Chapter 20

Saturday morning; a relaxing time for most, but I had plans to make and I couldn't spend the day in bed. First things first. Get dressed, then make phone call to Ashlee for a picnic and make sure that she brings her daughter along so that we can meet. Then, if all goes well, maybe Ashlee and I can spend some quality adult time together.

Shit shower shave time.

Once that is done, breakfast and then call Ashlee.

"Hello."

"Ashlee, its Paul."

"Paul, I was just thinking about you. So good of you to call." She sounded a bit off though. Probably not awake yet. She was breathless and sort of slow in speech.

"Yes, I am very happy to call as well. The reason for my call is that I wanted to invite you and your daughter to dinner tonight at my house. I am going to have a nice picnic set out in the back and you are invited. Are you available?"

"Give me a minute and I'll check my calendar." I hear her through the phone what could only be a moan and her saying Oh Gawd, Yes. It has the distinct sound of a woman masturbating or at least having an orgasm.

"Paul, it looks like I will be available tonight. Do I need to bring anything?" She sounded chipper, happier even.

"Well, if you wanted to bring a nice bottle of wine or something to drink that would be great. Nothing fancy, it's just us."

"Ok, I can't wait. I'm sure that my daughter won't be very excited, but she'll get over it." She said.

"Sure, not a problem. I wanted to meet her anyway. So bring her along."

"Do you have a pool Paul?"

"No I don't. Should I get one?"

"Not necessary. I was just wondering." She sounded a bit disappointed. Maybe I should have one put in. "What time do you want us to arrive?"

I thought for a minute, they could arrive at 5 and we should be able to sit down for dinner around 7 then if the mood moves us, we could go out and do something afterward. "Why don't you try to get here at 5? How does that grab ya?"

"5 should be fine. Let me get your address before I forget." I read it off to her and gave her a general best driving directions. She said she would be fine and told me again how much she looked forward to seeing me this evening.

After hanging up from her, I went searching my house for another phone number. I just had an idea and Julie from church was the only person who could make it happen.

FOUND IT!! I dialed the number; her husband Joe answered the phone. "Joe, its Paul Johnson from church. How ya doing?"

"Paul, doing just fine. How are you doing?"

"Very well in fact. Which is why I am calling. Is Julie there? I want to hire her to help me decorate my house."

"Oh sure. Let me get her for you."

I heard through the phone Joe telling Julie that I was on the phone. I thought I heard her say 'oh good.'

"Paul, I am so glad you called. How can I help you?"

"I want to redo my house and you are the only person I know that does that sort of work. I still remember it was you who did our basement all those years ago and I wanted you to do it again to the upstairs."

"Yeah! I can't wait to help with that. When can I come over and talk to you?"

"I'm free right now. Why don't you get ready and come over now. I am going to now the yard today and then run to the store for some food. I just wanted to get started on this as soon as possible. Ok?"

"Oh sure. I understand. I was kind of wondering if you were going to do that. I have helped a couple of other do the same thing when a loved one dies. I can be there for you in about an hour. Give me your address and I'll head over."

I gave her my address and a general idea how to get to it but she was a big girl, she could find her way.

"See you later."

"Later"

Well that went well. I head back to my room, change into something old and begin working.

I managed to get the backyard done, without stepping in dog poop and was in the middle of my front when Julie arrived. She pulled up in her GMC SUV and got out. Stylish shorts and top with sandals. She has always dressed nicely all the years that Samantha and I have known her. Although our families never hung out together, Samantha was jealous of her and this kept us from doing this, we were still friendly in public.

I shut off the mower and waved to her. "Julie! Thank you for coming so quickly." We greeted each other with a brief hug and I walked her into the house through the garage since it was open. "I hope you brought a pen and paper, I have a long list of things that I want to change. Ready?"

She pulled a notebook out of her purse and clicked a pen. "Ready." I think she loves a challenge because she had a smile on her face.

I began. "I want someone to come in and re-insulate this garage. See how the insulation is just hanging and not uniform?" she nodded her head. "Bring someone in to make this all uniform. I want the temps from the garage to not affect the rest of the house." She scribbled on her paper and I opened the door and led her inside. "This door needs to be replaced with a new one. It isn't hung correctly and needs to be replaced and hung correctly. The carpet we had done all those years ago needs to be replaced. Just look at how stained it got." I said while pointing out all of the pet and child stains that happen in a home. More scribbling on her tablet.

I led her upstairs, "OK, see how this stairwell is so dark, find someone to remove this wall and put in a nice railing." We arrived upstairs and I continued describing what I was looking for.

"What is in that hump right there?" She asked pointing to the far wall above the stairwell at the bottom.

"That is the master's shower. It is part of my plan to redo my bedroom as well. But that can wait."

"Ok, what next? Do you want me to get rid of this carpet?" she asked pointing to the carpet in my living room. It was old, stained and getting thin.

