Chapter 4Mrs. Brill wanted her front hall painted. She offered to pay Joe for the job, but she hadn’t given him a hard time when he’d been a day or two late with the rent, and it had been agreed that he’d do the occasional odd job for her when he moved in. Besides, she minded her own business and sometimes made him cookies. So he’d insisted he wouldn’t take any money, that this kind of thing was part of their deal.
“Yes, Joseph.” Joe smiled wryly. No one called him Joseph, not even his mother. “But I meant things like taking the trash to the curb or shoveling the front walk. This is more of a job than that.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. B. I can do one coat on a Saturday afternoon and the other the next day.”
“Well…if you’re sure. But I’ll pay for all the paint and brushes and so forth.”
“Don’t yo
