A Simple Life: Chapter 138 (Patreon)

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

“HWAH!?” Winona bolts up in bed, woken as I was by the loud rapping on the door.

“Get yer butt outta bed!” Amos’ big voice booms through the door. “We got customers comin.”

“Customers?” She struggles through the haze of the rude awakening from a deep slumber. “What…? We’re not even open.”

“We are now.” He announces. “They’ll be here in fifteen.”

“Fifteen!?” Winona exclaims. “Fuck, shit, fuck!” She starts to scramble before pausing to give me a kiss. “Mornin Sprout.” She smiles…then starts scrambling again. Nearly taking the covers with her she launches herself out of bed to hurriedly start pulling clothes. “I’m comin!” She calls with a hair tie clenched in her teeth before quickly pulling back her long hair into a ponytail.

Back in bed a groggy Brutus and I look at each other, both of us discombobulated by the flurry of activity. By the time I sit up, rub my sleepy eyes, and stretch Winona was already in her coveralls and slipping into a pair of steel toes.

Slam!

The next thing I knew I was alone with the kitten. Outside the door I could hear father and daughter’s muffled voices.

“Why didn’t you call?”

“I did!” Amos chuckles. “Seems your phone was off for some reason? He he he.”

“Shaddup!”

Not sure of what else to do I slip out of bed myself and dash naked across the room to duck into the washroom, or start to dash before my achy bottom slows me down a step. Ohhhh, the delicious aftereffects of Winona’s hard lovemaking was…wonderful! In the washroom I slip into my clothes from yesterday. As I pulled on my tight, thin white undershirt that you could nearly see the nipples through even when it wasn’t wet I make a note to bring some clothes out here for just these occasions. After freshening up I head to the closet looking for something that I could be seen in. Settling on the collared shirt that she’d worn as ‘Daddy’ that one time I slip in and button up. It was too big for me but after tucking it in and pulling the excess fabric to the back then rolling up the sleeves it actually didn’t look too bad. With nothing else to wear on my feet I slip into Winona’s special moccasins and head to see what was going on. Excited to see Amos Brutus trundles along at my side.

“Good morning, Avery.” Amos’ face brightens as I step out blinking against the bright light. The front door, the door to the bays, and both bay doors were wide open to let the sun and fresh morning air come pouring in. “Tea’s still hot if you want it.” He nods to the counter where he had a big carafe of coffee and donuts from a local bakery laid out. Beside them sat the single cup he was calling my attention to. “I understand you’re a tea drinker.”

“This is f-for me?” I wrap my hands around the hot cardboard cup and sniff it. Earl Grey.

“There he is.” Amos bends down to scoop up the orange kitten attacking his lace. “My tiger.”

I take a sip of the warm, bitter tea and smile. “Th-Thank you. And g-g-good morning.”

“Winnie’s grabbing the breakfast from the truck.” He says as he carries Brutus into the bays.

Not thirty seconds later Winona comes jogging in with two stuffed bags of fast food breakfasts. She plops them on the counter and says. “Hope you’re hungry.” She says. “Dad! You got enough for like ten people here!”

“Figured you two might have worked up an appetite.” He quips. “HA!”

“DAAAD!”

Winona rushes into the bay to go give her father the beating she felt he deserved.

“Ow! Hey! Watch it, you’ll hit Brutus!”

I giggle as I busy myself with laying out the breakfast sandwiches and crispy hashbrown patties. The pair hurry about getting ready and I make sure to stay tucked behind the counter and out of the way. They come in and out of the office to grab big snarfing bites of food as they talk with each other in raised, hurried voices. I watch quietly, enjoying watching a father and daughter joke and laugh and work together so naturally. That was how it was supposed to be. I unwrap a sandwich for myself but carefully slip out the greasy sausage patty from mine as I only wanted the egg. The patty I slide into another sandwich to make it extra meaty and the next time Winona zips by I push it toward her. She notes the double meat and shows her appreciation with a quick wink before chomping into it.

I was just washing my sandwich down with the yummy tea when I hear Amos announce. “Here they are!”

