Chapter 5

BOB
(Thursday 9/15)

Mrs. Baer dropped me a note to see Mr. Matthews, the new Chemistry and Physics teacher, about some renovation work he was looking at doing and suggested a time to see him. Sixth period, I told the study hall teacher where I was going and headed over to see him.

I looked in the chemistry lab, saw a man I didn't know and assumed it was him. I rapped on the door jamb and called out, "Mr. Matthews? Bob Reynolds."

He looked up and said, "Yes, I'm Mr. Matthews. Come on in, Bob." He stood up and offered his hand.

We shook hands and he offered me the seat by his desk. Sitting down, I asked him, "Mrs. Baer said you had some renovation work you're looking at doing?"

"Yes, we moved into a new-to-us house less than a month ago, and already my wife wants some things done; you probably know how women are about that, right?"

I grinned at him and rolled my eyes a bit. "Yeh, most of the renovation projects my father's company gets are started by the women -- they seem to want to make over the place their way."

He laughed, too. He was a nice-looking guy; probably mid-thirties, looked in good physical shape and felt very good. I asked him, "So what does she have in mind?"

"To start with, she's complained a few times about the dinning room being pretty scruffy -- looks as if it had been a kid's playroom or something before -- some crayon marks, a few dents, picture-frame shadows, ragged curtains, that sort of thing. I happened to mention it to Mrs. Baer and she suggested you could help us out."

I told him, "Not a problem. The entire faculty gets our special rate and I usually do the work unless it's really major. The client supplies the materials and I do the work.

"If you and your wife are willing to help some, the work will go faster, and it will cost you less for my labor. Think she'd be interested?"

"Sure, she already said she would, and we've got a teen-ager who's willing to work, too."

"Great! Since it's a new-to-you house, there'll probably be other rooms your wife will want fixed up too, especially when she sees how nice the dining room turns out. What I usually do in a case like this is 'apprentice' the family -- teach them how to do the work themselves, show-and-tell the first job then help out only as needed on the rest. Does that sound like something your family would be interested in?"

He said, "You know, I think it would work perfectly for us."

"Excellent! Now, how big is the room?" He had the dimensions with him, so we made up a list of things he'd be supplying. I recommended a local hardware store we've been dealing with, gave him my Reynolds Construction card and told him to give it to the cashier.

I told him, "Also, I'd recommend you take your wife along so she has the final say in the color, fixtures, curtains, all that sort of stuff. White paint comes in about fifty different shades and if we guys pick out the 'wrong' one, they tend to get all huffy about it. If she's in on the planning, it will be her creation too, and she'll be much happier."

We arranged for me to come over to get started that evening then I went back to study hall to see if I could get some touching in with Natalie.

DON

I took Bob's suggestion and got Ana and Natalie involved in picking out the paint color, designs for new curtains and all the stuff women seem to love to do. We spent over an hour in the hardware store Bob had recommended getting paint, paint supplies and all that stuff. When I showed him Bob's card, the clerk immediately gave us a 15% courtesy discount. It seems he does have some pull around town.

The evening finally rolled around and the next step in our conspiracy began. I got the ladies off getting into their grungiest clothes just before Bob was due to arrive so the coast was clear to smuggle him in.

He knocked on the door exactly to the minute he was scheduled. I let him in and took him right to the dining room. I'd told Natalie to hold back just a bit and let her mom come in first; it might be easier on Ana if just she and I were there to start with.

When I got Bob into the dining room, he told me, "Since I don't really know your family, I talked with Mrs. Baer a bit about this. She told me to act like I always do -- but it can be a bit outrageous at times. It seems to help the clients have fun, though.

"I 'sing and dance, ' flirt a bit, and up to now, no one's had any objections. However, since I don't have any previous credibility with your family, I'll keep an eye on you and if you give me the wave-off on something, I'll stop it. Is that okay?"

I replied, "Perfect. My wife can do with a bit of cheering up and my daughter ... well, you'll find out for yourself. Just do what you normally do and we'll all probably have fun."

I noticed Ana just outside the door and motioned her in.

ANA

It'll be really nice to get the dining room looking good. While we didn't have plans in the near future to entertain, we ate there, so having it nice will benefit us, too.

I saw Don in the dining room talking softly to someone I couldn't see -- must be the painter. He noticed me and waved me on in.

I went in and stared at the guy. He had an old blue bandana over his hair and wore a paint-streaked boiler suit with old tennis shoes. (Surely lots of construction people wear a bandana and a boiler suit! That doesn't mean anything, does it?)

But sticking out under the bandana was some glossy jet-black hair; he had piercing blue-green eyes and the Black Irish complexion. He glowed with life -- I love Don more than life itself, but this guy was gorgeous!

He looked over at me with a great big smile and said, "Hello, you must be the lovely daughter Mr. Matthews has been bragging about." Be Jaysus! He had the Irish accent and blarney to go along with his looks, too!

Natalie came running into the room. She looked at him, stopped dead in her tracks then jumped up and down like a little girl. She squealed, "Bob!" -- and Natalie doesn't "squeal."

He looked at her and his eyes bugged out. Don had managed to get Natalie into grungies which would be rejected from the Goodwill trash pile, but he looked at her as if she were a goddess from heaven.

He cried, "Natalie!" and he jumped up and down a few times, too. Then he raised his arms over his head, looked up at the ceiling and declaimed, with a very broad accent, "There is a God and the Saints are smilin' at me now!"

He dropped his arms, looked sternly at Natalie and me and said, "Nat, you never told me you had a younger sister." He glared at her a bit.

