Water Guy

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komrad1156
komrad1156
3,782 Followers

As she walked out of the bedroom she heard Kim's voice followed by a male voice. The doorbell hadn't rung, and yet she could tell the voice definitely belonged to Craig. As she got closer to the front door, she watched Kim interact with their guest.

"I'm 10. I'll be 11 in January," she heard her say.

"Eleven, huh? So...sixth grade?" Craig asked.

"Yes. Sixth grade."

"Well, I'll tell you this. You look a lot like your mom, so I see a lot of broken-hearted boys in your future," Craig told her in a very nice way.

"Thank you," Kim said very adult-like with an adult-like smile. "My mom is the prettiest woman I know."

Now smiling, Laura kept listening and walked up to them.

"I'll give you the ten dollars later, honey" Laura said to her daughter while looking and smiling at Craig.

He got it immediately, but Kim said, "What ten dollars?"

The adults both laughed, and Kim just shook her head.

"Grownups are so...weird!" she said as she turned her head to look at her mom who had her hands on her shoulders.

"Your mom was pretending that the only way she could possibly get you to say she was beautiful was to pay you. The reason you don't get it is because she really is beautiful, so unless you've heard someone say that before, it wouldn't make sense," Craig explained as he smiled at Laura.

"Flattery will not get any additional money out me," Laura informed him, trying her best not to laugh.

"I still don't get it!" Kim said as she shook her head.

Her mom only smiled at her then said to Craig, "Come in, please, and I'll show where the old unit is."

Laura wasn't too surprised that Kim followed them, assuming it was out of curiosity.

"So, this has been here as long as we have," Laura said, just as she remembered 'we' now meant two people instead of three.

"These are still all over Yuma," Craig said as he inspected it for problems. "They're adequate for making your tap water smell and taste okay, but you'll be amazed at the difference after we get this RO unit installed. Oh, by the way, I had a cancellation, so if there are no problems, I can install your unit today."

"That would would wonderful," Laura told him. "Thank you."

"Yes. Thank you! Now I won't have to hold my breath while I take a shower," Kim said.

Her mom smiled then mentioned how her daughter was becoming aware of so many new things and growing up much too fast.

"Oh, I see," Craig said with a smile. "Would one of those new things include boys, by any chance?"

Kim's face turned red so fast it startled her mom.

"I don't know," she said, looking down at the floor.

"Okay, let's let Craig have some room, shall we?" her mom said as she gently turned her daughter around.

"Why I can't stay and watch?" Kim asked as her mother realized why she was asking.

"Um...because I said so?" her mom replied, not sure what else to say.

"It gets a little noisy and dirty," Craig said supportively.

"I don't mind," Kim said immediately.

"Come on. We need to get lunch ready," her mom said.

"But it's only like ten o'clock," Kim reminded her.

"Yes, but we have company so..."

She turned around and asked Craig if he'd like anything to eat.

He tried to smile when he said, "It really is just a little after ten, but thank you just the same."

Laura knew she was more hoping he'd stay and eat with them than just being polite, so his answer caused a similar reaction to the one her daughter had just experienced. She felt blood rising to her cheeks for the first time in many years and quickly turned back around.

"Oh, right. Well, just let me know if you change your mind, okay?" Laura said without looking at him.

"I will," Craig said as he allowed himself to watch her walk away in what a country song once called her 'tight-fittin' jeans'.

Once she was out of earshot he quietly said, "Wow."

It was a little after noon and Craig was still working. He had the old unit completely out, but he was having problems with an old metal pipe he needed to replace with PVC, something the city required to bring everything up to current code.

"I'm gonna have to run over to Lowes and pick up a 10-foot section of pipe. It's no big deal, but the city requires it, and it's an odd size I've only seen a few times. It looks like the guy who put this old system in jury-rigged it. It's functional, but it's definitely not up to code."

"Oh, okay. So it's not serious?" she asked.

"No. And it won't cost you a dime more," he let her know, having no idea money wasn't an issue for her.

"All right. That's fine then," Laura told him.

"And when you get back, it'll be lunch time and you can eat with us," Kim said, that smile or hers back on her face.

Laura had an 'I'm so sorry' look on her face, but Craig smiled at her then said to Kim, "That's very kind of you, but your mom might not be quite so enthused about having me stay, so..."

