Author Note: No sex in this one.
===
DING! DONG!
Hmm. Someone was at the front door. It was Ted.
Ted was a long-term neighbor. We built our house thirty years ago, and he and his wife, Elaine, moved in next door several months later. My wife, Marjorie, was shy, so we didn't socialize much, but they were good neighbors. They were younger and had a daughter, Julia, who lived at home and was in her last year of University.
"Hi, Ted. What's up? Got my mail again?"
Ted smiled. "Hi, Allan. Nope. Not this time. I'm here to let you know we're moving."
I was shocked. "What? You've been here for years. I thought you were here for life."
Ted sighed. "Me too, but Elaine's arthritis is getting bad, and the damp Michigan winters and humid summers aggravate it. My head office is in Phoenix, and Elaine tagged along for a company meeting last year. Then we took some vacation time, and Elaine felt ten times better. We've been down twice since then, and she always feels better after a few days. The dry, sunny weather seems to help. I put in for a transfer, and a spot came up. We're moving as soon as we find a house and sell our place here."
"Bummer. You guys will be hard to replace. Is Julia going with you?"
"That's why I'm here. Julia has one term left. She'll start in January and finish in April. She's coming to Arizona with us over the holidays. Then she'll come back in January. But our house will be sold by then, so she can't stay there. I told her to get an apartment for four months, but she said getting a place on such short notice would be difficult. I think she can't be bothered."
"Where's she going to stay then?"
Ted looked uncomfortable and took out a list. "She wanted to know if she could board with you. She said she'd be as quiet as a mouse and you won't even know she's there. She'll be studying most of the time. She promises she won't have any loud friends over. She has our old Honda and won't need rides. She knows how to cook, so you won't need to feed her, and she has her own money, so you won't need to buy her anything."
Ted looked embarrassed. "Sorry. She made me promise to read her list so I wouldn't miss anything, but you don't need to do this. If you don't want her at your place, I understand. I mean, you know Julia, but you don't really know her. She's a good girl but is a bit of a princess because Elaine and I spoiled her, and she's pretty strong-willed." Ted smiled. "She'll be running your place after a few weeks!"
Ted looked at me seriously. "I know it's a big decision, so I don't expect you to decide now, but I'd appreciate it if you could let me know fairly soon in case we need to find another place. Thanks for listening."
Then he left. It was a surprise, but not a negative one.
Max, my German Shepherd, loved Julia. He wagged his tail like crazy whenever they met, and Max was a good judge of character. There was a lot of space in our house. It was a three-bedroom, and our daughter flew the coop many years ago. She lived in Africa. I couldn't stand her husband and hadn't seen her in a while. I knew Julia drove their old Accord, so I wasn't worried about transportation. And I wasn't worried about extra expenses. Money wasn't a problem. I didn't care if she had friends over as long as they didn't wreck the place. I obviously didn't know Julia like Ted did, but she was always friendly when I saw her. She waved. She asked me how I was. She asked about Max. She didn't seem like a typical self-absorbed teenage girl, although I guess she wasn't a teenager anymore. She was twenty-two.
Last but not least, I'd been lonely since Marjorie died last year. She was my best friend, and I looked forward to retiring with her. I retired, but she didn't make it. There was no 'we' anymore--just Max and me. It would be nice to have some company.
Plus, it was only for four months. How bad could four months be?
I called Ted and asked him to tell Julia to come over to discuss the details.
===
Ten minutes after I talked to Ted, the doorbell rang. It was Julia. That was quick.
She looked happy, although underdressed. It was mid-December and below freezing, and she wasn't even wearing a coat and had on sandals. I invited her in.
"Aren't you cold?"
She smiled. "Nope. I'm well padded, plus it's a short walk from my house to yours."
She smiled again. "Can I really stay here?"
I smiled back. "Yes, if you want to. Why don't I give you a tour? There are several rooms you could stay in."
I took her downstairs. The basement was finished with a bathroom and bedroom. It's where our daughter, Susan, lived. There was a large TV, a small fridge, and a microwave. There was even a separate entrance to the back yard so she could have friends over, and I'd never even know.
