"It was the wrong color for the kitchen." Andi agreed mildly from where she was sitting on the kitchen table, bare feet
resting in a chair. One edge of her lips quirked upward and she held out the glass of ice tea that had been sitting
next to her in offering.
"You do have that punching bag in the shed." She offered.
"Yeah I know." He said, taking the glass and sitting down with a sigh. "Well, the barbeque just got smaller. I don't think
Beth has the guts to show her face. Means less clean up for us."
He was at the point in his life where either his family dealt with him as is, or they didn't deal with him at all. He wasn't
about to change any of his ways for anyone. He liked his ways, they served him well, and the ones that didn't get that,
just didn't get it.
He also wasn't going to play go between in that family any more. He'd buried the hatchet with his father the only way
he knew how, by just not dealing with him any more, for Brett wouldn't change any more than Hector would. He'd also
been on his own for far too long to let Beth come in and try to run things. In a way, he'd been on his own before Beth
was even born.
Andi shifted over so that her thigh rested against his and her shoulder touched his. If she was hoping, she would
hope Beth would come. And simply accept Hector and what he wanted. Make peace before they left. That was hope
and that was what it was for.
But it was easy to see it not being that well done too.
"I'm sorry." She rested her chin on his shoulder. Not because she thought she'd caused that. She hadn't. If anything
she'd only been the catalyst and even then that might be taking too much credit. Some things in this family, she
suspected, had been a long time coming. But she was sorry he'd had to go through that. It wasn't fair. And even with
her own family it was hard for her to imagine why Hector's was fighting so hard against what he obviously wanted. She
was sorry for that and she was sorry it hurt him.
"Don't be." He said with a careful shrug (not wanting to literally shrug her off). "I told you my family was a mess, this
has been a long time in coming. Just the first time I was here long enough for it to really boil over I guess."
That might be, he realized, why he had never taken an extended vacation here before. Because he wasn't all that
fond of blow ups. And Beth was the only one in his family with a temper that just might match his. Besides their father,
who they had both unfortunately inherited it from.
"That still doesn't make it easier on you." She murmured. Or Beth for that matter. It was impossible not to feel sorry
for the woman. Gentle, she slipped her hand into his. "This has really been a bad morning to be out of bed for you. I
think going back to bed is a viable option. Of course," she looked at him, "the lawn should be cut again eventually if
we're going to have people over and out on it anytime soon too. I'm more than willing to use the hose this time around
when you decide it needs to be done."
"Oh so that's what it takes to turn the hose on the horde." He said, his eyes lighting up with amusement as he
squeezed her hand. "I think I should mow the lawn." Something physical and mind clearing. And the last time for a
while that the lawn would be mowed and not cost him anything, something he could do himself. "Think I might wear a
snow suit though, if I have one. Think I have my winter gear around here somewhere."
She chuckled softly. Glad the lure of manual labor had been a good choice.
"If you wear your snow suit in this heat it's you I'm going to be having to turn the hose on. And maybe afterward you
can tell me what this barbeque I'm hearing about for the first time is all about." She pressed a lingering kiss to his
cheek and then slipped off the table, still holding his hand. "I'll be fearsome for a while." She promised with a soft
smile. "You can mow the yard in peace. Except for the poodle. You're on your own with the poodle."
"Oh the normal thing. Cook out, my friends can eat, you get to see Tommy work the grill, just a normal going away
type thing." He said. "It'll be fun. And thanks, damn poodle. I will NOT miss that damn mongrel. Or its owners."
Andi laughed.
"I don't know. There's something about a lazy evening on the back porch with the smell of honeysuckle being
interrupted abruptly by cigarette smoke that's going to be a memory to stick with me." She leaned in and gave him a
slow kiss. "Maybe we'll do bed after the yard work." She commented. Lips starting to quirk. "And after we eat
something too." Breakfast could wait. But she didn't think they should put it off all day.
