HC: Handyman | Ch. 212 - Forcing a Smile

Jack blinked. “Holly?!”

Time seemed to stop.

Tuesday night flashed before his eyes—the train ride, the pleasant conversation, the texts they’d exchanged afterward. He hadn’t expected to see her again so soon—especially not here, mid-job, covered in dust and grease.

Holly stood a few steps down near the stairwell, holding a mug of tea in one hand and three thick books cradled under the other arm. Her soft cardigan and faded jeans gave her a homey, endearing look—adorable, really.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, climbing the stairs toward him.

Jack swallowed. He could feel his dad’s gaze behind him. Not exactly the best wingman to have around when talking to a girl you liked.

To worsen it, he looked like a mess: drywall powder in his hair and across his shoulders, oil stains on his shirt, dried flecks of paint on his arms and face.

“H-hi, Holly. I’m here with my dad. Uh—Dad, this is my friend Holly. Holly, this is my dad, José.”

“Hello, miss,” his father said, polite but with a curious glance at Jack.

“Hello, Mr. José,” she said, climbing a few more steps and shaking hands with him.

She gave Jack a once-over and smiled, sipping her tea. “I love your new look.”

Jack stood a little straighter, surprised—and a little embarrassed. Without thinking, he rested the sledgehammer on his shoulder in what he hoped looked cool. His dad gave a small chuckle, and Jack’s face warmed.

She glanced at the tools they carried, then added, “So you’re a handyman in real life, too, huh?”

Jack opened his mouth, but his dad beat him to it. “Oh? You’ve seen my son working as a handyman in the game?”

“Yeah! I love to watch him! Your son is so talented, Mr. José,” Holly said cheerfully.

“Really?” José asked, surprised, glancing over at Jack.

It hit him like a hammer to the chest—Holly knew him from streaming. From the videos Amari had made. He couldn’t let his dad find out that there were videos of him online again. It could destroy the respect he had for his gaming job. He had to pivot—fast.

Jack cleared his throat, trying to sound casual. “There’s a burst pipe on the third floor. We’re here to fix it.”

“Do you do this every day?”

“Today’s my first day, actually,” Jack said. “I’ll be helping out my dad once a week, from now on.”

“Must be nice! Working with your father like that,” she said, smiling.

“What about you?” Jack asked. “What are you doing here?”

“This is my dorm. I live here,” Holly said.

Right. That made sense. It was only a few blocks from her university.

“What’s up with all the books?” he asked.

“Oh. I tutor students. It helps pay the bills.”

He glanced at the titles: Statics and Mechanics of Materials, Principles of Electrical Engineering, and Numerical Methods for Engineers.

“Whoa. These books seem really advanced. You must be super smart.”

“Haha, not really. Just lazy. I like jobs where I don’t have to leave the building. All my clients live in the dorm. It’s perfect—especially when it’s raining.”

A student appeared at the bottom of the stairs and hesitated, trying to figure out how to navigate around them. 

His father cleared his throat.

“Well,” Jack said, nodding toward the stairs. “We should probably get going. That pipe’s not going to fix itself.”

“Right,” Holly said. “Good luck, Handyman Jack. See you around. Nice to meet you, Mr. José.”

He smiled, turned, and followed his dad up the stairs. As they climbed, he looked back one last time. Holly was still standing there, balancing her books and tea while the students navigated around her. She waved at him again, smiling.

Something about that smile lingered with him as he climbed.

Jack kept going, silently praying his father wouldn’t say anything embarrassing while they were still within earshot. However, his dad didn’t. Only after some time had passed did he speak up.

“She seems like a nice girl. Hardworking, too,” José said simply.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “She seems to be.”

Jack remembered his own time as a student—back then, the last thing he wanted to do after a long day of lectures was work, especially on a Friday night. Holly, on the other hand, was working with a smile on her lips.

He waited for his father to say more, but that was it.

They reached the floor where the leak had been reported. Water was dripping steadily from the ceiling, forming a dark patch on the wood below.

“Hmmm… Maybe let’s take a look at it from above. Might be easier to access the pipe from there,” José said after a moment’s assessment.

“Sure.”

They climbed another flight. Upstairs, several boards near the wall had begun to warp and lift.

“Okay,” José said, crouching down. “It’s easy to see where the pipe must’ve cracked. Now comes the tricky part—getting to it.” He tapped the boards, thinking. “We’ll need the crowbar to pry these up. Mind grabbing it from the car?”

“Sure,” Jack said, taking the keys.

He started down the stairs, but his mind lingered on Holly.

What were the odds of bumping into her again, just days after their train ride? And why did he feel so happy—and so nervous—talking to her this time?

It wasn’t like with Lydia, where everything had hit him all at once. He’d fallen for Lydia at first sight. 

With Holly, it was different. More gradual.  When he’d first asked her to slide over on the train, he hadn’t thought much of it. Then they’d started talking, and something had shifted. She was sharp and kind, and the more they talked, the prettier she seemed.

And now, seeing her again—just standing there with her mug and books—it had made his heart race.

His fingers tightened slightly around the keys. He hadn’t expected her to have this kind of impact on him.

With the excitement came panic. She’d seen him in a rough state—paint-smeared, dusty, looking like someone who spent his days crawling through basements. Worse, she’d seen him working for his dad. Was that lame?

Was she being kind, or just polite, when she said it was nice he was working with his father? Did she mean it—or was she laughing about it inside? Maybe that was all he was to her, a clown, a spectacle, like in Amari’s videos.

He remembered her laughing as she watched the clip of him playing with Amari. She’d even asked if he was pretending to act out like that to get more views, or if he really was being himself. Maybe that was what she saw when they talked in real life. He was probably just a clown to her. A spectacle.

