On a lighter note, Brandon's mom and brother are coming up to PA on the 20th! I'm so excited! Lager is doing much better, and his vet bills are totally paid off. We are slowly but surely paying down some debts, and our financial position is looking good.
There are some more depressing things to touch on, but I'll cover those in a nice long update on Sunday. For now, enjoy chapter four!!!!!! (Sorry it was such a long time coming!)**
Chapter Four
The next morning, Jerrod went to the store early. Unlocking the service entrance, he slid inside and located the rolls of carpet that had been dropped off. He ran his hand absentmindedly across the soft plush before hoisting the first roll onto his shoulder. His mind was preoccupied by what Greg had said the day before.
"Dude, it's been 6 months and you haven't been on a single date. No offense, but Sarah is gone."
When Greg had walked out of his office, Jerrod had shut the door and clicked the lock into place. Hidden from the view of his nosy coworkers, he'd taken the ring case from the drawer he kept it in and gazed at the diamond. Impervious to his misery, the 1-carat rock had twinkled merrily at him and reminded him of all he'd lost.
The memories returned to haunt him that morning as he loaded up the service truck. Sarah at Christmas, her beautiful blue eyes dancing as she handed him a gift…Sarah on the couch, laughing in delight as she beat him at a racing game…Sarah laying beside him in bed as he ran his hands along her soft curves…Sarah gazing at him sadly, her perfect mouth forming the words he never thought he'd hear. "There's someone else, Jerrod. I'm so sorry…but it's over." He'd come so close to begging her to reconsider, but he didn't. Instead, he adopted a cold façade, held in the pain, and let her walk out. When she was gone, he fell apart.
Six months later, it still stung. He had held onto the ring in the vain hope that Sarah would come back to him, but he had to admit that Greg was right. She was gone for good, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He got to the Liebermann house at 7:55 AM. The other guys were already there, leaning up against Greg's truck and sipping coffee. When they saw him pull up, they drained their cups and tossed them into a trash bag.
"Hey, man." Greg gave him a nod. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Jerrod knew that Greg knew he was lying, and was relieved when Greg didn't push it.
The five of them walked up to the front door and Jerrod knocked. Mr. Liebermann opened it and greeted them warmly.
"Jerrod! I'm so glad to see you." Edward shook Jerrod's hand, and then the hands of the rest of the crew.
"Edward, these are my workers." Jerrod pointed at each of them as he introduced them. "This is Chris, this is Allen, this is Jake, and this is Greg."
"Great to meet all of you." Mr. Liebermann stood back and spread the arm not holding the door. "Please, come inside." The five of them filed into the home and looked around. None of the furniture had been moved yet, which was fine by Jerrod. His crew could handle it more easily than the Liebermanns could.
"So, Edward, we'll start with the living room and dining room, but we'll have to move the furniture. Where can we put it?"
"The deck is covered and well protected. We can store it there until we decide what to do with it."
"Are you still planning to redo this room?"
"Yes. My wife actually has an appointment with the interior designer later today."
"Well, we're going to go ahead and get started. Please let us know if we're in your way at all."
"Thank you, Jerrod." Edward walked into the kitchen and disappeared from their view.
The guys didn't even wait for instructions from Jerrod. When he turned around to face them, they were already lifting the couch and loveseat.
"Okay, guys, bring those this way." He started walking backward through the home, carefully moving toward the deck while keeping an eye on the guys. When they got to the deck, they maneuvered them into a corner and set them down. The end tables and floor lamps quickly followed, and they were soon left with an empty room. "Awesome! Let's get started." Jerrod slid on a paper mask and offered them to the others. Each of them took one and put them on, and then the five of them knelt down.
"Where do you want to start, Jerrod?" Greg was on one knee, running his hand across the beaten old carpet.
"The room is nicely square, so let's just spread out." He directed the guys, stationing each of them at 3 foot intervals. When they were all ready, they whipped their knives out and started slicing into the carpet. As Jerrod had anticipated, it was full of dust. The masks protected them from inhaling any of it, making the job a lot more tolerable.
Two hours later, the carpet and padding had been completely pulled up. Allen and Jake were moving around the room on their hands and knees, removing any staples or nails left in the wood floor they'd exposed. Jerrod watched them from the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. He pulled his mask down, letting it dangle around his neck as he sipped from a bottle of water. When Allen and Jake were complete, they joined the other three for a quick break.
"It looks good so far, right?" Greg tilted his water bottle in the direction of the living room.
"Yeah, I'm happy with it. With any luck, we'll have the new carpet down in here in the next couple hours."
"Are we doing the den after this?"
"I'd like to at least get the den carpet pulled up today."
"I'm sure we can handle that."
"I know we can." Female voices interrupted their conversation as Mrs. Liebermann turned the corner from the sun room into the kitchen.
"Eileen, this house is just beautiful. Thank you again for the chance to redesign the other rooms as well." Jerrod turned to look at the women walking in. His eyes widened when he saw the woman walking beside Mrs. Liebermann.
"You're so welcome, dear. I just know you'll do a wonderful job with them, your taste is impeccable."
"Well, thank you!" At that moment, the women looked up and spotted the guys. There was a moment of quiet before Mrs. Liebermann spoke up.
"Oh, Sierra, this is the carpeting crew I called Trisha about." Greg, Allen, Jake, and Chris raised a hand in greeting, but Jerrod just stood there and stared.
What kind of small world is this? That's the girl who crashed into me on her way out of the coffee shop yesterday! She's beautiful...I wonder why I didn't notice that before. Maybe because she was so angry.
He finally realized that he was being quiet (and a bit creepy), so he gave the women a small wave.
"Hi, Mrs. Liebermann. Hi, miss."
"Oh please, call me Eileen." Mrs. Liebermann offered him her hand, which he shook. "Can I ask your names?"
"I'm Jerrod." The guys also introduced themselves, and then attention turned to Sierra. She was standing there, quietly surveying the kitchen and living room. Sierra sensed, more than heard, the silence and turned her attention back to the rest of the group.
"Oh, sorry!" She offered them each a firm handshake. "I'm Sierra...I'm the interior decorator." There was a chorus of "Hi, Sierra" from the guys, and then Jerrod checked his watch.
"Well, I guess it's time for us to get back to work. We're going to get the carpet laid down in here today and then start on the den." He gave Sierra a smile, which she didn't return.
Sierra recognized him, of course. It was difficult to forget eyes that green. However, she was still emotional over her meeting with Jeff, and she couldn't forget the way Jerrod had reacted when she collided with him. She normally would've melted under a gaze as intense as his, but his attitude turned her off completely.
Don't even give him another thought, Sierra. You don't need a guy with that much attitude. Just stop thinking about him. He sure is cute, though. Look at those eyes...and that dark hair...god, he's attractive. But a jerk. Definitely a jerk. So what if you'll be working with him for a little bit? You can make it through this.
Sierra made a mental note to ignore him. The last thing she needed in her life was a "bad boy" type, no matter how deliciously attractive. Jeff had left her heart a shattered mess, and she refused to let anyone else toy with it.
2 comments:
Great post! I'm really liking the story. You are a great writer!
This post ROCKS!!! This is going to get good!!! Sorry J that you're having to work so many hours.....I know it takes a toll on you and everything in your life. Hopefully everything will ease up soon. Kaboodall
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