RP: Inspection time

[shh_orla]

 Date: October 1, 2005
Character(s): Orla Quirke and Roger Davies
Location: Quirky Thoughts
Status: Private
Summary: Time to let the builders take a gander at the house
Completion: Complete

Orla felt a bit silly, making sure she was dressed nicely for Roger to come over and inspect the house for renovations, but she couldn't help it. She remembered being

Comments

[shh_roger]

He nodded and stepped inside, following Orla through the foyer and into the office area. "Yeah, I've certainly heard about you; you seem to have the market cornered for that sort of thing."

He took a look around the room. "An outside entry? So, you'd want to break it up and have one room as sort of an anteroom into your office as they come in from the outside?" He pivoted a bit to try to get a feel for the space, then jotted down a few notes. By the time he looked up, she was moving into the kitchen, talking a quite a lot. He smiled slightly; she was obviously excited about the project. Either that or she was nervous for some reason, he couldn't tell.

"A mural, eh?" He took a look at the wall. "Well, I can vouch for Dean's artistic ability, definitely. It should be fantastic." Taking a more careful look around the kitchen, he added, "I don't think it needs any major changes to utilize space better, but if you ever want to update those cabinets, just let me know."

When she headed upstairs he followed suit, taking a look at the landing, and the bedroom beyond where she stood. "So, you're wanting more separation between your office and residence, then? I can understand wanting to have your living room separate from your work space. The work would be fairly extensive, though. I agree about needing to raise the roof."

[shh_orla]

She felt her face go red at his compliment, and said, "I suppose that's true. Not likely to get another therapist to compete with any time soon." And it wasn't as though another one would show up and reveal any mistakes, professional or otherwise, she'd made in practicing therapy here.

Orla took another look at the space, nodding. "I'd planned on a smaller desk to go in an office room, then have the therapy sessions in the front part of things. I think that room could be closed off from the front door access, maybe so the entrances are distinct. One for business and one for personal visits." She hadn't thought about walling off the front room to her stairs, but it made sense in her head. Hopefully Roger undterstood what she meant.

"Oh yes, I'm quite looking forward to it." She smiled a bit dreamily at the thought of Hogwarts in its moonlit glory on one of her walls. She'd be proud to have such a sight for dinner each evening. "The cabinets seem sound enough, but I might end up changing the varnish. They're a bit dark."

"More or less." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Home offices are a blessing, to be sure, but need to be separate enough so I put on my work brain, versus my downtime brain, if that makes sense."

"I can afford it." She added hastily, not wanting him to turn down the job because of cost. "I, er, get alimony. Would be nice to invest it in something worthwhile." She snapped her mouth shut. Why did she persist in blabbing her divorced status to everyone she met?

[shh_roger]

"Don't see many Wizarding therapists, period," he said, nodding, "at least, I've not seen many. Makes you wonder what Wizards do, generally, when they need that kind of help."

"That makes sense," he said. "I think separating business and personal entrances is a good idea. I'd put a connecting door in the wall that I put up, of course, so you can get through easily. Have you thought about bathroom access for clients? Er, Patients. They could just use the connecting door, of course."

"I think a lighter finish would make the room a lot brighter," he agreed.

He lifted a brow as she hastily assured him that she could afford the job, and then explained just how she could. It was a bit more information than he was used to getting from a client, but. He hid his small smile as he glanced down at his pad. "Ah, I meant more in terms of time and supplies and amount of sawdust generated," he said, and glanced back up at her with a grin. It might mean closing for a bit, or moving your operation to another location, while the structural things are being done."

[shh_orla]

"Well, the concept of therapy is generally a muggle one, I've found, but that doesn't mean its not still a good thing to have available for wizards and witches." She didn't really know what had been done before, and said thoughtfully, "I imagine there's a healer or something similar at the hospital, but how they go about healing mental and emotional distress, I couldn't guess."

"Oh! Good point." She frowned at the space. "My appointments generally haven't gone so long as to need access, but it would make sense. Maybe a door then, instead of walling off the space. Hmm. Would it be possible to divide the bathroom then, so the toilet and sink are in one part, and the bathtub is in another?" It seemed rather personal to see someone's bathtub, but maybe that was just her being odd again.

She went red again. "Right, of course that's what you meant." She muttered a bit, chewing on her lip. "Well, I could probably speak to Wayne Hopkins about holding sessions in the community center. Was planning on starting group sessions soon, so maybe this would be a good time for that."

[shh_roger]

"Divide the bathroom?" He frowned thoughtfully and craned his neck to see the room. "I'd need to check the dimensions. If it's large enough and there's sufficient distance between the tub and the toilet and sink, then it shouldn't be a problem. Actually, what I could do is install a pocket door, instead of a whole wall, that would slide open and closed."

"Yeah, the center's a good place to hold group sessions," he agreed. "I did the renovations over there, too, and I'm teaching a class on Wednesday nights, basic woodworking. There's a lot of space."

[shh_orla]

"That sounds perfect!" She exclaimed, grinning up at him. He was just as cute as she remembered, and she looked away as heat suffused her face. He likely didn't remember her from school, so she really ought to get past this silliness.

"Woodworking?" She was intrigued. "Using magic or your hands?"

[shh_roger]

"Good," he said with a smile. "Pocket doors save so much space; you'll love it. I like to use them wherever possible. What sort of timetable are you thinking of for the work? I mean, I'd determine how long the job would take of course, but what were you thinking for a start date?"

"I like to use my hands." He smiled wryly. "Makes me feel like I've actually done something. For larger jobs, I use magic of course, but there's nothing like building something with your hands. That's what I teach in the class; basic techniques."

[shh_orla]

"Maybe two weeks from now?" She suggested, thinking through her schedule, giving her time to notify patients, and pack away her books and other loose items.

"Wow. It sounds really interesting. I wish I was better at working with my hands." She smiled a bit ruefully.