kicked over an empty paint bucket. “I have a lot of work to do. My shifts are seventy-two off and twenty-four on. Regan, it will take me a while to finish the work.”
“I’m not rushing you to finish the work. All I need is a bathroom and a bedroom to sleep in for the time being; the rest will be finished when you have time. And, I’m not immune to hard work. I can hammer, paint, and hang wallpaper.”
He tilted his head playfully, “That’s cute you want to help, but those soft dainty hands have not held a hammer in…forever.”
“Care to make a small wager on that? Say two hundred dollars?” Ouch . She felt an internal kick from her foot travel to her butt. Again, her mouth was spewing off without consulting her brain.
He tossed an unopened pack of paint brushes at her feet. “You have the money to lose?”
She pointed her finger at him. “I have plenty of money to lose. You just make sure you have enough to pay me when you lose, buddy.”
“I’m not agreeing to rent you the house but I will put you to work. My next rotation ends Tuesday. Be dressed and ready to work when I come get you. Oh and don’t wear any heels or frilly clothes to hamper your productivity either. This is hard labor you will be doing.”
“You’re on! Hard labor is my middle name and I will achieve any task given me,” she said assertively. She had not done a day of hard labor since her high school job at McDonald’s. Not only that, she could not paint by numbers or cut paper in a straight line, however, she planned to win this bet. Her next purchase would be a DIY book to read about home improvements.
“Well, I’m done here,” he said tacking a white cloth to cover the window. “I will take you to your car unless you have somewhere else to go?”
She lifted her brow. “We are going shopping remember?”
He laughed aloud. “You aren’t holding me to that?”
Regan folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, yes I am. Go wash your hands because we are heading to the mall, my friend.”
*****
The phone buzzing stirred Regan from an uncomfortable sleep. Her hand fumbled across the coffee table in search of the annoying noise. Rolling on her side, her back ached from sleeping on the hard sofa. She clicked on the phone rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Hello,” she answered groggily.
“ Good morning! Are you up for a little adventure?”
Regan looked at the phone number glowing on her phone; it was Orlando spreading sunshine before the sun was up on a Sunday morning. “It’s 4:00am, Orlando. Why are you up and sounding so dang merry this early?”
“ I’m up at my normal hour on my days off. Are you going to answer my question? ”
She needed a drink of water to clear the cobwebs from her throat. Dragging her body off the sofa the stiffness in her back from sleeping one position all night deepened. She couldn’t wait for Anthony to go to work so she could sleep in her bed again. “What kind of adventure are you proposing?” She asked going to the fridge for a bottle of water. She sat at the table fighting to keep her heavy eyelids open.
“ I wanna take you bike riding.”
She almost spit water across the table. “What? You mean like on a real bike?”
“ Yeah, is there any other kind of bike?”
“Orlando, I have not ridden an actual bike in years. The only bike I’ve ridden lately is a stationary one for spinning class.”
“ Get dressed. I’ll be to get you in thirty minutes.”
“Orlando…”
“ Wait, do I hear bellyaching from the woman who professes to be able to do anything?”
A smile broke across her face. He’d remembered what she’d said which meant he listened to her when she talked. That fascinated her since Mark tuned her out every chance he got. He never took sympathy or consoled her when she received rejection letters from jobs she’d applied for. He would only nod his
“I’m not rushing you to finish the work. All I need is a bathroom and a bedroom to sleep in for the time being; the rest will be finished when you have time. And, I’m not immune to hard work. I can hammer, paint, and hang wallpaper.”
He tilted his head playfully, “That’s cute you want to help, but those soft dainty hands have not held a hammer in…forever.”
“Care to make a small wager on that? Say two hundred dollars?” Ouch . She felt an internal kick from her foot travel to her butt. Again, her mouth was spewing off without consulting her brain.
He tossed an unopened pack of paint brushes at her feet. “You have the money to lose?”
She pointed her finger at him. “I have plenty of money to lose. You just make sure you have enough to pay me when you lose, buddy.”
“I’m not agreeing to rent you the house but I will put you to work. My next rotation ends Tuesday. Be dressed and ready to work when I come get you. Oh and don’t wear any heels or frilly clothes to hamper your productivity either. This is hard labor you will be doing.”
“You’re on! Hard labor is my middle name and I will achieve any task given me,” she said assertively. She had not done a day of hard labor since her high school job at McDonald’s. Not only that, she could not paint by numbers or cut paper in a straight line, however, she planned to win this bet. Her next purchase would be a DIY book to read about home improvements.
“Well, I’m done here,” he said tacking a white cloth to cover the window. “I will take you to your car unless you have somewhere else to go?”
She lifted her brow. “We are going shopping remember?”
He laughed aloud. “You aren’t holding me to that?”
Regan folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, yes I am. Go wash your hands because we are heading to the mall, my friend.”
*****
The phone buzzing stirred Regan from an uncomfortable sleep. Her hand fumbled across the coffee table in search of the annoying noise. Rolling on her side, her back ached from sleeping on the hard sofa. She clicked on the phone rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Hello,” she answered groggily.
“ Good morning! Are you up for a little adventure?”
Regan looked at the phone number glowing on her phone; it was Orlando spreading sunshine before the sun was up on a Sunday morning. “It’s 4:00am, Orlando. Why are you up and sounding so dang merry this early?”
“ I’m up at my normal hour on my days off. Are you going to answer my question? ”
She needed a drink of water to clear the cobwebs from her throat. Dragging her body off the sofa the stiffness in her back from sleeping one position all night deepened. She couldn’t wait for Anthony to go to work so she could sleep in her bed again. “What kind of adventure are you proposing?” She asked going to the fridge for a bottle of water. She sat at the table fighting to keep her heavy eyelids open.
“ I wanna take you bike riding.”
She almost spit water across the table. “What? You mean like on a real bike?”
“ Yeah, is there any other kind of bike?”
“Orlando, I have not ridden an actual bike in years. The only bike I’ve ridden lately is a stationary one for spinning class.”
“ Get dressed. I’ll be to get you in thirty minutes.”
“Orlando…”
“ Wait, do I hear bellyaching from the woman who professes to be able to do anything?”
A smile broke across her face. He’d remembered what she’d said which meant he listened to her when she talked. That fascinated her since Mark tuned her out every chance he got. He never took sympathy or consoled her when she received rejection letters from jobs she’d applied for. He would only nod his
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