Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 11:16:53 -0600
From: Retta Michaels <rettamichaels@gmail.com>
Subject: Beginnings - Write Me A Love Story - Chapter 4

Write Me A Love Story

By

Retta Michaels

Disclaimer:

If you are under the age of eighteen, or live in a locale which
doesn't allow you to read these sorts of stories legally, then please
don't. Come back when it's legal for you to do so and it will be great
with us who are here legally. In fact, we'll support you and in the
right circumstances help get you laid. Now, skedaddle and shut the
door on your way out!

Now, for the rest of you who are supposed to be adults, act like it!

Notes from Retta,

Many of you have written you'd like to see  "Write Me" go through the
construction progress. I'm happy I already had obliged before a major
re-write had to occur.

Seondarily,  starting in this chapter, you the reader will see a new
style of writing from me. I'm doing my best to cut out the "I said"
"He said". As a writer, that's been almost an addiction with me. I've
been really afraid I was going to confuse you. Instead, I seem to
annoyed the hell out of you. Over 50 emails and counting annoyed! I
apologize and it's changed.

Chapter 4


The next day, we got up and Stu headed over to his cabin. He needed to
change clothes and get a shower. We agreed to meet in an hour to go to
the Waters so I could get good measurements of everything I'd needed
for the project.

As he walked out the door, he took a pop tart from my plate, kissed me
and went out the door. Gyp went to the door and sat. I took a look at
her and said, "Gyp, he'll be back. You like him, don't you?"
She turned and panted looking happily at me.

I went in and got my shower and then got dressed. I'd just opened
emails on my laptop when he came in without knocking looking like a
million dollars, . I smiled because I liked the way he made himself
comfortable around me. In so many ways, he was different than David.

Dave would have knocked and Dave would have probably questioned what I
was wearing. Every day was a fashion show with Dave and he questioned
all the time whether we were dressed correctly. Wiping Dave thoughts
from my mind, I smiled up at Stu.

He looked concerned, "Did you get an email from him?"

"No."

"Oh, you had a look on your face like you do when you speak of him, I
was wondering."

"I was thinking of him, actually. I was thinking how refreshingly
familiar you are compared to he."

"Good Answer....Good Answer, now there won't be a Famiy Feud." He joked.

I stood up and instantly he came over to hug me. He looked into my
eyes, "Rhett, I'm feeling better than I have in years around you.
Something in me tells me you're the one I've been waiting for, and I'm
so thankful. So, very thankful."

I looked back at him. There were no words necessary. I kissed him.

"Well, get your jacket. Are we taking Gypsy?"

"No, she loves water too much, you'd shoot water and she'd chase it.
You'd have a cocker spaniel in your fountains."

He laughed and said, "Gyp,  your owner said you can't go. Here's a
little treat to keep you. I'll stop by the bar-b-que pit before we
come home and get you some bones. O.k.?"

Gyp gave him an adoring look

He pet her head and we went out the door.

I stopped and said, "Stu, take a look through the window down by the
door, she's already in love."

He looked down through the window. I said, "She'll probably wait there
until she sees you again."

Stu opened the door and said, "Come on Gyp, Rhett just got out voted.
It's time she learned what it's like to be around the Waters. She'll
love it."

I looked at him and he was looking down at her. He looked up at me and
smiled. "Well, I couldn't let her go on pining away for me all day,
who knows how long that would be!"

"You're a big old softy hon."

He smiled at me and said, "Yep, call me Mr. Softy, I'm the Stay Puff
Marshmallow Man."

"I hate to tell you, Mr. Stay Puft was the Marshmallow Man's name."

"Really? Damn, that's some trivia I'll have to remember. Who was softy then?"

"I don't know, but softy is a term used by hackers...but, a
microscopic etching of the Marshmallow man is on the 1988 Mac computer
chip."

"Wow, you're full of trivia."

"No, I was a hacker for a while. There are tweaks and tips with your
programming I could probably do at the Waters so you didn't have to do
all the programming second by second. If you don't mind, I'd like to
try them."

"That'd be great, but I'll do a save onto the other server before you
could try it."

"I could do it from here at the cabin. But, you could do the
programming from your laptop too."

"You mean to tell me I'd not have to go to the building?"

"Yeah, we could set up a video cam and you could see anything you've
changed on it."

