Steve pulled up at Cindy's house a few minutes late. Although normally punctual, he relaxed on Saturdays. There were three cars beside hers in the driveway but he didn't think much of it knowing he would be occupied with a list of chores. He parked his truck on the street in front of the house, irritated that he was unable to park closer since he had tools to carry. He got out of the truck and headed toward the front door, wondering what Cindy would want him to do first. He figured he should start with the gutters. Standing at her front door he looked up at the blue autumn sky. It was a perfect day to be outside but the forecast called for rain that afternoon. About to ring the doorbell, he remembered the water bottle he'd left in the truck, turned on his heel and headed back toward the street.
Walking back across her front yard, he looked at the cars in her driveway again and before a thought could form, a movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He looked back toward the house in time to see a woman's face looking through the living room window at the edge of the curtain. It wasn't Cindy. Odd. Who belonged to these cars? She must have some girl friends over for coffee or something. Whatever. Steve walked back to the front door, water bottle in hand. and rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, Cindy swung the door open as if she had been standing there with her hand on the doorknob.
"Hey Steve!" she said with an unusual, extra dose of enthusiasm. "Come on in! Come on in!" Steve was wondering what was going on as he stepped into the foyer, sensing the presence of Cindy's guests. There was talking and laughter coming from the kitchen.
The woman at the window appeared first. She seemed unusually energetic as well, smiling and almost giddy. She stared at Steve, which he found annoying. "So this is Steve," she said with a mischievous smile. "Hi, I'm Brenda. I live down the street if you want to do some more chores when you get done here." She continued to smile suspiciously as she studied Steve's face.
"I'll keep that in mind," Steve replied. Brenda was cute, but not someone he would really be attracted to. It was such an odd greeting at 9:30 on a Saturday morning. What a flirt, he thought, and why doesn't Cindy seem to be embarrassed by her behavior?
"I have a few friends over," she said shyly, "Let me introduce them to you." Steve followed her into the kitchen with the window woman close behind. Weird vibe, Steve thought.
Entering the kitchen Steve saw three other women, all of whom were in a boisterous conversation, laughing and speaking at more of a football game kind of volume. As they walked in, Cindy gestured to Steve and said, "Here he is! This is Steve." The ladies stopped talking and grinned as they studied him much like a man would observe an attractive woman who walked into the room. It caught him off guard but it was rather exciting to be the only man in a room w/ 5 women. Obviously, they were expecting him, looking forward to his arrival. What the heck is going on? Steve was mystified, but had to smile at the reception.
"Let me introduce everybody," Cindy said, trying hard to be as nonchalant as possible, although Steve was unable to discern it. "You've already met Brenda, she said, winking at her. Brenda grinned back at her, which Steve DID notice. She seemed simultaneously over excited but shy. They have some sort of inside joke, he thought. Whatever it was, they all seemed to be conscious of him not knowing what it was and in no hurry to let him in on it.
"This is Cynthia," Cindy said, looking nervously at the woman with apparently dyed black hair, which was tied back in a ponytail. She was attractive, late 40's, dressed in a light blue blouse, the first two buttons unbuttoned, revealing a thin gold necklace and fairly tight blue jeans.
"Well, well, well... Here's Steve," she said approvingly, as she looked him over. She appeared to be the ringleader of the group. Her smile was flirtatious. Steve sensed he needed to have his radar up. Something was going on. Cindy introduced the other two ladies. Leslie was thin, had curly blond hair and a bubbly yet shy demeanor in the way she smiled. Kathy was average in appearance to Steve. Her light brown hair stopped at her shoulders and was held back with a bandana. She was 15 to 20 lbs overweight. She also seemed excited about something and Steve decided to ignore the, "we know something you don't know," vibe filling the room. "I'm going to choose to not care, so I don't look as rattled as I feel," Steve thought. He wanted to appear above it all.
He smiled, acknowledging the presence of Cindy's guests, then turned to Cindy and said, "So uh... I think I should take care of the gutters first, since it might rain later. But if you'd rather, I can check out the sheetrock you want replaced in that room in the basement first. Do you have a preference?"
Before she could answer, Cynthia broke in, "What's the rush? Why don't you have some coffee and visit for a while." Cindy blushed, Brenda giggled excitedly and the other ladies seemed to bristle. Hmmmmm...
"Yeah, Cindy makes great coffee," Brenda said, "Why don't you have some?"
Cindy looked tense and Steve wanted to extricate himself from this increasingly uncomfortable situation. "No thanks, I had some before I left the house, but... thanks anyway." He looked at Cindy, expecting her to take charge, but she didn't.
Leslie spoke up. "Maybe it'd be good to sit for a minute or two and talk about what all she wants you to do. Are you sure you wouldn't like a cup of coffee?"
Steve figured it was time to take charge. There was an elephant in the room, and he was the only one who didn't know what it was. Not one to mince words, he practically blurted out, "What's going on here?" Everyone sat up straight, exchanged glances and Steve ignored the suspicious silence that followed. He looked at Cindy, obviously frustrated. "What do you want?"
Cindy was embarrassed, looking at the other ladies for support when Cynthia jumped back in, "Well, Kathy told us what her husband did last night and we're commiserating with her." Kathy blushed and looked down and Cynthia returned Steve's glare with a smile.
"Oh," he responded seeing Kathy's apparent discomfort, "I'm sorry." He was disarmed, "Then I should leave y'all alone so you can talk."
"Actually," Cynthia said haltingly, as she attempted eye contact with the other ladies, "We'd love to hear what you think about it." She smiled at him as if she was reading his mind. "Bill told her a lot, after she busted him, but after some discussion, we're curious about a few things."
Her last sentence hung in the air and every female eye seemed to burn into Steve's soul. "What's going on?" he thought to himself, unsure of what kind of conversation they wanted to draw him into. His curiosity was piqued, but he wasn't sure he wanted to conversationally tangle with 5 women. He looked at Cindy again, still hoping for some clarity or direction. "What do you want me to do?" he asked her impatiently. "Chores or chat?"
Cindy looked at Kathy, then Cynthia and then nervously at Steve. This was a side of her personality he had never seen at the community center where they both volunteered at the food pantry. He was still intrigued, but wanted to work on the gutters before it rained. Cindy seemed to be trying to figure how to say what she wanted to say. "Well... could we just chat for a little while?"
Steve felt trapped, but he was here to help Cindy, so if she wanted to use some of the time he had to offer for conversation, then so be it. "Ok, if that's what you want. You're the boss."
All the ladies grinned and exchanged glances. He had no idea of the significance of his statement. Cindy looked both nervous and relieved simultaneously. "Wonderful!" Cynthia said exuberantly. "So, do you want some coffee?
"How long will this take?" Steve asked.
Again the ladies exchanged glances, which Steve took note of and tried to steel himself for whatever was around the bend.
"Not sure," Cynthia said suppressing a giggle, which Steve found irritating. "Why don't we sit somewhere more comfortable." Cindy stood up and the other ladies followed suit and stepped into the adjoining den. Steve entered the room behind them only to find one chair left which went with the dining room suit. It seemed like it had been put there in anticipation of the coming convo. Hmm... Cynthia settled into a recliner to the right of the sofa, Leslie, Kathy and Brenda sat on the sofa, and Cindy pulled up a wooden rocking chair close to the opposite end of the sofa. They were all facing Steve and he felt like he was on trial.
"Have a seat," Brenda said, trying to cover her jittery excitement. "Can I get you some coffee?" She seemed anxious to get some for him, so Steve nodded his head. May as well.
"So... What did your husband do last night?" he asked, looking at Kathy, whose eyes were locked on him.
