My Mother's house

21 work

I got up early in the morning, just as the sun had rose casting bright rays angled across the yard.  I started on my side first, to give David some time to sleep in.  It was a lot easier in the front.  I stood on the porch roof and it went a lot quicker than it would have moving up and down the ladder.  I still had to carry the windows up, but I went from one to the next without break.  I stopped for a moment after the front was done, and picked up the mess off the lawn.  I stacked everything in the wheel barrow and hauled it to the back of the barn where we had a good stack of things piled up, from the windows to the rotted back door.  The old fridge and oven and a few other random things were sitting out here.  I made a mental note to ask if one of the boys would haul this off.  I knew they could get money from the old appliances, and I would just make them take the whole pile.
I was moving the ladder over when a truck pulled up.  Dan came out of the drivers side, Chuck and Rachel out of the passenger and a few boys out of the back along with hoses and a tank and a gun.  I scooted the ladder over to David's window.  The crew was here earlier than we had thought.  I pounded on David's window, thoroughly scaring him.  "Rise and shine, time to work." 
David peeled back his curtain to give me his mean face and I quietly told him.  "Your girlfriends here too."
He held tight with his you bitch face for a moment before tossing the curtain back.  I could hear him scurrying around the room and jumping into his jeans.  What a dork. 
I climbed down the ladder and greeted Chuck and Dan.  "Hey, so I got wire brushes and scrapers in my truck bed.  The paint is in the barn along with brushes and paint thinner.  I just have this side left to put in new windows."
Dan told me matter of factly.  "I brought the power washer, it will peel the paint right off, we just won't be able to use it around the old windows if they are any kind of rot or leaking.  I also brought my paint gun.  I hope you have tape and paper for the windows."
"I do thank you.  What'd you bring Chuck?"
"I brought my bitch of a sister, to make me look like a gentleman, and these ugly fucks to make me look like a god."
"Oh my god Chuck, what am I going to do with you."
"Whatever you want baby."  He winked at me, making me blush and walk away.
I got to work and so did the boys.  I heard them on the other side of the house, being loud and rowdy.  I was surprised that Rachel showed up.  I really didn't think she would after what she said to David.  I had just gotten the first window out when Dan came walking around.
"Hey, I'm going to get the tractor, help you do these windows so they can be done in time for us to use the power washer."
"Kay."
A few minutes later, he was loading the bucket with two windows and raising it up next to me.  I took the window out and started installing it like Nath had showed me while Dan climbed the hood then the arms of the tractor and into the bucket he had placed the next window over.  He started tearing out the old window like he had been doing this his whole life.  He was so different than Chuck.
"How did you and Chuck become friends?"
He didn't stop working.  "His mom and my mom go to church together.  We kind of got lumped together at a young age.  Why?"
That explains it.  Dan seemed like a good church going young man while Chuck, he seemed like the damn preacher's son.  "Just wondering.  You seem more responsible then him."  I was finishing up on my window, screwing it into place.
"I'm not really.  He is more responsible than me.  He just chooses not to show it.  He only acts the way he does so his sister will think he is cool and let him hang out with her.  And he only does it so he can keep an eye on her."
"So all the man whoring is just an act?"
Dan grinned.  "That part's not an act.  Not at all.  Just the rest of it is.  The drinking, partying, sneaking out at night.  If it weren't for his sister, he wouldn't do it.  Well he might go to parties, but only to meet girls."
I finished my window and moved my ladder to the other side of the tractor.  After I climbed up, I started the conversation again.  "What about you?  Why do you hang out with them?"
"There's really not anyone else to hang around.  And underneath it all, Chuck's a good guy.  That's the kind of person I want as a friend.  He's one of the few people you can call up any time, and he will drop what he's doing and come help you."
Talking to Dan was nice.  He was a good kid, the kind I wanted David to hang around.  And if what Dan said was true, I was okay with David making friends with Chuck.
We got done with the windows just in time for one of the boys, Terry I think, to come around and ask for the tractor.  They needed it to get the power washer up high enough to get the paint on top.  They had done the bottom of the one side and back of the house.  I watched them work for a little while.  Chuck drove the tractor while a dark haired kid ran the power washer.  Dan and Terry kept the hose kink free and the cord out of the way of the tires.  The power washer was supped up.  Most of the paint came off freely, only a few stubborn areas were left on.  I really wanted to get the ladder and scrap it off myself, but there were two other people that should be out here helping.
I walked around to the front and spotted the two love birds, making out.  I wanted to give David space, but I also didn't like the trash that he was letting invade his mouth.
"Hey!  I got something more useful for the two of you."
David pushed her back and she almost fell down.  His face was turning a wonderful shade of red.  I wanted to embarrass him further, but didn't want to hurt his pride.
"Go get the ladder from the other side of the house and scrape off the paint that the power washer didn't get.  There isn't much, but with one of you on the ladder, and the other on the ground it should go faster than the power washer will."  I turned away, not waiting for a rebuttal and went back to the side of the house, which was now mostly paint free and sopping wet.  How were we supposed to paint on a wet surface?  Maybe it would dry by the time the old paint was scraped off.
I walked up to the tractor and stepped on the slow moving machine to talk to Chuck.
"Hey, I'm going to start lunch.  Let me know if you run into trouble, and keep your sister and my brother in your sight.  I don't want to be an aunt anytime soon."
He nodded to me, keeping a steady eye on the bucket so he didn't wreck into the house.  I walked around to see Rachel on the ladder, her short shorts exposing the bottom half of her butt cheeks from this angle and David on the ground, both of them scrapping away at the paint.
David and I caught eyes.  I mouthed I'm watching you and did the universal signal of pointing two finger to my eyes then back to him.  He just made a face as to say whatever you freak.  I didn't care if I was the freak, as long as they weren't doing the freak nasty.