The following morning was crisp and full of energy as Jerome ran down the stairs into his foyer at the sound of a knock. Opening the door revealed his dear old friend and football teammate, James. They shook hands and held their arms out mutually, going in for a hug reserved for the best of friends. Jerome invited James in, but James held his arms up in an arrested protest.
"Whoa there man, don't you think we should get this move on?" James said, pointing to the truck.
"Bruh, you gonna have to forgive me for completing forgetting about that. I'm just glad to see you. You looking good man. You been working out? It's been a minute." Jerome casually laughed as he poked at James.
"Always a joker," James laughed back at Jerome. "Nah man, I been busy with the business. When you gave me a call about coming out here to help a friend, I figured it was as best an opportunity to come see ya."
"Oh I see how it is. You just here on business huh?" Jerome put on a serious face trying to hold back a smile. "Can't just come out to see a brotha? I see how it is." He erupted in laughter.
"Man you know it ain't like that," James laughed, "I'm glad to see you're running a tight ship down here. I knew I could trust you with this area." James looked around and nodded his head at the two moving guys standing near the truck. "You got a pretty good crew."
"Yea, those guys are dependable. They always be ready at a moment's notice. Dependable dudes." Jerome prided himself. "Thanks for sendin' them my way." He bumped fists with James. James adjusted his tie and continued to watch the moving guys clean out the truck bay.
From the Sanders house, Stephen emerged with some papers in hand and looked quizzically at the truck in his driveway. As he looked towards Jerome's house, he saw Jerome wave to him with another man by his side. James turned to Jerome as Stephen approached him, "Is this the dude?" James asked as he dissected Stephen's look. Jean shorts with a tucked in polo-shirt and fanny pack.
"Yea, this is the guy. His daughter is going to State and I offered to pay for the moving cost, like a good neighbor." Jerome enlightened James. "Don't mess though, dude knows a thing or two about pools and jacuzzi, he helped me hook mine up. Even if he look like a fool." They both snickered at the comment and subsided as Stephen arrived.
"Well Jerry, I think we're ready." Stephen said, looking to James and nodding.
"That's good Steve." Jerome said and motioned to James. "This is my friend James. He's the one that owns the moving company. I guess you could say he's the boss, even though he don't act like one." James rolled his eyes and quick-jabbed Jerome in jest. James held his hand out to Stephen and they shook.
"Nice to meet you Steve. Congratulations on your daughter getting into State. You know that's where Jerome and I went to school? Lot of brothas doing great things up there." James said to Stephen.
"No I did not know that James. But that sounds very promising that your brothers are doing well there." Stephen replied genuinely. Jerome and James looked at each other and shared a small laugh.
"Listen Stephen. These guys, Sam and Dan, are going to follow you to the school where they'll help you unload the truck. They'll also help you load up right now too." Jerome informed Stephen. "If you've got some space in your car, one of them will ride up with you and ride back with the truck once it's unloaded. Got it?" Stephen nodded. "Great. Is the whole family seeing her off?"
"No unfortunately my wife had to work." Stephen shared. "She usually works from home, but this is one of her days when she has to go into the office. So she's going to miss out on the move."
"That's too bad." James chimed in. "Your wife, what she do?"
"Nothing real exciting, she manages internet marketing accounts. Takes about four hours of her day, the rest of the time she's just laying around the house." Stephen explained.
"I didn't know that Steve." Jerome shared. "That actually sounds pretty interesting. I'd love a gig working from home!" James laughed.
"Fool, you are pretty much working from home!" James cracked at Jerome. Stephen watched the both of them laugh. Their bright white teeth guffawing and grinning, up above him. He noticed that James were a pretty well-dressed guy in his suit. This was also the first time he had really seen Jerome dressed professionally in trousers and a dress-shirt. He looked at his own ill-fitting shirt and felt out of place among the tailored big men.
"Well I better get a move on the packing guys." Stephen tried to say between Jerome and James laughing. They composed themselves and agreed with him. As he walked away, he heard them laugh some more.
"That's the dude you live next to?" James snickered. "Mr. Fanny Pack?" He howled.
"Yea that's Steve for ya. Good dude usually." Jerome shared and his eyes lit up. "You gotta see his wife though." James gave him a deadpan smile. "Bro, honey got the whole package!" Jerome outlined an hourglass figure and emphasized an ass as they both went inside. James slapped his back and told him they had work to do.
Later that day...
A car pulled into the Sanders driveway. The door opened and a high-heeled leg stepped out, its owner heaving herself out of the car. Marisa had finally escaped from the office. Her hair was in a frizz and her bloused was unbuttoned. The tight black pencil skirt had ridden up and she grabbed a handful, straightening it out. As she reached for her bag in the backseat, she felt the unfamiliar sound of a rip. Feeling the back of her skirt, the day got a little worse as she felt it.
Once she got inside, Marisa kicked off her heels and threw her suit jacket on the couch. She felt a wave of relief come over her. Standing there in the living room for a moment, two thoughts dawned on her. The first was the absence of boxes mean her little girl was gone. She felt sad for a moment but it quickly subsided as she realized the other thing. She was finally alone and had time for herself. The past few days Stephen had taken off to help in the packing kept the house a busy place. Now it was quiet and a woman could have peace.
Upstairs on her bed, Marisa sat and took off her hosiery, tossing it aside. Her feet felt assaulted by the heels that she did not wear often. A bath sounded really good. She went into the bathroom and turned the faucet on to fill the tub up and added some stress-relieving bubble soap. As the bath ran, she returned to the bedroom and stood in front of the mirror. Grabbing her breasts and smoothing her hands down her body, Marisa took off her blouse and skirt. She stood there in her black lingerie, turning and admiring her own ass in the black thong. Reaching around, she undid her bra and her breasts assumed their natural tear-drop shape. She liked what she saw but something was off. She turned to the side and continued to look at her deflated self. She caught notice of her slumped posture. It looked defeated. Not bearing to look at it longer, she turned around and opened her closet. She eyed her running shoes.
Next door James and Jerome were working on expanding the fleet in Jerome's region. They post up a map on Jerome's living room wall and pinned it with viable areas for a new storage and a truck parking lot. The work had wore them thin as James was having a drink and Jerome had his sleeves rolled up trying to encourage his partner to stay focused. The fact of it was that both of them were ready to call it a day.
"If we put the depot right here," Jerome said as he pinned a street corner on the map, "then I think we might get the best coverage for the town. What do you think?" He was met with silence and when he turned around, he discovered James had fallen asleep. "James! Man wake up. We ain't done yet. I'm on to something here." James abruptly stirred.
