Chapter 11: Kay’s First Night.

Saturday morning I woke up and after taking my shower I put on some knock around clothes, cargo shorts and a tee-shirt. I went to the kitchen to make some coffee and figure out what I was going to have for my breakfast. Sue had done a good job, as she always did, before she left and the refrigerator had some nice fresh fruit and cheeses. I pulled a few things out and sat down to eat while I planned my day. Besides mowing the lawn and cleaning the pool area I had to do something about the outdoor shower. It had been working fine but the last couple of weeks or so the flow had dropped off and I needed to figure out why. It hadn't been a big deal because the shower in the cabana was working properly. That only made the outside shower problem more confusing. It was cold water only and I knew it was fed off the same water line as the cabana shower.

Kay came into the kitchen, I hadn't heard her. I looked down and she was in an oversized tee-shirt and barefooted. That explained why I didn't hear her come in. "Good morning Kay. How was your first night here?"

"I slept well thank you. The bed is very comfortable but I now understand what you mean about the cats. They came into the room just after I got in bed and after I gave them each some attention they seemed to settle at the foot of the bed. They didn't stay there though and during the night they kind of crowded up against me and I had to move over, more than once. They're bed hogs!"

"Well I know they didn't spend the whole night with you, they were crowding me when I got up this morning and I know they had been with me for a while. They are very cosmopolitan and will cuddle up to anyone, in a bed, on a sofa, in a chair or sitting on the floor. They're very selective that way. Did you leave your door open or did they scratch at it?"

She smiled at my little joke. "I left the door partially open for them and that worked. I have to work this evening, you know, so if it's okay with you I'd like to go get the desk and refrigerator this morning."

"The things I have to do can be done anytime this weekend. As soon as you're ready we can go to Costco but I want to look at where you're putting the desk and refrigerator before we leave. Do you want to eat something before we go?"

"I need to shower before I do anything. I'll eat something after the shower though."

"You go ahead and grab your shower and when you're ready we can measure the space. I've got a problem with the outside shower I have to figure out and fix this weekend, if I can. I'll be at the cabana when you're ready to take the measurements."

"Thanks Rob, you're being very nice to me. I'm going for that shower now." She turned and left the kitchen.

I went out to the cabana and started looking at my shower problem. I didn't want to dig up the yard but it was starting to look like I was going to have to. First I checked the shower in the cabana, it worked fine with good water flow both hot and cold. The outside shower water flow was weak and seemed to be getting weaker. I didn't see how it could have happened but I checked the piping I could see, looking for a kink in the line. At the same time I verified that the two showers were on the same line and the outside shower was downstream from the inside shower. While checking the line I realized I wouldn't have to do any digging in the yard because the water line went through the base of the cabana wall to get to the outside shower, there was no buried piping between the outside shower and the cabana shower. I was still scratching my head when Kay came out to the cabana.

"What's up?"

"Well, if you can figure out why one shower has water flow and the other doesn't, you can tell me."

"Is there a kink in the line?"

"No, I'm able to see the whole line from the top of the water heater to the shower head out here and there are no kinks. The inside shower works fine and the outside one doesn't. This has got to be a simple problem and I'm sure if I bring a plumber out here he's going to do two things. First he's going to laugh at me and show me how simple it is, and then he's going to charge me an arm and a leg for the entertainment I've provided him. Do you have any other suggestions?"

"That's cute, do you take this act on the road or is it performed locally only?"

"Ouch! Did you come out to get me or just to heckle me? I take it from your flippant manner we're going to dispense with the formalities of Mr. Rob and Miss Kay?"

"If you're okay with it, I am too. Like you said, I'm living here now and it might get somewhat tedious to be that formal all the time. What about when you have company or your parties?"

"I don't often have company but on the rare occasions I have a business meeting here, the Mr. Rob thing would be a nice touch if you're okay with it. If you are at one of my parties you will be my guest just like everyone else and I wouldn't expect you to be any more formal than they are, so no to the Mr. stuff."

"Thanks Rob, I won't embarrass you."

"I never thought you would."

"I think I know where I want to put the desk and refrigerator. Do you have a tape measure I can use to measure the space for them?"

"I've got one in the shed over here." I pointed to the storage and tools shed in the far back corner of the yard and started walking towards it." When we opened the door I stepped inside while Kay stayed at the door looking in.

"This is handy, you look to have about any hand tool you might need. How about power tools?"

"I have these because I do my own work on the boat. I've got a portable work bench and hand held power tools but no bench or floor mounted ones. I know how to use them but I really don't have the time or space for them."

I grabbed the tape measure and we headed back to the house. When we got to Kay's room she showed me where she wanted to put things and we took some measurements. "I'm sure the desk will fit where you want it but I'm not so sure about the refrigerator. How about if we move the bed over a little and you set it up as a night stand on the far side? That will also give you some room for a chair or did you figure on standing the whole time you're working at the desk?"

"There you go again with the comedy act."

"Three shows a week with a matinee on Saturdays."

"Yuck, yuck, yuck, are we going now?"

