Someone gave me advice before we started our remodel. Pick the contractor you want to be married to for a year. At the time, price, quality and reputation were on the top of my criteria list. Marriage–not so much.
The advice stayed with me while we interviewed several highly recommended general contractors. All met our criteria, but one stood out. My husband, Eric, said he was the kind of guy he could have a beer with, and while I wasn’t sure I wanted to marry him, I liked him and felt very comfortable having him around my children. I’ll refer to him as Steve.
Midway through the remodel, I fully understood that golden piece of advice from months earlier. Your contractor is the person you see every day, sometimes more than your spouse. Your construction team becomes part of your family. You learn about their lives as they conduct their business in the heart of your life.
My relationship with Steve was truly like a marriage. He saw me daily in my pajamas, frequently before I’d brushed my teeth. He lent support when he saw the crazed look in my eye indicating I was about to turn into Marie Osmond and dump my kids with a sitter and run for my life. He jumped to help unload groceries from my car, unlike my loving husband who pretends to be napping when I arrive home with 20 bags of groceries.
Steve and I also had the emotional ups and downs of a marriage. We shared the euphoria of tearing down part of the tired old house and the thrill of seeing the new framing go up. We had moments of mutual frustration when we didn’t understand the other’s world and we needed a break from each other.
All that typical marriage stuff was fine until … he saw me naked.
The day was like any other in our house. Two kids were at school, Eric was reviewing the punch list with Steve, and I scooped up our 2-year-old to go take a shower. I closed our bedroom door but left the bathroom door open so I could keep an eye on my daughter while she played in the bedroom.
I just finished a typical Mom speed shower which included only the necessities: rinse, soap and the fastest pit shave in the West. I was standing stark naked at the counter in the bathroom in the direct sight line of the bedroom door, when suddenly Eric and my beloved contractor barge in.
“Heeeelllllooooo!” I scream, as I throw my body back behind the door. At the same time I see Steve dart into a side room. Even though he is moving at the speed of light, I can see that he’s already starting to blush. He yells, “I didn’t see anything!” And all I get out of Eric is “sorry, babe” as he closes the bedroom door behind him.
Many thoughts race through my mind simultaneously. “Oh crap, Steve just saw me naked.” “Was I sucking in my stomach?” “Yet another reason I need a boob job.” “What is he going to tell his wife?” “Why wasn’t Eric more horrified?”
Sadly, it wasn’t the first time my privates were seen unintentionally by someone in town. After our first child was born, Eric, the proud new father, decided to capture the moment on film. In several photos I’m cuddling a slimy newborn on my chest and unbeknownst to me exposing more south of the equator than anyone would ever want to see, especially after giving birth. And because this was before we used a digital camera we didn’t realize the “extra detail” in the pictures until we picked them up from Wolf Camera. I wondered why none of the salespeople would look me in the eye when I picked up the photos.
Steve was struggling with the same embarrassment when I came back into the kitchen. He was turned to the side, nose in clipboard, blushing like a neon tomato. Ever the gentleman he said, “Holly. I didn’t see anything. Really.”
“Steve,” I said. “You can’t look me in the eye. You saw everything.”
We shared many intimate details of our lives up until that point. That one, well, was a bit too intimate.
Now that we are days away from ending our year-long marriage, I wouldn’t change a thing. The house is amazing–a dream come true for our family. Steve and his crew did a fantastic job.
In the end, the contractor/marriage advice was spot on. I chose the contractor most like my husband. He’s a mellow guy who loves his wife and family first, then goes off to earn a living. He’s polite, respectful and (the boys on the job site will love this) pretty darn cute like my hubby.
And like my husband, once in a while, he sees me naked.
Author’s note: Names have not been changed to protect the guilty (Steve Howard).
