Monday it was back to reality after the incredible weekend at Penny's camp. I slept late into the morning, poured a cup of strong coffee, and reluctantly checked my work messages. I was happy to see there was only one, from a rather nervous sounding woman named Julia. Actually, most of a handyman's customers are women who live alone, and it's not surprising that the first contact with me is a bit nervous for some of them.
I called Julia back and she said she found me in the yellow pages. She had a broken screen in her front door, and I told I could fix it that afternoon. Often times the first job someone hires me for is a small one, so they can get an idea if they feel comfortable with me working in their home.
After I had lunch I drove over to her house. It was a part of town that I like, with lots of funky shops and art galleries and music clubs. The area is populated with folks who like that sort of thing, and they live in some really interesting older homes. It's a hip neighborhood, for lack of a better term. Julia's small, one story bungalow fit right in, with a nice front porch and an 'artsy' vibe.
Julia answered the door with a shy smile. She was very quiet and very plain looking, the kind of woman who blends into her surroundings rather than standing out. She was in her early forties, and had on a bulky sweater, loose fitting jeans and dirty old canvas sneakers. Without x-ray eyes there wasn't even a hint of what was underneath it all. She had long straight hair, sort of a mousy blonde color, and it hung all the way down to her waist. The only thing about her that had a little flair was her black, rectangular framed eye-glasses.
She was clearly nervous and didn't invite me in. I looked the door over, told her it was a quick fix and gave her a good price. She looked pleased and I went to work and had it finished in half an hour. She was very happy with the results, and when she came out to pay me she shyly asked if I did bigger jobs, and then invited me inside the house to look at a few more projects.
She explained that she had bought the house two years ago and found it to be very cold and drafty in the winter time. The house had been a rental before she bought it and the walls were in pretty tough shape and the ceiling had a deep crack across one corner, so she was considering having new drywall installed in the front living room, with good insulation behind it. She wanted to keep her funky old front door. I agreed it was nice, and I told her I could add weather-stripping to make it tighter. I also told her we could save the ceiling by grinding out the big crack and patching it. That would save some money.
I had the rest of the afternoon free, so I spent some time measuring and worked up a rough estimate for her. I sat out on the front porch working up the figures, and Julia came out with two glasses of iced tea. She seemed pleasantly surprised at the price I gave her. I explained that I work alone, and that it would take longer than a contractor who had a big crew. That didn't faze her a bit, and she seemed quite relaxed and comfortable with me by the time I left. She was anxious for me to get started before winter set in again.
I got started the following Monday. Julia welcomed me, looking just as covered up and frumpy as ever, but with a nice warm smile. I put up a plastic barrier to keep the dust out of the rest of the house, rolled out some heavy paper and cardboard to protect the floor, and started tearing down the old plaster. Julia asked if she could help me with the demolition of the first wall, so I got her a pair of gloves. Over the course of the morning we made a huge pile of debris, and got to know each other a little.
Julia was an author of children's books. When we stopped for a break and a cold drink she took me into her small home office off the kitchen and showed me a shelf full of books she had written, and a whole wall full of awards and memorabilia from her career. She was clearly proud of it all, but I also got the feeling from a few things she said that she was sort of a recluse and didn't have much to do with friends or any outside interests. Her overall vibe was kind of sad and lonely, so I made it a point to crack jokes and get her laughing. I had held off on any flirting until I got a better feel for things, but I had a feeling it would do her good. Julia helped me load my truck up with debris that afternoon, and I prepared to leave for the day.
"That was fun," Julia said with a tired smile as we leaned against my truck.
"Wait a minute, don't blink," I said, and I put my hand on her shoulder. "You've got a hunk of plaster right in the corner of your eye." It was the first time I had touched her, and she froze.
"Is it all right if I get it?" I asked.
She nodded silently, her eyes locked on mine. She slowly removed her glasses, and I was confronted with two gorgeous eyes. It's amazing how different eyes can look when they're out from behind a thin piece of glass.
"You have beautiful eyes," I said as I carefully removed the fleck.
She gazed at me like she had never heard such a thing before, and remained frozen, staring at me for longer than I expected.
"Well, I'd better get goin' and unload this," I said, breaking the spell. "I'll see you bright and early in the morning."
"Yes, in the morning. Goodbye Steve," she said softly, as she put her glasses back on.
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I arrived at eight AM and Julia was on her porch sipping coffee. Driving over I had decided, based on the way she looked at me when I touched her the day before, that I would flirt a bit with her today. If I hadn't thought of it already I definitely would have when I got there because she looked totally different, and quite cute. She had on tight faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt that showed off her womanliness much more than the thick sweater, loose pants, and sweatshirt she wore on previous days.
"Good morning Steve," she said brightly.
"Good morning Sunshine," I said, smiling. "You're in a good mood today. I think I've got some catching up to do in the coffee department."
"Have a seat, I'll get you a cup," she said as she breezed in the door, giving me a glimpse of her nice ass.
She came out and sat with me and we talked about the warm weather. A strong warm front had blown through over night and the weatherman said it was going to be a long autumn heatwave. I had on shorts and a t-shirt, and it also explained Julia's thinner clothing.
"I hope you don't think I'm too forward asking you this," she said, "but would you mind if I work with you some more? I had such fun yesterday."
"Sure!" I said, "I enjoyed it too."
She told me that her dad was a carpenter, and before he died, when she was a teenager, she used to love helping him with his jobs whenever she could. Working with me brought back good memories for her.
"I tell you what," I said, "I'll keep track of the labor and I'll cut down on your estimate when we're done."
"No you won't!" she said emphatically. "Your price was more than fair. This is just for my enjoyment."
"Well, I have a feeling I'll enjoy it just as much as you," I said, and I winked at her.
She stared at me again, just like the evening before, speechless and almost curious looking, like she didn't have a clue why someone would say such a thing too her.
"So Sunshine, what do you say we get to work," I said.
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We spent the morning tearing out more old plaster, and then there was some old rock wool insulation to pull out. Nasty, itchy stuff. It was downright hot by late morning and at one point I pulled off my itchy t-shirt and threw it aside, revealing my well-muscled chest. Julia stopped cold and stared at me.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking, I'm not used to having pretty girls around when I work," I said as I reached for it to put it back on.
"You don't have to do that. I don't mind," she said quietly, as our eyes locked for a moment.
"If we lived in Europe you could do the same thing, right?" I said with a little chuckle.
I heard a loud exhale from her nostrils, and she blushed bright red.
I quickly ripped down another chunk of plaster to break the tension. Julia was silent as we got back into our work, and after a short while she left and returned wearing shorts.
"Ah, now we're gettin' somewhere," I said with a wink.
She pretended to ignore the comment, but I could tell she liked it.
We had lunch on the porch. Julia seemed a little shy about asking me to eat with her, but she had chicken salad and iced tea all made, and I was delighted to stay rather than hit up yet another burger joint. We talked about her writing career and her college days, and it became clearer that she was indeed very bookish and reclusive. It also sounded like she didn't have much fun in college, although she did enjoy the education. It also became clear that she didn't really have any friends to speak of, and she spent her time writing all day and watching old movies at night. I couldn't help but think of how completely opposite her life was compared to my experience at Penny's camp over the weekend, and I wondered what she would think of me if she knew about it.
After lunch we took some time to load up my truck with debris again and make more room to work. At one point Julia got her long hair caught badly in some plaster chunks she was throwing into the truck and it almost brought her to tears. I was right next to her and gave her a quick scalp massage, and she gave me that look again. This time it made a little blood rush to my crotch, especially since her t-shirt was clinging to her in the summer-like heat.
