“Now you’re being silly. You have zero blame in the current situation. I would understand if you never spoke my name in public again, and refused to be seen within 50 feet of me. I would be saddened, but I would understand.” My erection had finally withered down to a mere lump, and I sat up, shifting Beth onto my lap. My arms wrapped around her waist to set her into her position, and stayed there, enjoying enfolding this soft little bundle of burgeoning femininity and sexuality.
“What are we supposed to do now, Jack? What have you left for us? I’m not going to be some bimbo in your harem.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we should just let things be for a bit, and in a week or so, I’ll give you a call. By then things should have settled down, and maybe we can work this out. If you don’t take my call I’ll understand.” My hands on her bare skin around her middle were gently caressing her flesh, almost of their own accord.
“You big jerk.” She leaned into me, wrapped herself in my arms for a moment, then after a kiss on the cheek, she stood and walked away.
I don’t know if I had made things any better or worse, but at least we were talking. It was only then that I realized we had an audience. I had been so caught up in her presence, I hadn’t noticed the prying eyes of the dozens of voyeurs who had shown up today. They had probably been hoping to see just that kind of scene, preferably ending up in some kind of blow-up with yours truly the target of scorn.
* * * *
In the afternoon, I finally got back to working with the teams, monitoring the ongoing progress, and actually doing a little work hear and there. By the time the groups were winding down and the sun was low on the horizon, the house was a completely different edifice from what had been there only 36 hours earlier. It was at least 90% finished in terms of structural changes, with mostly minor work remaining. It was unbelievable. People were ambling around viewing their own handiwork, justifiably proud of what had been done that weekend.
With Debbie at my side, I toured the work, while the last efforts were being applied to the huge ‘thank-you’ dinner. Throughout the main floor, all the wiring and plumbing had been completed, and the drywall and ceiling sheet rock had been reinstalled. Except for light fixtures, paint, and some new flooring in the living room, the place was nearly done. Even the broken windows had been replaced, and a heavy-duty new door was hung at the entrance. The front porch was still sinking and uneven, and after discussing it with Joe’s old man, we thought the best approach was to tear out the old porch and run a new wooden porch the length of the front of the house. We would extend the current porch roof the length of the new porch. That was a task for another day.
The upstairs was an even more amazing transformation. Interior walls had been moved, and the upstairs now consisted of two large bedrooms at each end, each with a small shower stall and sink installed in the rear corner. The bathroom that had once been along the rear wall was absent. The two central rooms had been refinished, with the center wall being widened and containing the closets for the rooms. What had once been the open area had been closed off as a huge new bathroom, with double sinks, a large tub, shower, privacy stall, and oversized linen closets. The two sinks still needed to be installed, and the mirrors and lighting over the sinks were still missing, but this room also was on the verge of completion. The flooring throughout was intact, simple decking, ready to be carpeted.
Debbie was enthralled throughout. She had not been in the house since Saturday morning, and had not been prepared for the changes. She had tears in her eyes as she walked back down the stairs with me.
Dinner on site was a barbecue again. But unlike the burgers and dogs of Saturday, we had ribs, chicken, pulled pork, sausages, sandwiches, and a ton of sides. Cases of soda and a quarter keg of beer were available to quench the thirsts. There were hot dogs for the kids, as well as a miscellany of PB&J, bologna, and assorted sandwiches for young tastes.
It was one of those rare parties where everything just seemed to go well. Some of the new neighbors stopped by, and most of the people who had helped stuck around for at least a while. We had a volleyball game going until it was too dark, and we tossed around footballs and Frisbees. There was singing, laughing, and joking; all of the ill feeling that seemed to hover around Saturday was banished.
I watched Debbie approach virtually every person there, thanking them for the work they’d done, often meeting them for the first time, introduced by their own kids, more often then not. Nancy helped work the serving line, near Cathy. They may not have been the best of friends, but it was clear that at least a partial truce had been declared.
It was Sunday night, and the festivities ended pretty early. Most everyone had work the next day. I had taken the week off, intending to do more work around the place, and needing to get my stuff out of the apartment by Thursday. By ten, we were just finishing cleaning up, locking up, and heading home.
Nancy, Debbie and I took a last few moments to review the work done, and discuss a little more about our plans. Nancy was going to continue working that week, and next week would start packing. Debbie was going to start watching the kids at the new house, to supervise some outside work we were going to contract. We were looking to have the carpeting upstairs, and flooring downstairs done the end of the week. We wanted to get the insides painted before then, and to get some exterior painting done in the next two weeks. She was going to start shopping for appliances for the kitchen as well.
There were hugs and kisses all around. I invited both girls back to the apartment for a little celebration. Karen reminded me that there was no fooling around until we were moved in, adding the encouraging thought that could be as early as the end of the week for me and Debbie, with her following within a couple of weeks of then.
I went home alone again. Poor me.