Part 5 (1/2)
”Today's job is pretty simple. All these stacks of sod...we need to spread them out over the yard. Nothing really complicated about it, but I've done it many times and I can tell you it takes a lot of stamina. Your shoulders and legs are going to wake up very angry tomorrow. I was hoping a few more of your friends would join us, but if we keep at it and work hard, we should be able to finish right on time at three thirty.”
”My dad's picking me up at eleven thirty,” Pimple Boy said.
”Mine too,” said Josh, the smallest of the three.
I whirled toward the third, practically daring him to speak.
”And I'm riding with Josh's dad so...”
Bunch of lazy Jenkos. But as much as I wanted to scream, I had only myself to blame. I should have realized the moment their faculty sponsor called to say something had come up for him on Sat.u.r.day my leverage over the boys was up in smoke. Without their teacher to impress, they had no real motivation to even be here, let alone work. I was lucky these three had shown up.
And just in case all that wasn't enough, Mari's time was officially up at twelve thirty. That meant Bo and I would probably be here until well after dark getting the last patch down.
With two wheelbarrows, we broke into teams of three. I corralled Mari and Josh with the sole purpose of interrupting Pimple Boy's wet dream.
We started in the back corner of the yard with Josh handing me one square at a time to place, just as if we were laying tiles on a floor. Mari kept us supplied from the closest pallet.
”We leave a couple of inches between the squares because this is St. Augustine sod, the good stuff. It grows fast, so it'll thatch over these gaps in a few weeks.” The rest of the story was the sod had been donated-left over from a city park project-and if we didn't s.p.a.ce it out we wouldn't have enough to cover the yard.
After forty minutes of squatting, my thighs were on fire. And not in a good way, I noted, pus.h.i.+ng away thoughts I didn't need to be having around a teenage boy. We rotated jobs and I took over the wheelbarrow part, which gave me an excellent view of Mari as she worked.
She looked just fine in her carpenter jeans and boots, but I'd been ruined forever by seeing her in that c.o.c.ktail dress. Tanned legs that looked like they went all the way up. What I liked best about her outfit today was her white short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt, more like a V-neck than a Henley, since the b.u.t.tons were undone all the way down to what looked like a sports bra. At one point she stopped for a long drink and the water dribbled onto her chest.
My entire kingdom for a cool breeze.
”Here you go, Josh. Why don't you handle the wheelbarrow for a while?”
I hadn't said a word about our usual morning break, and neither had Bo. We all stopped a couple of times for water but something told me if these kids ever sat down, we'd never get them up again.
Mari pulled off her hat and wiped her brow with her dirty forearm. ”I should take a turn doing all the bending and twisting. Looks like a killer.”
”I don't mind doing it again. You can hand them to me if you want.” Fundamentally, I'm the same person who only four short weeks ago sent this woman on my very own version of the Bataan Death March just because she was a few minutes late. Now I'm volunteering to double down on the hardest job of the day so she won't have to. What was different?
I refused to believe it was because Mari was an attractive lesbian. Even though she triggered some of my more primitive instincts, I gave myself more credit than that. Emily Jenko was proof positive I can dislike an attractive lesbian.
The difference was Mari earned my respect over and over. She snapped out of her Oblivious Fog of Specialness the moment I signed her in on that first day. No more waltzing in late and not once had she complained or slacked off. I could add to that the fact her criminal transgression was bogus, and if we'd been friends at the time, I probably would have helped her do it.
”Today's your big day, Mari. I bet you'll be out celebrating tonight.”
”The thought had crossed my mind.”
”Party on South Beach?” Of course. She was exactly the sort of woman who got through the ropes at the most exclusive clubs.
She stood up and stretched backward with her hands bracing the small of her back. As she arched, the outline of her nipples was plainly visible. ”I think tonight I'll settle for a long, hot, soapy bath.”
Whereas I'd have to make do with a long, very cold shower.
”We've had a lot of...”-I couldn't exactly call her a volunteer, and I didn't want Josh to know she was doing community service-”workers come through here. You've been one of the best.”
”What did you expect? You've watched my every move like you were afraid I'd try to escape over the back fence or something.”
Oh, for Jenko's sake. That wasn't something I'd wanted her to notice. ”It's your own fault for skipping the safety orientation. I was scared to death you'd cut your hand off or something.”
”I've still got some time left to make that happen.”
A horn blew from in front of the house and Pimple Boy announced with relief that his dad was here. The other boys called it a day as well and went out front to wait for their ride, leaving Bo, Mari and me standing over a yard that was barely half finished.
I was so hungry I could have eaten a school lunch. Instead I had about half a cup of crunchy peanut b.u.t.ter slathered on two thick slices of multigrain bread, and a bright green Granny Smith apple. A royal feast couldn't have tasted better.
Mari, as usual, spent her entire lunch break leaning against her car and talking on the phone. I don't even think she ate, but after her crack about me watching her all the time, I did everything I could not to stare.
”Sorry about the volunteers, Bo. A full house would have been nice today.”
”I might be able to bribe a couple of my daughters into coming in tomorrow and helping me finish things up.”
”Mari's time's up in about an hour, you know, and it'll be just us. But I'll work as late as you want me to.”
His joints crackled as he pulled himself up. ”Let's just see how much we can get done. We'll worry about the rest later.”
Mari quickly joined us, somehow rejuvenated. ”We ought to make good time now that we don't have those kids slowing us down, right?”
By her playful att.i.tude, I figured she was already celebrating her departure. I was surprised when twelve thirty came and went without notice. If she was too distracted to check her own watch, I surely wasn't going to remind her.
”Mari!”
I looked up to see six teenagers rounding the corner, four boys and two girls. The fellows were dressed in baggy shorts and T-s.h.i.+rts with sneakers, while both girls reminded me of Mari on her first day-skinny jeans with ruffled tank tops. Obviously Hispanic.
”Chacho! You guys actually came.”
”Because no one ever says no to Pepe,” one of the girls said, trading cheek kisses with Mari.
”Come on over here and meet what's left of the crew.” Mari introduced Bo and me as los jefes, the bosses. ”Talia here is my niece, Chacho is my cousin-second or third, I can't ever remember-and all these other faces I've seen in Mima's kitchen at one time or another, but I don't think I'm related to any of them.”
She took over the training as Bo and I watched, too overwhelmed with grat.i.tude to even speak. It was like Teddy Roosevelt had just ridden over the hill again, but this time carrying the Cuban flag.
I ended up in a trio with Chacho and one of his friends, enjoying arguably the easiest job of pa.s.sing the squares to Chacho for placement. Best of all, we'd worked our way around to the shady side of the house.
”Sounds like everyone in your family tries to keep Pepe happy.”
Chacho grinned, and for an instant, I saw a dimple that resembled Mari's.
”Pepe is like Papa Noel-Santa Claus-to people all over Miami, but especially family. He takes care of us. We all want to do our best and make him proud.”
I remembered Mari's words about him wanting to spank her for getting arrested being punishment enough. ”Your cousin sure thinks a lot of him.”
”Mari? Pepe loves her. We all kid her that she's his favorite because she was the only girl until Talia was born. Everybody talks about how he took her with him all the time and whenever she cried he gave her whatever she wanted. He's the same way with Talia now. Both of them are spoiled.”