"Jer, you're helping me in so many ways. You don't know how many times
I've wished I could do that."

I smiled at him and said, "Well, you found the right guy!"

"I believe I have in more ways than that."

When we arrived at the Waters, I made sure Gyp went in with him. I
didn't want her out by the highway playing in traffice. I asked, "Do
you have a cell phone?"

"No, why?"

"Well, if what I'm thinking is correct, I won't be able to get in."

"Oh, we need to order those pieces so we can get that taken care of. I
forgot."  He looked crestfallen, but I said, "Well, how about we order
those while we're thinking of it and then I'll go get the piping. You
keep my cell phone and I'll use the On-Star to call it."

He smiled. "Are you sure?"

"No problem. I need to get a wheel measure and a tape measure
anyways.Where's the closest Dollar Tree?"

"There's none here. Dollar General is up the street though."

"O.k, I'll look there, but I don't think they'll have the tape measure
I'm needing. Dollar Tree has one for a dollar. Oh well, I'll go to get
the piping brought over. I'll be back."

He came over to me and gave me a kiss. I looked around nervously.

"Jer, one day you'll realize I don't give a shit. I've stopped trying
to please others. It's me that matters in the here and now not anyone
else...except you."

I smiled because I'd never thought of it that way. "I'll be back" I
said in my best Terminator voice.

I drove to a car wash and took a look at their equipment, got a name
and number of the manufacturer and gave them a call in the car. They
were a bit surprised I'd be ordering four blowers. When I gave them
the details of what I was doing, they gave me suggestions which saved
money and gave me a better perspective of what to get.

The good news was I could get pipe at Home Depot, but the best news
was I could get clear pipe ordered which would be more aesthetic. It
costs more, but I had an idea of using it with rope light in it to
make it a neat feature. I'd run it by Stu and see what he thought.

At the Home Depot store, I found all sorts of neat things in the
plumbing sections. I was buying away and a person offered to design me
a system as he thought I didn't know what I was doing. When I told him
I was building a fountain system for the Waters, his interest was
piqued, but he admitted he was out of his league. I smiled and thanked
him and he walked a bit faster getting away from me than he did
getting to me.

The amount and quantity of items I bought were staggering. When I had
taken the third cart to the area of the store which made deliveries,
they offered to have someone assist me so I could pick out items and
the person could do the errand of getting it to the section and rung
up. The guy they sent over was a complete  hunk. His name was Jarrett.
Something just screamed at me Jarrett was gay. He was very hands on
and attentive.

When I explained what I was doing, he offered to help me build it on
his off time. I accepted as I'd rather have someone who was interested
in working than not.

When I was done shopping, I told Jarrett I'd give him a call and tell
him how much PEX tubing I'd need to order. He smiled and said he'd be
awaiting my call.

When I got back to the Waters, I began measuring the distance across
and the distance back to the building. I had just gotten through
measuring when Jarrett arrived driving the Home Depot delivery truck.
I got in my car and called Stu. He answered and I told him I needed
him to open the back door. He said he'd be there in a few moments.

I told Jarrett to pull on back around the building and back it up to
the back door. I walked around to the back of the building and had
just gotten there when Stu opened the door. He greeted me with a kiss
and realized Jarrett had just saw us while he was getting out of the
truck.

I turned around to Jarrett, "Jarrett, this here is Stu. Stu, this is
Jarrett, he'll be helping me when we get this project underway.

I looked up at Jarrett and saw his eyes didn't look so bright as they
had earlier. Gypsy got his attention and began to demand he pay
attention to her too. He kneeled down to her and Stu said, "She was a
perfect angel. She sat down in front by where our resident ghost keeps
himself and didn't budge an inch. She watched the whole show.

I laughed, "Well, she's probably got to find a tree now!"

He laughed and began helping us carry in the supplies. While we are
bringing in the supplies, I told Jarrett we'd need a thousand feet of
PEX tubing.

"So much?"

"Yeah, it came out to eight hundred twenty seven feet, but I've got
something else in mind."

I turned to Stu and asked, "Would you please remember seventy feet by
one hundred twenty for the pool liner?"

Jarrett looked at the interaction between us, "Where do you guys live?"

"Down by the lake, Stu has his own cabin and I'm living at my parent's
cabin next door."

