Page 18 of Quiet as Kept
“Yeah.” I pulled a breath in through my teeth. “There’s nothing to see at night. Personally, I’m partial to sunrise. I knowa lot of people are mesmerized by sunset, which don’t get me wrong; sunset on the coast is beautiful. There’s just something about sunrise though.”
“So, you’re out here for the night air? Is that why you have your laptop? Your computer need some air too?”
“Nah.” I laughed.
“I’ve only been here two days, and I feel like I can say this.” She paused dramatically. “You work a lot.”
“I do, but I love it. I love what I do. It’s almost not even like . . . work to me.” I beckoned her with my hand. “Let’s sit down.”
“This deck is huge. I mean, it’s wonderful, but it’s huge. It’s literally bigger than my apartment in Londynville.”
“I’m starting to think that you lived in a storage unit back in Londynville. Tell the truth. You didn’t even have an apartment, did you? You was staying in one of those self-storage units, weren’t you?”
She laughed, not all tinkly and demure but a real laugh. A laugh where she clapped her hands a few times. I liked that she was able to be herself. We were going to be working together closely. It would be cool if we could both be ourselves.
“I had an apartment, sir. It was small, but it was an apartment. Not a self-storage unit. Just because you’re over here with all of this . . . excess?—”
“Wow. She called my shit excess. Wow.”
She gestured around with her hand. “I’m saying, look at all of this deck, Kept. It’s you and your two daughters, who are toddlers. Why do you need all this deck?”
My deckwasspacious. It was a deck that would’ve been perfect for a homeowner who entertained a lot since it featured multiple zones. There was a full outdoor kitchen with a bar; a dining area; an area for chilling while watching the outdoor television; a lounge area with a comfy, weatherproof sofa andchairs; a screened in area for people who wanted to be outside but didn’t really like being outside; and there was even an Olympic-sized pool with an infinity edge and a hot tub that looked out onto the ocean.
I didn’t entertain. I didn’t even know enough people on the island well enough to invite them over.
“I don’t know,” I admitted finally. “I don’t know. The plan was to build something much smaller, but every time I worked on the blueprint, I would hear God telling me to add something else.”
I had never told anybody else that was the reason that my deck was so large. When I was drawing up the plans, I started to feel something like Noah must’ve felt, like God had me building a deck for a future I couldn’t yet see.
She looked around silently. I felt a little embarrassed about sharing. She was probably judging me and coming to the conclusion that I was crazy. Then she spoke.
“Wow.” She clapped her hands together. “I bet God is going to use this deck for something awesome. Maybe your sister will get married on this deck . . . or your girls.”
I sat down on the sofa in the lounge area. Xarielle sat down beside me. Her scent wafted over to me. She smelled like soap and something citrusy. I liked it.
“How did exploration go for you today?”
“Ugh.” She sighed lightly. “I don’t know. You know how when you don’t have money . . . Well, you probably don’t know.”
“Cool out,” I told her. “I told you that I was raised by my great-grandmother. She was on a fixed income. I understand being broke and waiting for payday and all that. I can definitely remember and relate to struggle.”
“Yeah, okay.” Her tone was skeptical, but she continued. “So, you know how when you don’t have money and all you can do isthink about what you would do if you did have money? Or what you’re going to do when you get money?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I have money. The owner of the day care center I worked at in Londynville sent me off with a nice check when I left. Couldn’t wait to get here, go to the mall, and be able to spend real money.”
“That didn’t happen for you?”
“I’m cheap, Kept.” I laughed aloud. “I found out that years of scrimping and saving can’t be erased in a day. At least, I can’t erase them. Everything I picked up in the mall was overpriced in my opinion.”
“You didn’t buy anything?” I moved my gaze from the screen of my laptop to her. “It’s okay to spend money on yourself, Xarielle. I mean, I can understand you not wanting to overindulge. But maybe buy one nice thing that means something to you.”
“I’ve always wanted a Pandora charm bracelet. I went into the store today to look at one. The bracelet is almost a hundred by itself before you even consider the charms. I feel like I would have the bracelet and two charms for the next ten years.”
I chuckled. “Nah. You could budget in one charm each payday. By the end of the year, you would have a bracelet filled with charms.”
“Maybe.” She stifled a yawn. “I’m going to call it a night.”