Mandy and Me Ch. 04

"What's that under my butt?" she asked, with a giggle.

"Mandy, after you talkin' to Mom, you should know what it is," I said.

"It feels so big. How big is it?" she asked.

"It's about seven inches when hard," I said.

"Your mom says it'll fit in me," she said. "But I'm not so sure right now."

"Mandy, we're not gonna go there right now. That's somethin' we should wait on doin', after we're more sure about bein' in love. You know the difference between lovin' and bein' in love don't you?" I asked her.

"I guess you're right," she said. "Mama and your mom both told me about bein' in love. Mike, your attitude is why I love you. You keep me from goin' too far. The other guys I dated all wanted to fool around when I wasn't ready. I believe I know you well enough to say you're the one I wanna fool around with. I trust you more than I've ever trusted anybody."

"I remember you sayin' that, and I'm surprised you wanted me to do what I'm doin'. Don't get me wrong, Mandy. I want it as much or more than you do, but I just don't think we're quite ready yet."

It had gotten almost fully dark while we were talking, and I glanced at my watch.

"We'd better get you home before your dad comes out here, huntin' for us with a shotgun."

She started laughing.

"He just might. Before we go, though, I need a bathroom."

"Let me start the truck and turn the lights on so you can see. Do you need the napkins?" I asked.

"No," she said, "I just have to pee, if you can give me some privacy."

"I do too, and I can," I said. "You take the front of the truck, and I'll go to the back. Tell me when you're finished."

I started up and turned the headlights on before going to the rear of the truck. I took care of business there while Mandy did the same at the front.

"Okay, Mike," she called.

I came around to the passenger side to open her door. After she was seated, I went to the driver's side and got in. We slowly drove back up the lane to Grandma's, where her parents were still talking with Grandma and Mom. We walked up onto the back porch.

Maggie and Mom looked us both over.

"Well, Mandy, how was the sunset?" Maggie asked.

"Mama, you shoulda been there. It was so beautiful. I really love that place by the lake, because it's so pretty."

"I feel left out, since I haven't been back there yet," Charles commented.

"Mr. Reynolds," I started.

"Mike, I've told you to call me Charles," he said.

"Okay, Charles," I said. "I was gonna say that you need to go back there. You'd really like it. Go any time you want, because you and your family're always welcome here."

"Mike, thank you for the trust," Charles said.

"Mama, Dad, Mike said he'd teach me about woodworkin' when he gets his shop set up. I wanna learn that."

"Mandy," I said, "you may not like this but you'll have to get your hair cut, or somethin', before workin' in my shop. As much as I love your long hair, I'd hate to see you get hurt if it got caught in a machine. Mr. Groves, my shop teacher, always stressed safety first, and I still believe in that. The last thing I want is to see you get hurt in any way."

"I never thought of that."

"Well, there's a couple o' options -- you can either get it cut short, or we can get you a cap or hat to put it up under. Either way'll work, so the choice is yours," I told her.

"Mike, the more I'm around you the more impressed I am. You are a very unusual young man. You're always thinkin'. I like your commitment to your future and your commitment to bein' safe. I'd be proud to have someone like you for a son-in-law," Charles said.

"Mike, you don't know what you've done," Maggie commented. "I've never seen Charles take to a young man like he has you. You're always welcome in our home."

"I'm so proud of you, Mike." Grandma said. "You remind me so much of Bill when he was your age. He was always thinkin' about the best and safest way to do anything.

"I wish you and Patsy could get moved out here as soon as you can. I'm gettin' to where I sometimes need help. I know it's gonna take some time, but I really need you here."

"Mama, I've got some vacation time I need to take. I'll see if I can get a few days this coming week. I guess it's time for me to find a realtor and get our house listed. I can also come out here if you need anything. Would that help?" Mom asked.

"It'd ease my mind," Grandma said. "It'd sure be nice if y'all could be here before Thanksgiving."

"Mom or I can start stayin' with you at night if you need us, Grandma. I don't have a lot of time with school and work, but I can be here at night."

"Thank you, Mike, but you need to finish school. We can work things out," Grandma said.

"Mrs. Davidson," Maggie said, "you can always call us too. We live a lot closer and will be glad to do anything for you."

