Chapter 19

I saw Paige and her mother on Sunday, taking the opportunity to drag Dad over to sit with them in church. It was nice, and a little weird to be sitting like a family with a woman who I told Dad it would be okay if he dated, and her daughter, the girl I wanted to date. If that generated any titters among the old biddies during the service, I was blissfully unaware.

We split off from the Goddards afterward, with promises made between me and Paige to see each other the next day. Dad and I returned to Grandma’s where she had a nice roast prepared for lunch. Football took up most of the remainder of my day, and I fell asleep contented.

The rest of the week flew by. It’s amazing what five days off does to the school experience. It took a day or two for everyone to settle back into the groove – after that it was once again normal. Well, there was one exception, Paige began spending her lunches with me and Gloria, sometimes leaving her teammates to eat with us, and sometimes having us join them.

My evenings were still spent at the house, installing interior doors with Dad. By Thursday night we had mounted everything in place except the stained glass that we had forgotten. It was going to require some reworking to get it done.

“Dad, we’re going to have to do that Saturday,” I told him, “unless you want to get Grandpa to help you with it tomorrow.”

He looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, about that, you’re right, it’ll have to be Saturday, I’m going out for coffee with Evie tomorrow evening.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good.”

“So what are you doing with your night, tomorrow?” Dad asked.

Heat spread across my face, “Romancing the daughter of your date. We’re going to the football game. I’m trying to ease her friends into the concept of me dating Paige. This is step two.”

“And step one was?” he left the question hanging there. I told him about the fallout over Atlanta and seeing Desiree and her boyfriend Andrew at the fair the previous Saturday.

“That makes sense. So there weren’t any problems at school this week?”

“Not that I was aware of. Besides, Paige did her part too, and we had lunch together every day.”

“Sounds like you have this under control,” he said approvingly. “Have fun at the game.”

“Yeah, you have fun too, Dad.”

Trent avoided me at school on Friday. I guess there were supposed to be scouts in the crowd tonight. It didn’t bother me since I figured he had learned his lesson after being left physically unable to play for two weeks, and wouldn’t need any further convincing to leave me alone. Paige found me at lunch again, excited for our date tonight.

“So what time are you picking me up?” she asked, going all girly on me.

That’s something I had been trying to figure out all week. Of course, being a guy meant that I couldn’t ask just anybody what time people showed up to these things to see and be seen. That was part of the objective of tonight, other than getting to spend time with Paige, and I didn’t want to get it wrong.

I leaned in so we could have a more private conversation. “What time do we need to be there?” I whispered quietly.

She was gearing up to give me a sarcastic answer when her better angels kicked in, making her consider what I had asked and the reason I had probably asked it. She nodded to herself, whispering back, “I think that if we show up a little after six, it should give us time to mingle before kickoff at seven.”

You gotta love smart women. “Well then, I think I’ll be at your house at six if that works for you.”

Her smile told me that it did.

For once, after school, I didn’t head over to the build. That left three hours between our dismissal and when I needed to collect Paige. Getting ready would only take a half hour, so what to do in the meantime? I looked at my truck, noting the dirt on it. Right, wash the truck. The Tahoe had a layer of grime as well, parked out by the shop. Dad had taken care of me in Chicago, I’d take care of him now.

By the time both vehicles were clean and the chamois had pulled the remaining moisture from them, it was almost time for me to get ready. I headed back into the kitchen to grab something from the fridge, only to find Grandma there, dressed for an evening out.

“So I guess all the McKenzies have plans for tonight.” I stated. “Where are you and Grandpa off to? I assume you’re going with him and not some other suitor?”

That earned me a chuckle. “Well, since you haven’t been supporting your school at the football games, your grandfather and I have been attending them.” She saw me wilt. “Relax, Tim, it’s something we’ve been doing ever since your dad was in school here. A bunch of us go to the home games when we can. We’re not going to stop now.”

Good. I had the fleeting thought that maybe they were there to spy on me.

“Now go get ready and pick up Paige. Her mother says she’s a little nervous for tonight.” Grandma smiled at me.

Geez, these women can’t keep things to themselves. Still, it was nice to have Grandma’s support. Getting ready took the expected half hour. After my shower I found clothes laid out on my bed for me, and I hadn’t put them there.

“I went through your closet and found something that worked with what Paige was planning to wear. Put that on,” Grandma commanded. “We’ll see you at the game.”

There was still a minute left on the clock as I pulled around in front of the Goddard residence. Mrs. Goddard let me in.

“You look nice tonight, Mrs. Goddard.” She did. Slacks, blouse, makeup and shoes all put together to say first date in a way that communicated interest, but still a little distance.

“Thank you, Tim. You clean up pretty well yourself. I think Paige will be right down.” She hesitated, unsure if she should say more. “She had a really nice time with you last Saturday.”

Circumstances saved me from having to respond. Paige came down the stairs looking good. I mean, she had vamped up, but not in a trashy way. Her clothes were a cut above what she wore to school each day, the overall look communicating to anyone with eyes to see, that she was on a date. I was suddenly grateful to Grandma for selecting my wardrobe this evening.

“Wow, you look amazing!”

