Chapter 80

Tuesday morning came around too early. My alarm went off a half hour before I was used to getting up since I had to take Jill to school first.

I heard some noise out near the garage but not enough to wake anyone up. I remember when the next door neighbors added a family room to their house. Once the workmen started, there was no way anyone on the street could sleep. It was as if they had every power tool under the sun, and they had to all be on at once. One more reason to appreciate Alex.

I shoved on a pair of shorts and went outside. Alex saw me and came over.

"Would you like me to make a pot of coffee for the crew?"

"I appreciate it Jack, but we all come prepared. Everyone brings his own Thermos. But thanks anyway."

"You sure got a lot done yesterday."

"Yep. Got a good crew on this job. I'm about a half day ahead of schedule already. We've got concrete coming in around 8:00, so you should have a slab when you get home from school today. I figure we can knock this job out by the middle of next week."

"Good. That'll be a week before Jill's birthday."

"Got something special planned for her birthday?"

"Yes, Sir."

He tousled my hair. "Good for you. She's a good girl."

"Yes, Sir. That she is."

I made my way into the bathroom. I was starting to smell ripe so I took a quick shower while I was in there.

Jill had some coffee going when I got out. Sara was sitting at the kitchen table, eating some cereal.

"Hey Jack, how about a ride to school?"

"That's fine with me, but we have to leave a half hour early so I can drop Jill off at school. If you want Chris to go with us, you'd better give him a call."

"I better get going in the bathroom if you're coming with us. I need to shower this morning, too. Jackie made me all messy last night."

"Hey. You asked me to."

"I didn't tell you to leave me all slimy. You should clean up after yourself."

"You two didn't..."

"No, Sara. I wanted to, but Mr. Romantic here wants it to be special." She came up behind me and put her arms around me.

"Yeah. I was thinking of the back seat of my car."

That earned me a swat on the head. And then a kiss. She let me go and headed for the bathroom.

"So, Jack. Have you got something special planned for her birthday?"

"Oh, yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"Uh, uh. I know how you guys talk. You'll tell Mary and the next thing know Jill will be all over me thanking me for what I haven't even done yet. This is going to be a surprise and nobody's going to find out until it happens."

"Well, excuuuse me."

"You're excused."

Sara wasn't very thrilled with my response and stuck her tongue out at me.

I went into the living room to straighten up but Jill had beaten me to it. The sleeping bag, blankets and pillows were neatly stacked behind the chair where I usually put them.

Mom had a package of English muffins in the breadbox so I split three of them and put them in the toaster. I'd put butter on them and was spreading the strawberry jam when Jill came into the kitchen.

"Here you go. I made them myself."

She took the plate I handed her and sat at the table. After her first bite, she said,

"These are good. You'll have to give me the recipe."

"They're from an old family recipe. From an old family."

Sara snorted. "Oh, pulleese. I'm getting out of here." She left for the bathroom, smiling.

"Fifteen minutes, Sara."

"OK. Oh damn. I forgot to call Chris."

"I'll call him for you. Go get ready."

"Thanks, Jack."

I called Chris and told him Sara was going with us and he needed to be ready to go in fifteen minutes. He said he would and I went back to my breakfast.

Mary came out rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Sis."

"Hi, Jack. Hi, Jill. I thought you guys were sleeping at your house, Jill."

"Things have changed."

"Oh?"

"I decided to give Daddy and Wanda some time to work things out."

"Oh. I don't know how I'd feel if I caught Mom with one of our friends."

"I don't know how I feel either. It's like Wanda betrayed me. I didn't tell her not to seduce my Daddy, but I don't think I should have had to."

"Come on, Jill. You told me yourself your father didn't take much seducing. You can't blame Wanda for this."

"I know. I wish it would all go away."

"I know, Babe." I reached over and took her hand.

She sniffed. "OK, Jack. Leave me alone. I've got to finish so we can go."