“Oh my god this smells delicious! I was expecting sandwich bread, margarine and processed cheese slices!” she gasped.
“That can taste good too but this…” he took a bite and sighed with happiness, “This is divine.”
Elyse took her first bite and the cheese melted across her taste buds. When she finally allowed the food to be swallowed she looked at Frank with bliss. “This is amazing!”
“Comfort food,” he agreed with a content smile.
She nodded as she had a mouthful of the wonderful sandwich. They didn’t speak again until they’d both finished their lunch and washed it down with the cold, fresh milk.
“Frank, you’re spoiling me.”
“What?”
“First the delicious chicken caesar salad now this! I would have just popped a slice of bread in a toaster and slathered peanut butter on it.”
“That sounds tasty too,” he replied.
“Please! It’s not in the same league as the meals you’ve made! You’re a genius in the kitchen!” she said as she rubbed her happy tummy.
He smiled bashfully. “Thank you but it’s really been pretty simple stuff.” He paused and looked at her. “I have to go out this afternoon to pick up all the paint and supplies. I was thinking if you don’t have plans for dinner I could make us a chicken and chorizo paella. If you don’t have dinner plans already… that is,” he finished, stumbling over his tongue.
“Paella? I don’t think I’ve ever had that. I’d love to try it though. How about you bring it over to my place and we’ll have dinner there,” she suggested.
He allowed himself to relax a little. “That would be perfect! Are you ok with dinner at 7:30PM? That would give me some time to get some painting done too. Eating at your place also means no smell of paint.”
“Sounds like a plan!” she grinned.
“Great!” He stood up and collected her plate and glass. He proceeded to clean up the kitchen while she went back to work.
When he was done he went out to his Jeep and drove over to the local hardware store. He picked up the supplies and waited for them to mix the paint for him, linen white. He also picked up white ceiling paint and white paint for the baseboards and the crown mouldings.
When he got back he immediately began masking all of the baseboards and crown moulding so he could paint the ceilings and the walls in the areas he intended to do. Then he taped down the drop cloth in those areas as well.
Occasionally Elyse would wander out of the kitchen to watch him work. When he’d catch her she’d grin and disappear back into the kitchen to do her own work.
When he was done preparing the area he wandered back into the kitchen to get a glass of water and she looked up from her laptop. “Sorry for being such a distraction from your work,” he said.
“It’s not your fault. I’d much rather be helping you than doing this,” she sighed.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m an editor. I’m editing a book for one of my company’s authors. Unfortunately I find him incredibly dull. He has a following so he continues to get published. I’m the third editor to be assigned his work. Apparently you can only work with him for so long before a homicidal urge to throw him onto a bonfire made from his own books becomes overwhelming.”
“Huh.”
“What’s that mean?”
“You’re an editor. That’s great! I may need to pick your brain in a little while,” he answered.
“Oh?”
“One of my goals now that I’m retired is to finally sit down and write the novel I’ve been carrying around in my head for the last few decades. Maybe once I’ve written a few chapters I could ask you to take a look at them and tell me if I’m just wasting my time.” He saw she was looking a little worried. “You won’t hurt my feelings if you tell me it stinks. I’ve never written a book before and I have no idea if I have the talent to do so. I’m not hinging any future life goals on my ability to get the book published. It’s just something I thought I’d try.”
“What kind of book is it?” she asked.
“What would you call a story about a detective solving a case?” he asked.
“Detective Fiction,” she replied.
“Oh. Ok, it’s one of those,” he smiled sheepishly.
“Sure, I could take a look. Several authors I’ve worked with specialize in that genre so I have a pretty good idea of what sells and what doesn’t,” she agreed.
“Thank you in advance then. Listen, I’m going to start painting now. I’ll do the ceilings first and I’ll try to be careful and not drip any paint but be careful when you walk through,” he said and she nodded.
He nodded in return and headed down to his bedroom. He needed to change out of his clothes and put on the painter’s coverall he got at the hardware store. He stripped down to just his underwear as the coverall didn’t breathe and would be hot. Once he got it on he realized it was a flimsy thing but at least it would keep the paint off of him. It was a little tight around his chest and arms.
He went back out to the front hall and began there. He had a step ladder to help him reach the ceiling with a paint brush to get the edges all the way around. He wouldn’t have to get so close with the roller now. The ceiling paint was thick and didn’t drip… much. He made quick work of the foyer ceiling with the roller.
He moved into the living room and once more made his way around the circumference of the room with a paint brush. Next came the roller work and he was making excellent progress when he suddenly spotted Elyse standing in the kitchen entrance watching him with a distracted but sexy smile on her face. He stopped and looked at her. She jumped and turned to go back into the kitchen but stumbled and bonked her forehead against the doorjamb.
“Owww!” she winced with her eyes closed, rubbing the sore spot.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, more embarrassed than hurt,” she moaned.
“See what being distracted gets you?” he grinned.
She pouted and disappeared back into the kitchen.
He focused on finishing the ceiling and got back into his groove.
The painter’s coverall was so bloody hot he was sweating to death in it. Finally he couldn’t take it any longer so he undid the buttons to the waist and pulled his arms out of the sleeves. He pushed it off his shoulders and used the sleeves to tie it around his waist. Now his sweaty torso was bare but at least the coverall wouldn’t fall down.
Feeling better he made his way back and forth across the ceiling slowly making his way closer to the kitchen. He began to hear the oddest sound as he pushed the roller back and forth in slow sweeps. He thought maybe the roller was beginning to jam as the sound seemed to get louder when he was stretched out or pulling back. He watched the roller carefully but it didn’t seem to be binding at all.
Then he stopped moving and the sound kept going. He turned his head because the sound was coming from the doorw-
Elyse was there, watching him with wide eyes. She was the source of the noises!
“What are you doing?” he asked quietly.
Her face flushed as she seemed to realize she was the one making the moaning noises. She grimaced and looked back at him in embarrassment. “Sorry about that!”
“No really, what were you doing?”
“I- I think I was moaning,”
“Yes, it sounded like a moan. The question is, why were you moaning while I was painting?” he pressed.
Elyse ducked back into the kitchen. When she returned she had her laptop in her arms, clutched to her chest. “My workday is over so I’m just going to head home. I’ll expect you over for dinner a little after 7:30PM?”
He nodded in confusion.
“Great! See you then! Looking forward to it!” she said quickly, pausing to pass her eyes over his glistening chest muscles once more before she darted across the room and out the front door.
Frank stared after her in puzzlement. What the hell happened?
————–
Leave a Reply