"No. I...we'd...love to have you eat with us," Laura told him before he could finish speaking.

"If you're sure," Craig said in order to...be sure.

"Yes. Definitely. Right, Kim?"

"Yes! Definitely," Kim said, the smile even bigger.

He looked at her mom who said, "Seriously, Craig. That...that would be very nice. Please join us."

"Well, okay. I'll go grab this pipe then be right back."

He was near the front door, and Kim was still in the kitchen with her mom. She obviously thought he couldn't hear, but Craig smiled when he heard her say to her mom, "He is SO hot!"

He had to stifle a laugh when her mother said, "Kimberly Ann Krimmer—hush! What is wrong with you?"

Craig quietly opened the front door then laughed once he was outside. Not loudly, but he did laugh.

Lowes was crawling with 'Looky -Lous', people who were wandering the store looking around with no intention of buying. Most of them were Snowbirds, and Craig knew there was nothing that could change the reality of life in Yuma, so he made his peace with it early on.

When his turn came, he held the pipe out, and an attractive woman about his age said, "Oh, hi Craig."

He knew he'd seen her before, but couldn't remember having talked to her.

He glanced at her shirt, saw her name, then said, "Hi...Maria."

"It's okay. I know you don't remember me, but I definitely remember you," she told him as she scanned the barcode on the pipe.

"Oh, okay," he said, not sure he understood.

She took his credit card then waited for the receipt to print out. When it did, she repeated the script every clerk had to recite about the web address on the bottom and how he could go online and win $5,000. While she spoke, she wrote her phone number on it with a heart.

As she handed it to him, she said, "And you can call me anytime and win a date with Marie."

He laughed politely, and as he took it, said, "Oh. You're smooth!"

"You have no idea," she told him with an evil smile.

"Ah. Good to know," he replied as he grabbed the pipe.

"The offer's for real!" Marie shamelessly called out as he walked away.

Craig turned and smiled at her, but as cute as she was, there was another woman he found far more interesting and attractive. Marie was the kind of girl he'd hooked up with one too many times. The sex was nice, and hooking up was fun, but he was ready for a change. One that was more...permanent. And with someone who both intrigued him and whom he found captivating.

By the time he returned, something smelled very good in the house.

"Craig!" Kim said as soon as he walked back in.

It seemed pretty obvious she'd been waiting for him as she was right in front of him the moment he stepped inside.

"Kim!" he said back with a smile.

"Can I carry that for you?" she asked as she looked at the pipe.

"I don't know. It's pretty heavy," he teased, something else Kim didn't get just as her mom walked in.

"Let Craig get by, okay?" she said to Kim while looking at Craig who was standing still waiting for the young girl to step aside.

"Oh, sorry," she said as she side-stepped. "Is it okay if I help now?"

"It's actually lunchtime, if Craig's ready to eat," Laura said.

"I can almost always eat," he told her. "Let me just put this away, okay?"

"Here. I'll take that," Kim said, that same smile back even bigger than before.

He glanced at her mom who kind of nodded, so Craig let her have it.

Kim grabbed it and whirled around so fast she hit Craig then turned to apologize and whacked a lamp on a sideboard in the foyer. Craig reached to grab it before it fell, but it was too late. Laura instinctively moved toward it but knew she had no chance. As it fell, she and Craig were side by side with him bent over and her standing up.

"Mom. I am SO sorry," her daughter said, expecting a scolding.

Laura didn't hear a word as Craig stood up and shrugged his shoulders.

"Missed it by that much!" he said, trying to imitate Maxwell Smart from the old TV show Get Smart.

Laura laughed and said, "Oh, my gosh! My father used to say that all the time!"

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Craig said, referring to her father's age.

"What?" Laura asked.

"Are you implying I'm...old?"

Laura rolled her eyes then said, "Oh, my goodness. Do you ever stop?"

She was also smiling, and Craig kept going.

"Uh...sorry about that—Chief!"

His voice actually sounded a lot like Don Adams who played the role, and Laura made a spurting sound when she laughed.

When she turned around, Kim was still standing there waiting to get into trouble.

"I'll pay for it, Mom," she said when their eyes met.

"Honey, it was an accident. It's no big deal."

"I know, but I'm really sorry."

"The main thing is to learn a lesson. So now you know if you're carrying something that long, you have to think about how you're holding it and what it could hit, right?"

