A Trade For Good (7 page)

She picked up a few other things she
had lying about collecting dust just to give the office a homier
look. She decided she had filed almost all of the papers already
and could work on inputting files into the computer later on. In
the meantime, she spent the rest of the afternoon hanging prints
from jobs on the walls she found rolled up in some boxes. The
storage area they had in the building turned out to be a treasure
haven. She found two more file cabinets, what looked like a cubicle
divider, cables that would come in handy for something, someday,
some knick-knacks – those were ugly and useless – picture frames,
but the best were the before and after shots from some of the jobs
Mason Landscaping had already completed. She had to stop and catch
her breath for a couple of them. Some were even difficult to
recognize as before and after’s. The difference was incredible. Had
it not been for the house in the background, she wouldn’t have been
able to tell it was the same place. Their work was impressive and
she wished they could have completed it in her own house before
Peter had fled the coop.

As a sort of finishing touch, she
lovingly placed a couple of frames on her desk with the pictures of
her kids. If nothing else, the four children in the pictures would
add warmth and brighten up the room. She wasn’t humble when it came
to her kids; she knew they were all good looking.

The reception area, which hadn’t
existed until a few hours ago, was far from perfect, but it was a
start. The prints on the walls were impressive, but could use nicer
frames; the walls could also use a coat or five of paint. Her desk
could also use some color, but again, baby steps.

With a big sigh, she looked around
pleased at her handiwork, and knowing she should get back to do
paperwork. The clock in the back was now over the doorframe, and as
she looked at it, she realized she had been at work for almost 9
hours. It was time to go or Deb would have her head on a platter.
In fact, if she didn't hurry, she was afraid she'd find Deb's head
hanging somewhere instead.

She got into her car after locking the
office doors. She had been alone most of the day, which meant the
guys were doing fieldwork, but still, she wondered about the phones
not ringing. She had not answered the phone other than for one
wrong number.

The phone should have been ringing all
day. Business was slow she was told because of the weather and all
of the rain, but at least there should have been people trying to
line things up for upcoming jobs.

Judging by the photos she had seen,
the work Mason Landscaping did was incredible, there should be
people lined up waiting to get their work done by them. And knowing
Peter had contacted them, and not someone else, meant they had to
be the best. Peter only had the best of the best ever done. Money
was not an obstacle, he just didn't always pay.

Tomorrow she would call other
landscaping firms pretending to be a client to get a feel for the
market. She'd try to find out how busy they were and maybe even
stop by to check them out.

Chapter 7

It was late when Jeff came back to the
office. He had been home to take a shower, but decided he couldn't
stay away from the office forever.

When he reached the door, he turned
the key and walked in, as he had done for the last seven years, but
took a step back. He looked up to make sure he was in the right
place, but found the outside was the same, but the inside was not
his office at all.

Actually it was, but it felt like a
Twilight Zone moment where he was dragged in to another place,
another dimension, another time, but this place he had been dragged
into he had to admit, looked much better than the one he had
left.

Yes, it was his office, but it didn’t
look anything like it had the morning before. After a quick look he
realized that everything was there. The same desk, chair, computer,
clock, and even the pictures on the walls were all his, they had
just never been put together to make it look like an office. Like a
real office.

As soon as he walked in he recognized
the front area was set up as a reception area. He went over to
Sera’s desk and noticed the notes she had made on her pad: check
businesses, call on delinquent accounts, make appointment to see
Melle’s math teacher, set up payroll, check their website, bring in
fern from house, buy diapers, check what camera they use, and call
lawyer.

He smiled at the notes and then saw
the pictures of her kids. There was a boy, who looked to be about
twelve or thirteen, a girl who was around eight, another little boy
who looked like he was four or five, and a red faced baby, who was
probably the 'fax baby'. They were all beautiful kids, except maybe
for the baby, but it was hard to tell. The baby was all scrunched
up and looked like she was about to start crying, or had been at it
for a while.

Jeff wondered how anyone could do it.
He didn't like going to an empty house, but he had to admit, he got
his rest and lots of quiet. How Sera could leave the office and
deal with dinners, schools, and groceries, etc. was beyond him. He
also couldn’t imagine having a family and dumping them like the
Sinclair guy had. The fuzzy memories he had of the guy weren’t
good; sounds like he was as much of a jerk as a husband as he was
as a client.

Jeff went for a closer look to the
before and after shots that were hanging on the walls. The pictures
looked great, and it made sense to have them there for everyone to
see. He had never thought of displaying them like that, he really
liked what she had done.

When the pictures were taken, they had
just taken them and filed them - more like piled them - and had
completely forgotten all about them. He looked at them again and
thought what a damn good job they did at some of those
houses.

He stayed to catch up with a few
things when he realized it was already 8:30 at night. He knew he
should have gone home, but just didn’t feel like facing the silent
house today. He thought about calling Lydia, but reminded himself
he shouldn’t. He had finally disengaged and didn’t want her to
think he was interested in continuing with the relationship. Jeff
and Lydia had been off and on for two years now and Lydia was
starting to get serious. In the beginning, it was easy to let
things happen. She had started arranging his life, his house,
choosing his friends, and even what he wore. He was lazy by nature
when it came to things like that, so he didn't care at first. But
with that came additional demands.

Jeff wasn't ready to settle down. When
he saw Mitch and his sister together, he thought they really had it
good, but so far, he didn't see himself staying with any one of the
many women he had dated without getting tired of them or resenting
them in the end.

