Ok, ask yourself what you would do? You’re single, two years out of college, got a good job, a fairly healthy bank account, and are about to embark on purchasing your first home – a fixer-upper.
Two attractive young ladies offer you a deal – live together, share expenses, share beds. They’re both single moms, from 3 to 7 years older than you are. Oh yeah, did I mention one was so hot, the ground scorches whenever she walks by?
Well, what would you do? I know what I did…
* * * *
During the two weeks following that first weekend, we started to settle into a groove. I got permission to start work on the house early, Debbie quit her job, and Karen laid down the law: no hanky-panky until we were all living together. I’d tried arguing, but in the end she won out. With twenty-twenty hindsight, I realized I should have worked out the details of our ‘arrangement’ before committing to buying the house. I’d lost all my leverage. Hell, I wasn’t even getting the hand-jobs I’d been getting before the deal. It might have been great incentive to get things done, but at the time I just thought it was damn mean.
I gave my landlord notice. I was responsible for the next month as well, but I was told that if the place were rented out, I wouldn’t have to pay for it. Within three days, the place was off the market. I now needed to get the roof work on the new house completed, or face the prospect of living in the house, but from within a tent.
It was no turning back for all of us. Three adults, two small children, and one very dilapidated home for our combined residence.
In one way I was lucky. As a single guy, with time on his hands, I’d always been available to help others in my office when needed. I helped building decks, moving people, even raising a new garage. So I had a lot of goodwill built up among my buddies, and it was time to take advantage of that.
Two friends in particular I would be depending on heavily. Joe was a good friend who I’d know for years. I’d helped Joe build his deck and raise his garage. We’d been friends for years and I knew he would be willing to help me. He also had a secondary advantage; he was one of 8 brothers, no sisters. I was on two softball teams with him, one men’s modified fast pitch, and one co-ed. His brothers, their wives, and his father, were all members of the team; there were only three guys and two girls on these teams that weren’t family members. We partied a lot together, and I had helped pour a patio for his parents, and helped a brother move, and another build a deck.
His family was a gold mine of help. Two brothers and the father ran a plumbing business, and another brother was in construction as a finish carpenter. Joe had known of my plans to fix the house, and his entire family had offered up their services where possible. They were really great people, and I loved them like my own family. I was a little concerned about how they’d take the living arrangements. Joe’s wife Cathy had a very possessive attitude towards me, and had tried to be a matchmaker for me twice. She had set me up with the girl I was currently dating, a sweet young thing named Beth, barely out of high school, who worked in day-care. She was on our softball team as well.
My other key resource was Jim. Jim was an electrical engineer in the office, and had gotten his professional electrician’s license when remodeling his own home. I’d helped when he’d converted his carport into a third bedroom and bathroom, and got my first taste of running a backhoe when we tore up the carport foundation before we poured the new one.
Two weeks after I’d first decided to go ahead with this plan, things were starting to come together.
* * * *
I had moved the settlement up to Friday. I would take a little extra hit on the end of month interest, but it looked like I had a full team available to help me that weekend, and I wasn’t about to put that much work into a place I didn’t own. Things went pretty smoothly, and I bitched and moaned about some problems that hadn’t been disclosed, and over the fact that some work that was supposed to be done never got completed, and managed to get out with a little more cash than I’d expected.
My bank account was dwindling rapidly, but the return of my deposit and last months rent on my apartment helped a little. Karen had offered to donate her rental deposit when it was returned, but I insisted she keep that for outfitting her rooms and her own expenses.
* * * *
I woke up Saturday, alone as usual. I’d taken Beth out the night before. She was a very sweet and innocent girl, but her pants might as well have been made of titanium. After nearly six weeks, we still only went out infrequently, for a movie or dinner, or to an amusement park once, but necking was as far as she’d go. I was amazed I’d finally gotten my hand in her shirt. Between Beth’s indomitable will, and Karen’s resolve I was going crazy.
I arrived at the house early, for me, which means only about 45 minutes late. It was a maelstrom of activity. People had been there since dawn. There were at least half-a-dozen guys already at work tearing out the insides of the house and ripping off the old roof. Everything looked like it was going great until my heart stopped.
Under the carport, the girls were setting up tables on sawhorses, and portable picnic tables. There were coolers everywhere, and a variety of breakfast foods scattered around. And girls there were aplenty. Debbie and Karen were there of course, as was Cathy who was trying to take control of the situation. Also present was Joe’s mother, one of his sister-in-laws, and the lovely Beth.
I hadn’t expected all these women to be there. I hadn’t invited any of them. Karen and Debbie I’d expected of course, but I’d forgotten to take Cathy into account. Cathy, though, couldn’t stand the idea of all of those men out there, trying to fend for themselves. So she’d set up the onsite support kitchen. And invited Beth, thinking to surprise me. She’d succeeded nicely.
To make things worse, both Beth and Debbie had come dressed to tease. If I hadn’t known better, I might almost think they’d coordinated their outfits. Both were wearing small, tight cutoff denim shorts, and tight plain t-shirts, Debbie in pink, Beth in white. The view was exquisite, tempting, and very distracting.
As if that wasn’t enough, there were also five little girls running around, all between the ages of 5 and 7.
I headed for the carport, determined to find out how much trouble I was in, and looking to get in some damage control.
“JACK, GET YOUR LAZY SLACKIN’ ASS UP HERE AND MAKE A DECISION!” Joe called to me from the second floor, his head sticking out through the slanted roof.
With a hesitant glance back to ‘women’s country’, I headed for the front door, where I met Joe on his way down to intercept me.
“Damn, man! You’ve opened up a can of worms,” Joe advised me, with a laugh in his voice and a shake of his head.
“I can guess. What’s going on?” I was desperate for any kind of information that might tell me how bad things had gotten already.
“You are on Cathy’s shit list, buddy. I doubt she’ll talk to you for a while. What’s the deal with Karen and her friend?”
“They’re going to live here with me. We’re going to finish out the top level, and the women and their kids will share it. I’ll get the master-bedroom on the main floor.” We weren’t alone in our discussion any more; Jim and one of Joe’s brothers had gathered around to get some of the details, and more were approaching.
“Well, that’s not the way Karen’s telling it. She’s let it out that you are dating her and Debbie. She’s let Cathy know that this is her house, and they’ll be doing things her way. And of course Beth is still in shock.”
Jim couldn’t help chiming in. “You should have seen when Karen said the important thing was to get the roof up and the main floor done, so the kids could sleep in the living room, and the adults could share the bedroom. I thought Cathy would go into convulsions.”
“And mom is still mumbling to herself, but I think she’s mostly just laughing,” Rob, Joe’s oldest brother added.
“Damn, that Debbie is one hot looking babe. How does an asshole like you merit something like that?” This from Eric, the latest brother to approach the discussion.
“Well, I better go out there and see what I can do…” I started to say.