Chapter 6

We worked our asses off that summer. I think the whole five months were just mashed together and I can't recall anything that would really separate June from September except the number of daylight hours we had to work with. By the beginning of October, we had probably done more jobs than I figured we would do in the whole year. The crews were getting worn out and I knew it was time to back off the pressure. Luckily, we weren't getting as many new jobs offered, so we could start to plan for some missing crew members.

The guys had made a lot of money in a very short period of time. The smallest take of any of the crew was over $60,000 for the five big months, and that made them pretty happy. We didn't work any Sundays and tried hard to avoid Saturday afternoons, just to keep the wives and girlfriends from rebelling. For myself, I couldn't believe how much I'd made in my first year. I was going to be able to repay Tom the money he fronted on my gambling debts and still have plenty left over. It was hard work, but we were being rewarded very well for it and we had nothing but satisfied customers.

I hadn't given much thought to Dana over that period. Since the barbeque, I'd hardly had any time for a social life and no time for a mental struggle with the lady. We saw each other regularly on the job and I have to say her attitude had changed for the better. I was trying out something new for me – patience. 'Let the lady come to me' was the strategy I employed. I was polite, complimentary and more than happy with her work. She was appearing on the site more often than I expected. I was happy to have her there since she wasn't just wandering around aimlessly. She had questions and she was providing me with some suggestions on how we might be more efficient. It didn't take me long to figure out she was really into her job and our business.