And she was studying to become an engineer. She was obviously smart. Did it make her think less of him for doing this kind of work? He didn’t have a degree. He was a broke college dropout who still lived with his parents. He wasn’t exactly a catch.

The doubt flickered… but didn’t take hold.

Her smile had seemed genuine. If anything, she’d looked curious—interested even. Not grossed out. Not dismissive.

And besides, there was nothing about his father or his job to scoff at.

After spending the day with him, Jack couldn’t help but feel a quiet admiration. José had handled every problem that came his way. Customers greeted him with trust and respect, like he was someone who could fix anything.

Jack slowed as he reached the landing where he’d bumped into Holly, footsteps softening without meaning to. His eyes drifted toward the hallway, scanning without trying to be obvious.

No sign of her. She was probably already tutoring someone.

He sighed and kept walking, the steady thump of his boots echoing in the stairwell. He took the crowbar from his dad’s van and headed back up.

His heart was still pounding. And he wasn’t sure if it was from the stairs—or from the girl who wasn’t there anymore.

*

After fixing the pipe, José and Jack had gone straight home. Both had taken a shower and were now sitting at the dinner table.

José watched in horror as his son tore through the meal without chewing. If I ate like that, I’d give myself a stomach hernia!

Jack wolfed down his dinner, barely pausing.

“Sorry for rushing like this. I’m late already. Thanks for dinner, Mom!” he said, standing up and taking his plate to the sink. “I’ve got to meet Rob and the others in the game. I’ll be working through the night. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Maria replied as Jack leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks.

“Good night, son.”

“Good night, Dad,” Jack said, giving José’s shoulder a light pat as he passed.

“Night!”

Jack bounded up the stairs, and a moment later the soft thud of his bedroom door echoed through the house.

Maria sighed, looking at the empty seat where Jack had just been. She switched to Portuguese. “He was eating so fast I couldn’t even talk to him properly about the day.”

José brought another potato to his mouth. He had zero appetite, but he forced down the bite so Maria wouldn’t notice. The last thing he wanted was to worry her.

Maria glanced at him, smiling. “So, from how happy you look, I take it that Jack did well today.”

José glanced up with a faint smirk. “What are you talking about? I look normal.”

“Oh, please, Zé. As if I don’t know you. You’re glowing. Just tell me—how did it go?”

José chuckled and set his fork down. “It was a good day. He worked hard. Asked questions. Wanted to learn. Reminded me a little bit of myself when I was starting, only with more complaining.”

“Really?” Maria’s face lit up.

“Yes. Even volunteered to come with me on a call I hadn’t planned for.”

Maria beamed, her eyes misting a little. José nodded. They ate for a moment more in comfortable silence. Then he looked up, remembering.

“Oh! And there was something else—he ran into a girl while we were working.”

“A girl?” Maria asked, intrigued.

“She knew him from the game. Said he had a good reputation as a handyman.”

“Really?”

José nodded again. It felt good to finally say something like that about his son. It had been too long.

“This girl,” Maria said, curiosity rising. “How old was she?”

“About his age…”

“And what did she look like?”

José shrugged. “I don’t know. Like a girl.”

“Zé! Is that all you can say?”

“Oh, Maria. What do you want me to tell you? She had a face. She talked. She was polite.”

“Argh. Men! Was she short? Blonde? Pretty?”

“She was pretty,” José admitted. “Holly, I think her name was.”

Maria sat up straighter, her eyes widening. “It’s her! The girl on the train!”

“What girl on the train?”

“He told me about her! They met on his trip to Providence—sat together, talked the whole way. He even asked for her number.”

José bobbed his head slowly, thoughtfully. “Jack looked a little enchanted by her. It’s too soon, after Lydia,” he said. “But maybe… maybe that means his heart’s starting to heal.”

“True. And what did you think of her?”

“Hmmm…” He scratched his chin. “She was working on a Friday night. That tells me she’s hardworking. She didn’t flinch talking to us, even with our dirty work clothes on. That makes her uncomplicated. And she tutors other students for a living. She’s smart. I liked her.”

Maria took in every detail, nodding along. She leaned back in her chair, smiling quietly. “And did you notice how he took his plate to the sink without being asked?”

José chuckled, watching her. “Told you he just needed a push.”

His wife nodded.

“If he keeps this up, he might even move out on his own someday. Find a place. Start a family of his own.”

Maria’s smile faded. “Maybe… now’s not the best time for that. He’s doing so well, and… we might need the help.”

The air shifted. José took another bite, forcing himself to chew even as a tightness built in his chest.

He leaned forward and rested his hands over hers, giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t worry, honey. The treatment will work,” he said. He forced a smile, though he could feel the familiar tug of a cough rising, unwelcome and untimely.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she nodded. “Have you heard anything from the bank?”

José inhaled slowly. “Not yet. But I have excellent credit. I’ve been with them for years. If we get the loan, we can schedule the treatment by the end of the month.”

“They’d better give you the loan,” she muttered, her sadness flaring into frustration. “It’s bad enough that the insurance barely covers the treatment. What have we been paying them all these years for?”

José stood and wrapped his arms around her. “There, there. I’m going to be okay, honey.”

Her voice broke. “Oh, Zé. I’m scared,” she said, her face pressed against his chest.

He smiled. “Don’t worry, my love. This is just one more bump in the road. We’ll pull through. Just like we always do.”

She didn’t answer, but her arms wrapped around him tighter.

Ch. 211 - Tests

INDEX

Ch. 213 - Windfall