The next day Cedric showed up just after Jill and I had finished eating breakfast. We were still drinking coffee out on the patio when he appeared at the gate by the house. I waved and Jill looked over.
"Good morning Cedric!" she said and looked at me. "You knew he was coming by, right?"
"I did, but I thought it was later. We exchanged texts last night but I thought we'd have another leisurely morning so I told him to take his time."
"Oh, well you looked surprised to see him. He sent me a text also, asking when he should come over."
"No, he made no mention of verifying arrival time with you, but that's cool. You did contact him before, so... Better to get started earlier anyhow I suppose."
"Everything else okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Should I have told him the start time is up to you?"
"No, I want it to sit well with you, so I'm glad he got hold of you. Really."
"K," Jill smiled. "And thanks for that," she added, leaning over for a kiss.
Cedric made his way over.
I contemplated on how he had sent Jill a text, innocent as it was, all on his own. It struck me as odd, but in the end didn't seem to amount to much. My only thought of the matter now was what Jill had on: dinky little workout shorts and a tank top, and she was barefoot and had her hair in a ponytail. With no bra on, her nipples were obvious with the cool morning. Nothing too scandalous, but so far this kid was getting show after show of my wife.
"Hey, there," Jill said warmly, sitting cross-legged in her chair eating a bowl of granola and yogurt.
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Holden," he said, walking up to us. Even in summer weather with hard outdoor labor looming, Cedric showed up wearing heavy looking jeans, which he continuously pulled up, giant sneakers and an oversized jersey, which was usually the only thing he took off while we worked.
"Hey, Cedric," I said. "Ready to get back at it?"
"Sure am, Mr. Holden," he replied, watching Jill for a moment as she ate. "You got your wedding ring back," he said, looking at her hand.
"Hm? Oh...my engagement ring. Yeah," Jill said, examining it. "Like it?" she asked, holding it up for him.
"Looks good," he said.
"Thanks," she chuckled, shooting me a grin. "Louis, the girls are coming over about noon. I'll have lunch ready for you by then and Marie is bringing something over so don't wait for us to eat."
"Okey doke."
"I got those pictures," Cedric said, looking at Jill as he spoke, then up at me.
Jill had been digging around in her cereal.
"What pictures?" she asked, looking up.
"Oh," I said, taken slightly off guard. "Uh, last time he was here I mentioned to Cedric about my tough search for a matching gate handle and he said he'd put his uncle on it."
"Oh how nice!" Jill said, perking up in her seat as she ate another spoonful of cereal. This was one of those times that made me wonder if women had any clue when their nipples where obviously erect. I wondered how Jill did not seem to notice, given that half the time sitting there she was looking down in her cereal bowl.
"Was he able to find one?" I asked, looking from her to Cedric.
Cedric pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I think so. I was gonna hold it up next to it. The one I took came out too grainy."
"Oooh, can I see?" Jill asked, leaning over.
Cedric scrolled a few swipes on his phone screen, then held it up for Jill.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Wow! I think that's it! Where'd you find it?"
"My uncle, he's good at finding shi-, I mean, that sorta thing. Connections and all," he said, looking down at his phone as he scrolled through more pictures.
Jill and I exchanged quick glances and smirks when Cedric corrected his language.
"Well I think it looks just great, and please tell your uncle thank you for us," Jill said, sitting back.
"No problem," he said. "I guess I'll go double check really quick?"
"Yeah, sure," I said.
Cedric got up and walked over to the front gate.
"Funny," Jill said, munching her cereal. "He's a nice kid."
"Yeah," I chuckled. "Hard to believe he pretty much broke into our house and busted up our fence."
"Well he seems eager to help. So far, responsible too," Jill said. I nodded.
"I think it's good!" Cedric yelled to us.
Jill gave two thumbs up. "Thank you!" Then, uncrossing her legs and getting up, "All right, I keep putting it off, so I'm gonna go bring some laundry upstairs and get a work out in before the girls arrive. Can I get you anything?" she asked, taking my bowl.
"Nope, I'm good."
Jill headed inside, on the way making a beeline toward the gate to examine the handle. Cedric was still over there. He showed her his phone again and she nodded, then thanked him once more and walked away, making a kiss and blowing it my way as she headed inside. I considered the awkward moment Cedric and I shared, and thought of how comfortable, nonchalant even, his demeanor and speech had become around not just me, but around Jill, no doubt stealing glimpses of her pert breasts.
As Jill scoot the patio door open with her hip, doing the same to close it once inside, I noticed Cedric watching from the gate. He saw me and gave a nod and shouted he'd be right back, using the gate to go back out front. He reappeared moments later wearing ear bud headphones around his neck and a giant baseball cap.
"So you ready?" I asked, standing up.
"Yeah. I'm glad she likes the handle," he said.
"Yeah, me too," I agreed as we headed back to the lumber pile.
