Playing the Hand You're Dealt by Trice Hickman

would look this beautiful once the renovation was under way. Ruben hooked his arm around mine and pulled me close to him. “I’m soooo jealous,” he gushed. “Sweetie, this place is in-cre-di-ble! ”
    â€œI know!” I beamed with excitement.
    As Ruben and I walked arm-in-arm through the first floor, we oohed and aahed over the fine work that had been done. Although my house wasn’t in move-in condition, it was coming together nicely. The kitchen and powder room still needed the finishing touches of paint, fixtures, and lighting, and the spacious basement still needed quite a bit of work. But I could see that it was all going to be beautiful once it was completed.
    Moving on to the upstairs, we discovered that it was just as lovely as the first floor and that mostly everything was finished, save for the two bathrooms. Even in its present state it was clear that my house was shaping up into something out of a magazine. I planned to send Bradley some pictures and a big fruit basket this week. His design turned out better than I could ever have imagined.
    Ruben and I headed back downstairs, dodging piles of discarded wood, nails, and sawdust. “I hope it won’t be too long before I can move in. It should’ve been finished a month ago.”
    â€œWas that in your contract?”
    â€œSure was.”
    â€œSince Emmanuel hasn’t delivered on his end, you should try to get something out of it.” He winked conspiratorially.
    I noticed that winking was like breathing to Ruben. He was hilarious without even trying to be. “You seem to know Emmanuel pretty well. Are you two friends?” I ventured to ask.
    Ruben let out a small laugh and shook his head. “No, honey. When Emmanuel started work on your house, I introduced myself and became the dreaded pain-in-the-ass, nosy next-door neighbor from hell, so now he knows who I am. Plus, we have the Latino thing in common, ya know?” He winked with a flip of his hand and a toss of his perfect hair.
    â€œOh.” I nodded. “Well, I’m going to contact him because he needs to get his crew back to work. I’ve got to move in soon,” I said, looking at my empty living room. “I have so many things to do this week, I’ll see if Emmanuel can meet me this Friday.” After only one weekend, I knew that I couldn’t last much longer under Ed’s roof.
    â€œIf I see any activity between now and then I’ll let you know,” Ruben said, placing his hand on his hip. “And I’ll meet with you this Friday, too, if you like. No need in you having to go through this process alone, there’s power in numbers. Besides, I can act as your interpreter in case Emmanuel feeds you the old no hablo Inglés routine.”
    I smiled wide. “Thanks, Ruben. I really appreciate that.”
    After Ruben and I walked outside we exchanged cell phone numbers and agreed to meet here at noon this Friday.

    â€œAuntie Emee!” CJ squealed when he saw me enter the playground area.
    He abandoned his playmates and ran up to me, giving me a big hug. I loved this little boy with all my heart. “Hey, Sweet Pea. Did you have fun today?” I asked.
    â€œYes. I played with my friends and we had Popsicles!” He grinned.
    â€œOh, boy, you did have a good day.”
    â€œAnd I drew pictures and I learned a new song!”
    Later that evening, CJ rummaged through his toy box for his favorite dinosaur magnet and affixed the picture of me that he’d drawn today onto the refrigerator. Although I got the feeling that Brenda didn’t want her stainless steel Sub-Zero cluttered with elementary school art, she held her breath and allowed it.
    She appeared to be in a particularly good mood tonight. I’d never seen her so relaxed, and it seemed a little odd. She was usually very high-strung. I think it came from her insatiable drive to do all things well. She wanted everything to be just so,