The Book of Leah

Heart and Soul - Chapter 22

Saturday,  June 13, 1992, Bass Lake, WI   

I swear I hear that bell in my sleep," said Bonnie as she walked out of the diner.

"You and me both," said Leah, as they turned toward the road and she paused in her step and pointed toward the Stanton cottage. "What the heck are they doing?"

There were four men on the roof and ladders thrown up against the side of the cottage, a trailer littered with shingles and trim pieces was squeezed in the side yard, and vehicles strewn around the front and parked in the neighbor's yard.

"Must be a Stanton work day," smirked Bonnie, as they walked toward the busy hive of people working on the house. As they got closer, they could hear Lucy hollering.

"Charlie, are you sure that's gonna fix it?" she yelled.

"Aunt Lucy," said Charles, calling back down while wiping his brow. "May I remind you that I'm the licensed contractor out here?"

"And may I remind you, Charlie, that I was here when they laid the trusses for that roof," Lucy shot back.

Evelyn walked over to try and have her mother tone it down. "Mom, it looks fine. The boys have been here since 7. The boathouse is completely reshingled, they fixed the concern on the truss, and resheathed the whole north side where the leak was by the exhaust vent. Let them finish the drip edge so we all can go home, please."

"Um, Aunt Evelyn," interjected Jake as he dropped a flat of shingles back onto the trailer, "I thought you were going to show me your list today."

Evelyn shot a look at Lucy, who nodded her head yes, before she answered him. "I guess we could start today," she said with a pause, then turned toward the house. "Come with me, Jacob. I have some things I need to explain." As Jake followed her inside and was out of sight, Bonnie and Leah waved to Lucy, who walked over.

"Hello, girls, done making shakes for the day?" she asked.

"Yeah, we thought we'd stop by and see how things were going here," said Bonnie.

"Oh, they're going okay. I guess I'm good with it." she said as she talked loudly over her shoulder. "And just because I don't have a fancy license doesn't mean I can't tell what looks right."

"Lucy," said Alvin, as he steadied the ladder for Ron to reset the trim.

"So what are you girls up to tonight?" asked Lucy.

"Well, we were gonna have dinner with Gram tonight and hang with them a little, probably stay the night as we have first shift tomorrow." said Bonnie

"That," said Leah, "and Joe has friends over at the house, playing Madden on the Super Nintendo all night."

"So what is Jake up to?" asked Leah, not seeing him at the moment.

"Ahh," said Lucy with a smile, "well, Jake is gonna be here starting tonight, so you know"

"What's he doing for dinner?" asked Bonnie. "I can check with Gram if he can join us."

"He would probably appreciate that. All that's in the fridge now are some cold cuts, and I'm not sure about his cooking skills if he went to the market," laughed Lucy. "That's nice of you girls."

"Your welcome," Said Bonnie as the girls headed back towards the farmhouse.

About 90 minutes later, Leah followed Bonnie up the dirt road.

"So, did you call ahead?" asked Leah as they crossed the highway.

"What fun is that?" said Bonnie. "This is a surprise."