Natalie said, "Silly, she's my mom!"

I knew my jaw dropped and I looked over at Don. "Where did you get this guy?"

Don put on his innocent act, "Oh, just picked him up in front of Home Depot -- you know, where the day laborers hang out."

Bob said, with a totally fake, nasal Spanish accent, "Si, Senor..."

We laughed -- and I'd say if there had been any ice at all, it sure was broken now.

Bob and Natalie were just standing there grinning at each other so hard their faces must have hurt. Don finally got himself together long enough to make introductions, "Ana, this is the Brain Trust Bob Reynolds Natalie has been telling us about every evening and every morning for the past week. Bob, this is my wife, Ana Matthews and she's Natalie's mother, not her younger sister, and I'm Natalie's step-father -- hmm, on the other hand, since you mention it, she does look as if she could be Natalie's younger sister..."

I looked daggers at Don, "And his blarney is rubbing off on you now; I thought all the Irish came from my side of the family. And I think I know exactly who set this all up -- you and Rose Baer."

Bob told me, "Well, in Mr. Mathews defense, ma'am, Mrs. Baer did drop me a note to go see him. I had no idea he was related to two stunningly gorgeous young ladies."

Don just looked around blandly, "I know NOTH-THINK, NOTH-THINK."

BOB

Lord. God. In. Heaven. Now this was a wonderful surprise. Maybe Mrs. Baer and Mr. Matthews had a conspiracy of some sort going, but I was all for it. Spend time with Natalie outside of school? Yes! Go for it!

Well, I'd better start earning my wages. "Okay then. I, for one, could spend all night leering at these two sweet girls, but it doesn't get paint on the walls."

I looked over Natalie's and Mrs. Matthews' clothes. "Good. Long sleeves, long pants. The bandanas are good -- old ones have a lot more personality, and they've been washed so often they're soft enough to tie easily and they cover better. Good choice.

"Now, I've been in the construction and renovation game for as long as I remember. We've got lots of women in the business. Women's bones and muscles usually aren't built heavy enough to do well in the heavy-labor side, but in the less physically-strenuous side they do just fine.

"We've got a lot of ladies on our painting crews, and they do great at it. It is physical work but well within the general female physical makeup. Actually, they're often better at it than the men -- they tend to have a better aesthetic sense and they produce beautiful work.

"I don't know if Mr. Matthews told you..."

Mr. Matthews broke in, "Bob, here at home, I'm Don. This is..." He looked over at his wife questioningly, and she nodded. "Ana. And I'm sure this other lady here is not Miss Shanahan."

I got his point. "Thank you, Don, I appreciate it. But anyway, if Don hasn't told you, if the client has a willing family, I usually apprentice them in things like painting. I teach them the ropes, get them started, and usually they can take it from there.

"It may take longer to get totally done, but it's less expensive and very often is much more satisfying to have done it themselves. So, is an apprentice deal the way you'd like to go?" They agreed it sounded great.

"Now, painting has its hazards, especially to the ladies. The dust from sanding, the patching compound and the paint all tend to get spread over one's body. That's why your bandanas, long sleeves and long pants are good; we'll put some masking tape around your wrists and ankles for a better seal.

"Since all this dust and stuff settles, it gets on the face and hands. If you're not careful, your faces and hands could end up like mine." I screwed up my face, pulled my hands into claws and gave out a tragic moan, which got a good laugh.

"So, not to be too personal..." I walked over to Natalie and ran the back of my hand over the side of her face (she leaned into it, which got my heart going faster). "You ladies should get some of your inexpensive body lotion or something and just slather it all over your faces and some on your hands. Don't try to rub it in too much. That way, the dust and paint will just settle on top and not get to the skin. Then when you're done for the day, some plain soap and water takes everything off with no problems. Okay? So, you two, scoot and get lotioned up." I shooed them out of the room.

I turned to Don and asked him, "You and Mrs. Baer did set me up, didn't you?"

He looked at me seriously. "Yes, we did," he said. "Ana's been under some tremendous pressures lately, and while Natalie and I have done our best, she's still a long way from what she was before. Rose says we can trust you completely, and I believe it from what I've seen tonight.

"She suggested if we could get you together with Ana, you could find a way to get her cheered up, and help us get back together as a family much faster. Of course, we also saw it as a way to get you and Natalie together outside of school without violating the 'no-dating' policy, too."

I looked back at him and told him, "Ya know, you're like my father in many ways. The older I get, the smarter he seems to get. You're pretty clever yourself, for an 'old guy'".

Don got the joke. I suggested, "Why don't we chat about this maybe tomorrow or Monday sometime so we can all get in on this conspiracy to get your wife back and your daughter happy. I can only see the situation getting better, with everyone winning and no one losing."

DON

Yes, he was right. Anything we could come up with would help. I was sure, with an outsider's view and his interest in Natalie, we could find a way it all could work. I agreed we should meet again in private, and pull Natalie and Rose in on it, too.

Well, the ladies came back all lotion-faced, shiny and laughing. Bob inspected them, made appreciative noises and dressed us all out with latex gloves, dust masks and safety goggles.

He taught us how to spackle, patch, sand, tape and all those other little things prep-work needs.

Even with all the work, we had lots of fun. Ana and I noticed Bob and Natalie doing what we'd done when we were first dating -- the touchy-feely game. They'd "accidentally" back into each other, wiggle their butts together a little bit then ease away. The light touch on the shoulder to "steady" themselves. Yeh, Ana and I had played that game, too. They giggled, laughed and had a great time. We felt the waves of happiness coming off them.