My cellphone ringing woke me.
I picked it up off the night table and looked at the time.
It was 7 am. Christmas Eve.
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I got out of bed as I answered it.
"Hello."
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"Will, me buddy."
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"Bobby?"
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Bobby laughed.
"Who else would it be? Hope I didn't wake you."
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I laughed.
"No, I had to get up to answer the phone, anyway."
I looked over at Sheila, laying in the bed.
She was still sleeping.
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"Good one," Bobby cracked.
"I know it is early my friend, but I thought you might want to know that she's all done, boy."
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Now, I was fully awake.
"Are you serious?" I barked, excitedly.
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"I am, my friend. She's all ready for the furniture and such."
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Sheila was waking.
"Whose on the phone, my love?"
She sat up in bed.
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"Bobby. They have the room finished."
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She smiled.
"That's great my love."
She looked at the time.
"We should get ready. Grab some breakfast and get on the move."
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I nodded.
"Thank you so much Bobby. We will be there as soon as we can."
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"Well, we are going to get cleaned up. We haven't stopped much in the last few days.
We don't have to be at my parents until around 3, so we can help you set up the room if you want."
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"Did the stuff arrive?"
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Bobby laughed.
"It did, my friend. I don't know how you expect to get all that stuff in the room, but it is all here."
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Sheila walked by and kissed me.
"I am showering. Care to join me?"
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Bobby laughed.
"Go. We will meet you here, when you get home."
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"Thanks Bobby. We won't be that long."
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"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Bobby joked.
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It was around 11 in the morning, that Sheila and I arrived at the house.
Bobby and Jessie led us quickly down the hall, to the room.
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Jessie opened the door.
"After you."
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Sheila went in first, then me.
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I stood in the middle of the empty room.
It was perfect.
Quietly I walked around the room and then into the on-suite.
It was just as I had envisioned, minus the final touches; the furniture.
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I shook my head, as I approached Bobby and Jessie.
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They did not know how to read my mood.
"Is something wrong?" Jessie wondered, slightly nervous.
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I hugged her tight.
"It is absolutely perfect."
I hugged Bobby.
"I don't know how you got it all done."
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Bobby took a deep breath.
"18 hour days and a full crew, but we made you a promise."
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Tears were in my eyes.
"I don't know what to say. It is exactly what I wanted."
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"Well, you might not be so happy when you see our bill," Bobby joked.
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Jessie hit him.
"Really? You have to bring that up, now?
Its Christmas Eve."
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I laughed, wiping tears from my eyes.
"Give me the bill."
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"Well," Jessie continued.
"You know there is no real bill, but I have a list of what we charged at Stan Dawes and we had a crew of 8 here for about 20 hours."
I stared at her.
"Well?"
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She passed me the list.
"The guys were good about things," she reminded me, as I looked at the list.
"They were willing to work for $10 an hour, under the table."
She looked at Bobby.
"We have already paid them, so that is all done."
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"And you guys have what? Tapped out your credit cards and savings?"
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Jessie nodded.
"Pretty much."
She forced a smile.
"But we can wait until after Christmas, if you need."
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"I tell you what," I told them, putting the list in my pocket.
"You help me for an hour or so, to get the stuff in the room, and I will settle this up.
Deal?"
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They both nodded, smiling, but I could see they were both nervous.
They did not really know me and if I stiffed them, it could be very hard on them.
It ended up taking nearly 2 hours to set up the room.
Jessie looked around the room, shaking her head.
"This is unbelievable."
She turned to me.
"You must really love this little girl."
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I nodded.
I hadn't thought much about Whisper over the last few days and in all honesty, I felt kind of guilty about it, but I was sure that the room would make up for it.
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I hugged Jessie.
"I do. Very much."
I went to Bobby and shook his hand.
"I cannot thank you both enough. Let's have one more drink and we can get you guys on your way."
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They agreed and I told them that I would meet them in the living room.
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Ten minutes later, I joined them. I had two gift bags with me.
I passed one to Bobby and one to Jessie.
"I hope this shows you both my gratitude for what you have done for me."
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I sat next to Sheila and she passed me a scotch.
"First a toast.
To a job well done, but more important, for Sheila and myself, hopefully the start of a new friendship."
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There was a connection, at that moment, in my living room. A connection that I had never felt before in my life.
I had a true love, a family and true friends.
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Even Ghost and Spirit joined us in the living room.
As I petted my cats, I urged Bobby and Jessie to open the gifts.
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When they finished, they both sat in silence, staring at me.
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It was Jessie who spoke.
"Will. We can't accept this. This is too much."
She looked at her husband, who shared her sentiment.
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"You don't have to buy our friendship."
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I laughed.
"I knew you were going to say that.
Look. I could never have done this on my own. I would have made a total mess of it.
You both knew things that I would never have even thought of. You took my vision and you made it come to life, even larger than I had anticipated."
I pointed at the gifts I had given them.
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I gave Bobby a bottle of Macallan's M Series, scotch.
And to Jessie, a bottle of Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Musigny Grand Cru, a beautiful French red wine.
I gave them both travel vouchers for a 2 week cruise to the Caribbean.
I also gave them both certified cheques for $5000.
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They were speechless.
Jessie came to me crying and as I stood, she hugged me tight.
"Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means."
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I kissed her on the cheek.
"You are so welcome."
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Bobby hugged me as well.
"Even after we look after the bills, this is still too much, Will."
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I laughed.
"The bills are looked after, Bobby.
Stan Dawes has been paid and your credit cards have been paid off."
I had looked after both while in Corner Brook, anticipating the fact that they would max out the cards, paying bills.
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Jessie was shaking her head, passing the cheque back to me.
"No. Will, this is far too much. You have to take these back."
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I shrugged.
"I can't. They are in your name."
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"Then I will cash it and give you back the money," she assured me.
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I shook my head.
"Please. You have no idea how good this makes me feel.
Merry Christmas."
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Jessie started crying again.
"Merry Christmas, my friend."
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There were hugs all around and everyone was in tears.
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"Anyway," Jessie finally sighed.
"We have to go."
She hugged me again.
"We will see you on the 26th?"
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I nodded.
"Absolutely. I still haven't showed you guys the recording studio."
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It took 10 minutes before the hugging and kissing ended and the two finally drove off.
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We watched them leave the garden, waving behind them.
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Sheila hugged me.
"You are an amazing man, Will Templeton. One of the many reasons why I love you."
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I gave her a long gentle kiss.
"How about an early Christmas gift?"
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She looked at her watch.
"I would love to baby, but I really should get home."
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I nodded, sadly.
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"Are you sure you don't want to come over tonight for a drink?"
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I shook my head.
"I will see you tomorrow, sweetie. I have some things I want to get done.
Some finishing touches. Besides, my cats have missed me."
I gave her a big kiss, as she put on her coat.
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"I will call you later," she informed me.
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I smiled and kissed her one more time.
I watched her drive off and went inside.
"Whisper?"