“You really think so?” She did the spin thing for me – ‘Fun Paige’ was here to play.

I caught her hand mid spin, causing her to twirl into my arms. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have said so otherwise.” I struck a pose, “Let tonight’s ‘McKenzie dating experience’ begin!”

There was a sputtering sound as we left the house. I twisted my head to see Mrs. Goddard trying hard not to laugh at the goofballs leaving her residence – so I added, “100% satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back.” It was too much for her, and she was openly laughing as she shut the door.

“Milady, your chariot awaits.”

Paige grinned, “At least you washed it this time. You couldn’t have brought the Tahoe?”

I jerked a thumb back at the house we just left. “Dad needs it tonight.”

“I thought she looked a little too dressy to go out with her girlfriends.” Paige turned the beginnings of a glare on me as I opened her door, “He’s going to be good to her?”

Her door closed with a clunk. I made my way to the driver’s side thinking of how to answer that. “Yeah, he’s going to be good to her. That is if they can make it past a rocky first few rounds.” She looked satisfied after a bit. “But tonight is about you, I mean us, no, you. Time to see and be seen.” I held out my fist to her.

She gave it a bump. “Let the games begin!”

We showed up at the stadium fifteen minutes after leaving her place. Paige insisted on paying the few dollars that would get us into the game since I had covered the fair. I found my hand captured as she pulled me through the crowds to find her friends and the social elite of the school gathered in the bleachers.

“Everyone, this is Tim. Tim, everyone.”

She led me through the dizzying pairings of power couples, introducing me to them and they to me. I knew there was no way I’d be able to remember names although I recognized some of her friends and managed to have slightly meaningful speech with those, but I also knew tonight had very little to do with me. Paige was putting everyone on notice that they needed to accept me into their circle.

Of course, I wasn’t really as uncomfortable as I thought I would be. This was high school after all, and I had missed this interaction in the last year and a half. It was nice to be grouped in with friendly folks too. We finally sat down, Paige refusing to relinquish my hand through the entire first quarter. Everything that had happened so far told the people around us that I was with her. I decided to stake my claim too.

My jacket came off and found its way to her shoulders, earning me a grateful look.

“I’ll be right back Paige, I need to get something.” I figured that the jacket and what I was about to do should let everyone know that she was hands off for both the evening and the near future.

The boosters had a small booth at which they were selling school gear and stuffed Wildcat toys for the younger siblings of high school students. A little Lady Wildcat made its way into my possession after the ritual monetary exchange, and together we found our way back to my seat. I handed it to Paige as I put my arm around her. In turn, she clutched it to her chest and we sat like that for a while.

The night was going perfectly until I got a text from Dad midway through the fourth quarter, asking me to call him as soon as I could. After apologies to Paige, I made my way as far from the screaming fans as I was able and got on the phone.

“What’s up, Dad? Your text made it seem urgent. Is everything okay?”

He was excited at the other end. “It’s fine, Tim. I hope I didn’t pull you away from something. It’s just that I’ve been talking to Evie, and she wants to showcase the house as the kickoff to relaunching LM Designs. Do you think we could have it done by Thanksgiving?”

That was a lot to take in. “You mean five weeks from now?” I was running the schedule through my head. We needed all the finish carpentry, fixtures and some appliances, which to my knowledge hadn’t yet been ordered. I still had to line up the tile and floor work, along with the masons for the fireplace. Some of this was because I needed to meet with Mrs. Goddard, other things had fallen behind because I had been a wee bit distracted lately.

“Yeah, is that doable? Remember, I’m going to be back in Chicago for at least two of those weeks, so you’ll need to work pretty closely with Evie for the next month and not rely on me too much.”

It meant that I would have to put whatever I had going with Paige on hold for that time. “I don’t know if it’s doable, Dad. The timing would be tight. If we try for Thanksgiving, that would mean that I’d need to meet with you and Mrs. Goddard at the house so we can lock down tile, stone, carpet and all the other little things. Can you get hold of her to see if tomorrow morning works?”

There was a shuffle on the other end. “Hold on, Tim, let me put you on speaker.” I waited while he found the button. “I’ve got you on speaker, Tim. Evie is here with me. Now, why don’t you ask the questions you need to.”

“Hi, Mrs. Goddard.”

“Hi, Tim. How’s the game going?”

“Fine, you can probably hear it in the background. Dad mentioned you wanted to use the build as a kickoff for LM Designs. Are we talking some kind of open house?”

“That’s what your father and I were discussing. He wouldn’t commit to anything without checking with you first. He said he’s pretty well left you to handle everything and you needed to be on board. So I guess the first question is whether you think you can have the job done by Thanksgiving, and the second is what do I need to do to help?”

I was torn between telling her that we could and that it was impossible. Doing it would mean I would have to drop everything except school and church, including Paige, and I wasn’t so sure about church. Telling her no would give me time to spend with Paige and not having to kill myself over the next month. Doing it would also mean that I’d have to relinquish much of my foreman duties to Grandpa, asking him to come back on board. That meant I’d have to think about how to ask for and grant forgiveness, and if I was ready to do that.

“Please, Tim?”

