Chapter 12

Bill woke groggily to the sound of a loud argument. It was about brushes and combs again. "What the hell can be so important about which one uses which brush and comb?" he wondered in that early morning daze caused by too much alcohol the night before. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only a little after seven in the morning. "I thought teenagers didn't wake up before noon on weekends," he grumbled.

He took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten, and let it out. He got up from bed, grabbed his brief case, and took out a black magic marker. He padded to the bathroom on bare feet. He knocked on the bathroom door gently. It opened to reveal the two teens in their almost see through sleeping garb. Apparently they felt the outfits concealed all their charms and Bill wasn't about to argue with them about it. He appreciated the view. They were each holding a comb and brush. They had a pink set and a lavender set.

"Who does the pink set belong to," Bill asked in a gravelly voice?

They started arguing again and Bill quickly held up his hand silencing them. He reached out and grabbed the pink brush and wrote Beth on the back with the magic marker.

"You look pretty enough that you should have pretty pink things," Bill explained to Beth in the same early morning rasp as he handed the brush to her. He grabbed the lavender brush and wrote Mandy on the back. "You look as pretty as a princess and a princess should have a royal color so lavender it is," he said in his rough voice with finality. He handed the brush back to Mandy and asked, "The color combs goes with the same color brushes. Do either of you have any questions?"

Both girls were looking at him with wide, startled eyes. They shook their heads no mutely. They weren't looking at his face. They were looking about half way down his body. Bill looked down to see what they were looking at. Bill's bare chest had a mass of curly black hair that tapered towards the center of his waist and disappeared into his boxers. All he was wearing was his boxers. Normally that wouldn't be too bad because boxers cover as much as a very conservative swim suit. Unfortunately, his morning condition tented the material dramatically.

"Oh shit," Bill muttered and blushed. This wasn't an ordinary blush. He turned a brilliant red that extended from his hair line all the way to his boxers. He turned and marched back to the bed room.

Bill didn't venture out of his hiding place until almost nine when he heard Tim talking. He dressed hurriedly and went into the living room. "Morning everyone," he mumbled. He was surprised to see Ruth there too. "Come on Tim," Bill said brusquely. "We have some work to do."

Tim looked at him in surprise and asked, "On Sunday? We don't usually work on Sunday. What are we doing? I thought we were ahead of schedule." He rose and followed Bill out the door when he didn't get an answer.

Bill climbed into his truck and Tim got in the passenger side.

"So, what's up," Tim asked?

"First I need to piss. Then I need to get some coffee," Bill said gruffly.

Tim took the hint from Bill's tone and didn't say anything until they got to the 5^th wheel. Tim nuked some cold coffee for Bill while he was pissing. Once they were settled in the little living area and sipping coffee he asked again, "So, what's up?" Tim didn't know if he had done something to make his boss mad or what. He couldn't think of anything he did. "Bill, are you mad at me for something," Tim asked?

Bill looked at him startled and blurted, "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?" Bill took a deep breath and held it. He tried to count to twenty this time. It was his method of staying calm.

"I was thinking that it might be best if we both bunked here, in the fifth wheel," Bill said. "It might be easier if both of us were at the job site. Would you mind if..." Bill trailed off as he looked around the living quarters. He noticed a pair of woman's panties on the floor at the end of the couch and the blouse Ruth had been wearing the night before draped over the arm of the couch. The image from the living room at the other 5^th wheel flashed through his mind. Ruth had been wearing one of Tim's shirts. "Uh, well, um. Maybe it isn't such a good idea," Bill finished. He sounded defeated.

"What's wrong Bill," Tim asked. He was concerned about his friend and had never seen him this unsure of himself.

"Oh, nothing," Bill said with a shrug in the typical male fashion.

"Don't give me that macho bullshit," Tim retorted with a grin. "It can't be more embarrassing than some of the stuff I've told you. Of course, I was usually half in the bag at the time. There's beer in the fridge. Do you want one?"

Bill groaned and said, "No more beer. I have to keep a clear head." He shook his head as he tried to put his thoughts in order.

