Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 12:24:17 +0000 (UTC) From: CJ Wilson Subject: My long-range forecast - chapter 26 My long-range forecast -- chapter 26 Hey everyone, Happy Labor Day! I am reworking some chapters and continue to write more new chapters of this story. I'm seeking any suggestions, constructive criticms or positive feedback you have about the story. Please send information to cjwilson328@aol.com. For those if you who have already reached out to me - my thanks! I'm working your ideas into future storylines. CJ and Bailey meet to discuss the future changes for the morning news cast. Watch out for the next chapter as Wally and Alex are working furiously on changes to the condos. Please consider making a donation to Nifty (using link https://donate.nifty.org/). Let's keep this site going so that we all can enjoy the continued submission of stories. I heard the alarm go off, and I quickly shut it off. Time for my work week to begin. I showered, shaved, brushed my teeth and changed into my suit. My man was waiting for me at the breakfast bar naked. He was drinking a cup of coffee and said "can I convince you to stay home with me today stud?" I cracked up and poured myself a cup of coffee. I sat beside him, smiled and said "I want to be in a position where I can call in sick so damn bad Wally, but today is my one-month anniversary at the station. Technically, I'm still in a probationary period at most companies! I also need to meet with Bailey about his offer to me from last week." Wally smiled and said "I know babe. How about if I call in for you and say you have anal glaucoma this morning and cannot see your ass coming in to work today?" I spit out my coffee and busted out laughing. Thank goodness I did not get any coffee on my suit. I finished my coffee with Wally, and he poured me a cup to go. He looked into my eyes and said "I enjoyed our weekend CJ. It went entirely too fast. Please know I'm with you today and every day. I love you baby, and I fall more in love each day with you." I smiled and said "I love you too Wally. You fall back to sleep for me, and before you know it, I'll be back here before 1:00 pm. I'll rescue you from Alex!" I pulled into the station parking lot, parked the jeep and went into the newsroom. Nick was in the newsroom alone. I said "good morning, Nick how was the weekend?" He looked up and said "hey CJ, my weekend was good. How about yours?" I replied "my weekend was wonderful Nick. Even though I was up early to watch Trevor, it was nice not having to do the weather on Saturday and Sunday." I took my jacket off and started to work on my morning weather segment at a desk in the news room. Nick came over to where I was sitting and said "do you have a few minutes for me to bug you?" I smiled and said "sure I do, what's up?" Nick went on and said "I'm not sure what you're going to say to Bailey this morning, but please know you have my full support either way. You are an excellent meteorologist, but I can see you pulling off the co-anchor and weather positions with great energy, determination and I firmly believe you can do it well. I wish you the best of luck with your discussion, and please know I will support you with either direction you want to go CJ." I smiled at Nick and said "thanks Nick, your comments mean so much to me. I sincerely appreciate your support, and just between you and me I am going to tell Bailey I want to give it a shot." Nick stuck out his hand for a handshake and said "that's great CJ. I'm here for you and if I can do anything to assist you, just yell out. You've got this dude, and will do a kick-ass job!" The news room picked up in activity during the next hour. I got all of my segments together and waited until 4:00 am to fill in the current weather statistics for the bay area. I loaded them to the switcher for Angela to review. After I finished all that, I sat up a private appointment for Bailey and I at 10:00 am this morning. In the appointment calendar I put "Don't worry boss, it's all good stuff we will talk about!" Angela stopped by and said "everything looks great in the switcher this morning CJ. Our goal for this week is to somehow trip Vicki up on the set during one of the news casts. How about if you ask her after one of your weather segments if it's true that she's leaving the station?" I cracked up and said "can you imagine her chewing my ass out for that? I like the idea, Angela! How about we load all of her stories as a camera one shot, but tell her they are a camera two shot?" Angela laughed and said "oh wow, that's a good one. We need to do that a couple of times before she leaves!" We took our places on the set a few minutes before 5:00 am. The floor director gave Ross the cue, and he kicked in with "Good morning to everyone in the bay region. Here's your St Petersburg in sixty to get us kicked off this morning." The week was underway! The morning shows went well, and before I knew it 7:00 am was upon us and it was time for breakfast. Nick, Angela