Ghostly Touch

the job will take about three weeks to get the entire house done because we will have to tear into the walls to replace some of it. But I assure you, we will replace everything exactly the way it was, so don’t look so frightened.” He chuckled as he sipped his coffee.
                  “If you want to look at the upstairs, I think you’ll find that since most of the pipe was added later, long after the house was built, it’s on the outside of the walls, not the inside.”
                  “Most of these old places were built long before there was indoor plumbing, but you won’t want the new pipe to be on the outside. Now some of these places have grates in the walls from the days when coal heat was used, so we might be able to use those too and not have to tear the place up too much. Does this place have a basement?”
                  Zula nodded. “Would you like to see it?”
                  “Sure.”
    Zula led the way through the house to the basement stairs on the back porch. As they made their way downstairs, Connor continued, “When gas heat and plumbing was brought into these old places, most of the pipes were affixed to the basement ceilings and if that’s the case here, it’ll make my job much eas ier, which means savings for you.”
                  Zula found the light switch and flipped it on. The dampness and musty smell hit them both. “Sorry, there’s no windows down here so I can’t even air the place out.”
                  “Don’t worry about it,” Connor told her as he began to examine the pipes. “I kind of like the smell. It reminds me of a cemetery crypt I used to play in as a kid.”
                  Zula laughed. “That’s a strange playground.”
                  “Not really,” Connor said, as he shined his flashlight around the room. “My father was the groundskeeper out at Devlin Cemetery. It began as a family plot, but as the town grew, others were buried there too. When my father worked there I went with him on weekends and helped him out during the summer months and there was this old crypt that had long ago begun to fall apart. The door hung on one hinge and there were no coffins or anything like that in it, so my friends and I used to play there. It had the same dank smell as this basement.”
                  “What do you think about the pipes?”
                  “I think it’ll be a job, but not to worry, I’ll get you fixed up.”
                  Zula smiled. “Hmmm, I’d like that.”
                  Connor grinned and Zula knew he hadn’t missed the double entendre. “Now about that estimate,” he said as they went back to the kitchen. Connor quickly reworked the estimate and handed the paper to Zula.  “Is that do-able for you?”
                  “I think so. When can you start?”
                  “It’ll be at least two weeks, maybe three. Is that all right with you?”
                  “It’s fine. I’m in no hurry.” Zula replied as she walked him to the front door. “Thanks for stopping by.”
                  “No problem,” he said and held out his hand. “I was wondering if you’d go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?” He asked as they shook hands.
                  “Do you always date your clients?”
                  “Not all of them,” Connor said with a quick grin. “Most of them are married, or male.”
                  Zula laughed. “Tomorrow’s fine. Thank you.”
                  “I’ll be by around six-thirty if that’s good for you.”
                  “Six-thirty it is,” Zula said, as she shut the door.

~ Five ~
A Man That Also Cooks!
     
                  Zula had never been as nervous as she was now, dressing for her date with Connor. She had been schooled by private tutors and spent time abroad as a teenager, but dating hadn’t been a big part of her life. Of course she had met new people during her travels, and she’d done the club scene in a few cities around the world. She’d had one or two casual boyfriends, and sex had always been as natural as taking a shower for her. But somehow, knowing she was about to date the man who was her soul mate, was a different feeling altogether.
                  Connor hadn’t mentioned