the time I get through everyone in the house, I'll have enough to buy myself a new car this year after taxes are finished.
Or you could just ask Caleb for one.
Where's the fun in that?