and I went to Cecilia's place for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Cecilia was off this morning, but the staff was very warm and welcoming. She has trained all of them well! Quite a bit of our discussion centered around Vicki leaving. Nick and Angela thought it was karma that both Melissa and Vicki are ending up in the same market at competing stations. Angela cracked up and said "I hope they have a Ms. San Francisco television personality contest and the bitches get into a cat fight on the stage fighting for the crown." I laughed and said "did they really cause that much tension in the news room?" Nick said "CJ, I hope you never experience what we went through with the two of them. I do feel that Ross and Melissa worked well together, but Vicki just always seemed to turn up the heat and start the newsroom fires. It's so much nicer having you with us in the morning and soon the vixen Vicki will be departing us forever. Good Bye Ms. Lake!" I said "does anyone want to throw her a goodbye party?" Angela said "yeah -- at Bailey's lunch next week we can all say goodbye, and I'll say don't let the newsroom door hit you in the ass on your final way out bitch!" Nick and I cracked up laughing and I said "tell us how you really feel Angela!" Breakfast was wonderful, and we got back to the station around 8:30 am. I went to the bathroom, then to my office for some quiet time. I took some time to get my thoughts together on what I am going to share with Bailey. I prepared my mental notes about salary as well as playing `what if' scenarios should they appear. I received a text on my phone and it was from Wally. I opened it to find a selfie of him giving Alex a kiss on the cheek. I cracked up laughing and decided to call him. He answered his phone with "This is Wally, assistant to Alex Turner, construction stud extraordinaire, how may I assist you this morning?" I cracked up and said "you two having a good time this morning?" Wally replied "yes. We did all of the morning chores, had some breakfast together, hung the three ceiling fans on the patio, and now we're putting cabinets in the 402 unit. Want to see what's done so far?" I said "yes, show me you big hunk of man!" The video started and three cabinet faces were in place. I said "wow Wally, that looks so good!" He said "I know, I wish I would have done this a long time ago. Do you think Trevor and Carl will be happy with the job?" I said "they are going to be so pleased when they see the changes made. I think the hunter green will be too dark in the kitchen. I'm really leaning towards a sand or cream color for the hallway and kitchen cabinets. I am going to stay out of Alex's and your way this week. You two are making great progress." Wally said "yes, we are. We'll have the cabinets done in here today and we're going to get them up in our kitchen tomorrow morning. We're saving the afternoon for you, as Alex says you want to get a number of things for the family in place this week." I said yes, and remind him about the double towel bars in our bathrooms. He can talk to you about it, and maybe you two can get that started as well. I am meeting with Bailey in a few minutes my love. Also, if you two have pitchers for drinks in your kitchens, please move them to our unit. Aunt Sally is going to be a lush next week! You take care, and I'll see you later. Love you, big guy!" It was 10:00 am and I appeared at Bailey's office. I knocked on the door and he looked up away from the pile of papers on his desk. He smiled at me and said "geez, is it 10:00 am already? This day is going to fly by! Come on in CJ, and shut the door." He got up from his chair and joined me on the visitor side of the desk. He started out with some usual chit chat and said "how was your weekend?" I said "the weekend was great Bailey. How about your weekend?" He said "my weekend was good to. Bye any chance, were you at the station working with Trevor Saturday morning?" I said "no, but I was watching him and sending him texts during his newscasts." Bailey said "ah that explains it. You told him to use more inflections in his voice after the 5:00 am show, didn't you?" I smiled and said "what answer will please you, Bailey?" Bailey cracked up and said "the difference in his voice between the 5:00 and 5:30 shows was absolutely incredible. He only got better in the remaining shows. Thank you, CJ for working with him. Between the two of us, we're going to turn him into a top-notch broadcaster, just like yourself!" Bailey continued on and said "well, did you have some time over the weekend to think through our discussion from last week and did you come up with any additional questions for me?" I said "I did come up with one more question for you. If I am summoned by the network to perform coverage on a weather story from Tampa, does that take priority over the co-anchor work?" He smiled and said "wow, I had not even gone there yet! Yes, anything from the national network will take priority over local co-anchor work. If that