"I am having to diversify my talents by a lot," Eddie says, shaking his head. His light tone of voice should make it clear that he's not complaining, just making an observation. "I can't promise that any blueprints I draw will be good, but I can maybe talk you through the idea even with poor visual aids. If I get ambitious, that is. Either way, I appreciate it."

And then he perks up, clearly having remembered something. "Do you want to come inside for a snack? Got to baking earlier, and I ended up with more pound cake than I should probably eat on my own. Sharing it with a friendly neighbor seems like a good solution."