All About Traditions

"Yes, he is in the kitchen, still working." Annabelle almost whispered. "I... I ignored his comment, but then he said... that there is a missing part from a dishwasher, some seal or something, and that it'll cause more trouble for him and that I'll need to pay fifty dollars more, so he would make it work or... or... I can think about other ways to make it right..."

"Damn! Where are you now? Did he try to...?" I cut to the end, couldn't even finish the sentence. Now I was speeding probably twenty miles above the limit.

"No, he didn't do anything, maybe he thought that I'll go out with him. I'm on the balcony now... Tony, I told him that I have a boyfriend who is coming home soon..." She hesitated for a moment and added with a shaky tone. "I don't feel safe... Please, can you come?"

"Yes, don't worry, I should be there in about fifteen minutes!" I said, only hoping that I wouldn't get caught speeding.

"I'm sorry Tony, I didn't know what to do!" Her voice was shaky and I felt that she was on the verge of crying.

"No, don't be, you did good calling me! Just stay on the balcony. I'll come inside without knocking, okay? Is the door locked?"

"No... I think I left it open."

"Good, I'll be there soon!" I said and hung up. I tried to be concise at the end, hoping that my voice sounded calming, but the truth was that I was almost seeing red. I took a few deep breaths, realizing that it won't be much helpful if I crashed into something or got caught by the cops.

Luckily, it was almost as if the universe understood the gravity of that situation because traffic on my route became less intense. I got to our neighborhood in record time, certainly violating most of the road rules.

I jumped out of the car and ran toward the elevator. Standing inside, I tried to calm down, realizing that barging in like a raging bull wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, but I couldn't get rid of the murderous thoughts. I knew that I had to handle the situation without hopefully escalating it, and at the same time I was ready to smash that dude's face if he would even breathe the wrong way.

With that attitude, I arrived at Annabelle's apartment and pressed the doorknob. Indeed, the door was open, so I came in and headed directly to the kitchen.

The guy was kneeling near the countertop and doing something with plastic pipes. I fought with the urge of kicking his fat ass instead of saying 'hi'. He immediately stood up when he heard me coming.

"I heard that there is a problem," I said loudly with a gloomy tone, stopping pretty close to him, but without invading his private space. Not yet at least.

I heard the click of the living room's door and felt Annabelle's presence behind me.

The guy didn't look too happy seeing me. He probably thought that Annabelle lied about having a boyfriend. Well, surprise, motherfucker!

"What's up, buddy?" He replied with a bit of uncertainty.

Buddy. Oh, so he was one of these annoying, quickly fraternizing with everybody, type of 'experts'. Calling everybody a buddy or a pal or even in the worst cases - a bro. I hate 'buddies' like him. Obnoxious, rude and disrespectful. The real cancer of the business.

"So what's the problem here?" I repeated, putting pressure on the word 'problem'. I placed my hands on my hips and just glared at him. As I checked him from head to toe, I reassured myself that the guy posed no threat to me, in any way whatsoever.

He looked like an obese hamster, who hid some shit in his cheeks and forgot about it. Shorter than me by a few inches, with an awful waist to shoulder ratio and pot belly. It seemed as if his only physical activity was curling the tv remote and squatting over the can when he was taking a dump. Ugly face with unhealthy complexion. And a very 'punchable' one.

"Eeer... There was no main seal in the box and the outlet pipes are leaking." He scratched his head, looking like a fool. A disgusting, filthy, lying fool.

"Let me see," I said sternly, definitely not as a request.

The guy made a face as if he was saying 'whatever, buddy' and stepped aside. I glanced at the door and noticed Annabelle standing there, looking pale and frightened. I smiled warmly at her, just to reassure her that she was safe, that everything was under my control and that guy would be smashed in no time, if there was a need for that. Yes, that one smile had all of these meanings, I have a very vivid facial expression.

I turned and crouched under the countertop and checked the outlet pipes. There were few pieces, already assembled by fucking Mr Hamster. I ran my fingers along them and then unscrewed them from the drain. When I looked at them in a better light, I instantly realized why they were leaking. And my anger jumped off scale.

"No surprise that they're leaking. You didn't use cotton waste or caulk?" It wasn't a question, as he obviously didn't do that. I looked at the guy, not even trying to hide my contempt.

