Tied Up in Knotts Ch. 02

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Ryan clarified. "Your nomination for Man of the Year."

Every year there was a big event called Loyalty Days. It was a week-long event that spotlighted our community. At the end of the week, there was an award banquet for people and business'. The biggest award was the Man and Woman of the Year. Those who got nominated for this were amazing. They were movers and shakers, selfless, caring, compassionate, and giving. There were five people nominated in each category. The saying 'just being nominated is an honor' never rang truer.

"You had no idea?" Penn asked.

I looked at him and shook my head. I had no idea. Not one. Jane handed me her phone. On the screen was the Facebook page for the Chamber of Commerce.

Sure enough, between the former Mayor and the guy that ran the soup kitchen, was me, Nash Cushman.

"I thought this was supposed to be a respectable event." I asked, not knowing what to say.

"Because of the work you do with the youth? Your involvement with the community? Your kind-heartedness? Or the fact you're the most liked person in all of Lincoln?"

I was shocked to hear the words come out of Penn's mouth.

"It's true," Jane agreed.

"Well, I don't know what to say. I feel like there are so many other people who deserve the nomination. It's flattering but, honestly, I don't want that kind of recognition. Whatever it is I do; I don't do it to win awards. I'd hate for anyone to think that. That would be demeaning to what I do."

"Your humility is only proving your nomination," Ryan pointed out.

I sat, awkwardly. I didn't know what else to say and I wasn't sure how I felt about the nomination. Yes, it was a privilege and honor, but it also made me feel uncomfortable. No one seemed inclined to stay on the subject and, as soon as the bill was settled, everyone shuffled out of the restaurant.

****

Lee was full of energy when we got in the car. He spent the whole ride home retelling the evening like I hadn't been there. I thought it was cute the way he went on and on, like he'd met his idol for the first time. Lee was their lawyer and saw them semi-regularly but never hung out with them on a social level. We'd been invited to their house for parties and BBQs lots of times but never attended. I was usually busy with Yevo.

The invites were generous but we really weren't friends with the Knotts. We were merely acquaintances and I didn't want to overstep. I think Lee had always resented that. He really wanted to be included in their circle, even if it was just for show.

When we got home, I threw Ryan's clothes in the washer. Lee tried to convince me to keep them like a relic or something. I refused. I thought he was cute as hell but I wasn't crazy enough to stalk him.

I actually respected him more now than I did before. Nothing good could come from holding his smelly, dirty clothes hostage.

I took a quick shower and then sat in bed with Lee and we recapped our day. Mostly, I vented about Paul. When I finished, I knew I needed to let it go. I couldn't control him but I could control how he affected me. I didn't want to hate him and I didn't want to be angry all the time because of him. I decided that I wasn't going to meet with him anymore. I also decided to call my boss and let him know what was going on. The relationship between Paul and I was reaching a toxic level and I didn't want work to be negatively impacted because of it. I knew my boss would do what he could to resolve the matter. He'd have my back.

With that matter settled, I fell asleep with the love of my life against my chest.

***

Like it always was, the end of the school year was a whirlwind. Between fundraising, training for the Seattle Marathon, preparing for summer camp, life, work, eating, breathing, sleeping and everything else, there weren't enough hours in the day.

A part of me thrived on the chaos. I was sharper and more efficient when things were down to the wire. It was a redeeming quality and balanced out my inner procrastinator. Something that drove Lee crazy. But being a procrastinator, thriving under pressure, and wanting to make the last club of the year an epic one had put me in a bit of a pickle.

The last club was always a big food fight. It had become a tradition that everyone looked forward to. But I wanted to take it to the next level so I dreamed up something better.

Clubble.

It was going to be club in a bubble and would be the most epic food fight ever.

I laid in bed Monday morning thinking about how much fun it was going to be, how bright their smiles would be as they ran inside a giant plastic dome. Then, like a lightning bolt on a summer day, I shot out of bed. Lee looked panicked as he watched me run around like a chicken with my head cut off. He kept asking me what was going on but I didn't have time for him. I was in emergency mode.

