Two Ordinary People

Two weeks later, Rod had a functioning septic system installed on his property and connected to the trailer. His severance pay was dwindling rapidly. He'd borrowed a small dump truck and gotten the builder rate from the nearby gravel quarry for the gravel required. He found a sewage contractor who had done some county work who signed off on the EPA piece for a hundred dollars cash. One of the inspectors he had traveled with signed off on the project for the county. He had a toilet...he just didn't have any water to flush it with. The builder he worked for called and said he'd come over and pick up the Bobcat™ to save Rod a trip since he needed it not far from Bob's property the next day.

"Have you a water source? There ain't a municipal line within miles."

"I guess I'm ultimately going to have to drill a well but I can't afford it right now. I did pick up a used glass lined storage tank and I'm pricing tanker delivery. I don't need potable water yet, just a way to take a quick shower and flush the John."

"This is limestone country; a hill like this has to have one or more springs on it. You might have to dig a little but usually you can find a damp area and..."

And they did find a damp area. Fifteen minutes later the Bobcat ™ had excavated a small pool...and the pool was slowly filling with water. Another half an hour with shovels and the two men had found the rock-surrounded source of the water. They both sampled the clear cold flow. It was sweet and pure.

"Rod, you'll want to take a sample over to the extension and have it checked but there's no earthly reason why a source this far up should be anything but e coli free. Look, my mom and dad had a setup off of a spring like this up on their farm in Michigan. You need to drop a catch basin in right below the water flow, and then pipe it down to the house with a storage cistern in between---well, hell, your used storage tank will handle it! I'd put the tank up here and pipe down to the trailer---it should give you excellent water pressure. You'll want to be sure to trench below the frost line so I guess you're going to be borrowing my Ditch Witch™ again next weekend?"

And then came Sunday and church and lunch with Shelly. It was the closest thing Rod had to down time. She was adorable...her smile...so damn nice. She came over to the Youth League field that afternoon and brought him cold, sweet tea. She was becoming his friend...he was sure they were friends. He was also very sure that she deserved better than he could ever give her. Jan had been right; Shelly was a precious jewel...pure gold...and he was a loser living in a used construction trailer without running water. He had three part time jobs and absolutely no future. He wasn't good enough for her and came to the conclusion that it would be unfair to pursue her. But Sunday church...lunch after...she came and watched him coach...he wanted her so desperately but knew it just wasn't going to happen.

Monday afternoon when he drove up to his trailer after his county work he was shocked to find that someone had dug a 48" deep trench from the spring down to the trailer and left a suitable load of PVC pipe. A note from his builder employer said simply, "I had another job over this way anyway and the PVC was left over from a job site."

Friends...the people he had once worked with in that big building...were they his friends? None of them had spoken to him since he left. Of course they had their own issues to deal with but he had to accept the fact that no one he had formerly worked with had really been a friend. One or two of the other coaches were, "part time" friends, share a beer at Jan's, slap each other on the back and then home to their families. Not one had ever invited him to their house for dinner. He didn't know what their spouses looked like.

As the weeks rolled on and turned into months he realized who his friends were. The older guys down at the building inspection department who genuinely cared about his progress and gave of their own time to help him learn the job. They had all invited him to their homes, shared their dinner table with him and made him feel like family. The builder he worked for. A guy he was taking classes with who might someday be his workmate and who had suffered a similar fate at the hands of corporate America. He was starting to forge friendships at Shelly's---his—church. He had joined the church and was now a regular member. The old fella' that ran the youth league who always looked out for him. He had decided to pass on the corporation's outplacement; he had attended one meeting and it felt like an AA session. He'd didn't need psychobabble and was pretty sure he didn't belong in another cubicle. And then there was Shelly...

"I want to see where you live, Rod."

"Babe, I live in a trailer...a used trailer outside of town. There's not much to see and I'm not really set up for entertainment."

"First, thank you for calling me babe! In all the weeks and months that you and I have sat here on a Sunday having lunch together you never once showed any real sign that you were..."

