by Dave Conifer
“That was a tough time,” Eddie agreed. “Doesn’t sound like Jane, though.”
“You’re in programming, right?” Eric asked.
“Yeah. Barely, though, after all that went down. For a while there I thought I’d get canned. I sure as hell wouldn’t be in line for the QC Czar job except we weaseled out of trouble. Otherwise I’d probably be doing data entry.”
“I can’t wait to start calling you that,” Eddie said.
“What, QC Czar? It’s not the real job title,” Steve told him. “But it’s a sweet new position and I think I have the inside track on it. I don’t know who else applied but it’ll be hard to beat my resume out. Anybody who’s more senior than me won’t want it because it would be a lateral move, or worse. And I’m sure I’m ahead of everybody who’s below me.”
“I think I remember that Narvatex thing from last year. What actually happened, anyway?” Eric asked.
Steve sighed. “It’s Narvatek, not Narvatex. I’m not supposed to talk about it, but who gives a shit. We’re all Regal guys. I was running the programming team for the whole thing. It’s one of our diabetes drugs but these trials were for atherosclerosis. After we un-blinded the study the results were awesome, just like we knew they would be. We packed it up and sent it to the FDA. Then the whole project blew up. Their programmers started poking at everything we sent and found all kinds of problems.”
“Programming problems?”
“Yeah. My department. My responsibility. Our analysis was complete dog shit. They couldn’t duplicate any of our results. We looked real bad. Especially me. My bosses had been pushing me to get it done so fast that I guess I skimped on validation except for the big pieces. But we made it look like it wasn’t our programs that fucked up. We blamed it on this third party reporting software that fucked up. They were supposed to be the next Oracle, or so all their brochures said. So much for that.”
“So it was really your group’s fault?” Eric asked.
“Yeah, but they had it coming. They were a little too full of themselves. It was a few months of hell but in the end it all got dumped on them. We took two more months and redid everything from scratch and it was a happy ending. But Jane just didn’t seem to care how hard that was on me. It’s pissed me off ever since.”
“What were we talking about again?” Eddie asked.
“The usual. I’m bitching about my wife and you’re standing up for her. Never mind, just forget it.” Steve said as he stood up with the empty pitcher. “I need more beer.”
~~~
“So how are things at home?” Kristie asked as they prepared syringes and vials for an inoculation session scheduled for later that morning. “Same old?”
“Pretty much,” Jane told her. “I think it’s me. Maybe I expect too much.”
Kristie smiled. “I wonder how many times we’ve had this exact conversation.”
“I know. And how many more times we’ll have it. Let’s just skip it this time. What time are the kids coming in for their shots?”
“One group could be here any minute and the others are coming at eleven. At least we won’t be bored.” Right on cue a woman in flowery surgical scrubs poked her head in. “The kids are here. All fifty billion of them. It’s show time. Or should I say bottoms up?”
Kristie finished preparing the last vial and packed them into a rack with the others. Then the three women moved the syringes and vials onto a cart and pushed it out into the hall. For the rest of the shift it was all business as they spent hours sticking syringes into the asses and drying the eyes of at least sixty kids from four day care centers near the hospital. Jane knew it was only a matter of time before they had the same conversation again. They always did.
Chapter 2
Jane found herself watching Manteo again two days later as she undressed after arriving home after work. She had forty-five minutes before it was time to pick up Allie at day care and she spent thirty five of them at the window. He really was abnormally muscled. She saw a lot of male bodies at the hospital, some fit and some not. But there was fit and then there was this. She remembered what Steve had said about steroids and realized that there was probably something to his accusation. Even if it wasn’t steroids, he was doing something unnatural. She’d never seen a physique like that on somebody who was that tall. It just didn’t happen very often to guys who weren’t playing in the NFL.
Steve talked a lot about Manteo’s size and strength but it was different for her. He wasn’t feeling it the way she was; he was just seeing it. To him it was like admiring a skyscraper or a corvette. It wasn’t personal. Not the way it felt for her. She was becoming fascinated with his muscular body in a different way and she didn’t like it. Disgusted, she grabbed her car keys and hurried out the front door while vowing to stay away from the windows until the job was complete. He looks like the guy who discovered fire, she thought. What am I doing? What’s the matter with me?
~~~
Dinner that night was peppered with the sound of Manteo’s clanking tools as he hauled them around from the back yard and threw them into the back of his truck. “He told me he’d be done tomorrow,” Steve said as he wolfed down the Salisbury steak that Jane made. “I can’t wait to try it out.”
“Tomorrow?” Jane asked. “What time?”
“I don’t know, but I told him I’d have his cash for him when I got home from work and he was okay with that. So it sounds like he has a full day of work left. Why? Are you trying to plan when not to be here?”
“No, just wondering, I guess. I thought he’d be here longer.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Steve promised her. “You don’t even have to be here.”
“It’s fine either way. Where else would I be?”
“The guy at Depot said he’s good at everything. If he works this cheap maybe we should hire him for something else. What do you think?”
“Something else like what?” Jane asked as she reached over to Allie’s plate. “Honey, two more bites, okay?”
