Angela wasn't convinced that it looked any better, and she wasn't about to get close to it after the drawer incident earlier. Nick laughed. "Oh, come on! The drawers aren't even in it anymore! Come look."
Together, they stood there sizing up the work he'd done, just as the others were finally coming in. Kevin asked, "Hey, I thought you were gonna buy a refrigerator, Nick. Are you gettin' cheap on us now?"
"No, but I was so ticked at AJ I had to do SOMETHING, and I don't know how to dry wall. So......." He did a Vanna White at the refrigerator.
"Honestly, Nick," said Angela. "It's still gross."
Nick put his hand on his heart and tried to look forlorn. "All my work was in vain," he said, sniffing and pretend wiping his "tears," but then he turned to Kevin. "So where's the cell phone? I want a refrigerator, and I want it NOW."
"Well, wait," said Kevin, thinking. "Why don't we make a combined list of things we'll need and then just get it all in one shot." He turned to Angela, "And by the way, I want to get the water turned on today. I'm not using a port-a-pot for 2 days."
"That's not fair! It was FINE when I had to use it," griped Nick.
Kevin ignored him and continued. "Can you call and get that done? Or does it have to be Kenneth?"
Angela twirled her hair as she thought. "I think I can get it turned on. I mean, everyone in town knows about the Peace House. They won't give me any crap."
"You got a phone book?" asked AJ. "I want to see what stores there are around here."
"We're here to work, AJ," chided Howie.
"Zip it, Howie," AJ said playfully. "I wanna buy a STEREO. I about died upstairs earlier. It was too quiet, man."
"Okay, if YOU buy a stereo, I'll buy a TV," said Howie, not to be outdone by AJ.
".....and a Nintendo, Howie." added Nick. "You can't forget the Nintendo."
Howie rolled his eyes, but agreed. "Yes, Nick, I'll buy a Nintendo, too. But you're not touching it, you hear me?!"
"How about their bedrooms? Do they have beds and stuff like that?" asked Brian. "I could pitch in and buy that."
Angela was overwhelmed by the generosity gone wild. The items they were discussing were expensive. The beds - none that could really be used had been donated. Maybe the frames, but not the mattresses and springboards, and that was the most expensive part. A TV had been out of the question at this stage of the game, as was the stereo.....and a Nintendo? Never a thought. All were considered luxury, not necessity. Kenneth had considered them lucky to get the nasty refrigerator. She stood there listening, and just stared in disbelief before finally grabbing Brian by the arm. "You guys are serious about all this?"
Brian shrugged. "Sure, it's a good cause."
"And...." said Howie, winking at her. "It's a tax write-off."
"Howie, da money man!" said Nick.
"Hey," Howie replied. "I'm just protecting my future."
Nick coughed and held his hand over his mouth as he mumbled. "Cos you can't sing."
"Well," said Howie, agitated by Nick's humor. "There goes the Nintendo."
Nick laughed. "Howie, you KNOW I was joking."
"Yes Nick, and we all know how fun the jokes are, don't we?" Kevin pointed out, trying to avoid any situations like the one that had just happened outside.
Nick's expression turned serious after Kevin's remark. "I'm sorry, Howie. You don't have to buy a Nintendo."
AJ walked away shaking his head. "I can't handle all this serious crap. Cos if you guys think I'm going to spend the next three days being extra nice, you can forget it. It's too weird, man." He turned to Howie. "Howie, you can sing. You're not as good as me," AJ paused to smile widely, "but you can sing." He then turned to Nick. "Nick, you're not fat. If you were fat, you wouldn't have to ASK me if you were fat." He then turned to Angela. "Angela, do YOU think Nick's fat in any way? Tell us, honestly, what do you think of Nick, from a woman's point of view?"
The heat of embarrassment crept through Angela's body and her eyes went wide with shock. "Um, uh...well..I..."
AJ beamed with pride at her uncomfortableness. "It's okay, we're all friends here. We want to know what you think of Nick's body." AJ looked at all the guys and they nodded their heads in agreement, as Nick looked down at the floor.
Angela was going to refuse to answer, but Nick's shy smile caught her eye, and she felt the pressure to fit in. She would look weak if she didn't take AJ up on his "dare." She cleared her throat and thought momentarily before responding. "Nick.....you're not fat. Umm....you DO have a little bit of a tummy," she blushed as Nick looked at her quizzically / expectantly, and continued, "but, uh, you could eat crackers in MY bed anytime, you know what I'm sayin'?"
AJ's expression was priceless. His eyebrows were raised in surprise and he was obviously impressed with her "you know what I'm sayin' " follow up. In fact, everyone was laughing at her bluntness.
Kevin looked at his watch and said, "Damn, AJ, it's been 5 hours and you've got her broken in already."
AJ smiled. "This sensitive, shy crap's got ta go. I wanna have fun while I"m bustin' my ass, cleaning someone ELSE'S house."
"Oh, you'll have fun," replied Angela, "when Kim Ann and Sandra get here. They're a blast." She noted to herself: Subject changed successfully.
"Do you think we'll actually DO something when they get here?" asked Brian.
Angela slowly brought her eyes to his and smiled. "Maybe," she said, and walked into the kitchen to search for the phone book AJ had requested earlier. Brian WAS right, though, they hadn't accomplished hardly anything today. It was so hard to concentrate! Kenneth should've known it would be hard to stay focused. It was his fault. Besides, she thought, they could drywall in no time, and the bathroom was already clean. Painting.......perhaps she could paint with Nick.....she smiled at the thought of it.....like she would get anything done working with Nick.....
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Sixteen
Story Index