"Oh, I took it for granted you two were together when I saw you
kissing. My bad."

Stu smiled, "We are, but we're still dating. If all goes well, we'll
be together by the end of the summer."

Jarrett looked at us and I could see the gears turning. "I'll tell you
guys now, I'm gay too. I figured you should know if I was helping you
on the project."

Stu turned to Jarrett, "No problem here. It's not a pre-requisite for
the job though." He turned to me and said "I got the storage box
trailers ordered. The guy will have them here tomorrow. I did some
other ordering too,  I can hardly wait to show you!"

"Damn, I forgot to get spray paint so I could mark the lot. I need to
get some and have it measured so I know where to have them placed
precisely."

Jarrett said, "I'll bring some by after I get off work with the PEX."

"Thanks Jarrett. I appreciate it."

Another thought hit me, "Jarrett, would you help me measure for the
number of concrete blocks we'll need?"

"If you boys don't need me, Gyp and I'll go back in to work on a show."

"I'll be in in a moment, I'll prop open the front door so the vacuum
doesn't seal me out."

Jarrett gave me a questioning look and said, "Vacuum?"

"Yeah, there's a problem with vacuum when all the fountains are
running. It seals the doors shut."

"Oh, I thought you had an alarm system."

"No, it's as good as an alarm system when someone is in the building
alone though."

Jarrett and I measured where I had plans to put fountains and I gave
him the measurements as to height we'd need for the different pools.
He told me he'd get me a number of blocks and get the tubing and paint
back. I thanked him and he left.

When I went inside, I left the door ajar so when Jarrett got back he'd
be able to enter. I went up to the control booth and Stu had different
fountains going. I kissed him and said, "Stu, I need advice on a
fountain I want to use."

"I'm the wrong person for that kiddo." He looked agitated about something.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I didn't get a building permit is all. I didn't know you'd
have someone working here and I didn't contact my insurance company. I
have to get that done tomorrow."

"O.k., well I forgot myself."

"We'll get it done and then I won't be so worried." He smiled and
began looking at the fountains."What is your question and maybe I can
help with it anyways."

"Well, when I was a kid, we went someplace once that had a mistmaker
fountain that looked like a topiary...a pole with a sort of ball of
mist at the top."

"A dandelion fountain. Eddie wanted them." He smiled up at me and
said, "You're not him re-incarnated, but the things you two want are
so similar. If that is Eddie down there, he's found a friend in
Gyp..She's back down there sitting."

I looked towards the fountain and sure enough, she was sitting and
facing the display. It was interesting as the first thing I thought
was Eddie needed a seat. I told Stu and he said, "Get her a seat too
because I bet she gets up in the one you bring so she can see the
display better."

I chuckled and went down to get the seats. I took them over and only
got a glance from Gyp. I place them next to her and sure enough, she
jumped up in one and resumed facing the fountains. All of a sudden, I
heard the voice. "Thank you. You're so good for him. He's already
coming out of his slump over me. My time down here is about through,
but I wanted to thank you."

"No, thank you for making it so easy to love him"

"He is lovable. I was lucky, but when it's our time, it's our time.
Please realized that no one's time here is permanent."

"I understand."

"I hope you do. Just be good for him as you've been and know he's
going to need you."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"Have him see a doctor."

"What's wrong with him?"

As fast as he came, he was gone. I turned towards Stu and he hit the
house p.a., "Jer, I saw him! It's Eddie!"

Tears sprung in my eyes. The excitement in his voice and him being
thrilled told me he had no clue what we'd discussed.

I walked back up to the control room and Stu was excited. " I saw you
speaking to someone and then looked down at the seat and saw him! I
really saw him!"

"Stu, he told me something I need to tell  you."

Stu looked at me and said, "What?"

"He said you need to see a doctor."

"Oh damn, I knew he'd tell you."

"What's going on?"

"Oh, I've not went to a doctor yet, but I've been having problems and
can't describe the pain. Sometimes it's in my kidneys, sometimes it
feels like it's in my liver. I've been feeling like it's a urinary
tract infection."

"And you've not went to a doctor when it's persisted?"

"Jer, you just sounded so much like him it's so scary. He used to nag
at me like a mother. That's not a bad thing, it's something someone
does when they love you." He winked at me and smiled.