Steve grinned. “Anything that I was supposed to do. I can keep him busy. I wonder if he mows lawns?”
Jane said nothing as she diced another sliver of meat for Allie without looking at her husband.
~~~
The next day, the one which was to be his last at the house as things currently stood, he was still there when she came home from the day care with Allie. His shirt was drenched with sweat. They still hadn’t talked and even though it was his last day, that just didn’t seem right to Jane. It was rude that she hadn’t found a way to at least say hello, since he knew she was in the house all afternoon while he worked. The next time she looked out he was holding his water jug upside down as he shook the last remaining drops of water into his mouth. Now she had an excuse. She could bring him something to drink. After catching up on Facebook, something she couldn’t do during her shift at the hospital, she decided it was time to meet him. Hey, maybe it’ll turn out that he’s on Facebook too, she laughed to herself. Yeah, right.
She set Allie up with a Dora video and thought about how to go about it. For a moment she considered making lemonade and taking it out for him. She’d put in a pitcher on a tray, just like moms and girlfriends did it on all those sit-coms from the Fifties. After she mixed the lemonade and put it on a tray with two glasses she had second thoughts, and put it away for Allie later. I won’t even shake his hand but now I’m letting him use my dishes? And he doesn’t seem like the lemonade type. Instead she grabbed two cans of soda -- one of Steve’s Cokes and one of her Diet Mountain Dews. After smoothing out her shirt she walked into the family room. “Mommy’s going to talk to the man outside,” she told Allie, who never looked up from Dora or her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked out onto the back deck as she rehearsed in her mind what she would say. Her eyes swept the yard but there was no sign of Manteo. He must be out front at the truck, she decided. She adjusted her shorts before taking a seat under the umbrella of the fa
ded patio set that looked twice its age. Then she saw him. He was sitting against the back of the house, moaning and writhing with his hands clasped tightly over the sides of his head. His eyes were closed as he rocked back and forth. She froze, wondering if she should sneak back into the house and pretend she never saw it. Before she could move he was back on his feet.
He stumbled away from the house but stopped in his tracks when he saw her. The water jug that was tucked sideways under his arm was the perfect opening. “I thought you might like something cold to drink,” she yelled across the deck. “It’s so hot out here.” She held out both cans, which were already dripping with condensation.
He walked over slowly, turning the jug upside down to show her that it was empty. “Thank you,” he grunted after yanking at a grimy shirt that hung like a flag from a back pocket and pulling it over his head. “I drank mine up a few minutes ago.” She was surprised when he chose the diet soda. His hands trembled as he dug a finger around the top of the can and popped the top. Dirty drops of moisture dripped from the wet can and splattered onto the flaking deck as he lifted it toward his mouth. He never took his eyes off her as he drank, his Adam’s apple jerking up and down with each gulp.
It wasn’t long before he drained the can, which snapped and crackled as he crushed it in his hand. “I could clean up this deck for you,” he said. “Wouldn’t take but a day. Just let me know.”
Something looked odd about his eyes. They were yellowy, almost like a hepatitis patient, but there was no way anybody with hepatitis could work as hard as this man had. She’d seen it for herself. “I’ll talk to Steve about it. I’m sure he’ll be interested.”
Manteo nodded before turning back to the yard. “Looks like I’ll be finishing up today. Let me know about the deck.”
Before Jane could answer Allie burst out of the house. “Dora’s over!” she yelled to her mother. She’d had the carefree, boundless smile of a happy four-year old when she came out but her face clouded over when she saw Manteo. Without a word she ran to her mother and buried her face in her mother’s lap.
Jane started to explain but Manteo didn’t wait. “What’s your name, darling?” he said sweetly.
Allie pulled her face back out and turned to him without lifting her head.
“What’s your name, Sweetie?” he said softly after wiping his mouth with his shirt and going down to a knee.
“Allie.”
~~~
“I couldn’t believe it,” she told Steve later. “Within two minutes they were talking like they’d known each other forever. He even knew the characters on Dora. He actually sang! How would he even know who Dora the Explorer is? Isn’t that a little weird? I hope he’s not some kind of pedophile. How would he even know that?”
“I’m not surprised. Dora’s probably about his intellectual level. He probably goes home and watches public TV every night.”
“I just can’t get over it,” she repeated. “I’m worried.”
“Take it easy. It’s not like he’s never seen TV before. Or kids before. He’s not from Mars. I don’t think, anyway.”
“When she came out it was like somebody flipped a switch. He was a completely different person. Even his grammar was better.”
“Just don’t leave her alone with him,” he said. “Ever. He does good work but I don’t like the looks of him either.”
“Don’t worry. Oh, here he comes. Where’s the money?”
Steve pulled the door open as soon as Manteo rapped on it. He stepped inside without a word as Steve pulled a plain white envelope full of bills out of a pocket. Manteo opened it wide enough to spread the bills briefly with his brown fingers before stuffing it into his own pocket. “I do ceramic tile work,” he said after a quick inspection of the floor. “Ceramic would look better in here. Let me know if you want a price.”
Steve and Jane looked at each other. It is on the list, Jane thought. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll talk about it.”
