I slap his shoulder. “Maylee and I are waiting to see what happens. She’s come off the pill, so time will tell. Oren is always talking about having a brother or sister and having cousins.”
“He’s a great kid, Myles. You know we did a good job with him.”
“We did, bro’, we did,” I reply with respect in my voice. Without Clem, I would have struggled with Oren’s upbringing. I will always be grateful to have a brother like Clem.
“I’ll bet you a dollar Whitney gets knocked up before Maylee…” Clem chuckles.
“You’re on…” I reply, rubbing my hands and thinking about all the sweet times ahead that are needed to win this bet.
Looking around at the house, I see it needs freshening up. The walls are dull, and the wallpaper looks dated. Turning to Maylee I wrap my hands around her waist while she’s rinsing dishes in the sink.
“Do you think we should decorate, muffin? The place looks tired.”
“I thought with Oren being away Friday through to Sunday I would clear everything out of his room and paint the walls. Put up some pictures and make it look less babyish,” Maylee murmurs.
“Leave it with me to move all the furniture. Clem can help too, with Whitney not being here. We can get it done in two days.”
“Okay, you organize the decorating part and I’ll go get all new for the room.” Rubbing her hands together and looking excited, I’m wondering if I’ve done the right thing!
Walking into Oren’s bedroom, I strip the bed and start removing the mattress. Clem walks into the room and gives me a nod. We don’t waste time removing everything from the room.
“Dan said to leave the garage to him and his boys this weekend. They’ve finished the apartment. They did it in no time at all, but with Cassian helping too, the four of them plowed through it,” Clem informs me.
“Cool, that means we can do this during the day and not just in the evening as I was planning.”
“Dan has the plans for the downstairs area of the building. He’s good with another office as we are keeping Cassian on with us. He’s going to take over all the computer stuff. Making sure bookings are right, and he’s been checking what other places are charging, and is charging more for the work he’s booking in,” Clem replies, sounding impressed.
“I reckon if he can up revenue to cover his salary and extra then he's worth every dime he’s getting,” I respond as I look around the empty room.
Two hours later, we have the paint Maylee purchased, and we are working as quickly as we can. Maylee has warned us to work without making a mess or we’d be in trouble.
We took the drape pole down, and Maylee has purchased a set of wooden shutters for the windows. The company she purchased from told her that if they don’t fit the window, they will come out for a small fee and fit them, charging extra, of course, if they have to custom fit them.
Sunday after lunch and we stand back and feel fully satisfied, smug even. The room looks so different that you wouldn’t imagine it could be the same room. The walls are a pale blue, with white shutters on the window, and Maylee replaced all the bedding. She changed the bed to an iron-framed one. But the red and white bedding makes the room pop. Against the blue walls, the bed looks fantastic.
She has placed pictures on the walls of airplanes, past and present. A world map, too. But the furniture for his clothing, and even for books and toys make the room cozy, functional and personal to Oren. He’s going to love this room.
“It looks great don’t you think?” Clem asks.
I grin as I reply, “Yeah, it does. Thanks for helping, Clem. I couldn’t have got it done in time otherwise.”
“Hey, I’ll need your help at some stage I’m sure. Remember, we’ll both have kids, and it’s gonna be fun.”
“Yeah, dirty diapers, burping up, farting…” Clem slaps my back as he walks away, laughing at, I’m sure, the memories of Oren as a baby.
“We need to empty the attic too, Myles. I stored stuff up there. Most can be gotten rid of, I’m thinking,” Clem throws out as he disappears.
Something else for us to sort out then! I sigh knowing there is always going to be something that we need to do, organize, or get rid of.
Maylee steps in front of me with the sweetest of smiles. “Do you want your reward now for doing all that work in Oren’s room?” She asks, and I give her a nod, but thinking what is she talking about?
Grabbing my t-shirt front, Maylee leads me to our bedroom, and slams the door behind us. Ah, reward time, now I understand, and I’m going to enjoy this.
Chapter 22
Maylee
Walking into work this morning, I headed into Fabian’s office. I know he’s not here today as I’ve been monitoring his schedule. He is at the office that Mr. Wallis opened four months ago. They are having a problem with their system, which means Fabian is off to rescue them.
