=== Part IV ===
It was Friday morning and I was exhausted. I was absolutely flying around yesterday afternoon, trying to get as much done as I could. I was able to start on the last house of the week, and things looked like I'd be done before lunch. Since I was looking at least two and a half days of free time, I wanted to get as much of a jump on my plans as I could.
In short, my plans were to learn my new neighbor's name, find out more about the relationship she had with her husband (or at least, the man who appeared to be her husband), learn about where the two children were, and determine what kind of schedule she followed.
As I got out of bed, I pulled on a pair of shorts and made my way to the window. There were still no vehicles parked in front of the house, so she was probably alone. But, I had one more house to finish.
---
As I thought, I finished shortly before lunch. Instead of heading directly to my grandmother's, I decided to check out the four houses I'd have to work with next week. All of the properties were at the other end of the property. Two of them were right off the lake, and the other two were inside a wooded area.
I made my way towards the ones in the woods first. Both looked like they would need some serious work, as both were being encroached by trees from all sides. I was looking at what would take up most of my time for the next week.
Having checked out two of the properties, it was time to check out the other two.
Both were close to the lake, so it was no surprise that as I made my way towards them I could hear splashing. Before investigating who was out, I decided to first check out the two houses. It looked like both had some bushes that would need to be trimmed up, and at least one of them would need some paint touch-up. Otherwise, they looked like they'd be pretty easy. It was going to be a tough week, but I thought I could get it done.
This done, I headed towards the lake to see who was out. There was a small float a ways from the shore, around it was two girls, the age of which I couldn't determine. One looked like a red-head, and the other looked Asian.
Since it was pretty close to lunch, I decided it was time to head over to my grandmother's so I could start my two and a half days of free time.
---
Fortunately, my grandmother was leaving as I was coming home, which meant that she didn't ask how I was doing today. She'd also prepared some sandwiches for me, so I wolfed a couple down, and put the rest in a Ziploc bag for later.
I made my way upstairs so I could change into a clean set of clothes. I figured that if I was going to try to learn more about my neighbor, I should at least look good. I headed back downstairs, grabbed a water from the fridge, and headed out the door.
=== Part V ===
Once again, it took a couple of knocks before she answered the door. She didn't look too surprised to see me, which was definitely a good sign.
Once again, her blonde hair was pulled back. Unlike the last couple of times, she had changed into a different outfit, which was definitely more casual. She was wearing a t-shirt that had been cut to show off her mid-rif. However, instead of seeing skin, I saw swimsuit. It appears that she was wearing a one piece suit, with a floral pattern. For pants, she had a pair of cut-off sweatpants, which were about as short as the red shorts she had had on the day before.
The shirt and shorts were both pretty baggy - damn.
"What can I help you with ___?"
"Just checking to see if you needed anything. I haven't checked this house over yet," I lied, "and just wanted to see if anything needed to be fixed."
"No, I think we're okay."
"Alright, well let me know if you do need anything."
"I will, thanks."
It didn't look like I was going to get anywhere today, so I started to leave.
"Are you still looking for Mr. VandeHaden?"
An interesting turn. "I don't think my grandmother is now, but he may want to stop by just in case."
"I doubt he'll be back until next week, but I'll let him know if I see him."
"Does he work in town then?"
"Something like that ..." She'd been looking over my shoulder, and her eyes seemed to lose even more focus. But now she turned to look at my face, "Can I get you something to drink?"
I tossed my water into the bushes; I didn't think she'd seen it. "That would sure hit the spot."
"Come on in then."
As I walked behind her, I really wished she'd been wearing the red shorts from yesterday. Her hips were swinging back and forth hypnotically, but the sweatpants were just too baggy to see too much. Before I knew it, we were in the kitchen.
It was pretty plain, the only thing that caught my eye was the tall table in the center of the room, with three stools around it. She walked over to the cabinets, pulled down a couple of glasses, and put them on the table. She then opened the freezer, pulled out an ice tray, and put three cubes in each glass. She put the tray back, then opened the fridge to pull out some lemonade.
As she poured some into each glass, "I hope lemonade is alright - I just made some this morning."