At the moment he felt oddly at peace with his family. He had laid down his terms, they hadn't accepted them. Trying to
force their idea of a 'good life' on him wasn't a good idea either, considering how far away he had run to get away
from that idea of a 'good life.' His family seemed to want him as an accessory in their lives, like a coffee table you
liked in a store, and he wasn't having any of that.
"Don't forget the neon colored curlers." He said with a chuckle. "That's the important part."
She grinned at him.
"I think I'm actually going to miss the neon curlers." She teased. Especially since she'd never seen the woman without
them in, any given moment of the day or night. Gentle she brushed the tip of her nose against his.
"I love you." She murmured before giving him a light kiss. "Now go gas up the lawn mower while I put on some pants
at least. If I'm going to waste perfectly good water on hoydens I should at least be prepared."
He chuckled and got up, going to the basket of yet to be folded laundry and pulled on a shirt and changed his shorts.
To his 'knock around' pair, the pair he didn't care what happened to them because they were for yard work or auto
work.
"Just remember to hose them away this time, you completely neglected that duty last time." He reminded her with a
grin.
She rolled her eyes at him. Thinking - what a good looking man he was...
"Last time I was trying to be civil." She commented. Finding clothes of her own though she left his shirt that she was
already wearing on. Simply knotting it up around her waist to keep it out of the way considering it touched just above
mid-thigh on her. She was long and lean but so was Hector. "This time I'm being yobbish and all the horrible things
they knew I was all along anyway." She didn't bother with shoes since she liked actually having the chance to wander
around in bare feet when there was grass.
She sincerely hoped no one showed up. She was pretty much done talking and being civilized. She'd tried that
approach and it hadn't worked. So now she got to do things the old abrupt way instead. Part of her religion was
mercy.
And the other part was having to deal with the consequences of your actions.
Bugger nosy neighbors and their bloody need to kept anyone from being able to simply relax and enjoy themselves
for too long.
Straightening up, she shot Hector a wink.
"Shall we?" She asked with a grin.
"We shall." he said with a boyish grin, pulling on his sneakers and a baseball cap. "Get this done, make the yard
presentable enough to get trashed, and lunch sounds good to me." He said as he went out of the side door toward
the shed where he kept the mower. Checking the oil and gas, then starting it up, its roar blending in with the rest of
the mowers going in the rest of the neighborhood.
Andi pulled on the oversized baseball cap that she'd claimed as her own even if it rode low over her eyes and
wandered outside as well. And proved that she was both well aware of where the hose was and could get a surprising
amount of pressure out of it when she chose to.
The barking poodle was the first shocked victim. With Hector as the 'accidental' drive by victim in that incident.
And at some point she actually did get around to watering the bushes and several of the smaller trees as well.
He laughed as he got sprayed and continued along the back yard, hitting the spots he'd skipped before, now that
they'd finally dried off. Leaving the front yard for last. If he could have gotten away with it, he might have done it in the
middle of the night.
But finally made his way up to the front yard, turning up the music on his headphones to where it could almost be
heard over the mower, adjusting his baseball cap and looking at the grass. Yup. Definitely needed to be cut.
Andi took her path through the house. Filling up a large glass with ice and sweet tea and setting it on the front porch
railing where Hector could get to it easily, setting a coaster on top to keep the flying grass out of it until he was ready
to add that himself. Than she went out to the sidewalk with the hose. After all, if she was going to be forced to douse
anyone it was only fair to let them know that was her intention to start with.
Not that she thought it was likely. After all, Paige would have to be out of her mind to try something this soon after the
stunt she'd pulled in the garage. And she hadn't seen Sheila since the last time Hector had cut the grass. The rest of
the women had already been by at one point or another to satisfy their curiosity as well. So she thought she was fairly
safe. And Hector's various forms of shrubbery by the sidewalk got watered too.
Mrs. Johnson got to make it past the first line of defense and reach Andi unsoaked at least when she saw the older
woman coming down the sidewalk toward her with a covered dish. Wondering how much of what had happened
earlier the spry widow had seen.
