Lover in the Window

Another Deal

"We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started."

― Henry Ward Beecher

It was a chilly day as Eli descends the porch steps with little Elijah in his arms. They both have on windbreakers. And Eli sports a pair of sunglasses, his five o'clock shadow gleaming it's browns and blacks. Eli lets him down in the gravel and little Elijah looks up at him holding his hand in front of his face to block the sun.

What can do we today, kiddo.

"Little man, have you ever been riding in the woods?"

"No," he says simply.

"Well, I can tell you that it's a lot big bunch of fun! Do you wanna' ride around the house with me. Maybe go up in the woods for a little while."

"Let's do it!" Elijah runs around in circles.

"Soon as we can little man," Eli replies. "But first, I need to wait for one of my friends to get here. Talk to him about getting this house done."

"Oookeyy."

Eli's future house is still largely a construction zone. It needs a few more walls put in, which is a last-minute addition but it wasn't nothing he concerned about; the main area of the home is finished as far as construction wise. It needs some electrical components, water lines dug, and some fresh paint and not to mention a mother's love. Eli posts up against a built-on-the-spot wooden table, rough edged, and caked in mud smudges and cement drops. He is waiting for Carl Banks to make his appearance. No sooner than Elijah asks when they are riding in the woods, a giant king cab clips the drive way and rolls in. Carl Banks, slides out of his truck. He is short in stature, pudgy around the waist, and always wore tight shirts with leather suspenders. He has a gray mustache that complete all that is Mr. Banks.

With a raspy and dried voice, "Chilly day isn't it."

"It sure is," Eli looks around at the woods. "When you gonna' loan me that truck?"

Carl Banks keeps walking, short legged, and determined across the muddy, cold ground. "That old piece of junk? Hell, son, you can have it."

"I'd make use of it."

"Oh yes, oh yes, it's been used that's for sure."

There is a small silent moment of conversation where Mr. Banks just looks down at little Elijah running donuts around in the mud. "I need energy like that again." He laughs with a rough tone. "What was it you wanted to talk about, son."

Eli bites his finger nail and keeps leaning against the makeshift table. "I was talking to my woman the other night, and Eve, about throwing a Halloween Party or something."

"Yeah," Mr. Banks tugs at his mustache. "And you want it here."

Mr. Banks looks around him and shrugs his shoulders.

"That was the idea, Carl. Uh, how likely will it be to have it wrapped up in that time."

"Well, that's the problem with that is because it takes so long to get certain permits on a job like this. It's quite a task in itself, son."

"I see your point," Eli nods respectively. "I was just thinking since you had the whole crew up here. Raven's place is done. They done a mighty good job there, Sir."

"That one owner I was telling you about down in Texas decided to keep moving forward on his home. The boys left this morning, three trucks of them."