should happen, we'll have Ross do all stories in the morning." I smiled and said "are you ready for my answer Bailey?" He grinned and said "hell yes, I am ready CJ. I have thought through too many scenarios this weekend of how this discussion is going to go." I cracked up and said "Bailey, thank you for the confidence you are instilling into me, and the opportunities you are presenting me. Today is my one-month anniversary with the station. I have been extremely blessed to work with you and a fine staff. I'm looking forward to more anniversaries here, and I want to give the co-anchor and weather combination a shot if the offer is still open to me?" Bailey said "YES! CJ, you are the man and have just made my Monday morning! Congratulations CJ, you are going to do a kick-ass job with this, and we're going to create a new news model that other stations will want to emulate in their broadcasts." I said "my only other question is when do you want to start this new format, and how are you going to present it to the staff?" He smiled and said "the executive row is already in the loop and we have their full support. I want to talk to Ross separately, but I'm not sensing it will be a bad discussion with him. He has been extremely complimentary of your skills and talent level. I'm going to butter him up to mentor you. Do you think Ross will have any issues with the direction CJ?" I thought for a few seconds and said "I think Ross will be fine with the whole scenario. Has Jennifer ever expressed interest in a co-anchor position?" Bailey said "she has not expressed them to me, but I probably will talk to her privately as well before making the general announcement." I cracked up and said "I think you need one more private discussion. Trevor is an up-and-coming star for you. When I am on vacation, I am assuming you will have him fill in for me? I think he will want to do the co-anchor and weather for you as well. If I were in your shoes Bailey, I'd give him a shot. We'll soon be the young stars in the bay area that every other station wants to latch onto!" Bailey laughed on that statement and said "good idea. I can combine the news and Trevor's improvements into one conversation with him. Thanks CJ, that is an excellent idea." Bailey took a drink of his coffee and said "I plan to start this model on August 14th since Vicki's last day is August 11th. I will make the announcement on August 2nd at the lunch. Should I expect any adverse reactions from UD and the family? He's already telling me he is stealing Mindy from me!" I smiled and said "that's my uncle for you! He told me last night he wants to work more with Mindy as he thinks she is one of the most organized people he has ever dealt with! I do not expect any problems with my family. UD will give you a huge bear hug, Aunt Sally will thank you over and over while shedding tears, Maddie and Josie won't care as they will be trying to seduce Nick and Zach and Laura will be bugging you asking what she can do to get a job in the television field! How's that for my short family answer?" We both broke out in a good laugh and Bailey said "I'm looking forward to meeting the Skinner family. I can already tell that UD and you are built from the same quality mold. If you can squeeze me in for a family dinner one night, I'd love to treat you all to dinner!" I smiled and said "you will have to beat UD to the bill then as he will insist on treating you, Bailey!" Bailey said "okay CJ, what are you expecting from this new position financially?" I cracked up and said "isn't this the spot where you break out the cigars and bourbon to me, we roll up our sleeves and start passing figures back and forth to each other?" Bailey smiled, got up and retrieved a gift bag from the other side of his desk. He said "here, let's start with this. It's just a small gift from me to you CJ for accepting this position. It has nothing to deal with our financial negotiations. Please go ahead and look into the bag, I think I got your favorites." I first pulled out a big bottle of my favorite bourbon and said "hell yeah Bailey, you nailed this. Thank you so much, you did not need to do this!" He replied "I know I did not need to do anything, but I wanted to do something for a young buck who I truly admire. Go ahead and pull out the other item." I pulled a box out to find a box of JFR Lunatics. I smiled, looked at him and said "thank you Bailey for everything. What an anniversary gift, as well as a promotion gift!" Bailey continued on and said "okay CJ, let's get down to brass tacks. Financially, what do you want?" I smiled and said "Bailey, you will probably call me crazy, but here is where I am at with my financial thoughts. I do not want any compensation increase at this time. I am only one month into this job, and still have so much to learn. I believe I will like doing the two positions, but in case I tell you in three months we need to make a change, I don't want to increase salary, then have to decrease it accordingly. What I'd prefer