Harmony: Blessed But Not Perfect

"You didn't have too."

She answered, "Your helping me."

She watched him push the cart to her Jeep Cherokee.

She found herself gazing at his backside and his legs. She focused. She worried he would catch a cold. He was without a coat, hat, or gloves. He was only in a camouflaged hoodie, a t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. She quickly dug into her purse and took out her keys. She rushed over to her vehicle. Where he was patiently standing.

"Let me get the door."

He mentioned, "I never seen you here before."

"My washer broke."

"What happened?"

"It made this loud squealing noise."

"That isn't good."

She touched his arm, "That's not the worst."

"It wasn't?"

"No. It made this clunking noise. I'm glad it wasn't filled with water."

He said, "I'm not a repair guy but it sounds like it died."

"It's dead alright."

They laughed.

She focused.

"Lets get this open."

He stood back and watched.

She quickly unlocked the hatch with her key fob and quickly opened it. She let him load three baskets of bedclothes in the cart he brought. She set three baskets of clothes into her cart. She set into the top basket her detergent, stain remover, and softener. She shut the hatch. She was surprised he waited for her to do this. As soon as the hatch was shut he rushed over to the glass door. He quickly pulled the door open and pushed the cart into the laundromat. He came back and held the door open. She quickly pushed her cart through the door.

He suggested, "I know the big machines seem more expensive. But it'll be cheaper in the long run if you put all of your bedclothes in one of them."

"All three baskets will fit into one?"

"Maybe two. Even still. It'll be cheaper than using a half dozen of the smaller ones."

She appreciated the tip but would check to see if he was correct.

"Oh. If you use cash make sure to check the tokens. Some of them are one credit and others are two credits. The machines will take the extra."

"Thanks."

They heard beeping.

She watched him look toward the sound.

"That's mine."

She smiled. She gently touched him on the arm, "You better get to it."

"First let me push your cart over to the big machines."

She followed, "Are these good machines?"

"Oh yeah. This place is better than the other one."

"The one by the grocery store?"

"Yes."

He stopped and turned, "It's not a very good one. The machines tend to take your money. The dryers are way to hot. It's the reason I don't use that one anymore. Overall it isn't that great of a place."

"I was happy when they built this one. Also."

He paused.

She touched his arm again, "What?"

"If I were you I wouldn't go there at night. During the day is okay. But at night. Not so much."

She stated, "I thought this was a safe community to live in?"

Matter of fact he said, "It is. But an attractive woman like yourself should be careful over there at night."

She heard it.

She touched his arm, "What about the grocery store?"

He joked, "With me working at the store it's a safe place."

She rolled her eyes at his slight chuckle

He became serious, "That strip mall can be sketchy at night."

The grocery store and strip mall were twenty yards from one another. The grocery store faced North while the strip mall faced east. Both had their own parking lots.

They heard the beeping again.

"Let me get my laundry."

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem."

She watched him step toward the washing machine. He grabbed a cart on his way. He stopped at the medium sized machines. She liked his energy. She liked his graying dark curly hair, his bright brown eyes, his smile, and his laugh.

She picked a table across from the large washing machines and in the middle of the medium sized ones. While keeping an eye on Shawn she removed her outwear and went to work. Comparing the cost of the machines Shawn was correct. She believed in separating her laundry. She ended up using three large one, two medium sized ones, a regular sized one, and a small ones.

Once this was completed she stepped over to her table. She stood in a way to block her purse. She was impressed with a mother who brought coloring books and crayons for her two daughters. It was obvious the two sisters were talking up a storm. Every few moments the mother would have to acknowledge how well they were coloring. Harmony smiled when a mother stopped an older brother from putting his little sister into a cart. It was obvious the sister was more upset about this than the boy was. The mother took the two for a walk. Harmony imagined walking children of her own to the pet store or the dollar store.

Shawn impressed her when he helped an elderly black couple lift their laundry into a cart and out to their car. She was amazed he sorted his clothes and used four different dryers. Unlike two other guys who shoved all of their clothes into one large dryer.

He glanced in her direction multiple times. What fascinated her, unlike most guys who tended to stare at her breasts, he would glance at her backside and legs. To have a guy notice anything besides her large breasts was refreshing.