"Hello, dear." Mrs Johnson said, coming up the walk with covered dish balanced on thin arms. "Jolanda called me and
told me about the barbeque, so I brought over some macaroni and cheese for it. Of course it has to be fresh baked,
so I thought I'd give you explicit instructions on it. 350 for an hour." She said with a smile, watching the oblivious
Hector for a moment.
She'd seen Paige go into the garage, and she'd seen Paige storm out. Didn't take a rocket scientist to put it all
together. The details she wasn't clear on, but she had the big picture in mind. Maybe that meant her grandson
William could get a date. She swore that poor boy didn't swing the way straight men did, and Paige would be a nice
experiment.
Andi laughed and took the dish with a smile. Sending a burst of water across Hector's 'bow' in warning before tucking
the hose into the foliage of one of the larger bushes so it could water itself.
"I guess that means you know when the barbeque is at least." She grinned. Mrs. Johnson she would miss. Nosy older
women with a crafty bent had been staple issue when she'd been growing up. "Hector figured he'd better cut the lawn
before it or everyone might get lost in all that tall grass." She looked back at him as well. He was worth looking at.
With a smile she turned back to Mrs. Johnson. "If you want to stay while he's working and I'm pretending to I can get
you something to drink and we can sit on the porch. I've got pretty good aim and distance with the hose."
"Torturing your boyfriend now?" Mrs J said with a laugh. "After he works so hard in the sun to throw you a nice party?
Well, when it's put like that, of course I'll sit on the porch and laugh. I mean watch." They settled on the porch in the
cool shade provided by the roof of it and Mrs J looked at Andi.
"So I saw a bit of what went on this morning. Do you think then Paige might be ready for a 'rebound' relationship? I
have a darling grandson who just happens to be single."
Andi settled into her own chair after bringing out another glass of tea for the older woman and putting the dish in the
ice box. Hose momentarily turned off but not far from hand.
"I missed it." She stated. More than willing to engage in a little bit of gossip. "More's the pity or she wouldn't have
'walked' out of anywhere. From what I gather, she's through playing." She glanced at the other woman to see if she'd
actually seen that part or not. "But I can't say I'd mind if you found someone else she wanted to focus all that
attention on." Andi looked back out at Hector and her face softened. "I'm afraid she's quite out of luck when it comes
to the man she's been fishing for previous."
"Oh, dear, she was always out of luck. She just didn't know it." Mrs Johnson said with a smile. "He's never been here
for this long a stretch for her to really give it the old college try. But I'm glad he's set her straight, now she can move
on with her life, hopefully, in the direction it was always meant to go. Which wasn't his direction."
She was a good observer of people, and knew everyone in this neighborhood since birth, including Hector. "He looks
like his grandfather, you know. If it weren't for his grandmother, I might have gone on a fishing expedition of my own
back in the day."
Andi chuckled, looking out at Hector tracing his steady progress across the lawn.
"It's not as if I don't understand." She remarked with a softening smile. Not that she'd gone in pursuit of him herself.
Which, looking back, she had to have been mad to not. Instead - they'd just... grown into what they had. Though -
from comments he made from time to time, she had to wonder if he'd been as unaware of it as she'd been at the time.
Or maybe she'd been in denial worse than he had.
"You know." She made a decision. One she'd probably regret. "I don't have any pictures of him. Or of us together.
And I think it would be nice to have those. Do you think you, or maybe Jo too, could help me with that?"
"I don't take pictures. At least not the kind people want to keep." Mrs Johnson said with a smile. "They usually end up
missing their heads and the sort. But I'm sure I can provide a camera, and film, and let someone who might be better
at it snap the shots. You'll have to distract him. Or bribe him. He's never really been one for picture taking."
Andi made a face.
