A handyman

A handyman

Kim was one of my big brother’s buddies. He had always been there as a regular fixture in his big brother’s room. Quietly and politely as he behaved, my parents thought it was okay that he often came to visit. I was usually busy with my own stuff and barely thought about him being there. Now we’re in our late twenties all three and here I am in the doorway with all the senses directed at Kim I can’t believe this is the boy who snuck around home like a shadow all these years. Kim has grown up to be one of the most beautiful things God has created in my opinion. One of the nicest things, too.

When I called my big brother and asked if he knew anyone who could help me renovate the house I had bought, Kim sat there in the background.
“I can fix it,” he says. I didn’t recognize the dark voice right away, I’d lived overseas and hadn’t seen him in years. They talked low and laughed.
“Kim says he can fix everything at a reasonable price,” my brother says. Wait a minute and I’ll let you talk to him.

Was it already there on the phone that I was infatuated with him? The dark, calm voice belonged to a grown man, I couldn’t connect it with the skinny kid I remembered him as. He asked me what I needed help with, I told him about old electrical facilities, a kitchen ripe for the scrap heap and the roof where the water dripped in. Without boasting, Kim told me that he had up to several professional letters to do these jobs, among other things, he was an electrician. I took myself in listening more to his voice than what he said. I could have heard him talk about the different kinds of roof tiles that are in the trade for the rest of the evening. He seemed so changed and I started drawing a new picture of Kim in my head. I envisioned him as quite well-trained after all the physical work he had done. All I could remember was that he was playing Game Boy. This was a very different Kim. I’m sure he’d have gotten… and Dark… or light? I couldn’t remember that.
- Then we have an appointment? Kim said.
- Uh… yes, of course, I chirped with no idea what I’d answered.

As a result, I was in my wandering thoughts during the phone call not at all prepared when Kim knocked. It was a warm evening in late August, summer refusing to let go of…