Chapter 18
Chapter 18 — The Water Line
Alex goes to Gene's hardware store on Saturday morning to learn how to crimp PEX for the hot tub water line. Gene teaches him the technique and they talk about the commune, with Gene revealing more about his marriage to Ruth and why it ended. Back at the commune, Alex digs the thirty-six-inch trench for the water line and completes the PEX run from the kitchen to the hot tub pad. He finishes the firebox and begins building the cedar towel cabinet. Chloe seeks him out while he works, and they have a genuine conversation about the summer winding down and what Alex will do next. Alex tells her about the nearby college he's considering. That evening, he installs the frost-free hydrant and tests the water line. It works. The hot tub is one step from completion. He returns to his cabin and finds a note from Eleanor slipped under his door asking him to visit her cabin the next evening. The chapter ends with Alex looking at the birthday list and realizing the summer has less than three weeks left.
Saturday came early. The sky was still gray when Alex pulled on his boots and walked to the truck. The creek was loud. Rain had come through in the night. The dirt road would be soft.
He drove slow. The truck fishtailed once on the gravel stretch near the county line. He corrected without thinking. Two months of driving this road had taught his hands what to do.
Gene was already at the store. The lights were on. The OPEN sign wasn't flipped yet. Alex knocked on the side door and Gene let him in.
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