Gone with an Angel

Chapter Fifteen:

The next morning, when I woke up, an idea had hatched in my mind. Forgotten were the troubles and new found feelings of yesterday, and in its place was now only brilliance. I was going to fix up James’ house, Kris- Style. I had some money, enough to buy some outside home fixer-upper type supplies. It wasn’t much, but I figured it was the best I could do for the moment.

“I’ll be back later!” I hollered to James. I was a woman on a mission. I had hurriedly gotten dressed, and I was on the way.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Kris, hold up. Where are you going?” He met me at the front door just as I was about to head out to the bus stop.

“It’s a secret,” I smiled.

“Okay,” he answered finally, still a little confused. “But I need to just talk to you real quick.” The conversation turned serious and my excitement simmered down as I waited, slightly impatiently.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Yesterday I kissed you, and you blacked out,” he said in a rush. He kissed me?! That was the part I cared about, and I couldn’t remember? Of course, that would be just my luck.

“And it makes you forget what happened immediately before the contact…” he finished. I felt my mood deflate a little, but today was going to be my day. I was going to make James happy again, I just had to.

“Oh,” I gave a small, closed mouth smile. “Well, I’ll see you later, okay?” I reached my hand for his but quickly remember and pulled away. “Right, uh, I’ll be back in a few hours!” I bolted out of the door and ran toward the bus stop. I pushed the news to the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to let that bring me down right then; I had other things to attend to.

The bus dropped me off in the downtown area, and I rushed off to the big caution orange Home Depot. Once inside, I wandered through countless aisles finding all the things I wanted to fix up his disaster of a house. I figured I would need a shovel, some packs of soil, seed packets, paint, a weed whacker, and a few other odds and ends. I picked up some strands of lights to place around the outsides, and some decorative stones as well. I carried my cart of fix-up supplies to the checkout, and handed the cashier all of the money I had been saving for a car.

Doing my best with what little strength I had, I carted my supplies back onto the bus, and on the way back home. Leaving it in a mound hidden beneath the tall dying grass, I raced inside to get James.

“Would you like to help me with something?” I asked James. I had a grin on my face similar to James’ usual expression, and I didn’t try to hide my excitement. I only hoped he would like it as much as I did.

“I would!” Ty jumped up from the couch and raced to greet me.

“With what?” James asked, slightly weary of whatever favor I was about to ask.

Without answering, I motioned for the both of them to follow me as I paved the way back outside. Grandly, I showed off the pile of materials with a big smile plastered to my face like a car salesman.

“You need help with that?” James cocked an eyebrow at me.

“No!” I sighed, exasperated, and began explaining. “I thought we could fix this house. I was thinking we could paint up the outside, plant some flowers, cut the grass, put up these lights, decorate…” I trailed off, trying to reveal my vision of repairing his horrid house.

James smiled, as he usually did, and we all set to work. I was still surging with the thrill of trying to make someone else happy as we worked away. I was even aware that perhaps James wasn’t excited, he was just pretending for me, and I didn’t even care. Ty assisted us, and with the three of us working our hearts out, we finished.

Four hours and twenty seven minutes later, I was staring at a completely new house. The shutters were fixed up and repainted white. The shingles were mostly even and touched up with grey paint. The old garden was now completely new. The edges were lined in the decorative rocks, and the interior was replanted with various vibrant flowers. The walls were a smooth, reassuring blue; and the grass was a fresh, flat, green. It was entirely perfect.

“Thank you,” James whispered in my ear, sending tingles down my spine. It left me wanting more and wishing we could touch, craving him even as he wandered back inside.