to do is discuss this later in the fall, after the fall sweep ratings are distributed. If I am happy with both positions at that time, and you are happy with my performance, we'll discuss an increase at that time. If the ratings are positive and show an increase in the morning viewing, I feel that my performance will have contributed to the increase. I believe we have several avenues to review at that time including the performance bonus plus a salary adjustment moving forward. Now, Bailey I want to hear from you - am I crazy kid who needs to rethink this boss?" Bailey stuck out his hand for a handshake, grinned and said "no, that was not a statement made from a crazy kid. That was spoken by a professional man who knows what he wants. It was also spoken by a man who can easily fill the role of a television station general manager in the future if he desires. Good work CJ, well said, well thought out and you and I are on the same page. I was quite nervous to discuss this topic with you today, but you made it very easy to work through. I want to see you excel in this position, and we will reward you accordingly later this year. Are you sure this is what you desire?" I smiled and said "yes Bailey, it is. I really thought things out this weekend, and this scenario works for me, for you and the station. I will kick ass for you, and we can have those cigars and bourbon at a later date to hammer out a new salary." He smiled at me and said "I look forward to that discussion CJ." I packed the cigars and bourbon back up and said "here Bailey, hold on to these until that discussion occurs." He said "no, you deserve these now for what you have already done and achieved at the station. Consider it my early birthday present to you CJ." I smiled and said "I am so fortunate to have found two great professional mentors in my life: James Thompson and you Bailey Stauffer. Thank you for this opportunity, you won't regret this as I promise to take this new assignment head on achieving awesome results for myself, you and the station. I also thank you for the early birthday gift, and at the next patio party I expect you and I to have several fine cigars and bourbons together boss!" Bailey laughed and said "hell yeah CJ, we'll get into serious discussions about fall lineup changes we need to make to turn this station around into the best damn station in the bay region!" Bailey took another swig of his coffee, and said "what else is on our discussion agenda for today, CJ?" I said "the only other item I had on my list is your speech at the August 2nd luncheon. I think you need to focus more on Vicki and her accomplishments at the station versus my new position." He smiled and said "I'm working on my comments now. Thank you for your concern, and I know where you are going with the thinking. However, Vicki is leaving for a bigger market. She needs to remember that, while I am refilling her position with a more capable person who will do a much better job than she has in it. My only hope is that I do not lose you yet to a larger market!" I puffed out my chest, smiled and said "sounds great Bailey. Ronny and I will take Vicki down if she attacks you on stage though!" We both laughed on that and he said "get out of here you big Muskie. Go finish the noon news, and have a great afternoon." As I left Bailey's office, Betty came out of her office and said "CJ, how are you doing this fine Monday morning?" I smiled and said "I am doing great Betty, and you?" She replied "I had a wonderful weekend, and my Monday is going smoothly. Remember, please get on my schedule this week. I have some important notes to share with you concerning the Gasparilla race and the Bay Area Corporate Challenge contests." I said "sounds good Betty, I will go do that now so I don't forget! Have a great day, Betty." I went to my office and scheduled a meeting with Betty on Thursday at 10:00 am. After completing that, I finished my changes for the noon newscast and loaded everything to the switcher. I went out to the news room and gave a thumbs up gesture to Nick and Angela. I also found Zach in another corner of the newsroom and gave him the same gesture. He returned the gesture to me along with a wink. The noon show went fantastic. Ross was in a very good mood and after the show he leaned over to me and said "want to hear some fucking kick ass news?" I said "yeah Ross, for you to say the f bomb, it's got to be good!" We both chuckled and he said "the bitch told me she's leaving the station in mid-August." I looked shocked and said "you're kidding?" He went on saying "she told me after the morning newscast and that is has been good to work with me." I smiled and said "do you know where she is going?" He replied "no, she wouldn't tell me that. She's leaving that to Bailey to disclose at the luncheon next week." I smiled to Ross and said "I'll buy the first round of drinks for us next Wednesday afternoon, Ross!" He cracked up and said "have a good afternoon and I'll see you tomorrow." I left the station