"What for? Nobody is using them anymore, man." He snorted, trying to mask the fact that he was caught in flagranti on being incompetent.

"Yeah? Says who?" I snarled and shook my head. I turned on the water in the sink and poured it through the pipes. They were leaking on every joint. A simple hydraulic cotton waste would prevent that one hundred percent, but someone had to have a brain in his head instead of a pile of shit.

"Listen, buddy, if you know how to do my job so darn well, then feel free to install the dishwasher by yourself." He crossed his chubby arms on his chest or should I said, under his disgusting male titties. The guy was trying to look tough and nonchalant, but I knew that the crap was already going down his bowels.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do. Where is the box?" I asked sharply and the guy's face elongated, but he didn't answer.

"It's in the hall," Annabelle said quietly.

I walked in the direction she showed me and found huge cardboard box where dishwasher was packed. When I moved it, something rattled inside. Oh, you're lying piece of shit! I reached inside and there it was - a mysteriously missing seal.

I came back to the kitchen, holding the circular seal high in the air, as if it was proof of a crime. Well, it was, in a way.

"Is this the seal that was missing?" I asked, channeling the bad cop in me. The guy looked frightened now. Probably shitting his pants, as he should be.

"Dude, I swear that it wasn't there! It must have been stuck between the cardboard or something..." He started to explain, but shut his stinky mouth when I got into his face. I was merely five or six inches away from him. Towering over him.

"Oh, yeah? And if my girlfriend paid you these fifty bucks, the seal would miraculously find itself? What bullshit are you trying to sell here, huh?" I snapped, glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

"No! I told you, it wasn't there, man, I wouldn't... " He began to explain and the disgusting white lumps of saliva appeared in both corners of his mouth. His forehead was covered with sweat.

He looked like a pathetic, little liar, scared because someone caught him. I was sure that I could beat him up to the pulp if I wanted. It was really tempting, but not worth the trouble afterwards. And I didn't want to appear as a psycho in front of Annabelle. I could feel that she was scared enough.

"Listen up, 'buddy'," I made sure that this word sounded like an insult. "I think it's time for you to leave." I said it with the coldest voice possible. I could see that he felt relieved. He was most likely scared that things may get nasty.

"Okay, okay, easy." He stepped back and started to grab his things.

While 'the tool' was packing his tools, I looked at Annabelle and felt as if something squeezed my heart. She looked so stressed and vulnerable, glazing at me with wide open eyes. I tried to 'unfurrow' my eyebrows, but it was impossible at that moment. I was amped up a bit.

Instead, I glanced at the guy once again and asked Annabelle:

"Babe, you paid for the install up front, right? Remind me how much it was?" Even though I was only playing the role of her boyfriend, calling her 'babe' came so naturally for me.

"Uhm, it was eighty." Annabelle answered, blinking surprised.

"Eighty, that's right." I said and stepped in front of the guy, cutting his 'escape route'. "Install wasn't done, so we want our money back. Eighty bucks and you can go." I told him and my voice must have done the threatening job pretty well, as the guy just took out his wallet and without a word of protest gave me the cash.

After that I let him pass, but followed him to the door, almost stepping on his heels. I don't really know why I did that, probably to intimidate him more. He didn't even glance at me and quickly walked away. I locked the door behind him, taking a deep breath. That was an overall stressful situation, even though it was never physically threatening for me, but I was quite glad with the way the confrontation finally went. Duel of the males was clearly on my side. The alpha male force is strong with you, said Darth Vader in my head.

I came back to the kitchen and put the cash on the countertop. Annabelle glanced at it with confusion and then at me. She looked as if she was in mild shock.

"Are you okay?" I asked, feeling as my adrenaline level was faltering. I touched her shoulder delicately.

"No." She shook her head and dropped her eyes.

I really didn't know what I should do, if I should hug her or if it would be crossing the line. Instead of doing anything now, I decided to finish the install of the dishwasher. But I had to bring some stuff from my apartment.

"I'll be right back, okay?" I told her and she nodded, looking at me with a little bit more relaxed eyes, but with a bit of a disoriented expression.

