An antique clock sat on the mantle of a brick fireplace. It looked out of place among the modern look of the home; the hardwood floor and leather L-shaped sofa added to the contrast. The blinds of the home were down and covered the three windows that were around the room. A man, dressed in a bathrobe and slippers had his legs crossed and thumbed through his phone.
A small stand sat by his recliner and had a steaming cup of coffee. It was as black as the beans that it had come from, a dark roast imported from Columbia or so the eight dollar bag said on the front. The coffee cup had an inscription written on the front along with a picture of a ram holding a baseball bat midswing, "Son's Favorite Slugger." The mug itself was ceramic, handmade by his son, and given to him the last time his son had visited from college. Reaching towards the small stand, the large male grabbed the handle and brought it to his lips to take a sip. A pleased smile crossed his lips and a sense of pride. Maybe he could get back out to the field again. It had been a while since he joined the co-ed baseball team since he pulled a muscle in his throwing arm but the muscle was returning. His forties haven't done him in yet.
It was another bright, summer day and birds were chirping outside yet he was lounging indoors. It was no wonder why his neighbors thought his house was vacant. Although the inside was well-maintained, the outside needed some serious tender, loving care. Luckily, one of the neighbors ended up giving him a card for a landscaper. The card sat on the end table as well with a small, adorable cartoon ram with a bright grassy green background. The gardener wore overalls with one of the buttons undone and a hoe over his shoulder. He was adjusting the bill of his cap and his mouth was open in happy elation.
Below, in white font it said, "Mow and Hoe" followed by a phone number which the mountain lion had dialed earlier. It was only a matter of time before he received a knock on the door. He hoped that whoever would be sent to his door would be ready to work because he wanted to swim and lounge by the poolside. There was nothing like a cool dip on a hot day.
As if on cue, there was a rapping at the door and the homeowner's ears perked up as if trying to turn in the direction the sound came from. Peeking into his cup, he noticed there was hardly any coffee left. He could finish it in time if we went fast enough. He sucked in a breath, the lip of the coffee cup up to his mouth and he tipped the cup back. Inhaling too quickly, rogue droplets made their back far too fast and he started to cough. The violent nature of the fit was heard through the door and in his flustered state, he did not realize that one of the strings to his bathrobe was starting to shimmy its way out of the loop.
"Mr. Dowel, it's Josh! Are you okay?" A voice said out from outside. The timbre was clear and rich.
"C-coming!" Mr. Dowel said in between another spasm of coughs. He cleared his throat and the little droplets that were lodged in obnoxious places began to wiggle their way out. His voice had an unpredictable rattle to it. He gave his throat one last "ahem" before reaching towards the bronze knob of the door and giving it a twist. He opened it to see a very broad worker standing at the doorway with a concerned but still polite smile.
He had a nice smile and his sun kissed was on full display. He was dressed in overalls about a size too small for his thick physique. It looked as if the small snaps holding the shoulder loops on could snap any moment and fly across the environment. Two bright, enthusiastic blue eyes glittered as they scanned over Mr. Dowel's form with concern. His beard was trimmed and well-kept. His short brown hair matched the full beard around his jaw. It mismatched Richard's grey that peppered his beard along with the streaks of gray in his hair.
"I was afraid you might have been choking, Mr. Dowel," Josh said. The older gentlemen shook his head and gave a reassuring smile.
"Oh no, no...just coffee down the wrong pipe," Mr. Dowel chuckled, slightly embarrassed. "Also, please just call me Richard." There was an unintended growl to Richard's voice and he forced a cough.
Josh seemed pleased with the answer and his body relaxed. This time, the smile brightened and Richard thought he saw his son somewhere in the young man right at that moment.
'Such a youthful spirit. Looks to be about mid twenties, too,' Richard thought to himself. He would be a perfect candidate to go through the ivy on the fence and his arms looked like they lifted plenty of landscaping blocks.
"I'm glad that I won't have to perform CPR because of coffee. My lifeguarding days are long past, Mr. Dowel...errr, sir," Josh corrected and added an emphasis to the honorific at the end. Josh gave an adorably awkward shuffle before he continued.
"Anyway, you mentioned that there is some ivy trimmed along with some landscaping done? Just so I know what I need out of the van."
Josh hiked his thumb over his shoulder and it pointed to a simple white van with the same cute ram emblem and "Mow and Hoe" underneath.
"Yes, yes. That would be perfect, but I would like some unruly brambles to be taken care of. I know you mentioned that the landscaping is going to take a while, but it's my fault that I let things get out of hand," Richard replied with a handwave and gave another small cough.
"It's not a problem, sir!" Josh exclaimed. "I got it all under control. Just point me in the right direction."
"Oh, if that's the case then I was about to go take a dip in the pool. Why don't you take the time to gather your tools and we can meet in the backyard?" Richard offered. His voice was clear and concise but his luck was starting to turn. He began to fiddle with his bathrobe, particularly the strings, as pressure slowly started to build in his chest.