"Neither have I. But if it gets me pictures of the Elusive One, I suppose I'm willing to make the sacrifice." She grinned
at the woman next to her. "I would be forever grateful if you let us use your camera. At least if we do it outdoors, there
won't be a flash to warn him." She looked back at Hector as they plotted their evil against his unsuspecting soul. She
generally hated pictures of herself. But - for pictures of him, of them, on those days when he was far away and her
bed was empty... it was such a small sacrifice to make on her part for that. "Do you suppose we could get Jolanda in
on it as well?"
"Miss Jo is an expert at taking his picture." Mrs Johnson said. "I think she's got a whole stack of unsorted pictures
from various events, probably keeps forgetting them. What with the bakery and all." Which kept Jolanda very busy,
along with Rachel keeping her busy.
Hector wandered over after a pass and took Andi's drink. It was nice and cold. "Hey Mrs J." Hector said. "How goes
the day?"
"Long and hot." Mrs J said. "I brought over macaroni and cheese for the barbeque. Jolanda is being quite quick with
the calls."
Andi suspected, if they passed the camera around so he couldn't avoid just one person, they'd be bound to get shots
of Hector that she could actually show other people. Something other than the passing blur like some 'Bigfoot
hunters' adventure. She didn't need albums and albums. Just - enough to bring back the feelings that went with them
whenever she looked at them. Something to comfort her heart. Because she was well acquainted with homesickness
and knew that it wasn't always a place that made you feel that way. And - she wanted pictures of them together...
Andi, who was still trying to get used to the idea of 'sweet' tea, was more than happy to surrender the entire glass to
Hector. He was hot and sweaty and covered with grass and dirt and looked - he looked happy.
"Which does lead me to need to ask." Andi prompted. "When exactly is this - " she looked for the word and drawled
the word, "shin-ding' supposed to be happening anyway?"
Hector laughed. "Ah, once we go shopping for the dogs and burgers." Hector said with a laugh. "Which would mean
after I shower and change."
"So when are you both planning on leaving?" Mrs Johnson asked.
"In a couple of days." He said. "Gotta pack, have the party...finish the yard work..." He chuckled.
"Well, its a shame to see you leave" Mrs. Johnson commented sincerely. Wondering with a sudden sharp thought if
Paige had in anyway been responsible for the sudden decision to move on. That girl... "Things are a lot more lively
when you're home." She told Hector, eyes twinkling. Gentle, she reached out and touched the back of his hand.
"Sure was nice of you to stay as long as you did this time though. I'll be looking forward to seeing you both again."
She looked at Andi for that last one. Letting her know how things stood. Andi grinned back.
"You've got hot running water here." She remarked. Unintentionally reminding the widow exactly what a sparse place
the girl had originally come from. It was easy to forget when she talked the way she did. "We'll be back." And she shot
Hector such an intimate and pleased and peaceful look that Mrs. Johnson had a sudden suspicion that had her faded
eyes widening under her glasses. Thinking 'well, my. My, my, indeed. Wonder if he's finally getting around to that.'
"Oh we'll be back." Hector said, still looking at Andi even as he responded to Mrs Johnson. "Not giving up the house
or anything, but we've got jobs, and her family, and the avoidance of my family." Mrs Johnson had been his
grandmother's best friend. She knew. A lot more than she let on.
"If nothing else, then for the hot water." He said a slow smile spreading across his face. "We're definitely partial to hot
water."
Andi's smile started to spread and went warmer in answer to Hector's. Light slowly spreading under her skin. She was
certainly never going to look at taking a shower the same way again. And that was a wonderful thing.
Mrs. Johnson cleared her throat, eyes twinkling.
"Then I'd better be getting along." She commented, standing up. "If I keep distracting you two the rest of the lawn's
never going to get cut and we'll be eating cook out under bug lamps at midnight."
"We'll see you tonight." Hector promised. And cast a side glance at the house with the rooster mailbox, hoping Paige
didn't decide to make an appearance just to spite. He'd hate to have to kick her out in front of people. Then he
grinned at Andi. "And that's my cue to finish the yard, I guess!"
She leaned in and kissed him. Who knew a sweaty, dirty man could make it all look so good? There was a hint of a
reason why it would be a good idea to finish the lawn in that kiss too. Then she stood up as well.