I spent so much time thinking and dreaming that I hadn't begun putting the plan into action. I had nothing but an idea and eight hours to manifest it.

I frantically jotted everything on to a piece of paper and barely acknowledged Lee as I rushed out the door. The hardware store was still closed when I got there so I waited patiently outside until the owner showed.

"Morning Nash, what can I help you with?"

"Club is tonight. I have an idea but I need your help."

I explained my grand plan in as much depth as I could. He smiled approvingly and followed him to the warehouse. He showed me a few different options and we talked logistics. After working through a few scenarios and calculations, we settled on a roll of thick, clear industrial strength plastic and super tape.

Bob must have seen me trying not to gawk at the price. Being frugal was a requirement in the nonprofit world. I was spending other people's money and I needed to steward it wisely.

"Don't worry, consider this a donation. If this isn't enough, let me know and we'll get you another box."

I kept thanking him for his generosity. I would have gone way over budget without his help and the last thing I wanted was to give Paul more motivation.

I texted all the volunteers to see if anyone was free to help me set up. It was going to be a big undertaking and the reality that I might not succeed was hitting me hard. While I waited for their replies, I drove thirty minutes to the next town over. There was a large wholesale store that sold bulk food and supplies at a discounted rate. I loaded my truck up with the best foods for throwing around.

When I got back to Lincoln, I drove straight to the park. Constructing the beast on location was a must. Once it was erect, there'd be no moving it.

Trying to picking up the box of plastic was a shock. Like picking up an empty gallon of milk only to find out it's full. I was a strong, fit man in my early thirties but it took some serious manhandling to move that stuff. I carried it as far as I could before it dropped to the ground. I looked around and decided it was as good of a spot as any.

Once the plastic was rolled out, I realized just how big it was. Big was an understatement, it was huge. So huge I was scared to make the first cut. I literally couldn't afford to mess up. With a deep breath, I dragged the box knife through the plastic like butter.

I tried to align the long, heavy strips of plastic so I could tape them together but the wind kept moving the sheet of plastic, making everything more difficult. After several failed attempts, I grew agitated at my lack of progress. I spent more time running after flying plastic than getting the dang project completed.

I checked my phone but didn't see a single notification. It was already noon and I had nothing but a mess on my hands. In a moment of desperation, I called Lee.

"Please tell me you're not busy and you can come help me before tonight turns into an epic failure," I said before he had a chance to say anything.

"Whoa, slow down Nash. What's going on?"

"I'm in over my head, Lee. I'm sitting at the park by myself with a thousand feet of plastic sheathing. I can't do this. I haven't even started prepping food for the fight and I have to pick up pizza and kids. I really screwed the pooch on this. I need help, Lee. I really, really need help."

With the phone pressed to my ear, I ran a hand through my hair as I turned in a circle, looking at the giant mess I made.

"Shit, I—I'll see what I can do. I'm slammed today but I'll try. Maybe I can get off early?"

I could tell by his tone that he couldn't help me. He wanted to, but he was busy. By the time he got off work, even if it was early, it would be too late. I sighed as I looked at the pile of my own defeat.

"It's fine. I just needed to vent. I need to go."

I hung up the phone and slipped it into my pocket. I didn't have time to feel overwhelmed. I pulled the large containers of food from the back of the truck and used them as weights to hold the plastic down.

The weight seemed to be working so I grabbed the tape and began to lay it down. I know I was rushing, pressed by a clock that wouldn't slow down, but I couldn't get the tape to lay straight. It looked like it was done by a three-year-old. I decided to pull the tape off and try again but they called it super tape for a reason. I finally got the tape removed and was actually making progress when the wind picked up. It wasn't much but was strong enough to be an inconvenience to me.

I wanted to burn the whole thing down.

"It looks like you could use a hand."

I startled. I hadn't seen or heard anyone drive up. I definitely didn't expect to see Penn walking by my mess with an amused look on his face.

"Honestly, yes. I've been running in circles all morning."

"What are you doing?" He stepped over a twenty-five-pound bag of oatmeal until he was standing next to me.