"Interested in you as more than a friend?"

"Yeah."

"Trust me, that was not my intent on day one. I had every intention of chasing you until I caught you. It used to be that I couldn't take my eyes off of you at Jan's...only went there when I knew you were working. What am I talking about, I still can't take my eyes off of you! When you would bring me my Guinness and smile, my little heart skipped a beat. But, I got canned and now I'm holding down three jobs including mowing grass for a living and...oh, Shelly I like you a lot! I mean I thought you were the most adorable and cutest girl I'd ever met. I had no idea until I started coming to church here and we got to know each other how really amazing and special you are. You deserve the world, the moon and the stars! You should never have to settle for anything less than the very best. I like you too much, love you---as a friend---to let you end up with..."

"With you?"

"That's about the size of it."

"Don't I get any say in this?"

"What...what do you mean?"

"Rod, I remember the first time I met you at the bar. I wasn't very impressed to be brutally honest. You were almost thirty years old and you were still playing...still being a kid. You didn't take anything terribly seriously. You were nice, not unattractive but always a little too quick with the glib line and the fake smile for my taste. I wasn't that excited when Jan told me you were, 'interested' because I wasn't. I really didn't expect to discover any real substance...values...principles. 'Never judge a book by its cover' my granddaddy always said. You've grown up a lot in the last few months since you lost your job. You may live in a trailer and hold down three part time jobs but I'll take the Rod sitting across from me right now any day over the 'old' Rod."

"Okay...I have a bunch of Youth League grass to go mow. I should be done by six, I did half of it this morning before church. I just realized I don't even know where you live! I can..."

"Rod, I assume you have some way to cook in your trailer? I'll pick up something for dinner; we'll cook dinner together---at your place. Here!" Shelly drew Rod a quick map. "It's the house at the end of the street, old and small but a house with a real yard...I hate apartments. Pick me up whenever you get done---grass, sweat and all. You can clean up while I start dinner. We're actually going---after nine months---on a date."

Rod arrived a little after six and helped Shelly load a cooler and picnic basket in the bed of his truck. She was wearing a sun dress and sandals; her blond hair was in a pony tail and she wore no makeup. His heart skipped a beat. She leaned across the seat and kissed him...her soft, warm hand caressed his face...he knew he was in serious trouble. It was their first kiss.

***

"Oh my God, Rod! It's beautiful...the view....the trees...I had no idea. The way you talked you were living on a vacant lot next to the dump...not that it would have mattered. But this is unbelievable!"

Shelly was ecstatic...giddy...grinning from ear to ear and her smile lit up the entire hill side. They carried the food into the trailer. Rod had reworked the entire interior to make it resemble a home not a construction office. He'd acquired a lot of extra unused decorating materials from his friend and employer and done a very good job of giving the single wide a sense of style.

"Wow!"

"Wow?"

"I'm hiring you as my decorator...did you do all of this yourself?"

He nodded. "I'm going to clean up. When I get back I'll give you a walking tour of Rod's ten acre hillside before it gets too dark."

"Is the water safe to drink?"

"Not only pristine but possibly the best water I've ever had; it comes from a spring about a hundred yards away. I'll show you after I change."

By the time Rod had showered and changed Shelly had finished prepping everything for dinner. "I need ten minutes notice and we can eat. Let's get that tour you promised."

"What's that over there?"

"Well, it's the beginning of a dream. I think the county is going to take me on full time in the next few weeks. I passed my certification test and have completed all of the course work to be a building inspector. Starting pay isn't close to what I used to make in the 'big box' but my cost of living has decreased substantially and I gather there is an overtime opportunity. I may just keep cutting grass, I enjoy it and they sort of depend on me. I'm probably going to have to quit working for the builder. It might even be a conflict of interest but it's every week night and...who knows. Anyway, once I have a real job I'm thinking of building a house up here. What you see is the foundation...I've already stubbed out the utilities to the foundation. At the proper time it won't be a big deal to run the water, power and sewer lines over. I'd like to buy one of those Log Cabins 'in a box' and construct it on that site. The only problem is, I won't be able to afford the whole 'box' so I'm going to have to do it in pieces as I get some cash...one log at a time."