and headed for the beach. Traffic was heavy this noon hour for some reason. I pulled into the complex, and saw Ronny carrying a big load of cardboard to the recycle bin. I jumped out of the jeep and said "let me get the lid for you stud!" I ran over to the bin and popped the lid open for him. He said "thanks CJ. You may want to run while you can, otherwise you will get assignments from my stud muffin. He's in a zone and wants everything done prior to your family arriving. I have never seen him like this, and it's been like watching a hilarious comedy show between him and Wally this morning. I cannot believe how well they are working together, and what all they have got done. I'm honestly glad I'm going to the station the rest of the week, as I think I will work less there than here." We both laughed on his last comment, and I said "let me go close up my jeep and I'll head back upstairs with you." Ronny and I entered the condo, and Wally said "ah Mr. Walters, welcome home sir! Your renovations are not complete, but they will be very soon. The chief project manager is in high gear and has been awaiting your arrival for afternoon planning!" Wally leaned into me and said "thanks for coming home babe. I need a break. He's working my ass off, but everything looks great sweetheart!" Alex came from the guest side of the condo and said "CJ, just in time you stud! I've got everything under control here, but my crew needs a break and we need your input for the afternoon work!" Ronny and Wally cracked up laughing, and Alex grinned ear to ear. I smiled and said "it's great to be back here with all of you!" Let me change, and we can have a quick talk on the patio before starting anything else." Alex said "CJ, we need to give you a tour prior to that discussion. Get your clothes changed, and what can I get you to drink? I said "give me an ice tea to start with Alex. Ronny and Wally sure look like they can use a beer though." Alex smiled and said "no beer for the crew until 3:00 pm or after!" I cracked up and said "okay chief, I'll go get changed now and come right back out here for the tour!" I went to the bathroom, put on a white polo and my multi-colored board shorts. Sandals completed my outfit, and I was ready for the afternoon. I went back out to the dining room table and Alex said "here is your ice tea. Follow me and we'll go look at the changes at Wally's place first." I followed with Wally and Ronny. I felt like if I stepped out of line, I'd be reprimanded by Alex! He opened the door, and we all went in. He spoke up and said "the patio has had all plants removed and has been washed down. Three ceiling fans are in place and operating fine. A dimmer switch needs to be installed at some point. The kitchen cabinets have been switched out and you now see the results of adding the glass-front cabinets." I said "wow everyone, what a significant change! I really like the difference this has made." Ronny said "it's amazing, isn't it?" I opened some of the cabinets and said "gentlemen, this is fantastic! You're going to make Trevor cry! I love this change, and can't wait for our kitchen to get the same makeover!" Alex smiled and said "you're okay for us to proceed with the cabinets in our place tomorrow?" I said "yes, please do so. I think the cabinets look fantastic, and I know UD and Sally will love the look of them! Awesome job everyone, thank you so much! There will be a large bonus in your paychecks this week." All three chuckled, and Wally said "okay chief -- on to the next visual for Mr. Walters!" Alex giggled and said "turn around CJ." I saw three paint samples in the hall over the hunter green color. Alex resumed his comments saying "I have these three paints in stock at my workshop. The first is just a plain eggshell, and I think it is fine against the green, but will do nothing to enhance the cabinets. The second color is called sandy beach. It's a definite complimentary color to the hunter green, and will look better on the cabinets as an accent. The third color is called honey oak. It compliments the wainscotting perfectly, and I believe it will be a fine accent on the cabinets." I smiled and said "thanks chief for the color rundown. I really like the honey oak, but I'll leave the final decision up to Carl and Trev. I think the hallway, the two-pantry door panels, not the trim, and all lower cabinets should be painted in the honey oak." Ronny said "I agree CJ, that is going to make an awesome change in this area." Alex said "I agree, my only concern is should the upper cabinets be the accent color versus the lower ones?" Wally replied "I see what you're saying Alex, but in this case I think we should keep the upper cabinets white and the lower cabinets in the oak to match the theme of the lower wainscotting in the living area." Alex said "yes, you are correct Wally. We'll wait for Trevor and Carl before doing anything else in here. Are you okay with that direction Mr. Walters?" I cracked up and said "you go chief Alex! I'm very good with that