"Situational awareness?" Kim said.

The phrase caught Craig by surprise, and he raised his eyebrows.

Kim saw it and told him that's what her dad used to say.

"I don't really remember it, but Mom says he used to say that all the time," she explained.

"It's a pilot thing," Laura said. "Knowing where you are at all times in relation to where the other planes are and especially the bad guys."

"Oh, okay. The bogeys. Like on Top Gun," he said.

Laura laughed the said, "Actually, the word is 'bandit'. A bogey is any aircraft not positively identified as hostile. Once it is, it's called a bandit."

Craig pushed his lower lip up and out in a display of 'I'm impressed', and Laura laughed again.

"That's the kind of thing you learn early on when you're married to a fighter pilot."

He picked up the PVC pipe then asked, "So...is this thing a bogey or a bandit?"

Laura couldn't help laughing then let Craig know where he could wash up for lunch.

He put the pipe away then went to use the bathroom in the hall where he washed his hands.

"Yep. Still ruggedly handsome," he told himself with a laugh as he took a look at himself on the way out.

By the time he got to the kitchen he was thinking about Marie and wishing Laura could see him like that while realizing she almost certainly never would.

"We have chili and grilled cheese," Kim said as soon as he walked in.

"Hey, were you waiting for me—again?" he said in a playful voice.

"Yes!" Kim told him with a big smile.

"I told you she's boy crazy, right?" her mother said, embarrassing her daughter.

"Mom!" she protested.

"I don't think I'm wrong, honey," he mother insisted but not any mean way.

"But Craig isn't a boy!" Kim told her mom very authoritatively.

When she didn't reply, Craig said to Kim while looking at her mom, "I get the impression that's how she sees me."

Laura immediately broke eye contact, turned away, then said, "That's not true at all, Craig."

The way she felt when he said that was more than a little disconcerting. It was just a silly reply to her daughter, and yet she felt a very strong need to let him know she didn't see him like that, even though until just recently, that was pretty close to how she thought of 'the water guy'.

When Kim asked if she could serve Craig his food, her mom did her best not to smile or say anything else to embarrass her.

"That would be very nice," she told her daughter who ladled out some chili in a bowl.

"Say when, okay?" she told Craig who stopped her after the second scoop.

The grilled cheese sandwiches were already on the table so they sat down and began eating and making polite conversation.

"The chili is excellent, and the grilled cheese is...amazing. What is that little tang I'm tasting?" Craig asked.

"It's mayo. I always put in on grilled cheese. Is it really okay? If you're not used to it, it might taste funny."

"It's perfect. I've never thought of that, but from now on, I'm putting it on mine," he told her before taking another large bite.

Laura saw Kim staring at Craig and gave her a quick look. She understood immediately and looked away. Laura assumed that was over, and went to ask a question about the RO unit when Kim said something that shocked her.

"Craig? Are you married?"

Kim saw her mother's reaction then said defensively, "What?"

Craig tried not to laugh when he saw Laura shake her head and shrug again.

"It's okay," he told her knowing Kim still didn't understand the social faux pas.

"No, I am not married," he said.

Then very seriously he said as he leaned toward, "Are you?"

Kim turned a bright shade of red again, and Laura somehow managed to suppress a laugh.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you," Craig told her sincerely.

"It's okay. I don't mind," Kim said as she looked into her uneaten bowl of chili.

"Well, now that that's settled," Laura said as she got ready to ask her question again.

"You could ask my mom out, then, right?" Kim suddenly said, causing her mom's jaw to drop.

"I...I could just die!" Laura said as she looked at Craig then at Kim who once again said, "What?" in that same 'what did I say' tone of voice.

"Oh, my goodness. I don't even know what to say," Laura blurted out.

Craig smiled again then leaned back toward Kim and said, "I would, but I don't think your mom would take me very seriously."

Kim giggled while Laura sat up straight and said, "Not you, too!"

Craig raised his hands and said, "Just sayin'!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you and my daughter are conspiring against me!"

Craig laughed and Kim asked what that meant.

"Never mind! Eat your food," Laura said as Craig continued smiling at her.

Now it was her turn as she said to Craig, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said, the smile glued to his face as he plunged his spoon into the bowl of chili.

"Okay, can we get back to some semblance of normalcy?" Laura asked as though she was put out by all of the commentary that bordered on innuendo. After all, Craig's comments couldn't have been serious, so there had to be some level of disparagement hidden in there somewhere.