A tickling started to work its way up along his throat and the gentlemen's pride started to fight with his own physiology. Although the air threatened to come up he kept it stifled so he would not cough right into his new landscaper's face.
"I'll get right on that, sir," Josh chirped. "It will be nice to have a regular customer for once. Honestly, I've seen worse houses."
Right before Josh turned around to get to the van, Richard's hand jerked slightly on the tassel and he said, "Oh, and Josh, if you need anything at all...please make sure you let me know."
The cough worked its way up into his voice but instead of coming out as a quick burst of air, it instead made his voice sound husky and low. Right at the same time, the bathrobe that hung off his shoulders slumped down before a hand of fate brushed it off and it fell to the floor. Josh's eyes did not follow the bathrobe but instead lingered on what it revealed. A nice smattering of dark black hair was between two muscular pecs with a sprinkle of grey.There was a ghost of washboard abs which were smothered in a belly that looked all too nice to lay one's head down on. The hair that formed on Mr. Dowel's pec continued into his hips before disappearing inside of the very tight swimwear around Richard's waist.
It was a brightly colored speedo. The orange stood out like it was begging to be looked at and a black racing stripe zipped across the top and bottom. Like Josh's overalls, it looked to also be a size too small which only worked to highlight the developed muscle of the older man's thighs and brought out his legs. The muscle along the inside of Richard's thighs and back towards his backside which was squeezed due to tightness. The back of the speedo allowed the ends of the stud's cheeks to stick out from the sides just a bit and if Josh was not focused on the packed in front side, he might have snuck a curious peek of the back.
Richard knew what had occurred and his eyes flicked nervously. He still kept a relaxed smile but he was counting down the seconds until he could retreat back inside and give him a moment to collect himself.
"Whoops, sorry about that, son," Richard played off with a chuckle, ironically clearing his coughing fully in the process, and he leaned over to grab his bathrobe. Josh stared for a moment too long before he blinked and thought about how he would justify gawking at his customer for so long. He decided that the best course of action would be to play off the awkward moment as well.
He cleared his throat, his face red and he managed to stammer out, "N-not a problem...sir. I'm going to go grab my tool!" He gasped and covered his mouth, his cheeks red in embarassment. "I mean, I'm going to grab my tools!"
As Josh stormed off to his van, Richard closed the door trying not to imagine the younger man's tool and made his way through the living room. He tossed the bathrobe onto the recliner he was sitting in just before the awkward encounter with Josh before he continued into the dining room. It was modern like the rest of the house and he grabbed a cup out of a rectangular cabinet near the refrigerator and brought the cup towards the dispenser for the fridge. He brought a claw up to the digital display and tapped it on the ice function. When the cup was filled with the appropriate amount of ice, then filled the glass up to the brim with water.
Bringing the lip of the glass up to his mouth, he took a long gulp and made sure to completely kill whatever nefarious tickles were left in his throat. He cleared his throat and made his way to the back door that led to the covered pool. Sliding open the door with his free hand, Richard's mind was still racing. Clearly, the young man had been checking him out and it mistakenly sounded like he was flirting with the poor gardener. Out of everything Richard wanted, being a common porn cliche where the young worker is wooed by a strapping gentlemen is not what he had in mind. After all, what would a young stud want to do with a fairly older man? Maybe it was the heat or perhaps just first time working nerves.
No matter, Richard knew of a way to clear his mind. He walked outside, the heat already wrapping around him like a thick blanket. The pergola that covered the patio covered a table that had four chairs set up around it. The pergola itself was in a lattice pattern and allowed some sunlight to come through and a small fan was connected to the roof.
Two sofas were set off outside of the pergola and surrounded a fire pit. Throw pillows sat on the sofa as if begging to be moved and the material of the couch was well-maintained. Behind the pergola was the pool which was surrounded by a black metal fence that separated the backyard from his neighbors. Although the concrete of the pool was clean and the water itself was a crisp blue, the fence itself had an overgrowth. Vines tore through the fences and Richard knew that just underneath the vines was something far more sinister; brambles with sharp thorns ready to poke and prod at a moment's notice.
Well, Josh seemed like he could handle it. At least he was enthusiastic. He would have to make sure to give him a large tip. Richard walked over to an inconspicuous landscape rock and lifted it to show a small key. He grabbed it and brought the key up to the keyhole on the gate and unlocked it before pushing it open and stepping inside. The concrete was hot on his foot pads, but it wasn't unbearable and it was nothing a little water could not fix.
He looked over to the fence, the ivy overgrowing and snaking its way towards the concrete. If he had waited any longer to have someone take care of the growing foliage, the ivy would ruin his decorative fence. The bachelor even had to move his lounge chairs out of the way of the ivy and move them around the saltwater pool. If they got on the white fabric, there would be no stopping the vines. Richard silently thanked his neighbor who gave him the card and placed his foot paws into the water. The water was a decent temperature due to the heat outside and was not unpleasant on his skin.