"I'm gonna be here during some of the days," Charles added. "I'm gonna start doin' the electrical rough in for Mike this next week. I'll leave you my schedule at the fire station so you'll know when I'll be available."

"I thank all of you. You'll have to excuse me but I'm gettin' pretty tired. Y'all stay and visit if you want, but I need to go to bed," Grandma said.

"We all should leave, and let you get your rest," Mom commented.

"I'm plannin' to come back tomorrow, Grandma, 'cause there's some work I can start down at the barn."

We all said our good byes, and Mom and I started home, talking about moving on the way.

"Mike, we really should get out there as soon as we can. Grandma is gettin' to where she's really gonna need us there. We also may need to think about gettin' someone to stay with her during the day."

"Yeah, I've been wonderin' about that," I said. "It'd be for the best."

"I'm gonna try and take off Thursday and Friday this coming week," Mom said. "I want to call a realtor and have them look at the house, because we need to get it listed. It's in good shape and the shop you built may help sell it."

"Mom, if it sells quick what're we gonna do with all the furniture?" I asked. "Won't we need to store some of it? I'll need to start emptyin' out the shop too."

"What about usin' part of the barn? We'd have to cover everything to keep the dust off."

"We could do that, but I'd want to wall in the area, though. Otherwise we'd have mice gettin' in it. I've been thinkin' about buildin' a finishin' room anyway, so I might as well go ahead and do it now. I can take in an extra bay and wall it up, which might be the best idea."

"I think that would work. Now, I'm gonna change the subject. How about you and Mandy?" she asked.

"What about us?" I asked her. "We had a really good talk about us tonight. I really enjoy spendin' time with her, and I told her tonight that I could see us together in the future. I'm really beginnin' to think that I love her. The more I'm around her the more certain of it I am."

"That's about what I thought," Mom commented. "I've had a feelin' about you two. You've opened up to her quicker than you have anybody."

"You're right, Mom. She reminds me so much of you, and I'd say that she's the closest to you I've ever met. I'm thinkin' about her all the time and want to spend as much time as I can with her. I feel better just knowin' she's there with me. I still sometimes feel like I'm almost cheatin' on you, though, because of how close we've been."

"Don't feel that way, Baby. Put that in the past, where it belongs, and quit worryin' about it. You need to be concerned with your feelin's for Mandy. How does she feel about things?" Mom asked.

"That's what we were talkin' about tonight," I said. "She feels pretty much the way I do. We talked about our feelin's for each other, and both agreed that we really like each other and think it's gettin' close to love. She told me that she's always thinkin' about me and wonderin' about us."

"Sounds to me like you've both got it bad for each other," Mom said.

"Yeah, I guess we do," I said.

I thought for a few minutes.

"Mom, I need to take Larry out there tomorrow. I want to show him that place and what needs doin'. I'm probably gonna need his help on some of the work there, and maybe I can take a load from the shop."

"Sounds good to me. I want to check on Grandma again anyway, so I'll go with you."

We arrived at home, and I backed the truck up to the shop before we got out. Mom went in the house while I walked across the street. I knocked on the door and Connie answered.

"Hello, Mike. Do you need Larry?" she asked.

"Yes'm," I said. "I need to talk to him for a minute."

"Come on in. We're in the living room," she replied.

I went in, and found Larry, Karen, and Lawrence watching TV.

"Hey, Mike. Whatcha need?" Larry asked.

"Larry, I'd like you to go with me tomorrow," I said. "I want to show you where the new shop'll be and how to get there. Karen's welcome to come too. I need to show you what I've got and what we're gonna do to it."

Lawrence asked, "Mike, would you mind if Connie and I come too. Larry's been tellin' us you were gonna move and build a new shop. I'd like to see what you have."

"Lawrence, it'd be fine with me but my grandmother's not feelin' well, and I don't know how much company she wants right now. Mom and I were talkin' comin' home and think we may have to get someone to stay with her durin' the days. She's startin' to get weak and tires easily."

"Lawrence, we can wait. Mike, what about Karen?" Connie asked.

"Connie, I asked Karen because there's a girl out there she may know. I think their moms work together. Karen, do you know Amanda Reynolds?"

"Yeah, I know Mandy. We've had some classes together. What's she doin' now?" she asked.