"Jeez Stu, why haven't you gone?"

"Jer, you're really sounding like him now!"

"Well, one of us loved you and the other is falling for you, so we
have a right to be concerned."

Stu looked up at me and said, "Jer, I'll go, but I'm worried."

"I'll go with you, it's probably nothing. How about we make the phone call now."

"No, I'll make it tomorrow. How about Gyp and I going to the bar-b-que
shack and bringing back our dinner."

"O.k., but you'll remember to call?"

"Yes, babe, I'll call."

"Please don't forget. I'll ask you about it...to be sure."

"Jer, I promise."

He got up from his seat and said, "You man the controls. Watch for any
missed jets of water which shouldn't be. Can I get the keys to your
car?"

"Sure, these are the main set. In the glove box, you'll find the
second set. Why don't you put those on your key chain."

He left and as I sat and watched the display, I thought about what Stu
wasn't telling me. Something in my gut told me he wasn't telling me
everything. Eddie's urgency told me that too.

"Hello, Anybody in here?"

I hit the pa and said, "Up in the control room. The stairs are over to
your left."

Jarrett came up and said, "I've never been in here."

"It's pretty neat when you see if for the first time. I don't know how
to start it over, otherwise I'd do it so you can see the whole thing."

We sat and watched it. When it ended, a taped recording of Stu's voice
thanked everyone for coming and to return again when the season began
the week before Memorial Day.

"That's a show which is going to be pre-season?"

"He talked about having it open for Easter and then after the Easter
show is when I'll be starting the major portion of the construction."

"Won't those construction trailers put a damper in business?"

"Yes, but they're so heavy I don't see any other way to do it."

"A fork lift and some dollies will get them moved to where you want
them. I could get the truck's forklift over here to do it for you if
that'd help."

"You don't mind?"

"No, they allow me to use it to go to lunch. They don't tell me where
I can eat my lunch or what I can do while eatting." He smiled and I
knew he was not exactly in the clear for doing it. I'd done many
things similar, so I understood.

"Jeremy, I have a question and you can tell me to mind my own business..."

"What's on your mind?"

"Are you and Stu a couple?"

"Well, I think we are, and I'm hoping he thinks we are. Why?"

"Oh, well, forget it."

"No, why'd you ask?"

"Well, I find you attractive and was wondering... but don't worry. I
respect your relationship."

"Thanks for asking and as much as I find it a compliment, my mind is
on Stu and I's relationship. He needs me."

The display ended and we went down to the parking lot to bring in the
rest of the supplies. Stu pulled up and got out with a huge box of
food. "Jarrett, I hope you haven't eatten because I got the family
pack."

Jarrett smiled at Gypsy jumping to get smells of the box. "Thanks, I
haven't eatten."

We went inside and Stu took everything to the control room. I told him
I didn't know how to stop or start the show. He said, "That's the
simplest part of the whole thing. Type "start" on the keyboard. It
will ask you which display you wish to perform. It will give you
prompts. Just use the arrow down to the one and press enter. It will
then give you examples of voice samples which can be used. There's one
for weekday, one for weekend matinee, and weekend evening. There are
others which have different holidays. I'm working on doing another for
the early performances we discussed."

"How do you stop it?"

"Type in Stop and it will shut down. It's a four stroke word and I
figure four sequential strokes would be good so no one accidentally
bumped the keyboard and cancelled a show. However, if that were to
ever happen, the show will immediately stop where it is. If you type
"restart" into the keyboard, the show will start it up where it left
off... sound and everything."

"That's cool. What I'll be using outside won't need any of that, I don't think."

"Jer, please forgive me for getting into your plans, but I'd like to
have five settings on the pump speeds.  If it's a windy day, we'll
need every one of those. We can put a wind speed meter someplace to
get wind direction and velocity. We can program the main computer to
monitor all that and it will adjust them accordingly."

Jarrett asked, "All this is really interesting. What all is involved
in the programming of it?"

Stu began to explain it to Jarrett and as they got lost in the
programming, I went over to the box and dished everyone's meals. Gyp
was laying quietly over on a love seat where the office was and as
soon as she smelled food, she was right by my feet.

"Here you go Gyp, now go over there and I'll get you more later."

She took it over to gnaw on the bone.

