Alyssa's Second Chance [Completed]

28-Unexpected Visitor

I quickly make my way through the hotel and down to the valet stand. Moments later, I'm in my car and zipping along the freeway toward home. I am making pretty good time when my phone rings. Seeing that it's one of my friends, I answer the call on my car's Bluetooth.

"Hey, Staci. How's it going?"  

"I'm calling to find out how the gala went last night. I want all the juicy details. Want to grab a coffee?"

"I wish I could, but I have a carpet cleaning service coming out to try to get that nasty cigarette smell out of the house, Holden is coming over to replace the pool pump and my dishwasher is finally being delivered. I'm trying to get home before they all arrive."

"You're trying to get home? OMG, you didn't go home last night! Did you stay with that Amir guy from your work? Was it someone else? I need to know everything!" Staci sounds like she's practically vibrating with excitement.

"Staci, I have to concentrate on my driving and get home safely. Let's get together tomorrow and I will tell you everything. I promise."

"Tomorrow? What about the parent meeting for football this afternoon? I thought all the girls were going and then we were going to treat ourselves to shopping and dinner downtown."

I sigh and try to apologize, "I'm sorry. I think I have to miss the meeting, but you can sign me up as the team mom or any other volunteer position for the season. I'm going to have people doing work in my house all day. Then, I inadvertently agreed to let Amir take me to dinner tonight. I still don't know how that happened, so don't even ask."

"Date number two! I'm so excited. What time is he picking you up?"

"I'm not sure, but it's not a date. Look. I'm getting close to that dead zone after the bridge, so I promise that I'll call you later."

I hear the telltale crackles of my phone and a distant bye. I've never been so happy to hit that cell reception dead zone. Staci is biggest romantic out of our group of friends. If I tell her about last night, she'll pick a date for my wedding with Amir and start naming our children. I love her, but I don't have the energy to deal with her this morning before coffee and a shower.

I drive like a bat out of hell and make it back to my neighborhood in record time. I stop at the gate to our community and let the guard know that I am expecting vendors this morning and ask him to direct them to my house. I also add Amir's name to my guest list. The guard teases me about the growing size of my friends and family list and I promise him another batch of cookies to keep my secret. I have three times as many authorized guests as my neighbors. It's a far longer list than allowed by our HOA, but the guards seem to like me and they look the other way.

Pulling up to my house, I notice that the clock in my car shows a quarter to nine. I've made record time. I park in the driveway and fumble with my keys to unlock the house. That's when I notice a bunch of leaves and flower petals that collected on my doorstep overnight. I know that's a bad sign and I run through the house to the pool. I find it covered in flower petals. It must have been windy last night.

Damn. I don't have time for this. I need to shower and get ready before Holden arrives. Now, I also need to skim the pool, so it doesn't look like I'm neglecting it. I don't want Holden to think it's my fault the pump stopped working.

Taking the world's fastest shower, I quickly remove my remaining makeup from last night and wash the hairspray from my hair. Without putting much care into my selection, I throw on a bikini, a pair of short denim cut-offs and a loose tank top. I quickly brush my teeth and take two minutes to apply some BB cream, eyeliner, and mascara. That's really all I have time for this morning. I brush my hair and apply a little salt water spray. My hair will either dry in cute, curly rings or a frizzy mess. There's never any way to predict the outcome. I  roll the dice.

I run out back and skim the pool. As I capture the last few petals, I see Holden walk through the side gate to the backyard. Perfect timing.

He's carrying a few boxes of replacement parts and calls out to me, "I hope it's ok that I let myself into the backyard. You weren't answering the doorbell and I figured that you might be out here."

I rush over and take some of the things from hands, "Thank you so much for doing this for me. You should have just sent one of your guys. You didn't need to come out and work on my pool yourself."

He puts down his boxes and gives me a quick hug. "You are my favorite customer and deserve my personal service. Besides, it's fun to get my hands dirty once in a while. I always seem to be shuffling paperwork these days."

"Well, thank you for helping me out. I can't afford to come back from vacation to a green pool. Can I get you some coffee?"

"Maybe later. I want to get a look at the pool and make sure I have everything I need. You better head inside. I saw some carpet cleaning vans pull up out front. They're probably on your doorstep by now."

"OK. I'll check back with you later."

I open the sliding glass door in time to hear my doorbell. The next couple of hours fly by, as I spend time with the workers pointing out every air duct, window covering and area of carpet in the house. The house smells the nicest that it has since I bought this foreclosure in an auction four months ago.

I've already steam cleaned the carpets several times, so this is my last shot before tearing up the carpet and starting over. That's not really in my renovation budget, so I pray that the 'supreme clean' package does the trick.

Delivering some lemonade and snacks to Holden, I find out that he's nearly done with his repairs. He's already replaced the pump and is just working on the finishing touches. He should be done before noon.

Everything seems to be under control, so I grab myself another cup of coffee from the kitchen and sit down at the island checking my phone messages. I have eight missed calls. There's one missed call and voicemail from appliance store confirming my delivery window for later this afternoon. There are also two missed calls from Amir and five from Staci.

Hearing my doorbell ring, I realize those will have to wait. Passing a mirror on the way to the door, I shiver at my appearance. Between almost no makeup and the crazy curls, I look like I've been at the beach all day. I am a hot mess.

I open the door expecting to see a delivery person or part of the carpet cleaning crew.  Instead, I find an unexpected guest on my doorstep.