Old Man Eli

Chapter Four

I was a little surprised when Mark and Charlie more or less behaved themselves as we gathered on my little patio for the first time. Sara's car was parked in my backyard and mine was right in front of it. We were actually a little sedate as we had a drink and talked about our week or about some piece of gossip. But the coming event was working on Sara's mind so she stood up and said, "Okay damn it let's get this over with" and stripped to her bra and panties while all of us stared at her and Mark and Charlie took her picture and cheered. I had a moment where I was feeling sorry for her but then I saw her smiling so I had to believe there was some part of her that was enjoying the attention and the flattering comments from us guys.

I had to admit she looked very sexy and to watch her wiggle her barely covered ass as she moved around the cars got me a little excited. Had I thought about it I could have seen it coming. As Charlie took pictures with his digital camera rapid fire, Mark quickly got the hose and sprayed Sara making her panties all but disappear and her bra cling to her like a second skin. She had very few secrets from everybody now. Sara squealed and tried to evade the spray from the hose but there again I don't think she tried all that hard. My girlfriend the fairly modest and conservative miss Sara was acting like a fourteen year old with half the football team paying attention to her. I was having a great time as I sat there and watched it all unfold. Even Nita and Kay were smiling and laughing. Sara's close friends were sharing camp with the enemy in a way.

At the very least everybody now knew that Sara shaved between her legs except for a thin strip of hair that showed through her almost transparent panties and they all knew that she had nice sized nipples that stood out proudly when the mild air drifted across her soaked bra. I waited until she was completely done with the cars and was standing there with her hands on her hips in a defiant posture before I took a large beach towel to her and she wrapped herself in it to warm up. The grand show was over but it would be talked about for some time to come especially when we all gathered around to look at the photos. I was as curious to hear what Sara, Kay and Nita had to say as well as the guys. Mark and Charlie could pretty well be predicted but what the women would say was more of an unknown. Of course what they said in front of us guys and what they would say away from us might be two different things.

In comparison the rest of the day was pretty quiet. We played cards for a little while and then talked and gossiped more. Sara changed the

subject by asking me, "Have you met any of your neighbors?"

"Not yet. The couple to my south appears to be a little older than my thirty one but not by a lot but I just saw them from a distance too. I haven't seen anybody on the other side or around that old three story home next to that one. I'm just assuming somebody lives in that old place."

"Well at least they don't bother you or make a lot of noise."

"No I think the nearest family with kids is about four houses to the south. I thought I heard loud voices coming from that house" and I pointed to the north and continued, "But I guess it was a loud television or something because it got quiet after that like maybe they hit the wrong button and cranked up the volume or something. Other than that it's been quiet as a cemetery around here."

We all got together for dinner the next Friday night and talked about Sara's show and the photos were passed around the table. Sara's cheeks flushed when she saw herself in just her bra and panties but when she saw how much she was displaying after being sprayed with the hose she really blushed. "My God why didn't somebody tell me I was naked?"

Charlie looked at her and smiled. "You're kidding right? Tell you and have you stop? I don't think so."

Sara looked first at Kay and then at Nina and asked with a smile, "Why didn't one of you say something."

"We just assumed you knew you were naked."

"Thanks a lot." It put me in mind of a quote from Shakespeare, "The lady doth protest too much me thinks," as I watched Sara smile coquettishly and complain at the same time.

I had Saturday to myself so I went out front about mid day to study what little landscaping there was around my simple front steps. I wasn't a gardener and wasn't interested in becoming one but I did want to plant something to fill in the gaps in the plain areas. As I stood there I thought I saw smoke come from a window of the old three story house two doors down. If I did it wasn't much but I was worried enough to go investigate. I still didn't even know if somebody lived there but if there was smoke then somebody most likely did.

I studied the wind closely as I followed the sidewalk in that direction. I saw another wisp of smoke then so I moved a little quicker. Once again I saw smoke so I went to the front door and knocked loudly and waited and the knocked again. I couldn't decide just how persistent to be. Should I barge in if the door wasn't locked? Should I go home and call the fire department? I was ready to go home and do just that when the door opened and an old man looked at me and asked, "What do you want?"