"I've got to grab my wallet and keys but before we go I want to give you an access code for the alarm system. Come up with a six digit number, other than your birthday, and I'll put it into the security system so you can come and go when I'm not here for any reason."

I stopped in my room to get my things and then met Kay at the alarm panel. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"No, I've never had to before but it can't be hard."

I put her code into the system using the master code and then showed her how to arm/disarm the system both for when the house was empty and when we were in it. I also wanted her to know what to do at the panel for an emergency. "Not that I expect you to need them but these are emergency call buttons for the police, the fire department and emergency medical services. You aren't contacting them directly but if you push one of these buttons, the alarm company will send the appropriate service and will turn on the audio monitoring of the house. You can just say out loud why you pushed whichever emergency button and the company operator will relay the information to emergency services."

"I just have to speak out loud?"

"Yeah, and if they need information from you they will ask you over the speakers. If you ask them a question they will respond too. Like how do you give the Heimlich maneuver or something like that."

"That's neat but isn't it kind of big brotherish with them listening in to what's said here in the house?"

"They can only listen in when one of the emergency buttons is pushed. As soon as you put in an authorized code it turns the monitoring speakers off."

"That's a good system, are they all like that?"

"No, this is a higher end system. I've got to protect my office and the computers in there. That room has heat sensors to trigger the fire alarm and automatically flood the room with CO2 to suppress any fire. There is also a second alarm control panel in my bedroom as a convenience."

"That's good to know. Is there anything else before we go?"

"No, that's it. Let's go to the stores." We headed out, getting in the truck and going down the road.

"I brought the shopping list although there isn't much on it. Sue got everything she thought I would need before she left. I have some things to get for myself though. How are we going to handle food? Sue said you provided lunches for her but told me to discuss food with you since I'm in the house full time not just two days a week."

"Well, how do you want to do it? You can buy your own supplies and mark them so they are yours. Or you can pay me $50 a week and just share what I have in the kitchen, no holds barred. You'll do whatever shopping is necessary, I'll give you a card you can use and you give me the receipts which I will check against the bill every month. If you can think of some other way to do handle the food situation, I'm willing to listen."

"I like the $50 a week idea. It'll be the easiest way to handle it. If I want something special I can just get it?"

"You can get whatever you want and if I want something I'll either let you know or I'll put it on the shopping list for you. Now if you have a party I expect you to pay for whatever supplies you need for it."

"Do I need to pay you before the week or after the week?"

"Whichever way works best for you because it doesn't matter to me. Do you have a list of what foods you want now?"

"There are some things I want that you don't have. I like cereal in the morning sometimes and you don't have any that I saw. I'll need milk too. Do you eat salads Rob?"

"Not as much as I probably should so if you get salad fixings, get enough for me and push me to eat a salad now and again. Since there are groceries you want we'll get the refrigerator at Costco first and then go to Wally World for your desk and the shopping. If there is anything we need after that we can stop at any grocery store you want but the A&P is closest to the house."

"Suits me. If I need to use some of your tools to put the desk together is that okay?"

"You can use whatever you want, just don't hurt yourself and put them back when you're done. Remind me when we get back to the house; I still have to give you the access key for the wireless network so you can get online with your lap-top."

We pulled into the Costco parking lot and went into the store. The line wasn't too bad at the customer service desk so we went there first to get Kay a card on my membership. That took all of fifteen minutes then we went to look at the little refrigerators. They are intended for a college dorm room and just about perfect for what Kay wanted. We just had to check the measurements and which way the door opened. When Kay picked the one she wanted we loaded it on a flat cart and took it to the check-out area. We had to lay it down in the truck but it went in easily.

We were talking in the truck while driving over to Wally World. "Kay, when you do the shopping I'd prefer you take the truck instead of the car. I try to use the car socially while the truck is for everything else. I still have to put you on my insurance and I'd like to do that before I get called out of town so I need to do it soon. If I'm home, I'd prefer you tell me before driving off but if I'm out of town, just do what you have to."

"Do you have any out of town trips coming up?"

"None are scheduled but like this week, they can pop up anytime. I do have a couple of client visits scheduled for this week but they're local."

"Is there any particular day you want me to do the shopping?"

"That's totally up to you but I've got to get a credit card for you. The card I give you for the shopping can also be used for gas. It will take the credit card company a few days to get your card to me."

"You know you completely blow me away."

"What do you mean Kay?"

"How well do we know each other? Let's see, we met three weeks ago in a rather unconventional manner. I spent a night on your boat with you, platonically, we've had two dinner dates to an Italian restaurant and you've had me to your home for a third dinner. You've taken me into your home and hired me as a housekeeper with no references, or background information about me and while I'm your housekeeper, you are making allowances for me to go to school full time and work part time. I've spent one night in your home, again platonically and I don't know what else. You're giving me full and free access to your home, your vehicles and a credit card. You've made no demands on me and basically you've pulled my ass out of the fire. Freed me of the worries I had about how or where I was going to live for the coming school year. I don't get it. Why are you trusting me, what did I do to deserve your trust?"