I took her to the main floor. It was open-concept, with a kitchen, living room, dining room, and small bathroom.
Then I took her upstairs. My room stretched across the front of the house, facing south. It was very bright when the sun was out. There was a large walk-in closet and a big ensuite bathroom with a soaker tub big enough for several people.
There were two smaller bedrooms and a small bathroom with a toilet and a shower.
"Well? What do you think? You can stay wherever you want."
She grinned. "Even your room? It's so big and bright! And I love the huge closet and soaker tub."
I laughed. "Nope. It's mine. But you're welcome to visit. It's especially nice in the winter when the sun shines. It warms and brightens the room. You can use the couch to read or my work desk for computer work. Since retiring, I rarely use it. I prefer my laptop or iPad. And you can use the tub whenever you want. I prefer showers."
Julia's eyes brightened. "Cool! Do I need to decide tonight?"
"Nope. I don't care if you sleep in a different room every night."
She grinned. "That sounds naughty! The moving truck will take most of my things to Arizona, but I want to bring some of my things over. Is that okay?"
"Of course."
"Can I bring it over tomorrow?"
"Sure. Do you need help?"
"No, it's mostly just clothing, makeup, and stuff like that, although I'd like to bring over my mattress. It's super comfortable. Is that okay?"
"Sure. Your dad said you can cook?"
"Yes, you won't need to feed me."
"Well, it seems silly to make separate meals. What if I cook some nights and you cook other nights? That way, I won't need to cook every night, and neither will you."
She smiled. "I like that idea. I can cook. Mom forced me to learn, but I prefer to be fed. We can feed each other."
She smiled again. "I've decided I want to sleep up here. The basement is nice, but I find basements damp and dark. I can hang out there if friends visit, but it won't happen often. I need to concentrate on school, so I won't be socializing much." She grinned. "Just with you. I think I'll be visiting your room on sunny days. The sun perks me up. Is that okay?"
"Yup."
"Good. I'll bring my stuff over tomorrow. See you later!
Julia's visit only lasted fifteen minutes, but it left me in a good mood. There was something about her that was uplifting. She smiled a lot and was perky. She seemed happy, which was contagious.
===
FUCK!
There was over a foot of snow in the driveway. The forecast called for a few inches, not a foot!
It would take me forever to clear the driveway with the wimpy electric snowblower Marjorie talked me into buying. We used to have a Honda gas blower. It was great. It was easy to maneuver and never clogged up, even with wet snow. The new blower was supposed to be good, but I hated it. The battery sometimes died before the snow was removed, and heavy, wet snow clogged it up. And there was over a foot of wet snow in my driveway.
Ted used to take pity on me after big snow dumps. He knew my electric blower wasn't up to the task and mowed through my snow with his mammoth gas blower. It was a brute. It was huge and self-propelled. It sliced through the snow like a hot knife in butter.
His driveway was already plowed, but mine wasn't. I guess I was on my own.
I bundled up because the winter winds were howling like Hell. I thought the house was going to blow away. I had just opened the front door when Ted's beastly blower entered my driveway and tossed the snow like child's play. I smiled and waved. He waved back, and I went back in the house. Thank God!
Ten minutes later, my driveway was clear. Ten minutes! It would have taken me hours to do it. The doorbell rang. It must have been Ted.
I opened the door. "Thanks so much, Ted..." But it wasn't Ted. It was Julia.
She smiled at my surprise. "Didn't think it was me, did you?" Then she grinned. "I'm not just a pretty face. I can blow with the best of them," she said mischievously.
I guess my mouth was still open in surprise because she grinned at me.
"Can you open the garage door so I can put the mower in there? Mom and Dad have left. Our house sold yesterday, and they went to look at a promising place in Scottsdale. Dad said he won't need the blower in Arizona, so he wanted you to have it. He knows your electric blower is wimpy. We also have a gas generator for when the power goes out. I'll bring it over later. There won't be any snowstorm outages in Scottsdale."
I opened the garage door, and Julia put the blower in there. There was lots of room because I had a double garage with only one car. I sold Marjorie's car after she died.