"Sorry to bother you but I saw smoke coming from one of your back windows."

"Yeah everything is okay."

"Okay then sorry to bother you."

I turned to go and got about two steps when he said, "Hey." I turned and he said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"You the new one?"

"Yes, two doors down."

"Yeah I saw the moving van." He was brusque to the point of being rude and yet even though he was using a sharp tone he seemed willing to talk. "What's your name?"

"Aaron. Aaron Paxton, what's yours?"

"Eli."

"Nice to meet you Eli. Well I don't want to keep you from something, glad it's nothing serious."

"You in a hurry are you?"

"No, not particularly."

"Come have coffee then" and without waiting for me went back inside. If nothing else he had me very curious so I followed him in. I stopped just beyond the foyer area and looked around. It was like I had been transported back in time. I wasn't knowledgeable about the different periods but I was guessing the mid thirties or so. Everything seemed frozen in time. The fabrics seemed sharp and of bright color and yet of a very old style with dangling fringe on a lamp shade, an old fainting couch that looked straight out of an old movie and no modern things like a television or modern lighting. The wallpaper seemed a little old and the flower pattern faded but that didn't surprise me at all. He had electricity it seemed but the room seemed a little dark and heavy.

"You coming?" I snapped back and continued to follow him to the kitchen where he poured coffee from an old dull percolator that he'd removed from an old gas stove. I was so tempted to ask him questions but that would have been very rude so I bit my tongue. I tasted the hot coffee and he waited for me to indicate approval so I smiled and said,

"Very good, I haven't had percolated coffee in a very long time."

"It's the best way to make coffee."

He sat down across from me and just looked at me until I was getting uncomfortable so I asked him, "You lived here a long time?"

"Seems so sometimes and other times not at all."

"Your home is spotless and in such perfect condition."

"It doesn't see much wear." There was no thank you for the compliment, just the explanation. "I do a lot of reading" was the last part of his offering regarding his house. I drank my coffee quickly so I could get out of there and a few minutes later I stood to go and said, "Thanks for the coffee."

"Sure." I could only hope that if I were to ever return he'd be just a little more verbose. "I don't much encourage people to come here, I'm kind of private."

All I could think of to say was, "We all have to find what works for us."

"There are many forces that affect our lives, some good and some not so good. Something made you notice the smoke and brought you here. Something made me answer the door when normally I might not. You know people think they choose who they meet in life when in truth life chooses who we meet most times." I made it as far as the living room and saw the old radio.

"Eli does that radio work?"

"Of course, wouldn't be much point in having it if it didn't."

"No I guess that's right. Thanks again Eli and it's good to meet you."

"Come back sometime."

"I'll do that." I didn't invite him to my house because I had no doubt that he'd say no.

Chapter Five

I walked back home thinking about our strange stop and start conversation and how philosophical he became at the end. I couldn't decide if I went along with what he said but that didn't matter. The fact that that old man would suddenly become chatty enough to utter those particular words had me thinking about what he said. My mind was no longer on landscaping so I just went inside and abandoned that project for a little while. I put the thoughts of old Eli out of my mind and considered working on my computer but felt restless so I went out the backdoor and wandered around my unimpressive yard. I had raked it and made as much of it as I could some days earlier but it was pretty unimpressive.

To this day I have no idea what happened but as I walked across that freshly raked and clean part of my yard I tripped and went down hard. Being young and fairly resilient it should have been of no consequence but somehow I had my left elbow under me and I had the wind knocked out of me so badly that I was afraid I'd pass out for a minute. Her voice filtered into my thought processes and I realized she was standing over me. "Are you okay?" I tried to talk but it wasn't coming easily so I slowly nodded my head yes. "Are you sure, you went down so hard and I was certain you'd hit your head on that big rock." I didn't even remember a rock being there but sure as hell when I turned to look that rock was within an inch of my head.

I managed to move enough to get my elbow out from under my side and I got enough breath to manage a 'damn it' before looking up at her. "Hi I'm Kelli Palino."