Bill thought for a moment then looked at the floor as he said, "OK. Here's what's been happening." And he proceeded to tell Tim everything. He told him about his and Susan's first meeting at the courthouse and his first introduction to Mandy and Jimmy. He explained the overheard conversation before going to the courthouse between Susan and her daughters. He told Tim about kissing Susan and how much he liked her sitting on his lap. Bill told Tim about the matching sleeping outfits the three had purchased and how good or bad they all looked. He described the looks the girls had been giving him and how Susan only laughed at his discomfort. He told Tim about the incident the morning before when he had walked into the living area and the girls only had their bras and panties on. Then he told his friend about the incident a couple of hours earlier. "I can't take it," Bill admitted. "It isn't that I'm not flattered or turned on by the sights and looks but they're just kids. And Susan!" Bill shook his head, still looking at the floor, before continuing. "Susan is like being around a block of C-4 with a blasting cap and a lit fuse. I don't know what to think half the time when I'm around her and the other half I am afraid of what I am thinking. Hell, she burned down her house just because she thought some local skank had her sights set on me. I don't know what to think or how to act or what to do," Bill concluded. He took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly. He looked up at this friend and was startled to see him grinning and shaking his head.

"Oh boy," Tim said chuckling. "You've got it bad."

"Got what bad," Bill asked hotly?

Tim only shook his head and said with a grin, "Nope. If I tell you then you will only deny it and get mad at me and I sure don't want you mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you? Tell me what? What are you talking about," Bill demanded.

Tim only grinned and said, "Sorry Bill. As much as I like and respect you this is one you will need to figure out for yourself."

Bill glanced at Ruth's things at the end of the couch before saying despondently, "I guess staying here wouldn't be the best idea. " He took another deep breath then brightened. "Maybe I can get a hotel room," he said with enthusiasm.

Tim's grin broadened and he asked, "Is that in the budget?"

Bill slumped and looked at his friend. "What the hell are you grinning about," he demanded?

"Remember when we go bass fishing and we get a real lively one on the hook," Tim asked?

Bill nodded and asked suspiciously," Yeah, what about it?"

"Think about how hard they fight to get off the hook; all the way into the boat," Tim said with a chuckle as he got to his feet.

"What does that have to do with anything," Bill demanded?

"Nope," Tim said shaking his head. "Sorry boss. That's one you will have to figure out for yourself. For now, I need a ride back to the park. I promised Ruth a ride to her place to get some things and I always keep my promises." He pointed his finger at Bill like it was a pistol. He sighted down his finger and mimed a hammer falling with his thumb as he said, "I learned that from you my friend."

Bill continued asking Tim what he was talking about as he followed Tim out to the truck.

Tim wouldn't give him a straight answer but every few moments he would chuckle and act like he had caught a fish. He made the sound of a fishing reel with the drag set a little light and the line was being stripped off as the fish went on a run.

Bill was ready to punch his friend by the time they got back to the trailer park.

Susan had been waiting for Bill to get up. She had made coffee and was just sitting at the little counter that divided the living room area and the kitchen area. Ruth sat at the counter with her when she arrived with Tim. Susan wondered why Ruth would be arriving with Tim when she noticed the over sized shirt her friend was wearing and smiled to herself. Maybe her friend had finally found someone too. Susan's smile broadened at the thought. That was a 'too as in also found someone'. Susan had found someone and she almost shivered in delight at the thought. The three of them talked quietly for a few moments. She had to force herself not to grin at the smoky looks that passed between Ruth and Tim. It was almost five minutes after Ruth and Tim arrived that Bill came out of the back bedroom and gruffly ordered Tim to go with him so they could get some work done.

Susan watched the two men leave and her feelings were a little hurt. OK. More than a little hurt. Bill hadn't even said bye to her. He just walked out. She couldn't think of anything she had done wrong.

She had been looking forward to his good natured joking and conversation. Bill was smart. Susan could tell that from talking to the man but he listened to what she said too; as if what she said were important. He acted like he thought she was smart too.

Susan thought about what he had said about being around people that made him feel good about himself. She turned that around and admitted that he made her feel good about herself. She liked being around him.

"I wonder what got into him," Ruth asked. "He's usually more talkative than that."

"Maybe that's just the way he is when he first wakes up," Susan said defensively.

Ruth looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "O K," she said emphatically. She recognized when something was bothering Susan from a life time of pulling the thorns that some of the town tormentors had jabbed under her skin. She also recognized a woman defending her man. This could be delicate. "Hmm, well, do you want to talk about it?"