"Oh yes. I totally want this removed. I want to put in something that is a lot more stain resistant, like hard wood. That would be nice."

"Oh yes, wood would do very well in this room. If you do wood on the floor, you are going to have to change that window out and redo the treatment."

"Well that is why I brought you in on this. I don't know people and I trust you to help me make this place easier to live in." She was nodding her head and I had a big smile on my face. This was going to work out.

I continued. "Then I want to redo the entire kitchen." I led her into the kitchen and started in on how bad it is. "Take out all of these cabinets and that extra wall above them and put in some really good cabinets in here. I also want the floor in here redone, get rid of these tiles. i just can't keep them clean. Put in some wood in here I think." I moved to the far end of the kitchen, "This opening needs to be filed in making this a full wall all the way down."

"Ok, what do you want to do in that corner that you are going to create?" Very smart Julie. Good thinking.

"Good thinking. Ever been to a restaurant and sat in the corner booth?" She understood and nodded her head. "I want a corner booth put in here, enough for five." A thought jumped into my head, "Oh wait. Ever been to that Italian restaurant down on the plaza? The one that is downstairs from that coffee house."

"Oh ya Bucca I think the place is downstairs. I've been there, but it has been a while."

"Ya, that's the place, they have a booth in their kitchen overlooking the prep area just for special customers. Remember?"

"Oh sure. I haven't eaten there, but I know what you are talking about. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have a great idea." I tried to explain to her that along the wall I wanted a booth like they have on a small step up so that everyone can see the whole kitchen. It would give a family a place to eat and if the kids are sitting there, mom and dad could keep an eye on them while cooking dinner. She understood what I was going after and made a few suggestions.

"If you are going to do that, then I would suggest that you change the door here going out into the backyard to a sliding glass door. And before you begin, I'll make sure it is a secure door. Don't you worry about, it'll be covered."

"Lastly, when you fill in this wall and build my sitting area, I want counter top and cabinets along this new wall back toward the entryway right there, since I am taking out this little island here and putting it over there." I tried to describe to her waving my arms in the general area that I was hoping to have stuff done. She was writing fast and furious on her pad of paper.

"Ok this is good stuff. Can't wait to get started. Is there anything else that you want done?"

I leaned on the counter and thought for a moment. "Did you put down that I want the appliances replaced?"

She scanned her document and said no, she didn't have that down. "Go ahead and write it down, since I am doing all of this work, I might as well replace them so that it is all coordinated. Then, you can add outside work to the list. Do you think that you can handle the landscaping work?"

"Oh yes. I know a good company that does that sort of work and they have done really good work for me in the past. What would you like done?"

I looked down at her feet. She had platform sandals on with open toes, but we weren't going to be out long. "Are you going to be OK in those sandals? Walking outside and such?"

She looked down at her feet, shrugged her shoulders, "I should be fine. Why, how bad is it outside?"

"Not that bad, I just didn't want you to twist your ankle while at my house."

"Thank you Paul, that is very thoughtful of you." she gushed, really appreciating my thoughtfulness.

"Ok, let's head out back." I lead her through the back door, Caesar right along with us, into the back yard. "Now, do you see the hump right over there?" I asked her pointing to a stretch of uneven ground about 10 feet away from the house. "I need the backyard leveled out and some really custom work done back here." So, I then took her on a tour of the yard. The back yard was uneven near the house, the A/C unit was on a slab that was not level with the rest of the patio, I wanted the fence on my side redone so that I could walk from the front to the back and I wanted the side of my house converted to a parking spot for my Jeep since I had been parking it outside, too tall for the garage. I wanted to get an awning for it along the side of the house which is cheaper than trying to raise the house UP or digging out the garage to lower it. This was going to be an easier fix.

After describing the work that I wanted done, both inside and out, Julie had two full pages and part of a third with stuff to do. We went back inside and sat at the kitchen table when I finally asked her, "What do you think this is going to cost me?"

She started to look over her list, mumbling to herself numbers, "Somewhere near 50."

I was confused, "How much?"

"Near $50,000 for all of this. The kitchen alone is going to going to take up most of the cost considering that you want all new appliances, new cabinets and new flooring throughout the upstairs, 50 may be conservative."

"I had no idea that it was going to cost so much." I may be shocked on the outside, on the inside; it was a drop in the bucket. I could afford it without even breathing hard, but there was no reason to waste money.

"Do you want me to try and save money on anything?"

"No, don't do that. I want this done right and done well, so don't skimp, but don't waste money either. If you know what I mean."

"Oh sure, I understand. I won't waste the money and it'll be right when it is done. Don't worry about that."

"Thanks." I felt better. She wasn't going to waste my money which made me feel much better.

"Is there anything else that you want me to get done for you?"

"No, I think that covers it. Thanks for coming. When is this all going to get started?"

