Chapter 18

Breakfast was on the table when the group came down. Carol and Elsie thanked us for putting a wand in their bathroom. I started to say something but didn’t.

They had not been gone thirty minutes when Linda came back on the Gator asking to use the satellite network again.

‘‘No problem, take whatever time you need,’’ I said.

I went to the garden and picked the rest of the cucumbers I needed for today’s pickles. Then I prepared everything; cleaning, cutting and cooking. The dill pickles were in the jars cooling off at noon. Two days from now there would be another batch that I would can as bread and butter pickles.

James was off with Dad after they finished caring for the livestock and then were going to check all the bean fields we had planted. The beans should be sprouting and breaking the ground. They were concerned about the last two hundred acres we had planted with our own beans, they said they would not be back until late in the afternoon.

With the canned jars cooling I was done until time to fix supper. Supper was going to be meatloaf sandwiches with a couple veggies of some kind.

I made a small sandwich for myself and a sandwich for Linda. I carried hers in and placed on the desk with a glass of ice tea and left. She was still in heavy discussion with someone on Zoom.

While wearing shorts and a tee shirt, I cleaned the pool and checked chemicals. Then I spread the blanket and placed the towels and a glass of lemonade on the chair. I stripped and dove into the pool naked and swam laps for thirty minutes.

I dried off and applied lotion and worked on my tan. I had just started on my second thirty minute front tanning when I heard the storm door open.

Linda was carrying two glasses of lemonade while walking towards me. No need for a kneejerk response now.

‘‘I hope you don’t mind if I join you for a bit. I have to go back online with the bosses at 4:30,’’ she said as she was looking me over and handed me the drink.

‘‘Thanks for the drink,’’ I said.

‘‘You could use some sun too. City life has you looking a little pale. The sun is warm and good for you, feel free to join me,’’ I said as I handed her the bottle of tanning lotion. I moved so I was only taking half the blanket. Then I laid back down and closed my eyes and continued to talk.

‘‘Sounds like you run the business when the bosses can’t even give you a few days off without pestering you,’’ I said.

‘‘We are working on some big projects that need a lot of input from a lot of people. I thought the people under me could step up to the plate but they are either coming up short or they don’t want to step on toes,’’ she said.

I heard rustling of clothes and knew she was removing some.

‘‘If you don’t mind, I may need to use your system for a while every day. If you want I will pay part of the bill. Just give me a number,’’ she said.

‘‘It will get very little use until school starts so use it as much as you like and don’t worry about paying. It’s good to have female company,’’ I said.

A while later my phone alarm went off. ‘‘Time for me to turn,’’ I said.

‘‘I should too,’’ she said.

‘‘I will put lotion on your back side for you. I think I have enough on me,’’ I said as I reached for the bottle.

‘‘That would be nice! I can’t get my back very well and may burn in a spot or two,’’ she said.

I started at her neck and applied lotion. I made sure I covered every inch, her arms, the soles of her feet and I even did the cheeks and inside of her legs all the way to the crotch. When I tapped the inside of her legs she spread them to give me room. I noticed she was trimmed close but not shaved.

I set the timer and lay on my front. We continued talking about a lot of things, including Amos and his treatments that were to begin day after tomorrow. I did ask if she was ready to say good bye to the city life and move back to the country.

‘‘I wish I could. It was nice when we first moved there but not so much anymore. If we both could find reasonable jobs here and could sell our house, it might be worth it. I would like to get back and be closer to Dad and Mom,’’ she said.

‘‘I forgot just how relaxed living in the country was. When I went to college I was excited to see the city and experience the changes and also get away from the hick country. All that is gone now. The city tension and stress I was carrying is gone. I’m glad to be home,’’ Linda said.

We tanned while turning two more times before she had to go back to the office. I stayed in the sun turning every half hour. Linda came out and joined me again for another hour. This time she was more talkative. I learned she was a design engineer specializing in cost comparisons for manufacturing processes.

I knew why she would have problems finding a job in the area if she were looking. There were no firms in the area that required that kind of specialty. The design engineer part might be useful to several firms in town. It was just a thought to be checked out later.

Elsie and Carol came quietly out of the house carrying another blanket. The contractors had run out of materials and finished early today. They had cleaned up and finished early and were going to take advantage of the afternoon sun.