"She's gonna be my bookkeeper," I said. "I met her a couple of weeks ago, and she's goin' to school at Kilgore College, takin' accounting. She lives almost next door out there."

"I'd sure like to see her again."

"What time are you leavin' tomorrow?" Larry asked.

"About 9:00," I said. "I'm gonna take a load from my shop when I go."

"I'll be over about 8:00 to help you load up."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "See you then. I'd better get home, since Mom and I have some things to do tonight. See y'all later."

11 Sept

We were on the road by 9:00. Mom and Karen were in the back seat, while Larry and I were in the front. Karen was talking about Mandy, while I was listening.

"I don't think she'll ever have a steady boyfriend. She didn't go out with many guys, and every guy that went out with her never took her out again. I'm not sure what happened between 'em because she never would say. She'd only say that the guys were jerks."

"Karen, do you think the guys might have done something she didn't like?" Mom asked.

"I thought about that and asked her, but she wouldn't tell what it was. I just don't know what the deal is."

"I'm sure you'll see her today, and she may surprise you," Mom replied, smugly.

"What do you mean?" Karen asked.

"Just wait and see," Mom told her, with a cryptic smile.

We arrived at the farm, where I saw Charles's truck at the barn. I stopped at the house, so Mom could get out, and then drove to the barn, where I turned around, and backed up to the large door.

Larry, Karen, and I walked in the barn. The feed room door was open so I figured Charles was in there. He heard us and came out, so I introduced Larry and Karen.

"Hi, Mike," he said. "Now that you're here there goes my help."

Mandy came out behind him.

"Karen! How've you been? I haven't seen you since last school year."

Karen ran and hugged her.

"I'm great. You need to meet my new husband, Larry. Do you know Mike? We came with him."

"I know him. He's my boyfriend, and I'm gonna be workin' here for him."

"Your boyfriend?" Karen asked. "What happened?"

"Girlfriend? Boyfriend? When did this happen?" Larry asked, with an incredulous look on his face.

"A couple of weeks ago," I said. "Mom and I were campin' at the lake out here, and Mandy, her mom, and Grandma all came down to go fishin'. We met then and it's been downhill ever since," I said, as I started laughing.

She heard me, and came over, slapping my arm.

"I heard that. That's not what you were sayin' last night," as she started laughing with me.

"Mike, I'll rescue you from that irate female. I need to ask a couple of questions about the wiring in here in the office area."

"I've gotta go. See you later, Sugar," I said, before kissing her.

"Come on in the office, Larry," I said, as we followed Charles.

"Don't be long, Honey, 'cause I'm waitin' and I'm worth it," she told me.

Karen's eyes were wide open, and anyone could see that Mandy was in for a lot of questions.

Charles had set a new electrical panel beside the old one, and was running conduit up into what would be the attic space.

"Can you show me where you want the door and windows in this front wall? I also need to see where you want outlets and switches, so I know how to run the conduit."

I went out to the truck, rummaged in the toolbox, and found a lumber crayon. Going back into the office, it was a quick job to mark door and window locations, and use the standard symbols to mark switch and outlet locations.

With Larry's help, we also roughed in the restroom locations on the floor, and marked locations on the back wall, where I wanted windows looking into the shop.

"I'll have the machinery locations figured out this coming week, and plan to start framin' the restroom walls next weekend. Is there anything else you need right now, Charles?" I asked.

"You've answered my questions for today, and now I've got enough to do to keep me busy for several days. Thanks, Mike."

I asked Larry what he thought. He was impressed with what I wanted to do.

"How soon are you movin' out here?" he asked.

"Probably by Thanksgiving," I told him. "Grandma needs us out here. Mom's gonna talk to a realtor this week about listing our house, and we're gonna sell it."

"There goes my ride," he said despondently.

"Larry, you'll still be able to ride with me, at least 'til school's out next spring," I said. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Mike, I really appreciate that," Larry said.

"Let's look at the shop area, so I can tell you what I plan on doin' out here."

When we walked out of the office, I saw that Mandy and Karen were in the back of the barn talking, so I showed Larry the rough drawing, as we walked through the shop area.

"Most of our work'll be here, in the shop, with us deliverin' assembled cabinets to the jobsites and installin' 'em. Most contractors will have the painters on their jobs do the finishin', and they'll wait 'til after the cabinets are installed to do that.