I took Stu and Jarrett's plates over and then went to get mine. Stu
said, "Jer, in there is a styrofoam box full of their scraps for Gyp.
The woman who runs the place gave them to me."

I looked in the box and found some fried corn on the cob in a
container. I took over some for the guys and then went back to put a
piece on mine. I looked in the box again and found the container Stu
gave reference to. Also in the box was ten pieces of bbq'd chicken.
He'd bought enough for everyone to eat plenty.

They continued to talk about the programming as they ate and I
listened. Stu asked Jarrett, "You know a lot about this sort of thing,
how come you haven't applied here?"

"Oh, I've thought about it, but the hours I get at Home Depot pretty
much allow me to have the evenings open so I can perform down the
strip in a show."

"You perform?"

"Yeah, I work at the Boxcar Willy theater. I play all sorts of
stringed instruments."

Stu's interest was piqued, I could tell. "What they paying you down there?"

"Scale and a share of the tips."

"Would you come here and play if I paid you a bit more? I've been
thinking about that and we're changing things here. We're going to
remodel the inside and we're going to have it real nice. Jer's doing
an air curtain which will keep moisture from getting beyond it. Today,
I just ordered eighteen chandeliers and nine hundred and sixty seats
from a theater supply company which will have the music  built into
them so the viewers get a personalized performances."

I was certainly surprised. Stu looked over and winked at me, "Jer, I
was going to tell you, but I'm so excited I couldn't hold it in. I'm
really looking forwards to it all coming together. We will need to
find some real nice carpeting, and do something with the walls which
will give it a Vienese atmosphere. I want everyone to think they've
really gone to Viena to see the show."

Instantly, my mind was awhirl with all the different possiblities. I
said, "Jarrett, one thing we're going to do is to reskin the outside
of the building. What does Home Depot have for buildings like this?"

"I'm not sure, they've got quite a bit we can order. I'll talk with
the guy who is over that section...the manager and tell him. I bet he
can get you most anything."

I looked at Stu, "One decision we need to make on the exterior is
whether you want it as a chalet, or if you want it like a opera house.
We can build up a false front for an opera house, but the style of the
building would tend toward a chalet. We could do the interior as an
opera house as height is illusional once someone is sitting down. It'd
look close when they're standing, but as soon as they sat down, they'd
get the other dimension."

"Jer, I've been thinking about that. Basicly, the building is a cover
for the pool and the seating. What I was thinking is we give it a half
way treatment this year and then pull everything out in September to
build another building. This building could go up the street and be
put on that land and be a different show."

"Wow! I hadn't thought about all this when we first started talking,
but that sounds awesome! Won't it cost a lot?"

"Jer, it's going to cost, but I'm willing to bet if we put in more
seating and with the draw of the new entrance, we'll get the business.
One thing we'll be able to do is advertise the new experience with the
new seats and give a different sort of show than anyone's seen before.
One thing I'm thinking is mixing lasers with a wall of waters and give
a show which will be entertaining to kids. I'm thinking if we get the
kids to wanting to see it, the parents will too I've seen something
similar to what I'm thinking advertised at Universal in Orlando."

I couldn't contain my excitement, "That's going to be neat! But, Stu,
how much is it going to cost?"

Stu looked at Jarret and said, "Jarrett, this kid has a one tracked
mind. He's constantly worried I'm going to overspend my allowance. He
cracks me up."

"Excuse me, but I'm concerned about you here, not a show, not your
budget. I'm concerned about you. There's one thing and it's dreaming
big, but another thing is going out in a big bang!"

Stu looked down and said, "Jer, thank you for your thoughts and
reining me in, but let me do it my way."

"I'm sorry, I was concerned about you here. Excuse me as I'll go out
front and do my job. Yes, it's your pocket book and I'll remember that
from now on." I was pissed and my feelings were hurt. No, I didn't
know everything about Stu's financial situation and to be quite
honest, it didn't matter to me. What mattered to me was him thinking
he had to do something to impress me which wasn't what I wanted at
all. If that's what he was doing, I needed to let him know I still had
options of walking away. If I had to do that to save him from making a
mistake, I'd do it.

When I went outside, it was nearly night time. It was dark and I could
see how the lights up and down the strip were at night. It gave me a
different perspective which I hadn't really paid attention to until
now. Seeing it, I could get an idea of how much light I needed to put
into the fountain in order to give it a dimension I was wanting to
achieve.