"That's a big foundation...how big is this thing going to be?"

"It's going to be a one story with very high ceilings and if you notice, part of it will be full basement and part crawl space. The idea is, I can add on to it without doing additional foundation work. Certainly under 1,500 SF to start but the foundation work would ultimately enable me to double it. It'll take me a year to build it alone, part time but at least I've got a roof over my head while I'm working on it."

"I own my home outright. That's why I first started working at the bar so I could pay off the mortgage. It's nothing special but it's all mine."

"Yeah, well you were the smart, practical little piggy and I was the moron who paid rent for five years and ended up with nothing to show for it."

"Possibly not a mistake you will make again?" Shelly chided.

After an incredible dinner Rod and Shelly sat on the couch together. Their arms were soon intertwined. The warm softness of her sweet lips addled his brain and took his breath away. Her scent made him almost gasp. Very unlike the old Rod he cooled things down just as they were leading in a certain direction...the direction of his bed.

"Oh, Shelly, you do not have any idea how much I want to..." He gently broke their embrace. "Uh, uh...we're not going there...not tonight...not now...I'm taking you home before I do something I will regret."

"Don't you want to..."

"Take you to bed? Make love to you until the sun comes up? Hell yes! Look babe I don't know if there is a chance for us. Right now I'm pretty sure I don't deserve you but if there's the slightest chance that I can ever be the man you deserve...I don't want to screw this up...I know I couldn't deal with losing you as a friend."

"Very sweet, Rod. I was very ready to take the short walk to your bed. Don't sell yourself short. Thank you for the respect...being a caring friend. Just know that I want to see you again...explore the possibilities."

Rod walked Shelly to her door and carried the cooler and basket inside. They kissed and held each other at the door. Not staying in Shelly's arms was the hardest thing Rod had done in a very long time.

Monday evening Rod got a call to attend to some home owner's problem in the upscale section of the new development which he was responsible for. He had rung the door bell and was waiting for a response. The man who answered seemed frazzled and befuddled. He didn't recognize Rod; Rod recognized him. It was his old boss's boss, the "big boss".

"Thank you for getting here so quickly! My wife is going bananas. The electricity seems to be out in the bathroom and the kitchen...I've check the circuit breakers...I don't know what the hell is wrong."

"Let me take a quick look." Rod had dealt with this problem innumerable times. "Your wife wasn't by any chance drying her hair, ironing or using one of those curler warmers before the problem occurred, was she?"

"Why yes, as I think about it, probably all three!"

"Okay, well first let's be sure all three are turned off and unplugged." Rod knew that the electricians his builder employed were liberal in their installation of GFCI circuits and that it was not uncommon to find a bathroom wall socket that was GFCI protected not only at the socket but upstream at another point in the wiring, often in another bathroom. It was overkill and not remotely unsafe but it rendered that particular circuit very sensitive to power fluctuation and GFCI worked by sensing minor differences in the current entering versus leaving an appliance. You had to find the tripped GFCI the farthest "upstream" and closest to the main panel box and reset that one first before any of the ones down stream would reset. The answer was in the upstairs guest bathroom. Once he reset that one the one in the master bath reset without problem. He then quickly tested each circuit to determine which sockets were on different GFCI streams.

"All three of those appliances are high current draws with variable and highly fluctuating demand." The executive's wife had joined the party. "In the master bath not every wall socket takes the same path to the main box or the same circuit breaker. The electricians anticipated this type of appliance load so if you plug the hair dryer in here and then the warmer over here, you should be fine. The iron needs to be someplace else possibly in this hallway connecting the bed and bath." It had taken under five minutes to fix and explain the problem. The homeowner and his wife thanked him profusely and the man walked him to the door, even trying to slip him some cash which he politely refused.