I nodded my head and managed, "Aaron."

"Nice to meet you Aaron. Let me help you up."

It took a minute but I was finally standing and breathing and gaining some semblance of control. "God Aaron you almost cracked your head on that rock."

"I guess I did."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I think so. I can't believe that all I did was fall down on the grass and I thought I was going to die for a second."

"I've never seen anybody fall so fast before." I moved my left elbow and let out with an ouch and tried to step and almost fell down again. "This is crazy."

"You're just shook up, let me help you inside." I was able to make it but she stayed close to me just in case I stumbled yet again. I sat down at the kitchen table with a grunt and lay my sore elbow on the table.

"You said Kelli right?"

"Yes, Kelli Palino."

"Did I tell you I'm glad to meet you?"

"No but you kind of had your hands full."

"Thanks for coming to my aid. You'd never know I'm only thirty and right now I'm not even sure of that. How the hell could I trip over nothing and knock myself silly like that?"

"I don't know but it sure scared me."

"Sorry to interrupt your day."

"Don't worry about that I'm just glad you're not hurt."

"I'm fine now but I'll probably be sore tomorrow."

"Aaron I'm sorry I haven't been over to introduce myself."

"That's okay. If nothing else we got to meet each other because of my clumsiness."

"The bright side of an unfortunate event."

"Sounds like you've been talking to the old man next door to you."

"Are you kidding, he's about as anti social as any human can be. Don't tell me you've met him."

"Yes I had coffee with him earlier."

"That's not possible."

"Why?"

"I've lived next door to him for months and we haven't spoken six words to each other."

"Maybe he hates women."

"He sure is a strange one."

"I can't argue with you on that one."

"So what's he like?"

"Curt, almost rude and yet comes up with thought provoking things. I was uncomfortable being there and yet I wasn't. It was a short and very weird visit. His name is Eli but I guess you knew that."

Oh so that's his name, no I didn't know it."

"That is weird. I'm sorry Kelli I'm being rude myself how about some coffee?"

"I don't want to bother you."

"You aren't, it's nice to get to know my neighbor."

I got up and had coffee making in the Bunn quickly and she said,

"Vince, my husband, and I watched as the moving van pulled up that Friday and that's the first we knew we were getting a new neighbor."

"Well I'll try not to be as weird as your neighbor on the other side."

"You're a refreshing change. The couple that lived here before was strange in their own way too. Civil but aloof is the only way I can describe them."

"I'll try not to be that way either."

"Were you doing something in the backyard that I can help you with?"

"Thanks but no. I was just walking around and thinking about planting a tree or something one of these days. I'm not much of a gardener at all though."

"I like that sort of thing at least to some degree."

"The only thing I'm good at is ruining perfectly good clothes. I've managed to ruin this shirt with grass stains and I've torn my jeans."

"I wonder how you tore your jeans by falling in the grass?"

"I don't even know how I could fall in the grass so I can't help with the tearing part."

"I can get that grass stain out for you but your jeans are beyond help."

"They sure are. Do you think this shirt is salvageable?"

"Oh sure I'll take it home with me and get it back to you good as new."

"Thank you that would be nice."

The two of us talked over coffee for the next two hours or so as we learned about each other, the neighborhood, her husband Vince and I told her about Sara. She suddenly jumped up and said, "Oh I have to get home. I didn't realize what time it is."

"I hope we can get together again one of these days it's been nice talking to you."

"Thank you I've enjoyed it too. Peel your shirt off and I'll get it back to you in the next day or two." With my sore elbow she had to help me a little and I said, "It's a good thing you were here or I would have had to sleep in it tonight." She just smiled warmly and headed for my backdoor. "Kelli it really is good to meet you and thanks again for coming to my aid."

"I'm glad I could help. Step carefully Aaron."

"I will." With one little wave and my shirt in her hand she was gone.

Chapter Six

It was late Saturday morning before I saw Kelli again when she came knocking on my backdoor. I let her in and we shared smiles and warm greetings. Handing me my shirt she says, "I'm sorry I didn't get it back to you sooner."

