The Contractor's song

I'm actually getting a little nervous. R, our contractor from 10yrs ago, and re-hired for the current job at the new home, was to hand over the house back to us today - in pristine condition. For a moment, I actually believed him when he said there should not be a delay, when we first appointed him some 3 weeks ago.

R is now singing the contractor's song - why a delay is inevitable because of

1. the December rains (and hence he could not do the timber flooring on time),

2. the bit about "you want me to do a good job...correct??" (and hence, he would try his best to deliver the book shelves tomorrow)

3. you have yet to decide on the positioning of the shelves along the corridor

4. my men being too busy to do your rails???!!!

5. etc etc.

But I can see he is putting effort into the job and so it is hard for me to be pissed off. We'll see what tomorrow brings because it is a big day for the house - the furniture is arriving.