She reached for her champagne. “It is, but where I live, I think it gives me an advantage. I’m instantly trustworthy.” She smiled. “Let’s see. I grew up knowing when something broke, new wasn’t an option. We repaired, reused, made do. When I was little, I helped my dad a lot. He showed me how to do things.”

“Sounds like a good dad.”

“He was. When I married Stuart, we lived in base housing. It’s not luxurious, as you can imagine. My sink had a leaky faucet that was driving me crazy. I reported it, but they said it would be a couple of weeks for someone to get there. So I went to the hardware store and bought a couple of washers and fixed it myself.”

He liked that she’d taken action. He also enjoyed listening to her talk. When she forgot to be sad, her whole face relaxed. She was animated and genuine.

“I started helping out a few friends with small projects. Word got out and people I didn’t know called me to do things. I made a price list and it became a part-time job. When we moved to the next base, I started up again.”

“So when you had to move back to Willowbrook, opening your own business was a natural transition.”

She nodded. “I like what I do. Having Silver Pines nearby means there is always work. I have a good reputation in the community and I’m one of their go-to people.”

She drank more champagne. “My friend Ellen thinks I need to hire a real full-time person to work for me.”

“Who works for you now?”

“A group of retired guys. I have help, they get to travel when they want. It works.” She leaned toward him, her elbows on the table. “I’ll admit I don’t take my business as seriously as I probably should. I turn down work constantly. Having someone full-time would mean getting more jobs, especially the bigger ones that pay more.”

“But?” he asked.

“I work out of my garage. If I got a full-time person, I’d probably need to move into a real business location. That scares me. I’ve never had a rent payment.”

“Have you run the numbers?”

She ducked her head. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“You figure out what your expenses would be, then look at how much you think you would earn.”

Their food arrived. He’d ordered fish and chips, while Unity had chosen a burger.

“Math isn’t my thing,” she said before taking a big bite. “I don’t do computers and spreadsheets. My guys are always after me to get a smartphone so we can use one of the business apps to schedule jobs and stuff.”

“And yet you resist.”

“I don’t like change.”

“You’re afraid of change, there’s a difference.”

She put down her burger and wiped her hands. “How did you know that?”

“It’s pretty obvious, Unity. You’re bright, you’re capable, but you don’t want to challenge yourself.” He smiled. “Excluding today’s adventure.”