Chapter 37

When I awoke at home, it was Saturday at 10 AM, almost lunch time. The sun was shining through the patio doors. I managed to make it up to light the fire ring and heat coffee in the microwave. I sat down carefully to stoke the fire. The pain in my butt made me wonder if it had been worth it. After adjusting to the burning sensation and the sensation that I needed to use the bathroom, I decided it had been worth it. I had a huge orgasm from the actions of Harold's wife Jen, the aging trophy wife. I wondered if men like Harold were dumb enough to think that trophy wives never aged.

I drank two cups of coffee before noon. Even with my discomfort I forced myself to dress in multiple layers then to head out into the frigid air. The trike was so much better on the mountain roads then the cruiser bike had been. I was passed by a Rural Protection Officer. I thought then that I might want to get some lights for the trike. It would be easy to run me off the road. The defense would be that I was more or less invisible without a light on the trike.

I stopped at Helen's because she serves breakfast till 3 PM when she closed. I ate the breakfast special which was no longer on special. It was only good till 10 AM when she started to serve sandwiches and fries. It was well into the noon hour, so I wasn't surprised that my check was for 25% more than usual.

I got back on the trike and rode it to the construction site. The truck with the trencher was in the parking lot and the operator sat in the cab. I did a fancy turn swinging the rear of the trike in a 180 degree turn pulling it up beside the truck.

"Hey there, I'm Rose Seabold," I said to the man in the cab.

"Hola," he said.

Oh shit, I thought. "Are you ready to start?" I asked.

"Si," he said but made no move to step down from the cab. I didn't have my translator device, since the driver came as a surprise. I was about to call Carlos, when a second smaller truck pulled into the parking lot.

"Senorita Seabold, I'm Hector and we will be starting now. You should stay a few minutes. You may have to make some decisions. I climbed into his warm truck cab and waited while they got their machine on site. One man drove it and the other guided him in a straight line. That is at least how it should have worked, but first he had to stop and talk to me again.

"Senorita, the ground is as I thought it might be. Ordinarily we would trench down a foot for the footings, but there is a rock layer less than half a foot down. We can not dig it even if you wanted us to do so. It would be best if we dug down to that layer and stopped. Your foundation will be stronger than it would with footings. The problem would be with water pipes, but there are no County water pipes and you are not going to be able to dig a well here. I'm afraid you will have to use an alternate water source," he explained. "We can pack up the machine and go home, if you do not wish to build here."

I was not surprised. From the moment I realized the church had no water or sewer system, I knew that it was a possibility that water and sewer would be a problem. I hadn't planned for it, but there was always a way to handle things.

"Trench as deep as you can go down till you hit rock then move on," I said.

The trench on the first footings went from ten inches to six inches. "That isn't unusual for this type location," Hector said.

"Well let's get the other one done before dark," I said. I left them at that point. I had a feeling that, if he didn't finish before dark, there would be a Sunday work day for him. The previous church congregation might not like it, but it didn't really matter to me. They gave up the right to bitch when they took my money. I would be happy to explain that to the deacon if he wanted.

I spent Saturday night doing research. I switched between lights for my trike and water and sewer systems for a self contained habitat. I was pretty sure I could use a recreational vehicle waste system as well as their water system. It would put me back to a funky hot water system again, but it was doable with some creative plumbing by Juan.

Then I found a bike headlight which I could attach to the head of the front fork on my trike. It came with a taillight as well. I bought one on Ebay. It cost me almost fifty bucks but it would be worth it, if it kept me alive. It did require C size batteries, so I bought two sets of rechargeable ones and of course a charger. I honestly expected the light to show people where I was rather than to show me the road.

I spent the rest of the evening in a chat room. Being single was really exciting I thought sadly as I went to bed alone. That's why the team at Church Camp liked me so much. I was a natural loner. At least that is what they thought.

Sunday I rode the trike over to the job site the first thing I noticed was that the blocks and other building material were on site. Then I noticed the trencher was almost finished with the second cabin's footings. Even thought he wasn't quite through, I handed him the envelope with the money inside, then left. I did that because I didn't want to stand around in the cold for the next hour or so.

Sunday night was pretty much a repeat of the night before except I dropped the bike light research. It was all about the water and sewer for the cabin and of course the chat room for that little bit of interactive porn. As always I pissed a lot of guys off.