"The goal is to create a giant plastic bubble that we can have a food fight in. I cut the plastic and now I need to build it."

"How wide is each strip?" He asked as he sorted through the heavy plastic.

"I don't know. I think twenty-five feet wide and sixty feet long? I was planning on doing two strips each for top and bottom and one for each side."

He paused and looked at me like I was crazy. "That's huge."

"Yeah, but it will fill up fast with a hundred kids."

He let out a whistle and nodded. He was thinking through the process. When his brain had everything sorted, he got to work. Two more guys appeared out of nowhere. They were Penn's employees. I would've kissed all three of them if they weren't nasty from pumping porta-potties.

With their help we got the plastic laid out and began tapping the pieces together. They were professionals. Where I had struggled, they excelled. They had everything laid and taped perfectly. The further we got into the project, the more confused I got. Everything was unfolded and I couldn't tell what was up, down, left, or right. Penn and the guys seemed to know what was happening, so I let them lead the way. I might've started as the boss but quickly became a nobody.

"Okay, phase one done," Penn announced as we stood in a line starting at a massive pile of plastic and tape that would hopefully become an oasis of memories.

"I don't know what I'm looking at but I really hope this is right," I said, mostly to myself at this point. As much as I trusted these guys to get it right, I was nervous. It almost seemed too easy for them.

They followed me to my truck and helped get the fans from the back. I had a friend who owned a carpet cleaning business and he lent me a few of the industrial fans they used to dry carpet.

Penn moved the plastic around until they found the right spots. He cut holes big enough for the fans, then reinforced the plastic with some super tape.

"Are the extension cords and the generator in the back of the Suburban?"

I closed my eyes at my own stupidity. Penn saw the look on my face and took pity on me.

"The work truck has a built-in generator few extension cords."

He jogged to his truck and pulled out a bundle of neatly wound cords. He held them up in victory then plugged them into the truck.

How convenient for me.

We ran the extension cords to the fans and a few minutes later we were breathing life into the mound of plastic.

I looked at Penn, Marcos, and Dennis, who were all watching the lump of plastic slowly inflate with air, a bit of excitement in their eyes. Marcos had been really animated the entire process. He knew we were doing this for our youth and enjoyed being a part of something bigger.

"You guys are amazing. Is there anything I can do to bribe a little more help out of you?" I put my hands together in prayer and gave them my biggest puppy dog eyes. It was already four o'clock and I had a long list of things that still needed to be done. But they had already done so much. More than I could ever thank them for.

Marcos jumped eagerly enough so I looked at Penn and pouted.

"Uh, sure, what do you need?" He didn't seem overly happy but he also didn't look annoyed or unamused like he normally did when I was around.

"I have to get all this food prepped," I gestured at the food that had been set off to the side in a pile.

We got everything organized then sat in the grass and began working. I had boxes of empty squeeze bottles that needed to be filled with various condiments, the oatmeal needed to be divided into eight totes, then water and gummy worms added to each.

Scooping condiments into squeeze bottles was a tedious process but went quickly with four people. Thirty minutes later everything was ready, even the Clubble was almost fully inflated and...

"Holy shit—"

It was big. I had never been good with measurements. In my head, sixty-by-fifty feet wide and twenty-foot-tall was barely big enough to hold a hundred people. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. It was massive. It could've easily held three hundred people.

"I told you it was huge."

I glared at Penn's told you so attitude. His smile was alarmingly genuine and warm. He found my reaction funny and I found his reaction comforting. We returned to watching the magnificent structure vibrate to life.

"It's tall," I said in awe.

"Very tall."

We were looking at a two-story high plastic dome. Two stories! It was insane. We'd already had dozens of park goers stop to ask questions. They'd never seen anything like it. Hell, I'd never seen anything like it. It was kind of like Noah's Ark.

The four of us were standing in awe when I felt a slight breeze pass by, not much, but enough to make the bubble wobble. All four of us tensed. No words were needed to know we were thinking the same thing.

The only thing holding down this giant balloon were a couple of industrial fans. One semi decent gust and this baby would be long gone, no doubt killing someone in the process. No one would survive a run in with that beast in the wild. We had to find a way to anchor the bad boy.