Stu came out and walked over to me. "You want to talk?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. You've attempted to put me in my place and I'm where
you want me massa." I spit out. "I'll have my job done here and then
I'll walk away in order to save you from shooting yourself in the ass
from making a huge mistake."

"You are so fucking much like him it scares me, you know that?"

"You keep referring to me as him, you know what? I am me. I'm not him
and I'm not someone who needs to be impressed by someone blowing a
life's fortune just to impress me. If that's what you've got in mind,
I'll walk away so you don't make that mistake. I'm beginning to care
about you, but I'd rather care about you and walk, than stay and act
like I don't give a fuck."

He came over and hugged me. "Jer, you are you. You remind me of him
and that's my baggage. I loved him and in ways, you are similar. You
definitely have a way of stepping off into my ass and making me wake
up, but Jer, we only go through this life once and we only get
opportunities to do things the way they should be once. For a long
time, I've realized we built this place on a shoestring and that
shoestring is now a noose. It's holding me back, and choking me. I
don't want it to kill that part of me that wants to create. If you
think I'm doing this to impress you, I'm flattered you think enough of
me to tell me you care. Hell, I care for you too. But, I'm doing this
because I really want this place to become a destination spot, now an
'also must see'. Believe it, or not, I've got enough money to build a
big show. They cost somewhere around ten million down here. I don't
think it will go that high, but I'm willing to spend it if I can put
it on the map."

I went over to him and walked into his arms. "Stuart Reddington, I'm
not sure what I'm going to do with you, but it's your baby, so you're
going to do it. I'll stand behind you on it if that's what you want,
but please communicate with me on what you want. In there, we were so
off of the same page, I don't believe we were even in the same book."

As he hugged me, he patted my back. "Jeremy, you're going to hate
this, but Eddie used to drag out my entire name when he was pissed
too. Thank GOD you don't know my middle name because he used to throw
a lilt to his voice that reeked of the church lady on SNL."

I chuckled and said, "Well...." In the church ladies voice. "I'll just
have to make that my life's ambition now, won't I?"

He roared with laughter and said, "Come back inside, we're being rude
to Jarrett."

I said, "No, I've stepped upon something out here I need to look at.
Until now, I've not realized how much light it's going to take and
where I will need that light. If you'll give me a moment, I want to
take you out here to tell you what I'm thinking. It's going to be
hard, but you're going to have to imagine it with me."

"O.k., Gyp's keeping him company and the kid's damned good with that
programming, so I really want to hire him. I think you're good at
getting the construction side of it done, but he's good at
programming. He's even thought of a shot on a fountain I'd never even
considered."

"Really!"

"Yeah, really, that one fountain that's a 30 degree on the right side,
he pumped it up to full blast and hit it in a burst which shot water
clear across the stage. It's amazing. He's doing it with the other
side now. As soon as he did it, the first thing I thought was the 1812
Overture where the canons blast. It's going to be really great when I
get a red light on it."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah and if he will go to work for us...and yes, I did say us..., I
think he'll be an asset to have around here."

"Us?"

"Jer, if there's going to be an us in a relationship, then there's
going to have to be an us in all of my life and financials. I don't
hold back and say, 'mine' like a spoiled tyke. I put it out there and
say, ours. Maybe I didn't explain that before, but I want you in all
of it."

"Stu...... I hope this doesn't sound harsh, but I really don't feel
comfortable with you doing that."

"Jer, let me do it. It will make me happy."

"O.k. But you don't have to."

"I know I don't and that's what's so great about giving it to you. It
makes us equals and it makes us partners. Eddie would want that and I
want that."

"Stu....how about we wait until we move in together?"

"How about I do it now and then we'll make it formal when we move in together?"

"O.k, but you're going to have to take my granny's inheritance money from me."

"O.k, we'll put it into the kitty, but you don't have to."

"Stuart!"

"Oh kid, you're so close to going over my knee with that."

"Spank me! I'll have you know mister, for you, I'll bend over that
knee anytime you want. Maybe I might enjoy it and come back for
more...and more....and more...." I laughed and he looked at me real
strange.

"I've created a monster!"

"No, you're taming one remember?"