"I want to try and arrange everything so that material flows in a continuous path from the storage bins to the final assembly steps before it goes out the door to the customer.

"Somethin' else we'll need to do is to build jigs and fixtures for doin' the same operations over and over again, because they'll increase speed and accuracy."

"It sure sounds like you've been thinkin' about this for a while," Larry commented.

"I have. In one of my shop courses at school, we studied the methods that large manufacturin' companies use for buildin' furniture, and I saw how it could be used in a smaller shop as well. The whole object is to produce the parts as quickly and accurately as possible, and I think it can be done while doin' custom, built to fit, cabinets. If it works, like I think it will, it'll give us a big leg up over the factory made cabinets, because theirs are all made to standard sizes and from standard materials."

"I've noticed that the heights of base cabinets are all the same, and the same thing on most overheads, with the differences bein' when an overhead is over a kitchen range, or over a sink. About the only thing that really varies is the widths."

"That's right, Larry. Cabinet depths are standard, and the heights are too. The only real variable is the width, and when you look at the factory cabinets, theirs are built to standard widths. With them, you sometimes have to use filler strips, and that always ends up wastin' valuable storage space in the cabinets. I always like to build cabinets so the upper cabinet and base cabinet doors match in width, 'cause I think it makes for a much better lookin' job, when finished."

***

While Larry, Charles, and I were occupied, Karen was asking questions.

"I never expected this out of you, Mandy. What happened?"

"It's real simple, Karen, I never met a man before. You can't compare Mike to those boys in high school."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He's a real man," Mandy said simply. "He owns everything you see out here, the land, this shop, the house, everything, and he's been workin' since he was fifteen, and from what I know, Larry'll soon be workin' for him."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "Larry really likes the work and says Mike is a really good teacher. He's learned a lot already. Girl, you still haven't told me why you didn't date much in school. We used to wonder about you, thinkin' you weren't interested in guys much."

"This may be kinda hard to understand, but I want to save myself for the man I marry, Karen. All those guys in school wanted was just to get in my pants. They weren't interested in me as a person. Mike's interested in me, not just what's under my clothes.

"He's completely different from those boys in high school. Almost all of them were so immature in the way they acted, where Mike is already actin' like a serious adult. He's had his future planned out and has been workin' to get there for years."

"He's been a good influence on Larry. He's actin' a lot more grown up since he started workin' with Mike, and I really like it. He tells me he likes the work too, and wants to keep doin' it."

***

While we were all in the shop, Mom was talking to Grandma.

"Somethin's botherin' you, Patsy. Spit it out," Grandma said, in her no nonsense, direct manner.

"Mama, you were implyin' that Mike and I were foolin' around when I talked to you the other day. What would give you that idea?"

"Y'all gave it away," she chuckled. "Like a couple o' idiots, y'all left those sleepin' bags stacked on top o' each other, and didn't air the smell outa that tent. I may be gettin' old, but I still remember what sex smells like. How long have y'all been sleepin' together?"

"We started in the early summer after school was out," Patsy said softly, as she hung her head.

"Why'd you wait so long to do it?" Grandma asked.

"I wanted Mike to be an adult, 'cause I was concerned about gettin' caught with him before he turned eighteen."

"So you've been sleepin' with your son. It's not the first time it's ever happened and likely won't be the last. Are you still doin' it?"

"No," Mom said, sadly. "I stopped it when he went out with Mandy. I don't want to mess that up the way I've messed up everything else."

"Why do you think you've messed anything up?"

"I've messed up Mike's life. He still talks about how much he misses sleepin' with me. I love him so much that it's almost all I can do to keep from draggin' him back into my bed. Bill's dyin' left such a hole in my life and Mike had filled it completely."

"That ain't the only hole he was fillin', now was it?" Grandma asked with a chuckle. "I'll bet it was good."

"You're right about that. It WAS good, once he figured out what to do," she said, with a blush.

"Hold your head up high, Patsy. I'm not gonna say anything about it, because I haven't actually seen you and Mike together in a compromisin' position. If anything happens and I'm asked that's what I'll say. As far as anyone else is concerned, I didn't see anything, so I don't know anything."