All it took was another slight breeze for everyone to jump into action. Like some emergency field doctor, Penn pulled a knife out of his pocket and sliced through the plastic without a second thought. Well, I guess that's where the door will be, I thought as Penn began to wave us over.

"Get in."

We each rushed to a separate corner and sat down against the plastic wall. There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at me like I was supposed to have some great solution.

"I did not think this through."

I never thought the thing would fly away. It never crossed my mind. Hindsight's twenty-twenty.

"It's fine," Penn said from the furthest corner away from me. "It didn't occur to me either until just now."

"What if we use sandbags? A couple bags in each corner," Dennis suggested. The three workers glanced between themselves as they thought it through.

Penn shrugged. "That could work. I think we have a bunch of rope, too. We could probably toss it over the bubble and stake it to the ground. That should help keep it in place until it's full of people."

They tossed around a few more ideas then decided that the sandbags were our best bet. They left the bubble to grab them while I risked my life inside.

The septic guys were heroing it big time.

"Are those clean?" I asked as they each brought in two sandbags. Dennis and Penn looked confused. "Were they used for septic stuff? Because, gross," I made a face.

Penn rolled his eyes and smirked. He was kind of cute when he smiled.

"No, these aren't shit bags, those get left on the pump trucks. These are just regular ol' sandbags," he said as he easily tossed a sandbag in each corner before leaving to fetch more.

They ended up putting three bags in each corner. They also managed to use rope to tie the Clubble in place. I had to admit that watching them work was impressive. They knew what they were doing and they worked well together. They even fixed Penn's knife slash into a fun little door that looked like it would hold up well to the constant barrage of kids.

When they were all done, we stood back and admired their work. Giant and impressive. As long as nothing else went wrong, like a windstorm or tornado, tonight would be epic.

"Give me your keys," Penn said with his hand held out.

I wasn't about to tell him no. Penn single-handedly saved the day. He could have my truck or my first-born son for all I cared. I'd rather him take my truck anyway since his truck was my generator.

We unloaded the rest of the stuff then he left with Marcos and Dennis.

****

I was eating pizza on the picnic bench with a group of boys when Penn and his posse came back. I figured they had forgotten something so I left the table and started toward them. Penn waved me off, letting me know they didn't need me. Wouldn't be the first time today, I laughed to myself. I watched as they opened the back door and started pulling out new fans. Bigger fans. These made the current fans like ones you buy at the dollar store.

I watched with a happy heart as the three men worked. The new fans were louder but the difference was almost instant. There was no more sag in the clubble. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. They'd gone above and beyond.

When it was time, I explained what we were doing and led everyone into the clubble. Being inside was an experience all its own. It was massive and awe-inspiring. Watching the reactions was priceless and made the stress of the day totally worth it.

****

The food fight lasted thirty minutes and, in that time, I had never laughed so hard. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong but it made it even better.

First, Lincoln might not get hot, but the bubble had been sitting in the sun all day and felt like a sauna.

Second, mustard is a terrible condiment choice. The pungent smell was amplified by the greenhouse effect.

The park was on a hill. I knew it when I picked the spot. I knew it when we blew it up, and I knew when we started Club. But I didn't think it would be a big deal. The slop didn't seem like much.

The second the plastic was slick with wet oatmeal and condiments, moving around the dome was almost impossible. It was like trying to walk up a slip n slide covered in oil. Three minutes into the food fight and almost every person was sliding downhill on their hands and knees. Penn ended up cutting a second door at the bottom. Everyone entered at the top, slid their way down while throwing food, then exited at the bottom.

Rinse and repeat.

Even the hot, smelly, slippery faux pas didn't slow anyone down. Everyone had a great time. I was the only one that stayed inside, letting everyone pelt me with food. They relished the day they got to pay me back for all that I put them through throughout the year.

Stepping outside made me realize how terrible it smelled on the inside. All that mustard.

I held the door open and the kids piled out. They were covered from head to toe in slop and they happily re-lived their favorite moments. For me, there were too many to choose from.