Hey, Bob! (Completed)

Hey, Bob!

By

Jean MacIntyre

Cover design by Jean MacIntyre

Copyright © 2015 by Jean MacIntyre

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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Dedicated to my dad with thanks for his quirky sense of humor.

Hey, Bob!

"Hey, Bob."

"Yes, Willa." With a deep sigh, Bob prepared to listen to her latest silly version of a joke.

"Why did the hen walk out into the traffic?"

"To get across the road?"

"No, Silly. She wanted to commit henicide."

"Get back to work right now, or I'll fire you." Trying not to laugh, Bob continued working. These conversations were a daily occurrence as they installed the electrical wiring, circuit breakers, switch and plug boxes, and everything else electrical that was required in the new home under construction. He was constantly amused and amazed at her ability to come up with these inane little quips, but he had to admit it relieved what could be the tedium of a sometimes-monotonous job.

She certainly didn't fit the standard image of an electrician, with her small but compact frame encased in a blue coverall, and her brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked much younger than her twenty-four years. When he asked her once why she decided to be an electrician, she said, "Beats me! I didn't want to be a teacher or a nurse, and I thought it would be something I could do without interacting too much with people."

"You don't like people?"

"Not in large quantities, no. I like my own company best, but you aren't too bad."

Willa was half-way in love with Bob, but she was very careful to keep her feelings to herself, because in no way did she want to mess up the great working relationship they had developed over the past year. She sneaked a peek at him when she knew he wasn't looking, so she could admire his muscled arms, black hair, and long legs. She was very aware that he viewed her as a pesky little sister, and she was content to keep the status quo – for now.

Picking up the drill, she bored a hole in the two-by-four, pulled the wire through the hole, and moved over to the next two-by-four. She repeated the steps until she reached the site for the next plug-in box. She fastened it to the two-by-four, then pulled the wire through and into the box.

"Hey, Bob."

"Yes, Willa?"

"Why do they put these damn boxes down by the floor? I can't imagine old people enjoy bending down this far to plug something in."

"Well, Willa, I would imagine it was a woman who said, 'I don't want that ugly thing sitting up in the middle of my wall.' How's that for an answer?" He had been expecting some more of her nonsense, so couldn't avoid getting back at her.

"For just this one time only, I may have to admit that you could be right, even if I don't like sitting on the floor to put these wires in place."

"Can I ask you something?" Bob continued working as they talked. Pulling wires and attaching switch plates and plug-in boxes didn't require a great deal of concentration.