The security gates slowly swung shut behind Clint who continued to drive on through the streets of the upscale neighborhood he'd entered. Carefully observing the speed limit he couldn't quite hold back a huge yawn as he turned onto Valde street and parked his company truck in front of the house he and his wife Lynsie had purchased just over two weeks ago. Getting out of the truck Clint rolled his shoulders a bit to work out the stiffness of being on the road for the better part of three hours after first working at the construction site since 5:30 a.m. He looked up at the house he'd parked in front of, it'd been a FSBO (for sale by owner) and the catch was that although the exterior was finished and the landscaping completed the inside of the house had a long ways to go before being considered livable. Luckily, Clint was a contractor and had always enjoyed doing the interior work on his own homes over the years so he'd known what he was getting into when he made an offer on the place. This was only the third time he'd been here since signing the final papers and taking possession of the keys to the front door and he wouldn't even be here right now except Lynsie was determined to start painting upstairs this weekend.
Clint was exhausted from getting by on little more than four and a half hours sleep each night for the past two weeks and it was catching up with him. He'd bid on and was awarded a construction job that was over two hours drive from home and then this new place was thirty minutes, one way, in the complete opposite direction. Clint had been investing intense hours on the new job site, rising early, working all day before driving the long commute home in time for dinner. More often than not he'd sit down to relax while his wife was pulling the food out of the oven and he'd be fast asleep before the food even made it to the table. It was a grueling schedule but he knew it was only temporary and once things were moving steady he would be able to turn things over into the capable hands of his workers, most of which lived much closer and thus had a shorter commute to the work site.
Clint and his wife Lynsie had moved to Granite Rock to be closer to Lynsie's family and had been renting an apartment in town until they could find a house to buy or else find a parcel of land on which to build upon. The town was on the verge of being discovered as the new 'it' place to live after experiencing a slow recovery from the housing market imploding. Feeling the pressure to find just the right house before the property values skyrocketed beyond his means Clint was quick to spot a new listing in the newspaper that featured homes for sale.
Not wasting any time in contacting the seller to set up an appointment to see the house Clint was soon touring the inside and with a quick call placed to his wife she soon joined him. Within 48 hours after the tour Clint cashed out his savings, transferred the funds and with a few signatures on even fewer pieces of paper the keys were handed over. For the past two weekends Clint had paid his wall hanging crew time and a half in order to finish off the upstairs rooms since those rooms only needed sheetrock, paint, outlet covers and a few hanging lighting fixtures before Lynsie could do the finishing touches. Everything had gone smoothly if one didn't count the fact that Clint was operating on minimal sleep and only had one last thing to do prior to giving Lynsie the go-ahead to paint. All the wiring had been installed but for whatever reason one of the upstairs bedrooms towards the back of the house had only one light switch that connected to a single duel outlet. The last time Clint had been here with his crew he'd managed to prep and run enough wire to include two additional outlets but one of the components malfunctioned and that was what he was here tonight to do. Tie in the last outlet so this weekend Lynsie could go to work figuring out what color to paint the rooms while he figured out what needed to be done on the main floor.
Clint had just finished up his task and was collecting his tools into one pile when he realized just how exhausted he was. Knowing Lynsie would still be at the gym for another hour or so Clint decided to stretch out on the floor right there and just enjoy the quiet. Using his jacket as cushioning and placing his hands up behind his head as he stretched out he stared at the ceiling and followed the lines of joint compound around the room with his eyes; picturing how it'd look a few short weeks from now. The sunlight shining in through the window in the late afternoon had warmed things up a few degrees and before he knew it, Clint was sound asleep.