I ran to my place and grabbed everything that would be useful, cotton wastes, some caulk and the second sealing grease, some tools, screwdriver, screw clamps and so on. Fortunately, I had everything. Yeah, handyman for life!

I came back and found Annabelle standing in the kitchen, leaning her back on the countertop. When she noticed what I was about to do, she tried to protest faintly.

"Please, you really don't have to do that."

"It'll take me only fifteen minutes, it's pretty easy," I answered and knelt to start working on these pipes. It really was easy, only if someone had at least a slightest idea how to do it. Realization of that only made me annoyed again, but I didn't want to share these thoughts with Annabelle. She had enough stress for today.

She was standing motionless and silent, but after a while she said quietly: "Thank you, Tony. I really mean it. And I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" I straightened up, barely avoiding smashing my head on the countertop.

"For putting you in such an unpleasant situation. I think I panicked, maybe it wasn't so serious, I mean, sure, he was rude, but... I just felt so powerless... And now so stupid... " She shook her head and covered her face with hands.

"What? No, please, don't feel that way, Annabelle, calling me was the right decision. That asshole wanted to rip you off, brazenly! And I don't even want to mention the other things he said to you, because it's making me so fucking furious! Dude should really feel lucky that I didn't beat him up! He totally deserved it, though" I said, failing to tame my anger. Then I realized that I swore. "Forgive me my language."

"It's fine." She smiled softly, for the first time that evening. "And thank you for coming so quickly, stepping up for me and... and... handling this so well. Capably and resolutely. For a moment I really thought that you would beat him up. When you came so close to him. That was so brave of you, he clearly chickened out."

"Fortunately, physical confrontation wasn't necessary, but sometimes it's the only language that primitive scumbags like him understand. But I would prefer not to swing my fists in front of you and turn out to be as primitive as them," I said, partially as a joke, to release the tension a bit.

"I wouldn't think about you that way, absolutely!" Annabelle stated fervently. "I just wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

I nodded and said, "Well, luckily it's over now. Maybe even the guy learned his lesson and will think twice next time." But I highly doubted the latter part. Maybe if I would have smashed his stupid face for real, then he would learn.

With that said, I resumed installing the dishwasher. The drain was ready, so I only plugged in the machine and put a piece of paper towel under the pipes, to see if they were leaking. I set up one of the shortest modes for a trial run. Nothing was leaking and the dishwasher was running flawlessly. Flawless like my skills, boom!

I stood up and saw the apologetic expression on Annabelle's face.

"Thank you so much, Tony. I can never repay you..." She said sadly and leaned back on the countertop.

"Ah, not a big deal. Another mind-blowing cheesecake and we'll be even." I tried to joke to cheer her up, but she still looked very stressed. I realized that for her it could be a much more unpleasant situation than it was for me. After all, I was used to dealing with such dickheads, as the business was full of them. And Annabelle was so... fragile. God, I loved her gentle energy.

"I'm afraid that cake won't be enough in this case." Annabelle smiled kind of deflated, but a smile is a smile, right? "I'm already thanking you all the time, so it won't make the difference if I thank you again. This time for joking and cheering me up, it was a horrible day for me, not only that situation with the dishwasher guy, but overall... " Annabelle stopped and dropped her eyes. I had a feeling that at first she wished to tell me about other things, but she hesitated, not wanting to show too much of her vulnerability? I couldn't blame her, nowadays all people are so guarded and showing the sensitive side to others could always end with being hurt and used. But I wanted her to know that I was different.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to be gentle.

"Oh, I don't want to bother you more with my stuff."

"Hey, don't treat it that way," I said quietly and on an impulse, delicately touched her shoulder. She looked at me a bit surprised, but I didn't take my hand away. "You can tell me, today I'm your boyfriend, remember?" I threw in that joke without thinking, realizing that it could be too much, but Annabelle snorted with laughter and shook her head slightly.

"I like your sense of humor," she said and then took a deeper breath. "Okay, I really need to tell this to someone or I won't get it out of my head. There is a boy in one of my classes, Timmy. He is a really sweet kid, very bright and polite... the whole class's favorite. Recently, for about two weeks or so, he was absent. His mother texted me that he was sick, so I saw that as something normal, you know, kids have infections all the time. But when Timmy didn't show up for the entire month, I had a hunch that something was wrong. I texted his mother and..." Annabelle cleared her throat and looked at me. Her eyes were teary. "Timmy has leukemia." She opened her mouth, but said nothing. A tear rolled down her cheek.