Cedric and I had just finished lunch when Jill's friends showed up. Chloe, who worked with Jill as a paralegal, and Marie and Nicole, both attorneys for another firm in the same building as Jill's main office downtown. The same neighbor that lent me his Bobcat also let me borrow two air powered nail guns. Cedric and I were at the far end of the yard unpacking nail magazines and refitting the connector valves on air hoses that had damaged o-rings.
After a while I walked over to get us some lemonade. The girls were finishing up sushi and laughing.
"Howdy ladies," I said, looking down at them with worried looking eyes to much stifled laughter.
"Hello!" "Hey, Louis, Jill got you working hard?"
"Hardly," I replied, wiping my brow. "You guys?"
"Hardly," Marie said, holding up a glass. "High end fashion trends, do's and don'ts. Girly stuff," she said, tossing a summer clothes/swimsuit catalog at me.
"Mm, good stuff," I said, pretending to roll open a centerfold.
"Men," she said.
"Your wife is cracking us up, Louis," Nicole said.
I looked at Jill, staring up at me with a 'who me?' look on her face as she sipped her drink. I shook my head and grabbed the pitcher.
"Weirdos."
"H'fmayy!" Chloe said, rice crumbling from the side of her mouth.
"What, you got a mouthful of peanut butter?" I asked as I was about to pour my drink.
"Hfmuh?" she muffled.
All four burst out laughing.
"No, not that pitcher, honey, lemonade's in the other one," Jill said. "Chloe brought over champagne coolies."
"Oh, Jesus," I said.
"Oh, Jesus!" Chloe echoed in a deep voice. "Huh! I'm a man. I can't be drinking no cool-aid smoothies. Huh!"
Again they all burst out laughing.
"It's champagne coolie!" Marie said to Chloe, laughing. "You brought them over!"
"Whichever one doesn't make you stupid?" I asked, trying to tell the difference between the two pitchers.
"Here Louis," Nicole said, handing the me correct pitcher and a stack of red plastic glasses. I took two and began pouring.
"Thanks, Nicole. You hammered too?"
"Ohhh come on now, party pooper! No one's hammered," Jill said, looking around and stifling a laugh. "No no, I shouldn't say that. Ladies, if you like the finished pool house you can tell Louis. And now he's hard at work building me a new fence. Louis we're not gonna be in the pool house so we won't be in your way, okay?"
"Thanks, babe," I said, taking a sip of lemonade. "But you drunken bag ladies aren't in the way at all. We're gonna be tied up at the far end of the yard for a bit."
Jill, Marie and Chloe all stuck their tongues out at the same time.
"So who's your friend?" Nicole asked, laughing at my remark.
"He's helping Louis," Jill said. "That's one of the kids I was telling you about, that knocked over our fence? He was the last one over, wasn't he, Louis?"
"Yep, soon as he touched it the whole thing came down."
"Louis when are you gonna give Jill some children?" Nicole asked with a smirk. "Then you wouldn't need to wait until someone breaks into your house to get help around here."
I looked down to see Jill smiling up at me.
"Have another smoothie," I said to her. "Then we'll talk about making kids."
"Awww!" Jill said, giving me the puppy dog eyes. "Well, as a matter of fact girls, we've been discussing just that: baby makes three." As Jill spoke Nicole and Chloe looked up at me nodding in approval and grinning. "And secondly," she said, looking back at me, "it's a coolie!" she added, bursting out in laughter.
Jill was being pretty funny I had to admit. She can be real cute when she drinks, and it doesn't take much.
"Three?!" I said, getting everyone's attention. "I was thinking more like seven or eight. I signed Jill up for contortionist classes to help get that whole, whatever you want to call it area ready," I said, rubbing my hand around in circles over my lower abdomen.
This time all the girls burst out laughing at once. I noticed Cedric look over.
"Seriously, though?" Chloe said to Jill. "You guys are thinking about it?"
Jill nodded. They looked at me.
"The baby clock's ticking if you're gonna seal the deal," Nicole said, motioning as if to nudge Chloe.
"Well that's nice," Marie said. "So, how is it he's over here helping build a fence?"
"Ugh," Jill groaned. "His mother. Chloe, you might remember her. Do you recall that time you helped me out one evening at that neighborhood association I had to go to?"
"Oh, yeah... Asan- Asanti?"
"Ashanti," I said.
"That's it!" Chloe said, placing a finger on her nose. "She was kinda, I dunno?"
"H'eh! She scared all the people," I laughed mid sip of my lemonade.
"Huh?" Chloe asked.
"Louis!" Jill scolded. "He might hear you."
"Here he comes," said Marie.
Cedric had taken off his jersey and was sporting a wife beater.
"Umph! Dark and handsome!" Nicole said under her breath to laughter from the others.
"Stop!" Jill said, slapping at her shoulder.
"Strapping too I bet."
"Nicole! He's just a kid!" Jill said, looking at at the rest of us with a buzzed fueled expression of disbelief.