"I can't thank you enough. We're going to a special party and...I swear you look familiar, have we ever met?"

"We have sir; I used to work in a department under you...the one that was out sourced about ten months ago. There's no reason you should remember me. I was not a very remarkable employee...nothing special."

"I'm really sorry about..."

"Don't be! Look, right now I'm holding down three part time jobs, going to school to get a professional certification and living in a single wide but I'm fine---happier than I've ever been in my life, albeit dirt poor. Frankly I hated my job. I spent all day listening to phone calls or reading emails from unhappy people. Unfortunately I had no power or authority to ever solve their problems. If their problems ever were resolved no one ever told me. All I did was document and refer. I went home every day miserable and had to drag myself to work the next morning---never one minute earlier than required. In contrast, while I do admit to missing the paycheck, you are smiling, your wife is happy and I was able to fix your problem in a matter of minutes, therefore, I am smiling. Here's my card. I work every weeknight from six to ten. I've written my cell phone on the back so you can call me directly rather than calling the work desk. I only work in this development so I'm never that far away. Call me if you have any problems with your beautiful new home. Good night."

Life was good, Rod thought to himself as he headed to the next homeowner with a crisis. Life gradually got even better. An opening occurred at the inspection office; Rod once again had a real job with a real paycheck and decent benefits...and he loved his work. The boss said it would be okay for him to keep working for the builder as long as he didn't personally sign off on that builders work sites. Since his builder friend was building a new development one county over there was little chance of conflict. He invited his builder boss out for a beer and wings at Jan's. He hadn't been there in close to a year. Shelly was working; she waited on them. Rod introduced them.

"That's very obviously a very special friend you have there, kid...you've got good taste."

As Rod began to talk, leading up to telling this man who had become a real friend that it was close to time for him to quit he also told him about Shelly...where they were in their relationship...where he was in life...where he had been.

"Rod, I've been there. Twenty years ago I went to work for a big national builder and ended up locked away in a windowless little office in the basement. I hated it and it showed and they let me go. I was devastated...wasn't sure I would make it. I took a job as a miscellaneous carpenter with another builder. It wasn't easy but this year I'll build and sell close to one hundred units and I love what I do and the people I work with. I'm not a millionaire but my wife still works and we're just fine. In terms of your little lady friend...she obviously likes you...a lot. Don't dawdle...don't let that kind of woman slip away. You'll regret it for the rest of your life. I've been there too. You're going to quit on me, aren't you?"

"It's funny...I really don't want to. I love this shit! I go home at night and I've accomplished something---solved peoples problems, simple to us, earth shaking at the moment for them. Even with the full time job with the county I won't make anything close to what I used to and I could use the money but I need a life again and if I'm going to ever have any chance with that adorable little blond..."

"What are your hours going to be with the county?"

"Monday through Friday, seven to three thirty with half an hour for lunch which I don't have to take if I don't want to. I'm still cutting grass which I also enjoy but now hopefully I can get some of it done during the week."

"Look, my wife works in corporate America; she doesn't need to anymore---she likes to. While her job is technically nine to five she leaves the house at seven and doesn't get home until six. She takes her job and her company very seriously and I love her for it. Try this on for size. I cut back your hours and increase your pay. You've done such a good job in that development that the call load had dramatically decreased. You leave the county job, work for me from say, four to six and I'll pay you more for fewer hours than I'm paying you now. I'll trust you on the clock; if you get there a little early, or get done a little early that's fine. In return if there's a new homeowner in crisis mode you work a little longer. You've got a good way with people and you're saving me the money of having to send a tradesman over who often doesn't have the people skills you have. What do you say?"

Rod said yes. Now he was wondering if his third job was one he could afford to keep. The money wasn't anything special but it was cash flow. He was having second thoughts. The director of the youth league helped him make the decision the next evening.

"I've got something to show you, Rod." He said as the walked behind the League office. "I convinced the board we needed to upgrade. What do you think?"