direction. What's next on the tour chief?" Wally locked up his condo, and Alex led us back to our place. He first headed to the master bathroom. He turned to me and said "you must have missed the addition in here. I looked around and saw the second towel bar on the wall. I smiled and said "perfect guys! How did you find the exact match? Wally said "when in doubt, visit Home Depot. They have a tremendous in-stock supply." The guest bathroom looked great with two towel bars as well. Finally, Alex took us into the office. I looked and saw the file cabinets and new desk chair. I went over to the desk chair and sat it in. I opened both of the file cabinets, and said "Alex, thank you so much. The chair is very comfortable and the file cabinets look great. They're going to give us each an extra storage place which will be very nice." I got up from the chair and gave him a hug. He smiled and said "happy early birthday CJ! They came in this morning, so I decided to put them out today versus later. You be sure to point them out to UD and Sally as I think they add an extra special touch to the room in here. Wally chimed in and said "this room has turned out wonderful. The colors are very warm, and for an office it's all very good choices. I can see myself working in here on paperwork, and drawing designs for clients." Ronny smiled and said "I feel like I'm back on campus! I have always loved this color combination and I think it's an excellent choice for this room CJ." We all returned to the dining area and sat down. Ronny refilled everyone's ice tea. Alex said "are you happy with the progress so far CJ?" I smiled and said "the word happy does not even begin to describe how I feel about the progress. You three are kicking ass, and everything looks so wonderful. Thank you all so much." Ronny smiled, gave me a wink and said "I'm sorry I have to go into work tomorrow. This has been a lot of fun today guys, and the results are spectacular!" Alex and Wally smiled, and gave each other a high five! I took a sip of ice tea and said "how does this sound for the afternoon? I want to treat you all to a late lunch or early dinner. After that, we'll head to Kohl's and get towels and anything else that Alex has accumulated on his list. From there, maybe we can hit a tile store or Home Depot and pick out some tile samples for backsplashes in all three condos?" Everyone gave a thumbs up. Alex said "I'd like a shower first though before we go. CJ, I have a 30% off coupon at Kohls. The towel sets are on sale this week for $10.99. We're also going to need extra sheet sets, pillows and a comforter for the murphy bed. We checked my kitchen and Wally's, but no drink pitchers. We should probably pick up one or two at Kohl's if they have them." I said "sounds great Alex. Why don't you three go get showers, and I'll make two calls." Wally said "what, you're not going to join me in a shower stud?" I cracked up and said "I'll join you even though I don't need one stud!" Ronny said "hey CJ, what's in the gift bag?" I said "oh I forgot to tell all of you. My discussion with Bailey went very well. He was on the same page as me and did not want to adjust salary now since I'm still in my first month as of today. If everything goes well and I enjoy the dual position, we're going to make a salary adjustment later this fall, as well as using the bonus performance for additional compensation for me. As an early birthday and promotion gift he gave me a bottle of bourbon and a nice box of cigars." Ronny said "damn, that is fine! I need to get on his good side too, so we continue to ride his coat tails for our bourbon and stogie supply!" All of us cracked up laughing, and we went to our respective showers for a refreshing afternoon shower. All of my men were hungry, so we went to Mel's first. They have early bird dinner specials, as well as afternoon draft specials. We each found a dinner plate that sounded good, and all of ordered a different beer. The waiter brought our beers first along with water for everyone. I smiled at the three of them and said "thanks guys for everything you accomplished today! It all looks wonderful, and I can hardly wait to see the continued progress. I'm sorry to not be helping more, but I also want to stay out of your way so I don't put a damper on the creativity process for you!" Wally smiled and said "it's been a great day. Chief Alex kept us in line, and I'm so happy to announce that he has accepted a part-time position with Walters Construction! He's agreed to assist me with remodeling designs and will be taking over the ordering and stocking supply for me. This will allow me to devote more time to the construction process, and he will still be able to complete his condo complex work. Let's raise a glass to Alex for his outstanding contributions to the condo renovations thus far, as well as being one heck of a fine individual and our good friend! Alex, I look forward to working with you more and thank you again for agreeing to come on board with Walter's