My heart was crushed, seeing her in that state. I felt for her. Again, I reached to her shoulder and stroked it. When she turned to me slightly, I pulled her gently to me. She let me hug her. Adhering her cheek to my chest, she embraced my back. I was holding her tightly, while she was trembling and sobbing.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," I whispered.

We stood like this for a long while. That was a moment in which I fell for her completely. She was everything I had ever dreamed of. Beautiful, smart, sensitive. Delicate and good-hearted. I found her brave because she was willing to show me her vulnerability. Yes, it was rare and beautiful these days.

I held her for a long time and felt that she calmed down, but didn't let me go. After a while, she said in a blank tone.

"I know that it's really meaningless compared to the situation with Timmy and even with this hideous guy, but in the morning I also lost my ring in the shower. It was a gift from my grandma. I don't know how it happened, but it slipped off directly into the drain." She sighed and lifted her head. I released her from the hug and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. From the side it could look as romantic as awkward.

"Unfortunately, I can't do anything with Timmy, it's so sad. But I can check your shower's drain if the ring is there, okay?" I said to her and she nodded, wiping her eyes with the top of her palm.

I picked up a screwdriver and we went to her bathroom. There I took a look at the drain. It seemed that it was a standard one, which had a tiny chamber underneath and the outlet pipe was mounted a bit higher. Therefore, if something fell into the drain, it could end in that chamber. So I hoped that I could save the day once again. I unscrewed the little cover from the top and shoved my fingers inside. Obviously, there was a bit of hair and dirt, but I could feel something else. It was the ring! Where was my superhero cape?!

I took it out and rinsed it in the sink. Then I passed it to Annabelle. For a second, I kind of regretted that I didn't put it directly on her finger.

Her eyes widened from joy. She was right, the ring was a small thing compared to other events, but I could feel that retrieving it was very important to her. A little bit of sweetness on the very bitter day.

"Oh, God! Thank you, Tony. What would I do without you? I will come up with an idea on how to repay you, I promise!" She said and I wanted to take her in my arms again and kiss her. But I knew that it would be an exploit of today's situation. And I wasn't that type of man, so I just waved my hand and smiled.

"No problem. Glad that I could help. I'm gonna go now. Try to have a bit of rest, okay?"

"I'll try. Have a good night, Tony," Annabelle said.

But while I was at the doorstep, she stopped me by holding my forearm. I looked at her a bit surprised. Annabelle hesitated and then hugged me tightly once more. But it wasn't over. She stood on her tiptoes, lifted her head, tilted a bit and kissed me on the cheek. The touch of her soft, plump lips felt so hot, as if it was searing my skin. After that she stepped back, smiling warmly and I walked off, grinning dumbly.

I felt tired though, so I just took a long shower and flopped on the couch, with the ambitious intent to stare at the ceiling. But then my phone vibrated. It was a message from Annabelle! She wrote, "Tony, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me. Please, let me invite you for dinner at my place. I'll cook something special. Tomorrow's evening?" And there was a kissing emoji at the end. Wow!

It's pretty obvious what I replied, right? I put the phone on my chest and smiled. It really was a long and bad day, but with a very good ending.

***

During the entire Friday I simply wasn't able to walk like a normal human being, I was skipping, jogging, almost floating a few inches above the surface. That's how much I was hyped. If the idea of butterflies in the stomach was real, I would have so many of them inside that they would be lifting me in the air.

But to be honest, I was also so stressed, much more than before the confrontation with this dishwasher douchebag. Simply because Annabelle's invitation for dinner was an official date! There was no other option. Finally, I knew that she was into me.

And she kissed me! I know, I know, it may sound silly or even desperate for a thirty-two year old guy to get emotional about a simple peck on the cheek, but who cares?! Surely not me - I wanted to celebrate that as if I was a teenager again. Because why not? Someone could say that I was head over heels for her, but I truly believed that I could build something serious with Annabelle. Long-term or maybe even life-long. Yeah, after one kiss on the cheek!