She spotted him loading a wheeled cart with full laundry baskets.

While slipping on his winter jacket she approached him. She glanced at his clothes. She liked his selection of what she called business casual. Based upon the type of shirts he owned, she assumed he owned some nice suits.

"Shawn."

He perked up, "Yes."

She smiled.

"I could use help folding my bedding."

He smiled, "It's always easier with two."

She answered, "I have to warn you though."

"Of what?"

"I just put them in the dryer. So it will be about forty-five minutes before they are fully dry."

"That's great. With the storm approaching I don't have anything going on."

She asked, "You need help?"

"I could use help with the door."

She liked the fact he would accept help from her.

"Of course."

Harmony opened the door for him.

He pushed the cart passed her.

She asked, "You need anything else?"

"It's easy getting this into my truck."

She watched him push his cart to the back of his pick-up-truck. Because the truck had a cover it was easy for him to set the baskets in the back. She noticed he glanced at her backside and legs. He quickly turned away. She acted like she never noticed.

She heard a thud.

Immediately after she heard a guys voice say, "What the fuck are you doing?"

She turned and spotted an average white guy carrying a laundry basket. He stopped in front of an Afro-American woman. It was obvious she dropped a basket.

She timidly said, "It was an accident."

He made a huffing noise. He set down the basket he was carrying. He stepped in front of the pile of clothes. He picked up a few items and waved them in front of her.

"What type of wife are you anyway?"

She again answered timidly, "It was an accident."

"A real wife wouldn't have accidents like this. A real wife is able to get the laundry done without the husband needing to help. A good wife wouldn't need a laundromat."

"The machine broke."

He snipped, "What did you do to it?"

Again timidly, "Nothing."

"I certainly don't use it. So what did you do to it?"

In a low voice she answered, "It's old. We need a new one."

"We don't have the money for a new one. So now what?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

He angrily slammed the clothes into the basket. Picked up the basket and shoved it at her.

He demanded, "Take it."

"I'm sorry about the washer."

"Shut up and take the basket."

Harmony quickly stepped back into the laundromat. She would give them as much space as possible. She watched them enter. He pointed to a cart. The wife quickly went over to it. He criticized her for how long it took. He aggressively pushed the cart to the change machine. At the change machine he started to yell at her. He grabbed her purse. Yanked out her wallet and shook the change out of her purse. Harmony could tell she was holding back tears.

Harmony was so focused on the couple she missed the fact Shawn entered the laundromat.

The whole laundromat heard the husband demand, "Pick it up."

She immediately started to pick up the change.

This angered Harmony.

The husband took out a bill from the wives wallet. He slipped it into the change machine. Harmony hung her purse over her shoulders and headed to the dryers.

The whole laundromat heard, "What are you fucking stupid?"

They heard her reply, "I didn't know there'd be two credits."

"Why are you so fucking stupid?"

The wife was slapped across the face twice.

The wife took it but there was blood coming from her cheek and her eye immediately started to swell.

Harmony immediately turned toward the sound.

She witnessed Shawn step in front of the wife.

Harmony grabbed her phone. She noticed people making phone calls. She assumed they were calling 911. A few were leaving as fast as possible. She decided with others calling 911 she would use her phone and capture what was happening.

The husband yelled, "Who the fuck are you?"

Shawn answered, "You better leave."

The guy tried to punch Shawn.

Shawn dodged the punch. The guy found himself on the ground. The abuser yelled and tried to get back up. Shawn warned him to be still. The guy resisted. Quickly; the guy passed out. Harmony watched as Shawn dragged the guy out of the laundromat. Harmony was happy to hear police sirens. She felt it was justice when Shawn plopped the guy on the sidewalk. Harmony watched as two women quickly approached the abused wife. Shawn headed toward the abused wife. One of the ladies waved for him to stay back. He listened. But stood by one of the windows.

The blue and red lights of three police cars were now flashing inside of the laundromat. One of the officers stopped to look at the passed out abuser on the sidewalk. Harmony watched the abuser try to stand. She liked the fact he was woozy and fell into a heap. An ambulance showed up and took the abuser away. She watched as two police officers stepped into the laundromat. Another police car pulled up. A male lieutenant stepped out.