They didn't seem to understand or didn't want to understand how easy it is to get stalked if a woman gives any real information, like her messenger name. It's why I never went to an instant messenger or used a cam. It was far too easy for any idiot to use the settings to keep track of a woman's movements. They missed the point that it was an anonymous chat so why would I give them any real information.

Monday morning I was on site sitting in the warm cab of my truck. I had arrived about thirty minutes before the foundation man. "You are planning to work till five thirty aren't you?" I asked.

"Well I planned to give you a full day's work for the hundred bucks. That is unless you plan to hang around and watch me work," he said. The foundation man was white, not Latin, and he was arrogant as hell it seemed.

"Well I plan to check back every couple of hours to be sure you are okay," I suggested. I decided we might as well establish who the boss was in the first hour.

"I think maybe we are not suited for each other," he said, but he made no moves to leave.

"Actually, I think you are right. You obviously don't need the money enough to work for a mere woman," I said angrily.

"Look you ain't gonna find anyone better, or anyone at all without losing a couple of days, why don't you just let me do this for a flat three hundred dollars," he suggested.

"I never did get your name," I said.

"Gene, my name is Gene," he said.

"Gene, I don't think we can work together, so a contract rate is fine but I'm going to check on you like it or not. But three hundred dollars is unacceptable. Working alone you will spend most of your time carrying blocks and that is unacceptable, because it will take you twice as long to finish. So you will cut corners. So have a nice day, sorry to have gotten you out of bed for nothing."

"What did you have in mind," he asked.

"Well I'll still give you a hundred bucks for a days work, but I will call Carlos' son to carry blocks for you. Until he gets here, I will carry blocks and you can get started mixing your mortar," I said.

"Soup," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"We call it soup, sometimes we call it chunky soup, if it's dry. Alright make the call and let's get to work," Gene said.

He had a flatbed wheelbarrow onto which he wanted me to load blocks, then wheel them to the spot where he was working. I couldn't manage it. My shoulder would have been a wreck. My alternative was to put twenty-five blocks on the back of my truck then pull it up to where he was working. I let him unload them himself one or two at a time. I would never admit it to Gene, the prick, but I couldn't hold out much longer. Fortunately Jose made it to the site within an hour so I didn't have to wreck my arm too badly.

"Jose, I'll give you fifty dollars a day to haul concrete blocks for this ass," I said with a smile.

"That is fine, and Rose I wanted to thank you for the scooter cover. It will make the scooter easier to start, and I won't have to sit on a wet seat," he said.

"I had to get you a present or explain why I didn't. That would not have been good for either of us," I explained.

"It was still a nice thing to do. You didn't get Joan a present," he said.

"How do you know," I asked.

"She told me of course," he said.

"I haven't seen her in a while," I said.

"I know. I'm sorry, I know the fight was over me, " he said.

"Yes, but it isn't just the fight. She has a husband and a boy friend that doesn't leave a lot of time," I said. I knew she was keeping busy. "Maybe now that Christmas has passed, she will have more time."

"She knows you are involved in this project with my father. I think she will wait, so as not to tempt you to tell all," Jose said.

"That's not going to be a problem for me, but it might be for her," I said.

For the next two and a half days Jose worked with the foundation man. I lived my life as usual. On the same day Gene finished the foundations, we settled the payments.

"The foundations would be best if they sit a few days," Gene said.

"When will it be safe to build on top of them?" I asked.

"By Monday they will be settled about as much as you can afford to wait for them," Gene said. He took his two hundred and fifty dollars then offered Jose a job carrying blocks for him.

When I got home, my headlight and taillight had arrived. I managed to mount the headlight on the head set holder of the front fork. It hung off to one side, but I made it fit. The light's body contained the three AA batteries. I managed to mount the taillight facing the rear and attached to the back of the seat. I took it out that same night, just to see how it did. It worked really well to my surprise. I could actually see holes in the road with the aid of the headlight.

When I pulled in the drive there was a rural patrol car parked at the rear of my house. I placed a quick call to Church Camp's emergency number. "I have a rural patrol vehicle parked at the back of my house. There is absolutely no reason for a car to be here," I said.