"That's fine thanks again for saving it."

"It's no problem."

"Have time for coffee?" She looked at her watch and nodded saying, "Yes but I can't stay too long." Once again we sat across from each other and talked about the simple things in life. We talked about me working in a design and research department for after market auto supplies and she told me about her part time job with an insurance company. She asked me about Sara and I found myself telling her things about our relationship both good and bad that when I thought about it later surprised me. I even told her about our bet and what Sara had to do when she lost. She was watching me closely as I told the tale and with a happy lilt to her voice said, "Aaron remind me to never lose a bet with you." I just smiled and took a sip of coffee. She told me a little bit about her husband Vince but not much. Kelli seemed to get nervous then and checked her watch a couple of times before getting up and after saying thanks for the coffee went home.

I went over to Sara's in the evening and then we went to dinner from there. I told her about my near disaster and meeting Kelli and the shirt incident. "What's she like?"

"Very nice actually. Dresses pretty frumpy but she's attractive in spite of that. We had coffee and talked for quite awhile."

"So you haven't met her husband yet?"

"Not yet. I told her about you and I even told her about you losing our bet."

"You didn't."

"Sure, she thought it was pretty funny actually."

"She must be pretty easy to talk to."

"Yes actually she is." I changed the subject and asked her, "What did Kay and Nita think of the car washing stunt?"

"They didn't think I'd go through with it."

"Did Mark get into trouble for spraying you?"

"She didn't act like it. Did Mark or Charlie comment later?"

"Oh yes, you now have two very devoted fans."

"Oh I'm sure."

"They were very impressed with what they saw and with how gutsy you were."

"It was fun and once I relaxed I enjoyed teasing you guys." She paused a second and then asked me, "Has it seemed to you like there is something going on with Nita and Charlie?"

"Yeah but I'm not sure what."

"It's like there is a distance between them lately." "That's a good way to put it."

"I hope it's nothing serious, I think Charlie is such a nice guy."

"He is and I like Nita too."

"I do too but she has a coolness about her. It's like she keeps a defensive distance from the world."

"That is a perfect description of Nita."

After dinner we went back to Sara's and as we got comfortable she asked me, "Have you seen or talked to...you know the old man?"

"You mean Eli."

"Yes Eli."

"No. I can never tell if he's even home. Some kid keeps his lawn mowed but that's the only sign of life from over there."

"He sure sounds like an intriguing old man."

"He really is, I've never met anybody quite like him. I get the feeling there is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in him but I'm not sure he'd ever open up enough to ever share it with anybody."

"What a waste then. Knowledge is most valuable when it is shared."

"You're sounding pretty wise yourself today." We spent what remained of the evening together on the couch and talked until she started to nod off. I gave her one last kiss and told her I was going home to bed.

About the middle of the morning Sunday I went out front again for another try at assessing my landscape needs. I finally decided what I wanted to do and happened to glance toward Eli's and was surprised to see him standing on his front porch so I headed toward him. When he saw me he just stood there until I was close and then he said, "Thought you might be around."

"Morning Eli."

"You might as well come in for coffee Aaron."

"Thanks I will." We were soon seated in the same chairs as before and he had coffee made almost like he was expecting somebody to come by.

"How have you been Eli?"

"The same." I didn't know if that meant he was good or bad but he didn't offer more either. "Have you met your neighbor Aaron?"

"You mean Kelli?"

"I don't know her name."

"The pretty one?"

"I guess you could call her pretty."

"Yes I did meet her. She came to my aid when I tripped over nothing in my backyard."

"Like I said before Aaron, life chooses who we meet."

"It certainly did that time. She seems very nice."

"You fell over nothing you say."

"Yes it was the strangest thing. I'd just raked the yard so I know there was nothing but smooth lawn in that area and yet I managed to fall and

about crack my head on a rock that I didn't even know was there. Managed to knock the wind out of myself in the process too. That whole incident still puzzles me."

"I have a theory about things like that. I call them life forces. I believe there are many forces in this place we call our world. I believe some if not all of those forces have a great influence on us."