Construction. Next year, we'll have you playing short stop on the softball team! Cheer's everyone!" Alex giggled and said "thanks Wally. I've enjoyed what all we do together, and I look forward to taking on work at your company. As far as short stop, I believe you may want to reconsider that if you want to create another championship season next year!" We all laughed, and Ronny leaned over to give Alex a kiss and hug. I did as well and said "way to go stud! I'm so proud of you." He smiled at me and said "thanks CJ, once again this is all because of you. I love you Mr. Weatherman Walters!" Our lunch was great, and soon we were all ready to continue on with our planned activities for the afternoon. I paid the bill, tipped the waiter and we headed out to Ronny's truck. I got in behind Ronny and said "Ronny, you know I am not a truck guy, but your selection is great and for our renovations and future adventures. This is a kick-ass vehicle and I cannot believe how comfortable it is! You did great stud!" He smiled at me, put on his aviator sunglasses, and said "thanks CJ. I'm loving it and I cannot believe it's mine! I sent my relatives all a thank you letter with a picture of me in front of it." Ronny got us to the Kohl's since he knew where it was at from our bracelet shopping trip there. As we pulled into the strip mall, Wally said "hey there is a tile store here also! Do you want to divide and conquer, and then join back up later? I'm not usually up for a Kohl's trip, so I volunteer to get some tile samples lined up for us to review." I said that sounds good babe. I know Ronny is not usually a Kohl's shopper either, especially for houseware items. Ronny, you want to go with Wally, and Alex and I will tackle Kohl's. We'll meet up with you later at the tile store." We all agreed and Ronny gave Alex the truck keys so we can load up the Kohl's purchases prior to coming into the tile store. Alex and I went to the towel aisles first. He said "here are the ones on sale this week. You get a bath towel, hand towel and wash cloth for $10.99 a set." I looked at the various colors and said "damn, I should have grabbed us a cart or two!" Alex said "you start picking out the color choices, and I'll get us two carts to fill up!" I chose six different color sets that I knew we did not have. Once the family leaves, we'll have a good supply to last us for a while. We then headed to the bed sheet area. Alex found queen size bed sets which were in the clearance section. Each set contained bed sheets, pillow cases, shams and a comforter. The colors were all neutral, and will give us more options for switching out sets in the future. We loaded up three sets, and went to the pillows next. I picked up four pillows for the office, and two more each for the master bedroom and guest bedroom. Alex said "why two more for our bedrooms?" I replied "we'll use the new pillows in the shams, and if any of us want two pillows to sleep on, we have them." Alex smiled and said "there you go again, always one step ahead of us CJ! Great idea stud." We finished out in the houseware section and found three glass pitchers on sale. I looked ad Alex and said "anything else big guy?" He said "the only other thing I can think of is cushions for the rattan set, but let's take measurements and we'll look at larger stores later this week for a better selection." I smiled and said "that sounds great Alex. Let's go back to where we got the area rugs, I liked that place and I saw cushion sets there." We went to the checkout and unloaded all of the purchases. The sales associate said "do you have any coupons to apply?" Alex gave her the 30% off coupon, and I said "I think I have $10 for my birthday on my account." I handed her my card and she said "yes, you do. Do you want to use that as well?" I nodded my head yes, and she said your total then with all discounts $116.48. How does that sound sir?" I smiled and said "let's call this sale final!" Alex and I went out to the truck and loaded everything into the truck bed. This is one case where I'm glad Ronny got the covered bed for these types of purchases. Alex smiled and said "damn, how can they do such deep discounts all the time." I smiled and said "I have often wondered that and I cannot believe they are still in business. It just goes to show you how much of a mark up they apply to their products to begin with!" We locked up the truck bed, and walked down to the tile store. Our top men were looking through the various samples and had 14 for us to review. Ronny brought two more to the review area, and Wally added one more. I smiled and said "what, you two couldn't find us 20 to look at?" We all cracked up and began looking over the choices. Wally and I gravitated towards a white subway tile with light blue wavy patterns. I looked at him "this will look good in Alex's kitchen, I think. Wally agreed with me and we pulled it aside. We also found a solid light blue color and set that aside as well. Alex found a travertine with two shades of light