Winter Layoff Chapter 15
| Winter Layoff | |
|---|---|
| Chapter 15 of 21 | |
 | |
| Read this chapter | |
| Time frame | January 2006 |
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Locations
- Pass Christian, Mississippi
Characters
- The (unnamed) water system supervisor in Pass Christian
Summary
The work went quickly all morning. At one point Randy commented, “Oh, hell. We got started so quickly this morning I dead forgot about the most important thing we have to do.”
Randy headed over to the semi tractor and reached behind the seat, pulling out a metal sign. He took it over and planted it in the soil at the front of the construction site. It was lettered on both sides, and it read:
| Another Quality Home Built By |
Jim grinned when Randy got back to his coffee cup and said We need to let people know that we’re the real deal, not a bunch of fly-by-night jacklegs.
By lunchtime the pilings were poured and the concrete was hardening, and the crew was assembling the roof trusses. They discussed the plans for the next day - putting in the framework that supports the floor, unloading some more cement for the sidewalks, and building the handicapped ramp so it can be used to move materials up to the floor level of the house.
As soon as lunch was over Jim got in the dump truck, took a load over to the collection point, and continued on to the city office. The guy in charge of the water lines wasn’t as hopeful as he had been the other day - he just didn't have the people or the machinery to repair the water system.
Over dinner that evening, Jim made it a point to thank Ken for thinking to bring the well pipe and the well pump, and then he expresses concern about the electrical hookup... The guy from the electrical company told us that if we had a house we’d have power. I guess I’d better go talk to him tomorrow.
By then it was getting dark, and towards bonfire and story time. After the stories and fire died down people drifted off to bed, and soon it was down to just Rachel, Randy, and Jim sitting by what was left of the fire. Randy and Jim discussed the day, the larger crew, the lessons learned, and if they can be applied to future projects. Randy comments that I’ve always been a hands-on guy, and it’s hard as hell for me to sit back and let others do the work when I could be pitching in. This time I get to. I don’t feel like I can stay down here for a long time, but I ought to be able to squeeze a couple weeks out of it before I really should be heading back. I hate to leave Nicole home alone when she’s getting this close to her due date, but I’m glad I came. This is going to turn into the best winter break I’ve had in years. If the timing were just a little bit different, I’d be tempted to stay on a while longer to see if I could pitch in somewhere else.
He continues that it’s looks like Clark Construction is going to have three big projects in Spearfish Lake this summer instead of the two they had planned on.
Randy heads back to his tent. Jim and Rachel talk for a while longer and discuss Jim's site supervision, the Newton's house on Windmill Island, the current project, Jim's aunt and uncle, Rachel's life with her ex, Jim's life with his ex, and finally that it was getting to be time to go to bed. She gives him a kiss - one that has some future promise to it. Jim, shocked, returns the kiss.
Also Mentioned
- Joel Lancaster, not mentioned by name, only as as "Rachel's ex"