It was the longing in her voice that got to me. I knew that kind of longing; it was the heartfelt desire for something that you knew could be yours, but only if circumstances were right. I couldn’t be the one to throw a wrench into the works.

“Yeah,” I said in a voice that was suddenly tired, “it’s doable. But I’m going to need a lot of help from you, starting tomorrow. Can you meet me and Dad at the build early tomorrow morning? Say, seven? If we do this, I have to start giving my subs information on carpets, tiles, fixtures and all the million little things we’ll need.”

Dad’s voice was back, a warning in it, “Tim, that’s not fair to Evie to ask her to be there that early.” I could hear him telling her that she could meet us at nine instead.

Her response was interesting. “James, who is currently running that build for you?”

“Tim is, you know that.”

“Do you normally overrule your project manager or foreman on these things?”

“No, never. That’s a good way to lose them.”

“James, listen to yourself. Forget that he’s your son for a moment and think of him as a project manager on a build. I’ll be there tomorrow when he asked me to be, for several reasons. First, you have a good foreman, and he knows what needs to be done. Second, I need to show him that I’m committed to this project, that’s what he was really asking me, probably because he knows that his workload is going to far exceed that of you and me combined in order to meet the deadline. And third, he should know that whatever relationship you and I might have right now, it will not impact my professionalism at all.”

There were whispered voices in the background. Finally, whatever discussion they were having came to a conclusion.

“Sorry about that, Tim. Your dad and I were just settling some things between us. The answer to your request is ‘yes.’ I will be there bright and early tomorrow morning. I’ll bring all the swatches, tile patterns and colors that I’ve been working on with me. And, Tim? Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Dad picked up the phone again, taking it off speaker. “What time do you want me there tomorrow, boss?”

My mind was racing, already rearranging the schedule and I didn’t catch what he had called me. “We need to be there by six tomorrow. I’ll have new timelines for you to approve and we’ll work Mrs. Goddard in as soon as we can. See you at home, Dad. Bye.”

I needed to get home to get working, and it was probably going to take me half the night to put together a timeline that would then be revised when I met with the subs. Shit! I still had to get Paige back home too.

The game had finished, the time being just shy of ten o’clock. I knew Paige would want to go somewhere with her friends afterwards, even though we hadn’t discussed it. I supposed I could drop her off wherever that was, and see that someone gave her a ride home. My face must have reflected my inner turmoil when I found her.

“Tim, where did you go? You missed half the fourth quarter. Say, there’s a group meeting over at Aldo’s Pizza,” she saw my grimace, “but we don’t have to go with them.” She stepped up to me, “What’s wrong?”

Her hand was warm in mine. “I have to get home, Paige. Something came up and I need to take care of it. Unfortunately, it also means I’m not going to be able to see you socially for about a month.”

We weren’t at the point in our relationship where we could promise each other we’d wait, that a month was nothing compared to the time we had already shared or would share in the future. A month in the beginning of a relationship was a potential death blow.

She withdrew her hand from mine. Her voice was sad when she told me, “Take me home, Tim. I think I’ve had all that I can bear for tonight.”

Our ride back was quiet. Once home, she didn’t wait for me to open the door, didn’t look back at the truck, didn’t wave or anything. I drove away with the same quietness.

Grandma and Grandpa had beaten me back to their place. I walked in to find them at the kitchen table having a snack. I really had no idea how to start this conversation, but I sat down with them anyway.

“Grandpa, this is really selfish of me, but I need you to come back to work for me and Dad. I’d like to say it’s because I’ve forgiven you, but I can’t, I’m still struggling with that part. It’s because the schedule got pushed up on the project, and it’s not something I can do by myself. I need you to help me, and I need you to be the bigger man, because right now I don’t know how to.”

There was silence; I could hear Grandma breathing softly.

“Sure, Tim. I’d be proud to come back and work for you and your dad. You just tell me when and where, and you can count on me.”

A tentative smile crossed my face. “How about right now? I need to start revising schedules and timelines so I can have some reports for tomorrow morning.”

Grandpa followed me into my room where I had the computer set up. I showed him how to work the project management software, how if you changed one deadline, other schedules got compressed. He saw how each facet of the build could impact something else, and where through manipulation of the various trades, you could end up with a project that was completed on time and budget. We worked together until midnight, at which point I printed out the new reports to show Dad in the morning.

Speaking of whom, I heard Dad come in around eleven, have a brief conversation with Grandma, and then head to bed for some rest.

Grandpa left me alone while I was printing through what seemed like a quarter ream of paper. Once done, everything was shut down and I hit the sack, trying to slow my brain so I could get some sleep. I got some satisfaction from overhearing Grandma and Grandpa’s conversation in their room, the walls being fairly thin.

“Candace, they have software that shows each piece of the house and the schedule for its construction. It all ties together and by moving a deadline, you can change how each part needs to be managed.”

There was a muffled response.

“No, I’ve never built on the scale they do. Mostly it’s a roof here, or a barn there. Something that Jose and I can do without having to chart it all out. Sure I’ve worked for other general contractors as a sub, but I just follow their completion goals and everything is fine. I had no idea there was so much organization behind this.”

Another muffled reply.