"Oh, I think that I can get it started in a week or two. I have to reach out to my contractors and get them lined up and there may be some lead time for them. Give me two weeks and the work should be started by then."

"That's good. The sooner the better." I stood up and she followed me to the door where I thanked her for coming and she gave me a nice hug before leaving. I went back to my mowing confident in knowing that in a couple of weeks this plane Jane backyard was going to be transformed into something that everyone was going to be envious of.

I finished my mowing, got cleaned up in a clean pair of jeans and a clean shirt then jumped into my Jeep and ran to the local BBQ place for the side dishes. The main course would be burgers and hot dogs and she was bringing something to drink. I doubt wine was going to go well with this dinner, but it was just a picnic.

Time passed and finally Ashlee arrived.

Bark bark woof bark

Dog alarm, got to love it.

"Ashlee welcome to my home!" I welcomed her into my home with a hug which she returned with both arms and her whole body. Behind her I saw while hugging her was another woman, blonde hair, brown eyes, about the same height as Ashlee and very similar build but with slightly bigger breasts. "Who is this you have brought with you?"

"Let me introduce you to my daughter Brenda. Brenda, this is Paul Johnson who I was telling you about."

I released Ashlee when she was introducing us and held my hand out to Brenda but instead of shaking it, she stepped past my hand and hugged me just like her mother did. Both arms around my body and her torso pressed against me. I could feel her larger breasts against my chest, and my dick started to respond. I was surprised by her boldness but that didn't stop me from wrapping my arms around her and returning the hug. She was small enough that my fingertips were touching the side of her breasts and I could tell that she had an underwire bra on.

She finally pulled away from me, "It is good to meet you Paul. Er, Mr. Johnson." At least she was polite. "Mom didn't tell me what we were doing tonight. She just said that we were going to a friend's house of hers for dinner."

"Ok, enough of that; let the man breathe." Ashlee scolded her daughter. She handed me the package that she carried. "Here you go. I talked to the man at the liquor store and he said that no wine would go with BBQ so he sold me this." She pulled a 6 pack of beer out of her bag. "I got two of these, one summer lemon which is a limited edition just for the summer and this one." She pulled a second 6 pack out, "This unfiltered wheat which is really good, if you ask me."

I took both of them from her, "Thank you so much for being so thoughtful. These should go really well with dinner." I lead them into the kitchen and put the beer in the fridge. "I have burgers and hot dogs for dinner and a few side items and the picnic table set up out back. So, let's eat.

We gathered up the eats and went out back. Neither of the ladies were very impressed with my back yard. It smelled vaguely of dog poop and the picnic table was a well-used plastic one. It served its purpose and worked well. "Now before you all pass judgment and condemn me and my ugly backyard, let me tell you all that I am having some work done and this whole thing is going to be redone and it is going to be fabulous back here. Just you wait."

They went along with me, nodding their heads and Brenda said, "It's not that bad, what was over there?" she asked pointing to where the tree used to be.

"There used to be a HUGE tree right there, but it had overgrown the lot and was rubbing on the neighbor's house. It was getting bad and I didn't want to piss off the neighbors. If you look around the yard, you will notice that I don't have any grass on this side of the yard. That was beginning to be an issue so the tree had to go."

"Oh. Well that explains it." Ashlee said.

I managed to get the burgers done and not burn them. The hot dogs cooked also without burning them. While I was manning the grill we chatted away easily. Brenda was a senior in high school, on the cheerleading team and got fair grades, but not straight A's. Her father never married Ashlee but had died in a car accident before she was born. Not much of a person but she got most of her physical attributes from her mother and only her eye color from her father. She had not gotten much from her father, but that was OK, she didn't know him. Brenda didn't have a boyfriend, but she had many boys that had asked her out over the past couple of years. Ever since she started high school and joined the cheer team, she became popular to the boys. "Surprise, surprise," I said.

"So, what is your story?" Brenda asked leaning forward, with her hands folded in front of her. It gave her breasts a bit of a lift like she was showing them off.

I tore my eyes away and went back to the grill to put it to bed. "I think your mom told you most of it." I went onto describe that I grew up in a nice home with my mom and dad along with a sister and that I went to college got my bachelors, then onto get my master's degree and after many failed employment starts I landed to job at the college and have loved it ever since. I got married in 2000, had two kids with a wonderful woman whom I loved very much and who I lost through a very bad car accident a few weeks ago and I am starting over with my life. I told them about my bucket list and my intentions to travel the world and check off my bucket list considering how easily and quickly people die. I wanted to do the things that I couldn't do before but that I can now."

Brenda was stunned. "I am so sorry that your family died."

I spun around on her and looked her in the eye, "Don't feel sorry for me. I don't want pity. So please don't go down that road. Ok?"

Brenda stopped what she was doing and said "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to offend."