brown for Wally's place, plus a solid light brown. Ronny found a solid sage pattern, plus a brown and sage color combination for our place. We grouped them together and I said "wow, this is a good first set to review. Do you three agree?" Wally said "I want to see if they have any other colors in the wavy pattern, but I like everything else." Alex said "I'd like to take all of these and try them in the kitchens before choosing anymore." Ronny smiled and said "I agree with my man, let's start with these samples. Wally called the associate over and said "do you have any more of this wavy pattern with different colors?" She replied "yes, I believe we do. Let me check for you." She returned several minutes later with a wavy sage and a wavy brown pattern. I asked "can we take samples with us to see if these work in the spaces we are thinking?" She replied "yes you can. The pattern numbers and price per square foot are on the back of each tile. All I need is a $1 deposit per tile, and when you return the tiles, your deposit is refunded. We looked at the nine tiles as a group and determined we wanted to start with these samples. Wally handed her $10 and she wrote up the deposit slip for us with the pattern numbers. She bagged the samples up for us, and we were on our way back to the condos to view the samples. Alex said "hey gents, before we go up let's take a look at the chase lounge and see what we think of the color? I have a rocker and table down here to see how close the match is. Everyone agreed, and we headed for Alex's workshop. The initial color did not match well, but I think that was due to the darker rattan coming out in the grey. I said "I think we need to do one more coat and see if the grey lightens up more." Alex said "I agree, and it will CJ. Here is the color of the grey when it's dry. As you can tell, it's a close match to the rocker and table. The rattan dark color is drowning out the grey, and we actually may have to give it four to five coats to get a closer match." Wally said "let's continue on and see how close we can come with it." Alex smiled and said "sounds good guys, I'll give it another coat of paint in the morning." We unloaded the Kohls purchases into our place, and took the tile samples to their respective kitchens. I immediately liked the sage and brown combination that Ronny picked out for our place. It stood out significantly ahead of the other samples for me. Alex suggested "let's not make any rash decisions. We'll let them all sit for a couple of days. If we don't find one we like, we'll go back for more samples, or hit another store for a different variety." We went next door and put the brown wavy pattern, the solid light brown pattern and the travertine pattern up. I gravitated to the travertine pattern, but did not say anything. We need to get Carl and Trev's opinion as well before doing anything. Our third stop was at Alex's place, and the light blue pattern looked great for his kitchen. We called our initial viewing done, and returned to our place. Ronny got us four glasses out, and got us each a beer. He came back to the television area and said "the keg is done guys, but I was able to get four beers out of it for us." Alex said to Wally, we'll put that on our agenda for tomorrow to pick up a refill dude." Wally smiled and said "we can do that chief! Add it to the list." Alex turned to me and said "I'll get tags off the towels, sheets, pillows and pitchers tomorrow. Don't worry about anything tonight. We'll put clean towels and sheets out for your family on Sunday morning. Wally and I will continue with the cabinets here tomorrow morning, and we'll revisit the chase lounge and tiles tomorrow when we're all here. Maybe we can get Carl and Trevor over this week also to get their opinions on tile and wall color. This is going to come together very nicely all! A job well done today Wally and Ronny!" I looked at my three men and said "hey guys, I was concerned about getting everything done prior to my family's arrival on Sunday. You three took my concerns away today. All of the work looks great, and I thank you all for what you have done. I feel so much better about UD and the family coming in now, all thanks to the three of you." Wally finished his beer and said "damn, no more beer and it's only 6:30 pm." I said "you don't need any more beer sweetheart. Let's go into the bedroom so I can thank you properly tonight." Wally smiled and said "why thank you Mr. Walters, I always love receiving proper thanks from a satisfied customer!" He got up, put out his hand and said "night gents, you two have a good evening." Ronny smiled and said "good night you two. I'm going to finish this beer and then take the chief into our room and thank him properly also for all of his dedicated work today." Alex smiled, giggled and said "night guys, the chief is going to go make love to his man now! If you hear anything wild going on next door, don't worry it's just Ronny fucking me hard in the sling. See everyone in the morning!"