Chapter 7: Beyond the Door and On Top of the Roof
He reached for the room's doorknob and twisted it. He felt as if his gut was being twisted just like the doorknob. The door opened and there she was in the room. At the sight of her, Kurt's heart pounded in his ears. She was sitting down on a towel on the floor reading. She was focused on the book so much that it took a couple of seconds for her to realize that Kurt was in the room. She glanced up from her book at Kurt. She closed her book and stood up.
"So you are here to fix the roof?" Not giving him enough time to answer she continued. "I must leave now then." Her face showed no trace of anger or happiness. In fact, her face showed no trace of any emotion. She started to walk around Kurt to get to the door. But right when she was about to reach for the door, Kurt stopped her.
"Dia…" Kurt's voice was weak and shaky. He did not dare to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I was very rude to you even in your own home. Will…you forgive me?"
"Well it seems like you do have some class. I am impressed…I forgive you as long as you fix my roof correctly." And with that she left the room. Kurt sighed in relief as if a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders. He felt somewhat at ease and was ready to begin working.
He started to hit the ceiling with his tools, destroying the already damaged roof. The debris flew down and a ray of sunlight was growing larger and larger on Kurt's face. There finally was a hole big enough for Kurt to go through. He set the ladder up and climbed through the hole. When he was on the roof he glanced about. He was so high up that he could see some of the Brownie farm pasture with the horses prancing about.
He made sure his gloves were tightly wrapped around his hands and began digging through the tiles, stripping the roof. Most of the tiles were very wet, but some could be recycled. After working at the roof for a few minutes Kurt noticed that Dia was back into her room reading the same book. He watched her scan the pages, forgetting that he had a job to do.
"I am not paying you to sunbathe on my roof." Her eyes did not leave the book for a second. Kurt snapped back to his senses and began tearing up the roof again.
The afternoon was particularly rough. Drops of sweat ran down Kurt's body. Dia was no longer in her room, but was out in the yard. He could only see her if he'd lean over the edge of the mansion.
When the sun was out of sight, Kurt retired from his work. He climbed down the ladder and carried it down the stairs. His stomach grumbled at the desire of food and his body was sore from the non-stop work. Yet his eyes were happier than ever at the sight of Dia.
"Thank you, sir. Here is your pay for today." Martha handed Kurt money and waved him goodbye. He waved back and began walking on the path back to the shack. When he had got there it was pitch black outside. He placed the ladder so that it was leaning on Woody's house/the shop.
He walked up the hill and got out his water can. He leaned down, smiling, and watered his plants. They were doing a great job standing up against the summer's heat. He touched the plants tenderly as if he was petting them.
"Good job, guys…" He murmured. The flowers were also growing. They did not have buds yet, but in a couple of days, Kurt figured, they would bloom.
Will Kurt and Dia's relationship grow and blossom like the flowers? Or will it be trampled on or wilt in time?