“We have been thinking about redoing the foyer floor,” Steve said. “I was going to learn how to do it myself. It’s something to think about.”
“You know how to get hold of me,” Manteo said. Thirty seconds later they heard his truck barreling away.
“I hope you weren’t serious,” Jane said. “Did you forget what we were just talking about? Having him outside in the yard is one thing. Inside with Allie and me is another. He still gives me the creeps and I don’t want him around Allie.”
“Think about it, Jane. The floor looks like crap. I’m embarrassed anytime anybody comes in. We’d have to do it sooner or later. If I have to take time off, and all, it’ll cost more in the long run. Plus, I don’t know how to do it. He’ll probably do it better for hardly any money at all.”
“Easy for you to say. So what am I supposed to do? You’re not the one who’ll have to have him inside the house. What about Allie?”
“He’s a little weird, that’s all. If he was such a freak we’d have seen it by now. You’ll be fine. He just wants to work.”
She thought about Manteo’s antics earlier that day when he didn’t know she was watching, but decided not to mention it. “It doesn’t even matter what I think, as usual,” she fumed. “You’re going to do it. Just don’t ask me to buy into it.”
~~~
“I’m going to have to steal this guy from you soon,” Eddie remarked after he heard the deal Manteo had given the Havelocks on the foyer floor. He pulled a slice of pizza from the box and walked into the foyer. “Are you doing ceramic?”
“Yeah. Linoleum doesn’t belong in a foyer. It probably looked horrible even when it was new.” He gulped some water to wash down a stubborn hunk of crust before reaching for another slice. “It’s like he’s freaking retarded or something. But I’m not complaining. I’m already looking around for his next project. Jane won’t like it though.”
“Is this yoga night?”
“Yeah. Yoga night’s becoming pizza night.” He patted his stomach. “No wonder I’m getting so fat. I should go with her and get a workout.”
“What’s up with Jane? I’d think she’d be excited about a new floor.”
“She’s pissed that she’ll be cooped up in the same house with the caveman. With Allie,” he added.
“Send them over to my place,” Eddie suggested. “Valerie would love it.”
“You want a beer?” Steve asked as he walked over to the refrigerator.
“What took you so long?” He reached in the air just in time to snag the icy cold aluminum can that was coming his way. “I’m sure Valerie would love to have the company. The kids can play and the moms can hang out. It’s a win-win.”
“It’s not that simple. We can’t just let the guy have run of the house with nobody there keeping an eye on him. He might rob us blind. His name’s Rob, you know. Ha ha.”
Eddie smiled. “So you’re not worried about leaving him alone with your wife and daughter, but you’re worried about leaving him alone with your flat screen TV? Nice priorities there, brother.”
Steve smirked. “I never looked at it that way. But I’m not worried. He might be retarded but he’s not crazy. There’s nothing to worry about. He’s a gold mine to me, but I’m a gold mine to him, too. I can keep him working for the next five years. He’s not going to kill the golden goose or whatever the fuck that saying is.”
Chapter 3
A strange buzz filled the air as Jane climbed out of her six-year old Toyota after returning home from work one day the next week. She wasn’t sure what she was hearing while she walked up the concrete driveway along the side of the house, but she knew it was coming from the back yard. Manteo was coming later to start the foyer floor but it was at least an hour too early for this to have anything to do with him. Besides, she thought. He’s not working outside this time. He’ll be inside. Lucky me. Instead of going in the house she walked through the gate and into the back yard to investigate.
There was no way it could be Manteo. She and Steve had argued about wh
at time he could start work. Jane wanted him to stay away until as late in the day as possible, preferably after Steve was home. Steve wanted Jane to let him inside as soon as she was home from work. They had compromised, or so he probably thought, by telling him he could start after she’d gone back out to pick up Allie from pre-school.
The rasping sound was coming from the deck. As she came closer she could see that it was Manteo after all, hunched over in a cloud of swirling dust. What’s he doing here so early? And what’s he doing, period? Not wanting to be showered with dust she kept her distance as she tried to understand. Whatever power tool it was that he was operating, it was so loud that he was still unaware that she was there. Every few seconds he moved a few feet along the deck without coming out of his squat. Just when she began to think that the machine would be running forever, he reached the far side where the buzzing stopped and he finally noticed that she was watching.
He slid the safety goggles down his face and let them hang around his neck as he stood up. “I won’t charge you nothin’ for this,” he said immediately.
She looked at the smooth, bare wood he’d cleaned up. Then she looked at the scratchy, mold-splatted section that he hadn’t gotten to yet. “You should. It really needed it.”
“I figured it would keep me busy while I’m waitin’ for you. I’ll change my clothes before I go inside.”
“It looks really good,” she told him. “Thanks. We’ll pay you for it.”
“After I finish I can stain it. You’ll have to pick the stain. But the tile is first. Whenever I can get goin’ on it.” A bead of sweat trickled through the dust on his face and splashed onto his shirt. “This is just something to work on when I’m out here waitin’ to get inside.”
“I still need to go get my daughter. I’m sorry,” she said. “My husband’s weird about having people in the house.”
