Sue smiles sweetly. “Of course. What are neighbors for?”
I look to Nicholas for help, and he shrugs. “The thrift store down the street said they’ll take one truckload of Randy’s boxes. That should be enough to make a serious dent.”
“My truck is up front.”
“Don’t you worry about your truck,” Sue says. “It’s easier to access our garage from here, and we open into the alley. I’ll take it all in my truck. It’s got more storage capacity anyway.”
She looks at me like she’s challenging me to compare trucks, and I fight the temptation to take the bait.
Nance squints at me. “You’ll work in the basement. Check the boxes before you send them up in case there’s anything you want to keep. We’ll space out on the stairs to save our knees and get this done fast. Sounds good?” Before I can answer, she tosses me some work gloves. “Sounds good.”
Nicholas pats me on the shoulder. “Teamwork activities with Sue and Nance are always efficient. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Hell, that’s how I like to do it, too,” I say.
A minute later, we’re at it. I haul a box off the shelf, pop it open to discover it’s filled withTV Guides, and heft it up the first couple stairs to Nicholas. Quickly, the group falls into a rhythm as smooth as the best crews I’ve worked on.
With dust in the air and cobwebs on my gloves, I watch the boxes disappear. Unlike every other crew I’ve worked on, though, this one starts talking, keeping a conversation over the huffs and grunts.
“Was Randy ever a nurse?” Nicholas ask he passes a box off to Nance. “Why did he have a nursing uniform?”
“Probably a sex thing,” Nance says as she tosses the box to Sue.
“Thank god he wasn’t a nurse,” Sue says. “His bedside manner would be worse than the injury.”
Nance lets out a cackle. “Remember when he broke his toe and couldn’t get up and down the stairs?”
Nicholas laughs as he sends up another box. “He spent all day sitting at the open front window, yelling down to anyone and everyone who went by.”
Sue stands at the top of the stairs. “With us hauling up his beer and groceries, I think he actually liked it.”
They all laugh warmly at the memory.
“That’s when he had that black bulldog,” Nance says. “What was her name?”
“Ruby,” Nicholas chimes out. “And every time Randy had a man over, she’d try to eat his underwear!”
I stand at the bottom of the stairs, another box in my hand. I’m glad to hear the stories and learn more about the guy. Hell, I always wanted a dog when I was younger, too. But it reminds me that I’m not part of this world. Randy had all these people in his life, but he never brought me into it.
A little resentment stirs up, but I push it aside, reminding myself that I don’t need anyone, anyway.
I pull the top of the box open and see some notebooks inside. Shifting the weight in my arms, I pull one out and realize it’s a journal from the nineties. Randy’s journal.
Everything else in the box appears to be junk, the other notebooks blank. Tossing the journal aside but not saying anything about it, I send the load up with the rest.
When it’s all done, a good half of the basement is empty. All four of us stand out back, dirty and sweaty, as the sun sets and the temperature dips.
“I can handle the unloading,” I offer. They’ve already done too much for me.
Sue shakes her head. “The team at the thrift store will take care of it tomorrow morning.”
I nod. They’ve really sorted everything out.
“Let me buy you all a pizza. Beer? Something to say thanks.”
Nance puts her arm around Sue’s waist. “Not necessary. We’ve got plans this evening, so we’ll be on our way.”
Sue flashes me her smile, and for once, I’m not immediately suspicious of it.
