Mr Handyman Ch 04

It was cloudless and sunny when I finally stirred around, stretching and wincing a little at the sore, sensitive spots on my body.

I quietly slid out of bed, careful not to wake Bella. Finding a clean shirt and a pair of raggedy looking jeans (also clean), I quickly dressed and went downstairs to take a look at the damage from last night.

I slowly peeled the cardboard off one of the windows, and satisfied that it wasn't broken or cracked, removed it completely. The perfect weather outside didn't give a hint of the storm that hit the house the previous day, except the damage, of course.

Methodically, I stripped off the cardboard from the other windows, checking for damage. Only one window in the whole house appeared to be damaged, luckily. The kitchen window had a spiderweb of cracks running along it, like someone had lobbed a baseball at it.

I made a mental note to replace it as I tucked the cardboard boxes back into the closet. I pulled on my boots and went outside in the backyard. There was a broken treelimb on the ground, and some scattered twigs and leaves knocked off from the wind.

The limb had crashed through the fence, leaving a man-sized gaping hole in it. Trash was scattered all over the grass, and oddly, a large piece of aluminum siding piercing the ground. The lawn chairs were scattered, all knocked off the porch.

I checked the shed and the front yard. Nothing else seemed to really be damaged. It seemed to be concentrated in the backyard.

By the time I got done surveying the damage and back inside, Bella was already up, and cooking breakfast. She had the shirt she had on the night before, and she smiled at me as I walked in.

"Good morning," she said sleepily. I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and hugging her close.

"Mmm, smells good. I thought you told me I had to fend for myself?" I joked. She yawned and flipped over some bacon in the pan.

"Well, I figured I'd give you a break and make it this morning, since it looks like you're going to have your hands full fixing things." She explained.

"Oh, well the damage actually isn't really bad. I just checked it out. All I really have to do is replace the window in the kitchen above the sink, and fix the fence. I can probably pick up all that trash and the tree debris too, if you want." I added.

She nodded her acknowledgement of my report, as she started on the eggs and toast. "I guess you're going to have to go into town to get some supplies?" she asked me.

I pulled out a chair and sat at the table. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to get a pane of glass. I'll have to take measurements. And I've got to get some fence boards to replace the ones that got damaged. Unless you have any extras?" I asked her.

"Oh, no, I don't have any, sorry. I do have nails and a hammer and stuff like that. There might be some window caulk in the tool shed, as well. I was wondering if you could pick up some groceries while you're out in town? I'm gonna have to get ready for work in a few, right after breakfast, and I won't have time to do it. Do you think you could do that?" she said as she laid out the food on the table.

"Sure, I don't mind." I told her, as I piled food on a plate.

After we finished breakfast, I told her to get ready and that I'd get the dishes done. She thanked me and headed upstairs to take a shower. I washed the dishes and set them on the dish dryer rack.

A few moments later, she came downstairs, wrapped up in her bathrobe, and handed me a list and a few folded bills.

"That should be enough to get everything on the list, and the stuff you need to fix everything up, too. Keep the receipt so I can file it later. When you fix that, after I get home, I'll pay you. I have to get dressed now, or I'm going to be late!" she said, and rushed back up the stairs.

I followed her, heading to the bathroom to make myself a little more decent. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth, then pulled the clothes on I had worn this morning (hey, they were still clean).

I stepped out of the bathroom and almost got ran down by Bella rushing out of her room. She had on a light gray pinstriped suit, with a knee-length skirt and light blue shirt underneath, along with some black heels.

"Oops, sorry! I'm off to work, I'll be back around four or five." She said, a little breathless. Giving me a quick kiss on the lips, she rushed back downstairs.

Grabbing my wallet and keys, I went out to the garage. I saw her pull out of the driveway, and waved to her. She waved back. I climbed into my truck and headed to town.

*****

I fidgeted and squirmed in my chair, tugging at the hem of my skirt. This board meeting was dragging on, and all I wanted to do was go home.

It was the last meeting of the day, but from the time I first stepped inside the building, time was going by like someone trying to extract cold molasses from a jar.

I managed to take a few more notes and absorb some of the information, trying not to convey my feelings that this was the last place on earth I wanted to be at the moment to everyone else in the room.

Finally, the old woman doing the presentation wrapped it up, and I collected my papers and notes, shoving them in my bag. I pushed the chair away from the table, and hobbled out of my seat.

My muscles were a little stiff, and the hour plus long meeting sitting in a chair did not help at all. Placing my hands on the small of my back, I straightened up, my back popping and crackling. "Ooh, that's better," I sighed. I grabbed my bag, waving goodbye to a few people I knew.

Once I stepped out of the building, I inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet, fresh outside air, and clearing the stuffy circulated office air out of my lungs.

I walked briskly to my car, stopping occasionally for a vehicle. I opened my bag and dug around for my keys. I couldn't find them.

"Ugh," I grumbled, then sat the bag on the hood of my car, carefully dumping it out and searching through all my things. Still no keys. I patted the few pockets on my suit. Nothing.

I stood there fuming quietly for a few minutes, then shoved everything back in my bag, rechecking everything as I put it back.

I circled around the vehicle and peered inside the passenger window. "Oh, come on..." I said angrily to no one in particular. Or maybe it should have been directed to me, since I somehow ended up stupidly locking my own keys in my car.

I gave an experimental tug on one of the doors. Locked. Well, I had to try, didn't I? I knew I had a spare key at the house. Maybe Jacob was still there.

I pulled out my phone and his business card, dialing his cell. There was a click and I could hear it ringing. I almost hung up after the fifth ring, but I heard someone say hello before I pressed the button.