We chuckled and I drew him over to the edge of the property.

"Now, fantasize with me for a moment and I'll show you what I've got
in hopes here."

He chuckled and said, "Fantasy, huh!"

"Yeah, you'll be creaming your drawers."

"Oh"

"O.k, up front here, we're creating a mountain of sorts. All along the
back of it, we're going to have some evergreens. Now on the back side
of it, I want the people to see "Thank You" written out in hedges so
when they walk out that door, they'll see it. Now, those hedges are
going to be lit from underneath with tree spots."

"Ooh, that sounds nice."

"Yeah, all the mountain is going to be is huge stone, boulders, and
where the trees are is going to be about 500 lbs of potting soil.
We're going to have to put big boulders down in order to put
landscaping fabric behind it to catch the gravel."

"Jer, why don't you take a look and see if there's any Christmas tree
manufacturers who do an artificial tree or shrub. That way none of
them die and they'll always stay green."

"O.k, but it sounds expensive"

"Jer, we only live once buy the damn shrub."

"O.k, but we do that enough times and you'll be in the poor house."

"Jer, if we're there together, I'll be happy."

"Stu, I'm growing to love you, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling it more and more."

"Well, ok, but let's continue to fantasize here."

"On the front side of the mountain, you already know what I'm going
for with the letters being under lit and the lights. Well, I'm
thinking about making the letters out of clear plexitubes and putting
lights in  them with the water. It'll work if we use sealed rope
lights. What I want to do is have the letters each be a whole series
of little fountains, bubblers. When the lights underneath shine on
them, it will make them look cool. O.k., up above there is where
you're going to get your volcano fountain, As much as you may want it,
we're not going to go with natural gas and fire. To me, that just
sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen when we're talking about
trying to appeal to kids. One kid climbs that thing and gets burned to
death and we're in a world of shit. I'd rather have his parents pissed
at him for being wet."

"You have a point there, I hadn't thought of it. I'm glad you did."

"Yeah, well, I think we can get a good close depiction of fire by
using red, orange, and maybe a purple jel on the light. The deeper we
can get that red, the better I think it will be.It's going to wash out
with the water, but we can have it looking spookier than hell."

"This is sounding good"

"Now, all along the edge down here, I want little bubblers or
fountains that are about a foot high. My mom used Marigolds on the
edge of her flower beds to get the same affect I'm trying. People can
touch the water, and it's pretty, but it's also making a boundary line
that says, 'Do Not Cross'. Behind it, I want those one short fountains
that look like grasses blowing in the wind about three feet tall. And
then behing that, I want some of those diamond shaped ones on the ends
and the huge fans towards the middle...well, not real huge, maybe
about six feet tall. The letters will be seen from both sides as
they're going to be up there about fine feet. The whole mountain will
be about thirty feet tall. On the sides of the mountain, I would like
to have more evergreen trees...fake ones  Maybe if we can get a ram
bighorn sheep, we could put it up there and at Christmas time have a
Santa on Sleigh. Both would be lit by the spots and give the
appearance of it being taller than it is."

"Ok, so, what's with the dandelion fountains?"

"Well, over here on the corners of the parking lots, I would like to
have three threes like twelve feet tall framing the topiary fountain
so as people drive by, they see it and get another ooh or ahh out of
them. It also frames out the entrance and defines the entrances of the
parking area."

"O.k, Jer, but if we're going to go with the Vienese theme out here, I
would like to have the trees that are twelve feet tall going down both
sides as a privacy curtain. One other reason I want to rebuild is I've
looked at the inside and there's just not enough space to go with the
gift shop and the snack shop like I'd like to have. What I'd like to
have is something which people will want to get some things which are
Vienese like pastries and crystal."

"Oh, so that's the reason for the chandeliers?"

"Yeah, I want it to look like people really paid a lot for the show
and are getting more than what they got when they paid the forty
dollars down the street. You've got me going on the show schedules and
I'm seeing an early maitinee at one and a late one at three. We can
take five off and eat dinner and then at seven and nine, we can have
the evening shows."

