Janet Jones trudged laboriously across her partially flooded lawn towards her neighbor’s house, a two-story brick early thirties style home hoping he was there. She had needs of his skills; actually, she wanted more than just the skills of an electrician, but the current situation prevented her from dwelling upon the burning urges held barely in-check.
A long crack of thunder cut the air, Janet picking up the pace and scurried up the red steps to the ornately carved white door. The pane windows were dark, reminding her of a garden spider lounging in its web waiting for prey. Well, given any other situation she would be more than happy to get tangled in that web, giggling.
Janet knocked paused and knocked again. A low voice called out “Just a moment,” then the tread of feet hitting the floor could be heard. A click then the door opened. There stood Ronald Gardener, stocky frame clad in a pair of blue and white checkered pajamas, dark hair mused about. He rubbed one eye, scratched at his thick beard, then directed the lamp in his and out towards his visitor.
“Oh, Janet… sorry, wasn’t expecting company on a night like this. Something wrong…besides this stormy weather.”
His smile drew heat into her cheeks, and she timidly smiled back. “My power went out,” she said, “Can you come over and check out my generator?”
“Sure, Janet. Let me get some proper clothes on and I’ll come over and take a look.”
He stepped back, opening the door wider. Janet needed no prompting to the invitation and stood in the foyer while Ron went to change…
A quick trudge back across the wet lawns found Janet back in her home waiting as outside she could see Ron’s shadowy figure moving past the windows tool kit in hand looking over the spot where her generator was housed, flickers of light from the flashlight would briefly illuminate him as he worked.
Janet took advantage of the moment to spruce herself up, straitening the furniture in the front room, fluffed pillows and adjusted the cozy blankets draped across her couch. A low whine at her feet brought her attention to her small black and grey Irish Terrier, Beno; odd name for a terrier but cute and fitting in her mind, fidgeting nervously as the sound of the storm howled.
“No crying, Beno,” she said, picking the dog up. It whined again, licking her cheek affectionately soothed by her voice.
She ruffled the hair on the dog’s head, then a knock came at the door.
“Janet?” called Ron as he peeked inside. She answered and he took off his boots. “Hey, I found your issue. One of your trigger sensors came loose from the connector.”
“Oh, is that serious?”
“No,” he replied laughing a bit. “I retightened the clasp and it should kick in here in a moment.”
“OH, thank you, Ron,” said Janet. She moved closer to him, eyes held in an almost trance on Ron. He continued to smile back then spotted Beno nestling in her arms.
“Bean-man!” he exclaimed reaching out to take the dog in his hands. The two were on more than friendly terms; Ron had dog-sat for Janet when she needed to go into town on errands or out of state during an assignment.
Beno yapped happily in his arms and Janet could not help but giggle at the sight. She felt at ease with him in her home, his presence always warmed the air. That brought a thought to mind.
“Would you like some tea, Ron?” she asked, a finger unconsciously twirling a lock of her blonde hair.
He thought for a moment, taking a glance back out at the cold raging storm. A brow rose up, then he smiled. “Why sure, Janet,” he replied, “but I’m going to have to stay here on the floor though. My socks are soaked.”
He was mindful of her thick carpet, Janet liking his manners and attention to the details of her home. “I’ll get a towel. You can dry your feet while we chat. Nasty storm to be fussing about in anyway.”
The idea appealed to him. His bright eyes caught hers and an awkward moment passed. Well, this is unexpected, he mused. Suddenly, he hefted Beno up into the air. “What do you think, buddy? Is she a good tea-maker?”
The little dog barked tail wagging rapidly.
“Guess that’s a good enough reason for me,” Ron said. He set Beno down and then drew up a chair. She could see him grinning at her and Janet felt her heart skip a few times.
Yes, was all she could think.
Then the lights snapped on.
“Ooo, that was something,” said Ron blinking his eyes.
She was not going to release this moment, Janet feeling her determination rising. “A minor problem that can be fixed,” she replied.
Another sound called out, this time the bleat from Ron’s cellphone called for attention. He sighed, noting the name attached to the number. “Lo!”
Frantic voices came from the speaker, Ron listened patiently before hanging up. His face turned down in a frown and for a moment Janet thought he was going to ignore the call, but her hopes were dashed.
“Well…Miss Emily down the way is also having issues with her power,” he said, reaching for his boots. Ron stamped his feet stopping at the threshold of the door. “Raincheck?” he said.
Janet gave a level nod and remained rooted in her position as the door clicked shut. Finally, she let out a sigh and shrugged, again alone with her books and manuscripts diving back into the stack on the small table next to her recliner…
The remains of the storm passed a few days later, Janet cheered that not much wind damage occurred to her small home. She worked steadily to clean up the debris scattered about her front yard, fresh clear air making her breaths crisp and invigorating, allowing more of her inner self to appreciate nature and suppress the dim feeling of frustration in her mind.
She spotted something moving beneath the hedges along the front side of the fence, flickers of sunlight reflecting through splashes of water pooled in a depression near the base. Cautiously, Janet set down the bag in her hands. She pulled back tight on the brown work gloves, took up her hoe and stalked towards the unknown thing.
It was a dark mass, plodding around as if trying to run or escape something twined around its small body. Upon closer inspection, Janet could see now what it was; an unfortunate sparrow coated with mud and worse a long strand of twine wrapped around its body.
A victim of the storm’s fury, a dull pang of emotional pain struck her hard.
“Poor fella,” said a voice from behind. Janet yelped and spun around dropping the hoe as she did. At the gate, Ron stood tool bag in hand, with his laughter echoing around the neighborhood. She smirked but it soon passed as her cheer arose seeing him again. Streaks of black grease marred his overalls, a sign that work was good today. He always enjoyed being deep at his task and the cheered expression was a pleasant sight to her eyes.
“Well…don’t stand there gawking,” said Janet wagging a finger playfully at him, “You’re still on the clock!”
Feigning fear, Ron quickly entered the yard setting his bag down and after a brief chase retrieved the trapped bird. As he held it gently in his hands, Janet retrieved a spare towel wrapping it around the animal.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” said Janet to the bird.
Ron watched her go then went to retrieve his bag. Her light call stopped him before he could depart.
“Aren’t you coming?” she asked.
“I need to clean up first, but I can come back.”
Janet was holding the door open with her back. She rocked slowly from side to side and placed a deep warm look on him. The corner of her lips curled up into a smile.
“I’m serving tea—”
Ron blinked. Well, he thought with a shrug, guess this is a good of a time as any to cash in that raincheck…