When the conversation lagged, Craig was pretty sure he'd gone too far. Then again, it seemed like a reasonably decent way to sort of 'lay down a marker' to let her know he was interested in her. But as another minute passed in silence, he was pretty sure he'd blown it badly.

From Laura's perspective, she felt like Craig had somehow managed to look into her most private thoughts and realized the way she saw him had changed. His little quip told her he knew what she was thinking, and it was a polite way of letting her know she was an old woman a guy like him wouldn't ever take a serious second look at.

"So how do you like school?" Craig finally asked.

"It's okay. I really like my math teacher, but homeroom isn't all that great," Kim told him.

Grateful for the change in subjects, Laura told Craig how well her daughter did in school and how proud of her she was.

Kim didn't turn red, but she clearly enjoyed the praise—especially in front of a man she thought was 'super hot'.

"Any idea what you want to be when you grow up?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. I want to be a fighter pilot just like my dad," Kim said without hesitation.

"Well, if you're good at math and go to college, that can happen," Craig told her. "I didn't go to college, but I was in the Navy for a few years, and that's where I learned all about water purification systems."

"I didn't know that," Laura told him. "What exactly did you do?"

Craig told her about his exploits with the SEABEEs, and Laura seemed duly impressed.

"Mike always told me he respected Navy corpsmen, Navy SEALs, and SEABEEs. And you know how Marines can be about other services," Laura said with that beautiful smile of hers.

"I'm guessing here, but it seems to me those are the three areas where the Navy is most like the Marine Corps. Guys on ships work 12-on/12-off a lot, but it's a different kind of work than carrying around a 50-pound pack and engaging the enemy face to face. So it makes sense that where Navy types do what Marines do, we'd get a little respect."

"Each service has its role, right?" Laura suggested tactfully.

"Exactly. Everyone, even the Navy, makes fun of the Air Force, but they're just as important as any other branch."

"I want to be a Marine," Kim said matter of factly.

"That's possible, too," Craig told her. "Women can do anything now that men do, so if you want it badly enough, you can do that."

His words made Kim feel good about herself, and Laura took notice.

She'd never even considered dating a man as young as Craig, and in the few moments she'd briefly though about it, Kim was her biggest concern. Even if she and someone like Craig could bridge the gap with the difference in age, how would a man that young relate to her daughter? How could he ever be a dad to her 10-year old child?

But as she listened to them interact, it seemed like much less of a concern than she'd initially assumed. Then again, she had less than an hour's worth of interaction on which to base her opinion, so she decided to reserve judgment until she had more to go on. And as suddenly as those thoughts hit her, she realized how ridiculous they were because, well, to her, at least, he was the water guy and nothing more.

Craig thanked them both for lunch then said he really needed to finish up.

"Is it okay if I help now?" Kim asked.

Laura almost said, "What did I already tell you?" but when she looked at Craig she saw him give her the faintest of nods.

"Well, if it's okay with Craig, and if it's safe, I suppose that's okay."

"Can I? Is it okay?" Kim nearly begged.

"On one condition," Craig told her.

"Okay!"

"You have to do whatever I say without asking why. You know, just like in the Marines."

Kim smiled happily and promised him she would.

Not completely comfortable with her daughter being around things she didn't fully understand herself, Laura asked if she could sit and watch.

"Yes, but I could paint a little section of the wall, and you could watch it dry instead. I mean, that might turn out to be more fun," he told her with a smile.

"I'll take my chances," she said with a smile of her own.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Laura laughed as she cleared the table while Craig and Kim went to work.

"All right. The first thing we're gonna do is cut that pipe I brought home."

"Oh, right. The one I knocked the lamp over with," Kim said sheepishly.

"Yep. That's the one. Do you want to cut it?"

"Can I?" she asked.

"I don't know. Can you?" he teased.

"Okay. May I cut it?"

"I wasn't correcting your grammar. I was asking you a question," he said very seriously.

Kim giggled then said, "I don't know. How do we cut it?"

Craig showed her the saw then said, "But first we have to measure it and mark it. Here, you hold the tape measure for me, okay?"

Laura walked in just as her daughter was holding the tape and couldn't help but smile as she saw how much Kim was enjoying this.

komrad1156
komrad1156
3,782 Followers