“Sweetheart, we’re a family and we take care of each other.”
Oscar stood and mussed Tae’s hair. “You’ve got a good one there, little bro, don’t let him go.”
Tae snuggled tightly against my chest. “Nope, he’s my Daddy and I don’t share.”
“And on that note,” Oscar tapped his knuckles on the desktop. “I’m outta here.Hasta mañana, love birds.”
“Guess what else, Tae.”
“There’s more?”
“Yup. How about you and I taking a vacation during Valentine’s week. I’ll rent a cabin, and we can play in the snow and poke around town up north. What do you think?”
“Can we make snow angels?”
“Of course.”
“And go ice skating?”
“Anything you want, my love. Just so you know, Daddy is terrible on any kind of skates.”
“That’s okay, Daddy, I’ll teach you.”
“Wait, have you been ice skating before?” I don’t recall hearing that story.
“Nope, but I’m a fast learner.”
If this was all it took to make my boy smile as big as he was now, I’d fall on my ass on the ice a million times over. I could already hear his sweet giggles when I did. Better pack extra pants and padding for my ass.
“Alright,” I tapped his tushy. “Let’s get my boy fed then your Daddy is off to meet with the Tetleys.” Fingers crossed they didn’t want the work done anytime soon.
Once Tae was parked in front of the TV watching his favorite cartoons, eating his breakfast sandwich, and sucking on his Daddy milky bottle, I headed over to their house.
“Afternoon, Chuck,” Jacob Tetley glanced around me. “No Tae?”
“Not today. He just comes when it’s time to work.” He waved me inside. “How’s the family?”
“Good, good. The kids are at school, and the wife is at work. Took the day off to show you what we’re hoping to have done. I’d like to surprise them with it though that might be hard to do.” I followed him down the hall and up the stairs, taking in the vast space they called home filled with the finest furnishings and high-end finishes. Was I up for the job? Absolutely, though I felt somewhat out of place in their showroom quality home. I wasn’t a millionaire by any means, but Tae and I Iived comfortably in our humble abode and wanted for nothing. But marble? Yeah, not something you’ll find at Casa Ashwood.
“This is where our kids mostly hangout. It’s technically a loft but now that they’re getting to the age where they stay up later than their parents do I’d like to wall it off. Possibly soundproof too, that way we’re not listening to their video games at ungodly hours. Fresh paint, multiple TV’s so they can play the same games or apart. Hook it up with headphone jacks, the whole works.”
I laughed. “All of that is doable. This is a great space for a media room.”
“Fantastic. Fresh paint, new carpet and I’d like to add a kitchenette along the back wall, small fridge for drinks and a microwave.”
After taking a few pictures, measurements, checking the electrical box to make sure it could handle the additional pull and jotting down the notes before following him outside to walk the second project he had.
“As you can see, this was the kids play area which they’ve outgrown.” There was a sandbox with a swing set in it across from the inground pool. “We’d like to get rid of all of this, install pavers and build a pergola over it.”
I repeated the same process as upstairs. The more info I got while onsite, the easier it would be to put the quote together. “Got it. When were you wanting all of this done?”
“The upstairs area, preferably before spring break in March,” Jacob shook his head. “Don’t think I’ll survive that week otherwise. This outside area, before it gets too warm. Let me know your schedule and we’ll make it work.”
“Sounds like a plan. Tae and I are going on vacation mid-February for a few days, but we can get the loft area done as soon as we get back. I’ll head home and put the proposal together for you and email it over no later than tomorrow by noon.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Chuck.” Jacob saw me out and I drove over to the site Oscar was on to see if he could use a hand, but he was good to go.
On the way home, I made a quick stop and picked up a special treat for my boy. “Tae?”
