Have you experienced one of those evenings when you just know the next day will be a perfect day? One of those evenings when you want to go to bed early because that means you will wake up sooner? For me it was last Friday night.
First, my wife and daughter had left for one of their "Power Shopping Weekends" as they joking like to call them. They leave Friday and drive to another city about 100 miles away. Saturday and Sunday are shopping days when they hit 4 or 5 malls. They come home Sunday evening tired but satisfied. This means I have the house to myself so I am free to do what I want. This means I could garden without any distractions.
Second, the weather Friday evening was incredible. It was mid May. The temperature was in the low 70's and there was just a hint of a breeze. There were wispy clouds in the sky that turned the most beautiful orange as the sun set. All the indicators pointed toward incredible weather for Saturday.
I love to garden so being alone with beautiful weather was perfect for me. All I wanted to do on Saturday was work the soil and plant the flowers I had just bought. Work the soil and unwind from the long stressful week at work.
Waking up Saturday, I found it was indeed a beautiful day. By 8:30, I had eaten and was in my shorts heading outside to get started. There was still dew on the grass which soaked my feet. It felt incredible.
Time seems to evaporate when I work in the gardens. I guess it had been an hour or so when I heard, "Hi Mr. C!" I didn't need to turn to look who it was. It was Jenny, my daughter's best friend. They had known each other for years. In grade school, they were became friends. During high school, they were almost inseparable. I think Jenny spent almost as much time at our house as she did at hers.
Now that Jenny and Sara were both in college, I didn't see Jenny as much any more. It was like old times to have her over.
"Sara isn't home," I told Jenny as she now stood beside me.
"I know. This is the Power Shopping Weekend. I was just out walking when I saw you here."
"More like "Empty the Bank Account Weekend!", I retorted. We both laughed. "So what you up to this weekend?"
"I don't know. Not much to do without Sara."
"What? You don't have a boyfriend to be with?"
"No. Broke up a couple of weeks ago."
"Sorry to hear that. Don't worry, someone new'll come along."
"I know. It's just that it makes for boring times. Sara has Mark and now I have no one."
"Chin up my dear. You're pretty and smart and fun to be with. Some guy will notice this soon enough and sweep you off your feet."
These were not just idol comments on my behalf. Jenny stood about 5'9 with long light brown hair. I don't think she weighed more than 130 pounds. In high school both her and Sara were on the volleyball team so she had a thin athletic body. It was certainly a body most guys would drool over. I know I had during the times I had seeing her in her bikini in our pool.
Jenny sat down on the grass beside me. As she sat, she found the grass to still be wet from the dew. "Ow! Oh damn, the grass is wet. Now I have a wet bum!"
"Why do you think I'm kneeling?" Again we laughed.
"Oh well, my shorts will dry. It isn't the first time my pants have been wet."
Now most guys would start to think there was some hidden meaning in those words. But this was Jenny and she was my daughter's friend. That was just an innocent comment to me.
So I continued to work the soil, taking out weeds and getting the beds ready for the flowers. As I worked, Jenny and I talked. I had always found her very easy to talk to. She was not the typical young woman. For some reason, we could talk and talk without ever running out of things to say.
At first, as she sat beside me, she played with the grass and occasionally pulled out blades one at time. She would exam them then find another. Sometimes, she would pull out a weed I had missed. Before long, she had forgotten about the grass and was working the gardens right along with me. The sun moved around the house and now we were both working in direct sun light. It was getting hotter as the day grew longer. Sweat was coming off both our brows.
Many times I would look sideways at Jenny. I could see a little down her top or through the arm hole. I noted she was wearing a pink bra. Also, a hint of her perfume came to my nose from time to time. It smelt so fresh. I was finding it amazingly pleasurable being beside her all morning.
Before I knew it, it was 12:30. "You want something to eat? It's hot out here and I need some food and something cool to drink. How about you?" I asked Jenny.
"Sure! What you offering?"
"I don't know what's in the house. How about we go and look?"
"Sounds good to me." So we left all the tools on the ground and headed in.
I found some lunch meat in the fridge and made some sandwiches. There were some beers so I offered Jenny one. She was old enough to be legal now. She accepted so we sat in the kitchen to eat. Of course we continued to talk.
After lunch, we headed back outside. The first thing I noticed was the heat. "I think it must be in the 80's today. What a beautiful day," I said
"It sure is. Kind of day you want to do something memorable."
"Really? Like what?"
"Don't know! But I'll think of something." Jenny just smiled at me.
Looking around, I said, "Wow! I didn't know we had done so much. There's only a little more to do then the gardens are finished."
"Sounds good. Let's get going so I have time for my memorable event of the day." Again, another smile.
We started to work. Only difference from the morning was the heat. As we worked and turned the soil, the sweat started to roll off our backs. I am pretty fit for my age but the heat was starting to get to me.
Oh! I haven't told you much about me. My name is George Cameron. I am 45, stand 6'2, weigh 190, blue eyes with greying dark brown hair. I work as an investment advisor for a large corporation. We have a company gym and I work out 3 or 4 times a week. That's why I am in pretty good shape.
We finished the gardens in about an hour. I guess it was about 2 or 2:30. The sun was hot and we both were extremely hot.
"How about a swim to cool off?" I asked Jenny.
"Sounds good to me. But I didn't bring a suit."
"Why not look in the change house and see if there's one of Sara's you can borrow?"