And so it begins.
After confirming with Marco, my contractor, that the start date was still on for Monday, December 17, he emailed back to say they’d be there between 9:30 and 10AM. Sunday night, with the new cabinets assembled and the old ones emptied, I went to sleep hopeful, but skeptical.
At 9:40AM my doorbell rang. Could it be?
Standing in my doorway, wearing smiles, were Ronnie and Hennessey, brothers who worked for Marco. Immediately they
moved the assembled cabinets to one side of the room and covered the floor with tarps. Marco walked in soon after, wearing his signature baseball hat and vest, and as the brothers dismantled my kitchen, I showed him my notes taped to the wall.
“Each new cabinet is labeled with a letter that corresponds to the drawing,” I said.
“I’ve never had a client do this.” He was impressed. “We should be done by Friday.”
“That would certainly be a Christmas miracle,” I told him. Marco laughed.
By noon the old kitchen was Buh Bye. Gone. A distant memory. However the two holes we discovered on the wall behind an old cabinet was more “bah humbug.” Apparently whoever did the initial work had trained with one Mr. Rube Goldberg.
“That’s why you’ve h
ad bugs.” Marco flicked a few dead ones off the peeling plaster.
“I never saw any bugs.” I was horrified.
“You were lucky, then,” he said.
After patching the holes, they focused on the electricity. While the brothers cut wires, installed new outlets and plastered the walls, I was in another room (imagine that) editing. Every once in a while a brother would call out, “Ms. Feliz” and I’d come in and answer their question. Soon after I could hear one of them singing, “Feliz Navidad.” Th
ey got a kick out of my name. This time of year I hear that a lot. Besides, I have my own Christmas song. After losing my front teeth in a bike accident when I was nine, every year I sing, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” and mean it.
While there was certainly holiday cheer in apartment 7F yesterday, by the end of Day One, my kitchen, though absent, was a beautiful blank canvas. Working as a professional organizer I’ve overseen many renovations, but now it’s my turn. And as I watch my own home getting a makeover, I can’t help but sing my favorite Christmas song, though with new lyrics. “All I want for Christmas is a new sink, a new stove, and a new place to cook.”
Happy Holidays!
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