She recognized all of these officers. Two months prior; she received the contract for the police department in the suburb she lived in. All of the officers were coming to her store to be fitted for new uniforms. While collecting her now dry clothes she kept an eye on what was happening. It was obvious the officers were getting statements. It appeared to Harmony as though the abused wife was accusing Shawn of being the aggressor. This was confirmed by the reaction of the two women who were trying to help the abused wife. Harmony watched as both of these women stepped away in frustration. Harmony became concerned when the lieutenant approached Shawn.

Harmony immediately stepped into action. She gained the attention of the female officer. This officer immediately recognized Harmony. Harmony showed the officer the video clip. The officer led Harmony to her lieutenant. The lieutenant knowing Harmony listened to her and watched the video. This quickly changed the situation. Harmony sent the video to the lieutenant. He showed it to the abused wife. Harmony's heart went out to the abused wife as she broke down and cried. The wife apologized for lying. She was afraid if she said what truly happened she would get beaten later. The two women again comforted the abused wife. The female officer took over the situation. This female officer helped the abused wife collect her laundry and gently led her into the ambulance.

The lieutenant thanked Harmony. Shawn received a warning. No charges were ever filed.

Harmony was delightfully surprised when Shawn calmly stepped over to her table and helped her fold her bedding. She found out. He deeply appreciated her help with the police. Shawn was forty-four years old. He confessed to being a widower for five years. He had been married for twenty-two years. Harmony didn't ask to many questions about this. His daughter was twenty-five years old. She followed in his footsteps and was serving in the Air Force; she planned on making this her career.

She noticed his glances. Most of his glances were directed at her legs and backside. He was the first man she ever met who was more focused on her legs and backside than her large breasts. What she adored more than anything else was the majority of his attention was focused on her eyes and their conversation. He seemed to be impressed with the fact she ran her own business. So many guys became intimidated when she told them she was making it on her own. She loved the fact he would open doors for her, liked how he could take care of himself, and respected how he defended the abused wife. The way he kept glancing at her athletic wear, jeans, and intimates made her believe he had fetishes. The reason she picked up on this was because of a past lover. Depending how she felt about the guy, and if the guy could perform without them, she was willing to indulge in them herself. In many ways she found fetishes (depending on what they were and who was asking) was a turn on for her. She wouldn't put up with an inappropriate act or a guy crossing her boundaries. No meant no. The flip side, if he was a great lover, he communicated well, and cared about her needs; she was inclined to experiment. These were the reasons she asked him to carry the laundry into her condo.

If he suggested carrying the baskets to her bedroom she would have agreed. She was pleasantly surprised when he carried them into the back living room. Never once did he suggest taking the laundry into her room or make any sort of sexual advances. Instead he made up a lame excuse and allowed Harmony to lead him out of the condo.

She was laying on her bed slowly making love to herself. Her headphones were connected to her phone and was listening to the sounds of the African Serengeti. She imagined being an African guide and Shawn was a famous photographer. She imagined they had fallen in love during the tour. It was sunset and they were parked in a truck. She imagined her legs being spread out looking out the side window. She was observing elephants walking across the horizon and hearing the sounds of the safari. In the wilds of the safari she received the best oral sex of her life. After bringing herself to an orgasm with this fantasy. She took out the dildo that squirted. She imagined Shawn being the first man she ever made love to. He would be the first man to enter her without wearing a condom. In her fantasy they had an orgasm at the same time.

Seven Months Later

Saturday After Work

Harmony contracted to have a sewing room and changing room built in her basement. Both were rectangular shaped. In the back of the sewing room was a commercial sized five head embroidery machine and two heavy duty sewing machines. The commercial embroidery machine was four feet from the wall and was the same length as the back wall of the room. Four feet in front of this machine were the two sewing machines. To the right of the embroidery machine hanging on the wall were a series of peg boards were the spools of thread were stored. On the opposite wall were secured shelves. These shelves were filled with a wide variety of fabrics. Many of these fabrics were vertically stored in bolts, others were on rolls, others were neatly wrapped with cardboard sheets, and there were sections of fabric folded into clear plastic bins. They were all neatly organized by size and pattern. The entrance was on the opposite wall of the embroidery machine. To the left of the door were two large supply cabinets. On the door was a full length mirror. In the center of the room was a large rectangular shaped wooden table. Below the table were cabinets filled with sewing patterns and a drawer filled with flash drives. There were new patterns and preserved used patterns. There were two other cabinets filled with more sewing supplies. There was decorative flower analog clock above the entrance door and four digital alarm clocks strategically placed throughout the room.