"Hello? Yeah, Jacob, it's me Bella. Oh, you just got in? You finished with the repairs? That's good. Look, I've got a bit of a problem here. You know how to get to the veterinary hospital? Ok, good. There's a spare set of keys to the house and my car in the nightstand in my room. Grab those and meet me in the parking lot." I told him.

Before I hung up, he asked me what happened, and I reluctantly told him I locked myself out, a little embarrassed. Thankfully, he didn't laugh, and I closed the phone, throwing it back in my bag.

Leaning against the car, I checked my watch. It was four thirty. Hopefully he didn't take too long, I thought to myself.

After ten minutes of pacing around my car and mentally cursing at myself, Jacob pulled in to the parking lot beside me, trying not to grin.

He got out of his truck and tossed me my extra set of keys. I caught it one-handed, and started flipping through the keys.

"Hmm, where is that thing..." I mumbled to myself. I reached the end of the key ring. I couldn't quite remember what that extra key looked like. I was pretty sure it was one of those plain jane types you get when you make a copy.

I searched through them again. Then I noticed (on the third pass) that there was a little chain hanging off the ring, with nothing attached to it.

I made a loud, exasperated noise. "This day just keeps getting better!" I snapped, and forcefully tossed the keys back to Jacob.

Luckily, he was paying attention when I did this random act, otherwise it would have hit him square in the face. I didn't bother to apologize, and stomped back to the front of my car and picked up my bag.

"Did you notice that the key fell off? Maybe that happened when you got it? It could be in your truck, or pocket, or maybe you saw it lying by itself in the nightstand?" I asked, a little desperately.

Jacob 'mmm'd' and patted his pockets, mainly to reassure me, then looked through the truck briefly.

"Nope, not here. And I didn't see any other keys at all in or on your nightstand. Or on the floor or anywhere else that I can remember." He said, somewhat apologetically.

I took in a deep breath and tried to shake it off. No use in ruining the rest of my day over this, I thought.

"Okay. It's all right." I said, concentrating on my breathing, to keep myself calm.

"Look, your car is locked, right? And you don't have anything too important in it? No one's going to mess with it while it's here. Just let one of the security guys inside know what's going on. I'm sure they'll keep an eye on it just in case." he suggested.

I nodded, and tried a smile, which thankfully didn't feel too strained to me. "I'll be right back, then, ok? I guess we get to share a vehicle for now." I added, unsure of what he would think about that.

He just smiled and waved me off to the door. I hurried inside to explain my awkward situation.

*****

I was in the middle of putting away the cold groceries when my cell phone started chirping. Closing the fridge, I rooted around in my pocket amidst all the loose change and receipts and finally found my phone.

It was Bella. Wondering vaguely why she was calling, I flipped it open. She didn't seem too happy, by the tone of her voice, and I shortly found out why.

Minutes later, after our brief conversation, and keys in hand (my keys and her extra set of keys), I headed out the door to the hospital. I spotted Bella almost immediately, standing next to her car.

It also helped the parking lot was pretty much empty when I pulled in. I parked next to her vehicle. Attempting (badly) not to even show a hint of a smile at her predicament, I climbed out of my truck and gently tossed her the keys.

I stood there for a few moments, as she sorted through them, mumbling to herself. I noticed something wasn't right when she went through the ring of keys a second time, and then a third.

"This day just keeps getting better!" she snapped. I was glad I was paying attention, as seconds later after this exclamation, her keys were sailing forcefully towards my face.

I deftly caught them, one-handed, wisely keeping my mouth shut in the wake of her apparant rage. I didn't feel like accidentally turning it on myself.

I let her vent a little of her anger, as she spiked a few questions my way, and I somewhat humbly responded to them. Taking a peek at her face, I could tell she was visibly (perhaps unknown to herself) trying to calm down.

I took the opportunity to remind her that her car was safe here, and she could inform one of the security personnel of her plight, if it made her feel better.

She said she would, and commented that we would have to share the truck for a little while, before I shooed her off to the building. I smiled as I watched her hurry off to the door.

I had no problem with her sharing my truck. She seemed like a pretty competent driver, and besides, she was sharing her house (among other things) with me, so it would seem like bad manners to refuse something so simple as that.

As I waited for her to finish her business, I let my mind wander a bit, idly wondering what she chose to wear under that strict business woman get-up. An idea popped into my head.

She was a little stressed out, after all. I knew exactly the place to take her, where she could sit back and relax. My smile turned into a grin, and my cock stirred in my jeans at the thoughts running through my head.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the building. "They said it would be fine. It might be a couple days before I can get the company to make an extra set of keys for me. No way I'm letting some bozo scratch my baby up trying to open it with one of those slim jim things." she said pointedly.

I nodded. Starting the truck up, I pulled out of the parking lot, easing into the traffic caused by other people just getting off work.

As I was navigating stealthily through the streets, I saw from my peripheral vision, Bella leaning her head against the seat, and closing her eyes.

Hoping she wouldn't open her eyes anytime soon, I slowly edged my way to the right side of the road, then turned. I followed it straight for a little while.

If she opened her eyes now, she would probably notice I wasn't going in the right direction. I spotted an unmarked paved road, and turned on it. Thankfully, this road was almost as smooth as the highway.

It stretched into a maze of trees, past a few streams, and then forked. On the left, the paved road continued. On the right, it was a somewhat even dirt road. I took the right.

After about fifteen minutes traveling down the slightly curved road, Bella opened her eyes.

"Must be some bad traffic. I figured we'd be home by...where are we?" she asked, her original statement cut off by the small shock from the change of scenery.