Leaning forward I see a line of three small, identical vans pulling up from the highway. They were bright green and gaudy pink and on their sides they had the logo of the island’s main maid service company who looked after a lot of the offices and vacation properties on Ehkolie. Amos and Winona step out meet their very first customers as the trio of vans come to park at the front of the building.

An older woman and clearly the person in charge was the first out of her van, two much younger women step out of the other two. One of them I knew as a former classmate of mine. Each of them had on green and pink uniforms that matched their vehicles.

“Amos Crow, you are a lifesaver.” The older woman says as she shakes his hand. “We’ve been waiting a damn month to get into Bobbo’s.”

“He’s a busy guy.” Amos says, his voice upbeat. “We’re happy we could help.”

Winona collects the keys and says to her dad. “I’ll start giving them the once over.”

“Great.”

As she heads one way the entire rest of the group turn and head my way! I was spying the door to the bays but they were inside before I could make my escape.

“Coffee and donuts.” He offers them. “Breakfast is still fresh too if you’re interested.”

They avail themselves of the goodies as Amos and the boss lady get down to business.

“Hey Avery!” My old classmate greets me as the other gets distracted by a curious Brutus.

“Hi C-Camille.” I say, feeling suddenly very awkward to be standing behind the counter while all this was going on.

“I didn’t know you worked here.” She says. “I just saw you down at the grocery the other day.”

“I, uh, help out s-sometimes.” I say. “W-Winona’s my g-girlfriend.”

“Winona? OH! Win!” She laughs. “Like on the sign. Cool.”

“Yeah.”

She and her coworker, who was now cooing to the happy kitten in her hands, make small talk with me, very awkwardly on my end, while Amos talks shop and Winona starts to inspect the vans. There was so much going on at once! I was feeling good today though and that urge to flee was thankfully absent. To my pleasant surprise I find Camille to be very amiable and quick with a laugh. A far cry from those years ago when she was one of the hangers on at the periphery of the popular girls. She was never anything like the mean Becca and Kimmy but she was one of the crowd to which they performed. But that was years ago and she was a whole different person now. She now had a husband, a kid, and a job that she seemed to love. She was not at all the immature kid that I remembered her to be. It was really nice to see that at least some of us had matured since back then.

I was just starting to feel at ease in our conversation when suddenly I hear my name.

“Avery.” Amos waves me over to the opposite end of the counter. Looking back to the woman, whom I’d over heard was named Sandra, he says. “This is my marketing guy.”

“Oh yeah?” Sandra says with interest. Reaching out she shakes my hand.

“Um!” I gulp. Marketing guy!? “Uhhh.”

Chewing down the last of what was probably his fifth sandwich he slides a trifold brochure for the maid service my way. He taps it with a thick finger and tells me. “Sandra said she’s willing to give us a little space at the back of their pamphlets. They leave these all over the place.”

“Uh…y-yeah, I’ve s-s-seen th-them.” I pull the paper closer without a clue as to what Amos was expecting me to do with it.

“We’ll have to print them up a new batch.” Amos tells me. “Maybe help with the design a little to fit us in?”

“Us?” I say. We were an ‘us’ now?

“Yes! Could do more than that too. It’s way past due to give the old brochure a freshing up anyway. Been using these for nearly a decade now.” Sandra says. “I’d like to get Camille and Emily’s pictures in here. I’d be sunk without these girls.”

“Awww!” Camille grins as she and Emily come to check out what we were talking about.

“Well photography is Mr. Beckett’s specialty.” Amos brags. “Better than any of those overpriced studios.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Heck yeah.” Amos pats my shoulder. “I’ll leave you to the expert here.”

“What!?” I croak as Amos turns and leaves me with the three women. “UM!”

“So I was thinking that you can have the bottom third of the back panel.” Sandra gets right into it as she steps across the counter from me to show me the area on the brochure that she had in mind for the garage. “Probably enough for a picture and some basic info, yeah? But if you’re thinking a whole new redesign I am all ears.”

I look at the pamphlet, I look at her, I look at the grinning Amos as he disappears into the bays to help Winona, then back to the pamphlet again. “Uhhhh.”

Chapter 139