"I'll walk you down." She offered Mrs. Johnson who hadn't missed a thing. The widow smiled bright and linked her arm
through the younger woman's. "I have to wind in the hose extension." Andi commented.
"Leaving me to my own devices already." Hector said with a chuckle as he slipped the headphones back on his head
and headed back over to the mower. Oh yes, the lawn would be finished rather quickly.
Mrs Johnson kept her bright smile. "My petunias shall be terribly lonely once you leave." She said. "The
neighborhood is usually civilized when he's not about you know."
Andi chuckled but there was a rueful touch to it that Mrs. Johnson didn't miss.
"I'll just have to take your word on that." She commented calmly. "Maybe we'll be able to convince my parents to come
and visit some day. My mum would love your garden." She grinned. "And my da would love your cooking."
"Why thank you." Mrs Johnson said as they walked down the driveway, avoiding the shooting arc of cut grass as they
did so. "The poor women in this neighborhood have such an idealized version of him, no man could possibly live up
to it. Me? Though of course I would have rather he stuck closer to his home, for purely selfish reasons, I'm glad he
has someone who took him as he was, not who they expected him to be."
Andi softened. Both at the unexpected approval and at the thought of Hector 'as he was'.
"I suppose it’s because I didn't have any expectations. Not really. He was just another soldier that was on duty in the
area. Except he quoted 'Cat in the Hat' to me." Her smile went inward and Mrs. Johnson was careful not to disturb it.
"He told the children stories." Though she'd been suspicious of that. "And he was loyal to his friends and he guarded
the tent we all slept in that first night against ghosts in the dark. He wanted to talk about - all kinds of things you don't
talk to strangers about. And the next thing I knew I was laughing and enjoying myself and telling him things. And it was
safe. For both of us." She made a soft noise and looked down at the woman next to her. "He woke up all the sleeping
places in me. And I don't get the impression I have to share him with any memories of other women he trusted with his
heart before me. That's not something I'd expect. But I'm glad for it. More glad than I can explain."
Mrs Johnson smiled and reached up with a gnarled, aged hand and touched the taller, younger woman's cheek. "Just
be gentle with him. The stronger they look on the outside, guaranteed the more fragile they are on the inside, even if
they won't admit it even to themselves."
Andi met her eyes. Wondering, with all the years she'd known him, how much the older woman had seen. There was
still a part of Hector that was the little boy he'd been so many years ago. There wasn't a doubt he was a man and
better at being that than most. But there was a part of him that was still that vulnerable and young and - clear. It didn't
make him less man. Somehow, that hidden part of him made him more so. And she'd do anything to protect that part
of him that still managed to hold onto that little boy. To keep him from feeling any more pain than that little boy inside
him already had to carry. He was a grown man. And yet there was a part of him that was too pure to have lost being a
little boy. Her paradox. Or rather, one of them. Her smile went a bit crooked.
"I've been accused of being too protective." She admitted.
Mrs Johnson snorted at that. Knowing who had said that. Most likely his family, a whole lot good they did for him. But
she kept that to herself, no need to burden the young woman with the messy dynamics of the Garrett family. Or
rehash them if she knew them.
"Well, fragile he may be, but still an opinionated man. He'll let you know. And not a moment before you are."
Andi smiled again. Leaned down impulsively and kissed the older woman's cheek.
"I'm glad you've been here." She stated. "I'm glad you're still here." She straightened up and grinned. "And now I
need to go get something more for him to drink because he drained my glass and will be wanting more as soon as he
gets done. Which it sounds as if he is." Her smile softened. "I'm glad he's had you to be here for him. I'm very glad of
it."
"So was I." Mrs Johnson said and with a little wave, started to make her way toward her house kitty corner. It would be
lonely, the neighborhood was quiet. And the one thing Hector always did was bring life to the neighborhood. Whether
by stirring up the women, or having the guys over to work on that automobile of his. It would be quieter now.