It was better just to make a clean
escape. He never made any promises, so there was no reason why
anything should be expected. He had slowly excluded Lydia from his
plans and claimed to be busy when she tried to include him in hers.
If he had to be honest, he was terrified to commit. It seemed more
complicated than it was worth.

He didn’t really get why he was so
opposed to commitment. Mitch and Trish seemed happy, his sister
Brenda also had a great family, and her husband Jerry, a high
school buddy of Jeff’s, seemed very happy and was even growing a
little paunch he attributed to his three 'pregnancies'.

It didn't help that none of Jeff’s
friends seemed to like Lydia, but then again, Lydia didn’t like
them either. She never had time for his friends, but expected him
to love her friends and find the time to spend entire evenings with
them.

Mitch hated Lydia and didn't hesitate
to show it. Lydia despised the whole landscaping business, his
family, and any dirt she saw under Jeff's nails. He owned a
business; that was good. Actually doing the work should be
relegated.

So no, no Lydia tonight.

Jeff stopped by the kitchen
and saw that the coffee pot was off, but had a post-it note
attached that read:
Good morning boss, just
push the ‘on’ button
. Jeff went to push the
button and stopped. Instead, he grabbed his keys, maybe he’d grab a
bite to eat as well and just go home.

At his favorite Italian restaurant, he
got in line to order takeout. The hostess recognized him
immediately and asked him about Lydia.

Lydia had only been to the restaurant
twice, but had caused quite a stir when she had sent back her meal
because it was overcooked once, and because it was undercooked
another time. Jeff had decided never to bring her here again. He
like this restaurant, liked the food, and liked the people. He
might have dirt under his nails sometimes, but he was never rude,
and Lydia had been anything but polite.

Jeff told the hostess that he and
Lydia were not seeing much of each other these days, which brought
a big smile to the young girls face. Everybody always treated him
well at the restaurant and would probably rejoice at the
possibility of not having to deal with the likes of Lydia
again.

The girl started telling Jeff about
her new boyfriend and how the ex-new busboy had been fired for
hitting on the owner's daughter. Jeff was enjoying the conversation
and it sure beat going back to an empty home. He thought he might
just stay and eat at the restaurant instead of taking the stuff
home. His favorite waitress walked by and waved at him. Jeff waved
back and as he did he saw the table where the waitress was had all
eyes on him. At first, he wondered if she had said anything to
them. Maybe even something about Lydia, the über bitch, and then he
noticed Sera looking his way. The woman at the table with Sera said
something to the waitress and the waitress, all smiles, came
running over to speak to Jeff.

"Hi Jeff, haven't seen you for a
while. Did you come by yourself today?" At Jeff's nod, she turned
around and gave a thumbs up to Sera's table. "The group at the
table across the way would like you to join them if you don't
mind."

Jeff looked up at the onlookers and
waved with an uncertain smile as the waitress lowered her voice and
said. "They're really nice. The really pretty girl with the couple
used to come here with her kids by herself all the time. She always
said her husband was working late and she liked to come here
because we're loud and the kids didn't have to stay quiet. She
hadn't been here for a while now. I don't even know if she has a
husband, but one of the other waitresses says this guy came here
with her and the kids once and was a complete jerk. He complained
about everything, and wasn't nice to his family or anyone else.
She's super nice. Anyway, they're celebrating something and when
they saw you they asked me to come and tell you they'd love for you
to join them."

Jeff looked over and saw Sera with the
other couple and no children. He wondered how he could get out of
this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get to know Sera, he was
already uncomfortable about working with her and was afraid of even
looking at her the wrong way. She was married and she had problems.
No, that was definitely something he wanted to stay away
from.

He looked at the waitress nodded, and
worked his way over to Sera's table.

Chapter 8

Chad and Deb had taken Sera out to
celebrate her new job. The kids all stayed with a babysitter,
except for Emma who had stayed with Marion, Peter and Chad’s mom.
Nobody could handle Emma, and Sera doubted Marion could, but at
least she was family and it was safer for Emma. After all, an
outsider might just run away or kill her.

Sera had worn the red top that Deb had
given her for birthday; the one Deb said made her even more
irresistible. She wore a short black skirt and some high-heeled
shoes that brought her height to a full 5'3". She had worn her hair
down for a change and it framed her face and hung low, to below her
shoulders, with a few wisps of a curl hinting down into her exposed
cleavage.

She hadn't worn make-up since before
Emma was born, but today she actually did feel like celebrating.
Chad had called her up to tell her it was all arranged and she had
no say in the matter. She had to leave the kids at their place, and
they'd drive to wherever she wanted to go.

This was a restaurant where Sera had
always felt comfortable. She came here with the kids when Peter was
traveling, worked late, or didn't want them around.

Sera loved the Italian atmosphere and
the fact that the restaurant owners loved her kids and stopped by
to pinch their cheeks and make them giggle, and that the waitresses
didn't care if the kids made a mess. The restaurant was loud, which
was perfect for them. And even though she could have picked
something quiet, this is who she was and what she liked.

Sera had only brought Emma once, right
after she was born and before her colic had started, but soon
after, Emma’s colic began, and right after that, Peter left them.
Money was tight and her restaurant days were over, unless someone
else paid like today because Chad and Deb brought her.

Never shy about eating, Sera had
ordered a huge meal of spaghetti and veal parmigiana and was being
teased about where she'd put the food. Short and thin, it was
always a wonder, but she did like to eat.