club for a workout. Kevin dropped the hammer and reached for his cell phone. His friend picked up on the first ring.
“Yeah?” Josh answered the phone the same way he did in high school.
“Sorry, man. I forgot we were gonna meet today.”
“Yeah, I figured. Where are you? I called your place at least ten times.”
“At my house.”
“
Your house?
Since when do you have a house? Where is it?”
“Oyster Bay.”
“Is that so? You are just full of surprises, bro.” There was a noise and Kevin could tell Josh had covered the phone and was talking to someone in the background—Kevin’s sister, he guessed—which meant his house would be on the discussion agenda at next Sunday’s dinner. “Sorry. So, a house. Does that mean you’re here for the duration?”
“That’s the plan. I’m renovating it. I’ve had a couple of bad days, so I figured this was a good place to kick the crap out of some stuff.”
“Sounds like something to do,” Josh said. “Give me directions, I’ll help you.”
***
An hour later, Josh pulled into the driveway of Kevin’s house. He didn’t have any trouble finding it. It was situated on one of the more exclusive roads in Oyster Bay, a hamlet on Long Island’s Gold Coast and only a few miles from Jason and Meg’s house. The area was so named for the large number of estates, horse farms, and private schools. Kevin’s house, however, looked like something out of a horror movie. Shutters were hanging from window frames, the paint was peeling, and the grounds looked like a minefield. Josh had to laugh; it was just the kind of project to keep his friend happy. He’d have to remember to send Anton, his architect, out here. Kevin could definitely use a consult.
For that matter, he should probably ask Caroline to stop by so she could make sure the damn thing wasn’t going to fall off the foundation. His wife wasn’t working as much since she was pregnant and was actually getting someplace as a writer, but she was still an engineer to the core. Chances were she’d give Kevin hell for buying the place without talking to her first, and that was a guaranteed good time.
Josh shook his head and laughed. Kevin would never change. He loved three things in this life, baseball, his family, and building shit. He had no idea why his friend had majored in economics in school; he should have been an engineer or architect, then when he was done playing ball he’d have something to do.
Josh didn’t knock, but pushed open the front door and followed the sound of power tools to the back of the house. There was serious construction going on. The outside of the house may have reminded him of the Bates Motel, but he could see Kevin had been spending most of his time on the inside. A new staircase graced the front hallway, and the large living room off to the right was freshly painted and awaiting molding.
When Josh walked into the kitchen he saw Kevin crouched down next to a base cabinet. He was wearing an old baseball cap and safety goggles and was letting a reciprocating saw tear into the wood. When the cabinet popped free of the wall, Kevin ripped it back the rest of the way, pulling a chunk of plaster in the process.
Kevin knelt on the floor and examined the area under the cabinet. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Problem?” Josh asked.
“Oh, hey.” Kevin ran his hand over the floor. “Termite damage. I’ll have to replace this section.”
Josh walked over and glanced at the disintegrating wood. “That sucks.”
“I was gonna try to save the original plank floors, but there’s no way.”
Josh extended a hand and pulled Kevin to his feet. “You never change, you know that? You get pissed off and you want to beat the shit out of something. I think the barn walls at my parent’s house still have marks from the two-by-four you used when your parents told you they decided to leave the estate.”
“I don’t know. I think I’ve changed too much.” Kevin pulled off the heavy work
“Yeah?” Josh answered the phone the same way he did in high school.
“Sorry, man. I forgot we were gonna meet today.”
“Yeah, I figured. Where are you? I called your place at least ten times.”
“At my house.”
“
Your house?
Since when do you have a house? Where is it?”
“Oyster Bay.”
“Is that so? You are just full of surprises, bro.” There was a noise and Kevin could tell Josh had covered the phone and was talking to someone in the background—Kevin’s sister, he guessed—which meant his house would be on the discussion agenda at next Sunday’s dinner. “Sorry. So, a house. Does that mean you’re here for the duration?”
“That’s the plan. I’m renovating it. I’ve had a couple of bad days, so I figured this was a good place to kick the crap out of some stuff.”
“Sounds like something to do,” Josh said. “Give me directions, I’ll help you.”
***
An hour later, Josh pulled into the driveway of Kevin’s house. He didn’t have any trouble finding it. It was situated on one of the more exclusive roads in Oyster Bay, a hamlet on Long Island’s Gold Coast and only a few miles from Jason and Meg’s house. The area was so named for the large number of estates, horse farms, and private schools. Kevin’s house, however, looked like something out of a horror movie. Shutters were hanging from window frames, the paint was peeling, and the grounds looked like a minefield. Josh had to laugh; it was just the kind of project to keep his friend happy. He’d have to remember to send Anton, his architect, out here. Kevin could definitely use a consult.
For that matter, he should probably ask Caroline to stop by so she could make sure the damn thing wasn’t going to fall off the foundation. His wife wasn’t working as much since she was pregnant and was actually getting someplace as a writer, but she was still an engineer to the core. Chances were she’d give Kevin hell for buying the place without talking to her first, and that was a guaranteed good time.
Josh shook his head and laughed. Kevin would never change. He loved three things in this life, baseball, his family, and building shit. He had no idea why his friend had majored in economics in school; he should have been an engineer or architect, then when he was done playing ball he’d have something to do.
Josh didn’t knock, but pushed open the front door and followed the sound of power tools to the back of the house. There was serious construction going on. The outside of the house may have reminded him of the Bates Motel, but he could see Kevin had been spending most of his time on the inside. A new staircase graced the front hallway, and the large living room off to the right was freshly painted and awaiting molding.
When Josh walked into the kitchen he saw Kevin crouched down next to a base cabinet. He was wearing an old baseball cap and safety goggles and was letting a reciprocating saw tear into the wood. When the cabinet popped free of the wall, Kevin ripped it back the rest of the way, pulling a chunk of plaster in the process.
Kevin knelt on the floor and examined the area under the cabinet. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Problem?” Josh asked.
“Oh, hey.” Kevin ran his hand over the floor. “Termite damage. I’ll have to replace this section.”
Josh walked over and glanced at the disintegrating wood. “That sucks.”
“I was gonna try to save the original plank floors, but there’s no way.”
Josh extended a hand and pulled Kevin to his feet. “You never change, you know that? You get pissed off and you want to beat the shit out of something. I think the barn walls at my parent’s house still have marks from the two-by-four you used when your parents told you they decided to leave the estate.”
“I don’t know. I think I’ve changed too much.” Kevin pulled off the heavy work
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