Feb. 23/09
Well, guess who I visited today? I'll give you a hint: She only stood and stared with a dazed expression when she saw me. She was wearing light blue gym pants and a mauve sweater and it looked like she'd been working out, or something.
I was immediately hit by the guilty memories of how I was squatting nude in front of a total stranger a few nights ago, my feet on the arms of his chair, legs spread while I stroked miffy with my naughty, blonde schoolgirl smiles right in his face. I forced my mind from that and centered on the job at hand, that being the repair of Aunt Peggy's basement door, which reportedly wasn't closing properly.
I was wearing an older pair of snug fitting, black work jeans and a new, gray and blue, rawhide welding jacket that Daddy got me a little while back over a black sweater. I like it because it's short, warm and comfy and the gray is under the arms in wide panels and they make my boobies stand out, especially when it's unzipped. My hair, the sole and current focus of her attention, was tied back in a ponytail as I stood there in my paratroopers, a tool kit in my hand and scratching my nose, sniffing from the cold before politely breaking the ice.
"Quite a change, huh?"
" ... Yeah."
"Um, anyway, I came over to fix your basement door."
After another pause that was just long enough to become a bit uncomfortable, relative to the already present level of discomfort, she smiled suddenly, saying, "Sorry. It just,... Have you eaten?"
"Yes. How have you been?"
"Good, good. Yourself?"
"Great." I replied.
"Did you ever find a job?"
"No. I'm still looking, but I don't expect anything till spring."
"Well, come in and have a coffee."
"I should get to the door and have a look first, but later on would be great."
"Alright."
It didn't take long to find the problem and about twenty minutes later, what could be done for the short term was done.
"Is the offer of coffee still open?" I asked at the top of the stairs, taking my boots off and putting them beside my tool kit.
"Sure is," she called from the living room, the area she often refers to as her 'inner sanctum', and out of my immediate sight. "How's it coming?"
"All done for now," I reported, walking into the kitchen and going for the cupboard where she kept her mugs. She came in and sat at her kitchen table with her own coffee already in hand.
"For now?" she asked, unable to keep her eyes off my hair.
"It's not good," I said, moving to her percolator. "The door frame's rotten and so is the door sill. I gotta come back, probably next week when we can get some wood and stuff together and rebuild it. Door's fine, though."
"Oh. Did you get the door closed? I heard some banging."
"Yup, I shoved it into the frame, took some of the strapping down from the ceiling and boarded it up good so it's whether proof and safe until I can get it fixed."
"You're doing it?"
"Yeah, it's easy," I assured her, milking and sugaring my coffee.
"You're father's not coming out?"
"No, I'll be here in the daytime while he's working."
"Oh. So, how is he?"
"Good. Got hurt at work last week, though."
"What happened, is he alright?"
"A grinder wheel exploded near him. He's got a bunch of stitches and it's gonna scar, but there's no serious damage," I said, sitting across from her and taking a sip.
"Well, thank god. ... Oh, I just remembered,... I have to have my septic tank cover dug out in a few months so I can get a sucker-truck in here and get it emptied. Will he still be able to do that?"
I paused ever so briefly as my eyes leapt from my coffee to her face, then took my sip, swallowing and setting the cup down impassively before saying, "No, actually. I'll be doing that."
" ... His arm won't be healed by then?"
"Oh yes, I just don't want him doing that stuff anymore, if I can help it."
"Why?"
"He's not a young man and I don't like seeing him do that stuff anymore."
She laughingly replied, "Kat, your father's not that old, he's still in good shape. Very good shape."
"Yup, and he's gonna slow down a bit so he stays that way. Besides, there's no need for him to be doing that stuff, I'm perfectly capable."
" ... Hm. Well, maybe your friend will help you out. What was her name?"
"Gina." I answered, suddenly smiling at the thought and deciding right then and there to ask her, wondering if she'd ever even touched a dirt shovel before. "And yeah, she just might. I wouldn't doubt it."
"May I ask you something?" she inquired.
"Sure."
"How did you ever meet her?"
I picked up my coffee cup for a sip to buy time before I answered.
"Out job hunting one day," I said, putting the cup back down. "I had to take a side trip to get some shopping done, bras and panties, and I was too embarrassed to take them to the checkout, so I asked her."
"Just picked her out of the crowd?"
"Not exactly. I waited for a woman who seemed like a nice person. She was and we got talking when I paid her back and got my stuff."
"She seems like a lot of fun."
"She is," I replied.
"Call me crazy, but you don't seem so shy anymore."
"I don't?"
"No. Oh, it's a good thing, don't get me wrong, but tell me,... What would ever possess you to dye your hair blonde?"
"I never liked it the way it was. Mousy brown bleck. Do you like it, by the way?"
"Oh, it really does something for you, alright. What does your father think of it?"
"You know him. His biggest problem was how to tell me it looked good without making it sound like he didn't like my hair before," I said with a smile, rolling my eyes.
"I suppose it goes over big with all the guys when you and Gina go out, eh?" she asked me with an insider's knowing smile.
"Well, men look, yeah."
"Uh huh, first they look, then they're feeding you some line, then they're wanting to get into your panties. That's always the way with them, eh?"
"I don't know. I mean, I never really meet any, unless you count sales clerks, or whatever."
"I'd think she would have taken you to some pretty good parties," she said casually, taking a drink of her coffee afterwards while watching me over the rim of her mug.
"No. I don't like associating with people who party like that and neither does Gina. Big drinkers are big losers."
I took a drink of my own coffee then, savouring the taste as it mingled with the sudden silence from across the table. Hey, she deserved it. How can she snap at me for pumping information when she turns around and does the same thing to me?
"Your mother sure liked her alcohol," she finally offered in a slightly clipped tone.