To the right of this sewing room was a changing room. It was carpeted and had three booths were someone could change their clothes. Mirrors hung on the back half of this room. There were stools to stand on, a small supply cabinet, a small sewing machine, and a clothing rack. Currently there were two wedding dresses hanging on this rack. Around the top quarter of the room were wildlife prints. Her stores changing room was much bigger but this was good enough for what she needed to accomplish at home.

Before going downstairs she changed out of her business casual clothes. She was currently wearing a dark gray crew neck athletic t-shirt, a pair of blue Capri yoga pants, and expensive athletic shoes. Expecting to be home by herself she was without a bra. She would have worn shorts if she was upstairs but it was always cooler in the basement. In two weeks she was having the central air and the heater replaced. She hoped this would reduce her electric and heating bill.

Harmony stepped into her sewing room and turned on the lights. She set two rolls of fabric onto the center table. She connected her laptop to the commercial sewing machine and to a set of computer speakers. She logged into her favorite music sight and selected a Jazz playing list. She started her project by opening her storage cabinets searching for the sewing patterns she wanted to use. She found a brand new pattern for a zippered track jacket, a preserved pattern for a sports bra, a preserved pattern for leggings, and the zip drive she needed. All of the patterns were in clearly marked manila envelopes. Stored on the zip drives were embroidery patterns.

She spread the patterns out on the table. She calculated how much fabric she needed for each piece. She was grateful she ordered enough fabric for the leggings. It took about two and a quarter hours to decided on the fabric she would use for the jacket and her bra. The fabric she brought down were for the leggings. She: spread out the fabric, cut it, ironed it, put the extra back, finished off the sides of each piece, washed each piece, and dried them.

She was feeling nervous about her plan. In many ways this nervousness blind sighted her. She could have ignored her feelings but this would have been dishonest to Shawn and herself. She wasn't interested in Shawn being just a regular lover. She wanted to make love to Shawn. In the last seven months she fell in love with him. The things she admired the most. He was always willing to help anyone in the complex with just about anything. What was equally important was his ability to admit when he couldn't fix something or help. To be with a man who had only been with one woman impressed her a great deal. She was overjoyed when she found out he didn't judge her for her sexual experiences. She adored his willingness to be with her. She liked him around and wanted him to be near her. What was equally important was his understanding when she needed to make work a priority.

They spent almost all of their free time together. A lot of their time together was helping one another with their condos. One of her favorite days was when he helped her plant flowers next to her steps. A favorite activity of theirs was playing cards. Their favorite games were: Canasta, Kings in the Corner, Poker, Crazy Eights, Rummy, and a three deck card game his family played (they searched repeatedly and couldn't find the name of it). He collected decks of cards. His favorite cards were on display in his rec room. Most of his newest card decks were purchased by Harmony. Debbie casually mentioned if they liked playing cards they were likely to enjoy board games. Tamika and Debbie took Harmony to a board game and comic book store where they showed her what games to purchase (Harmony was surprised at how many people knew both of these ladies at this store). Playing board games was now one of their favorite activities. Their board game selection was increasing as both were purchasing classics from an auction website and they visited stores that sold games. They both liked movies. She liked the fact he never complained about watching romantic movies. In return she would watch the strange comedies he liked and the classic movies he raved about. She disliked his very bland cooking. When they were together she either made them dinner or they went out. She liked the fact he would help and listened to her. Another favorite activity of theirs was biking. She was able to handle aerobic exercise because of the sports bras she sewed herself. This didn't stop her from disliking running. He touched her heart when he showed up at her condo with a brand new bike. This bike was significantly better than any bike she ever rode before. Without this bike she wouldn't have been able to handle the long distance bike rides they enjoyed. The previous night he suggested they take a week long biking camping trip. They both understood the implication.