"How about if we have a few eleven pm shows that have a rock opera for
the teen crowd. Shoot your lasers and blow them away. You could
possibly have some cool t-shirts which would have a guy in sillouette
playing a guitar with a fountain in the background with lasers
streaming across. On the back of it, have in blue letters, "We'll rock
you until your wet.", or "I did it in the wet spot"., or "No one
sleeps in the wet spot." Something which is risque' enough that it
causes eyebrows to raise, but is clean enough that parents silently
chuckle."

"Jer, you're damned good, you know that! You tell me I'm going to
cream my drawers and you conclude with a wet spot. I love you." He was
laughing.

Jarrett came out and said, "Guys, I'm going to have to be going. Stu,
I've got that programmed in for  you and I've also done a few other
things I think you're going to like."

"Jarrett, come out here and have Jer give you the tour mentally of
what he wants to do, I'm going back in and see what you've done."

Jarrett came over and I took him through the tour of what I was
thinking and added in the points of the ideas I had for the trees Stu
wanted.

"Jeremy, the trees they sell. You can get them with fibre optics so
they can light in multi colors for Christmas, or go with all white for
year round. They're like going to cost a lot though."

"He says that's what he wants and he's willing to spend a lot to do it
up right. By the way, I'm sorry you had to see my drama moment in
there."

"No, I completely understand, I wasn't concerned about that. Heck,
what I thought was, 'Jer sure cares about him, I wish I had someone
like that'. I didn't think it was a moment at all."

"Well, Jarrett, let me tell you, you're fine. If you haven't looked in
the mirror lately, I'll tell you, if I was single, you'd be on my list
of what's for dinner....the other white meat so to speak!"

Jarrett laughed and said, "That was good, but if I'm so hot, then why
isn't anyone giving me a second's look."

"Maybe it's because you're in a town of about five thousand people
whose gay society all think they are  "society", or the lah-te-dah
crowd which has their noses in the air. You are young and not affluent
enough for most of their standards, but for those of us who have our
noses to the grindstones, we all have our eyes on your ass. Believe
me, it's hot."

"Jer, I've got to go home. I've got to be up early, I'll get you some
things which I'll bring over tomorrow. You are going to be here aren't
you?"

"Yeah, let me get you my cell number in case something comes up, but
I'll be here as far as I know."

I gave him my cell phone number and said, "Jarrett, we really
appreciate your company. Stu really would like for you to consider
coming to work for him. He thinks you're a whiz with the programming
and is really fascinated with everything you've done already. Please
give it some thought as to coming to work here."

"Jer, I am...I don't want you to think I'm not. I'm really thinking
about everything. I don't have a contract down there, so I'm good to
go. I think it'd be good to tell them so they can have someone found
before season starts. I just want to be sure it's something which will
be good for everyone."

"O.k., that sounds fair."

We went inside and Gyp came over to me. She was wanting her belly
scratched and lay down on her back. I scratched it and said, "Come on
girl, we need to go up here and get him so we can go home."

Stu was coming down the steps and said, "Jer, I'm on my way, I've got
everything shut down and we're ready. I've just got to get this box
carried out and we'll lock up. How about you taking the box  and I'll
lock up."

When I walked out, I saw the tail lights of Jarrett's car turning
towards the west. I didn't know much about him other than what he'd
told us, but a part of me wanted to get to know him better. He seemed
nice and I anticipated cultivating a friendship with him."


Copyright Notice - Copyright (c) November 2007 by RettaMichaels
The author, RettaMichaels copyrights this story and retain all rights.
This work may not be changed or duplicated in any form, media, - known
or unknown - without the authors' expressed permission. All applicable
copyright laws apply.

Disclaimer: All individuals depicted are fictional, and any
resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental

Notes From Retta:
I put the copyright notice up in the body there. It seems one of the
places which I post wants to violate that right and then removing the
copyright from end of the story. When I find fault is something that
flagrant, I'll tell you (the reader) I'm about done posting there. I
sit and write and put my heart into it, by me posting on their site,
it doesn't mean I have to take censorship. There are other places to
post.
I hope everyone is satisfied with my new style of writing. I've worked
hard on it and I'm trying to keep things good.

--
>From My Keyboard To Your Heart
Rhett

Here is a list of stories I've written and where to find them:

With Love - Nifty - Beginnings Section
Rural Love - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com
Write Me A Love Story - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com
To Love Him - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com
Military Zone - Nifty - Military Section
Evan - Nifty - Beginnings Section