The door opened a few minutes later.
“Did you forget something?” I said without looking up.
A man’s voice answered, “I don’t think so.”
I glanced at Trip but returned my attention to the drawing. “What’s up? Never mind. Lemme guess, Christy sent you. I told her, I’m almost finished. I’ll be right there.”
“Dude, that was an hour ago.”
I checked my watch and did a double take.
“How much do you have left?”
I sat back, surveyed my work, and blew out a breath. “Too much.”
He leafed through the stack of site plans on the table next to me. They were relatively simple—a plan view of the cabin, along with trees, the road, and a parking area—but each location was unique, which took time. Worse, the permits required two copies for each cabin.
I’d already convinced myself to learn how to use the computer and CAD program. I’d seen Professor Ledbetter create a standard drawing template and title block. Then he’d been able to duplicate objects with a few simple keystrokes. Moving them around and rotating them had been simple.
Each plan would’ve taken a third of the time to create with CAD, and I could’ve printed a second copy instead of drawing it from scratch. Doing it the old-fashioned way, I’d finished three whole sets in two evenings.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Trip said. “Only three more.”
“Yeah, but it’s six drawings. Plus an overall site plan. The county is going to treat it like a subdivision.”
“A subdivision? For real?”
“Yep.”
“But it’s private land.”
“Granville called his crony at the Building and Zoning office.” I quoted the officialese reply, “Six new residential buildings in close proximity would constitute a subdivision.”
“That complicates things.”
I snorted. “Yeah, now it goes to eleven.”
He laughed at the Spinal Tap reference.
“Besides, this is just the first step,” I continued, serious again, “the zoning review, flood plain compliance, et cetera. At least we don’t have to get approval from the Historic Commission too.”
He gestured at the array of drawings and paperwork. “All this? Just for a simple building permit?”
“It isn’t so simple.”
Our projects in the past had been remodeling jobs on single-family homes, and they hadn’t required permits. A few had, but they’d been for individual things, like the new septic system or new electrical service. We’d never done new construction, which required an order of magnitude more paperwork.
“I didn’t realize,” Trip said. “You’ve just been handling all this, haven’t you?”
“It’s my job. But the design was the easy part. I mean, they’re basically two-bedroom homes. The code requirements were a lot more complicated than I realized. Start with parking and go from there. The life safety details were a nightmare. But Granville’s been a lifesaver.”
“For real?”
“For real. He’s a bore when he gets to talking about the past, but he’s not so bad the rest of the time. He occasionally has a good idea, too. He isn’t as creative as Joska, but he has a lot more real-world experience.”
“So do we.”
“No, we don’t,” I said honestly. “I never would’ve agreed to this job if I’d known how much I don’t know about what we’re doing. ‘Babes in the woods’ doesn’t begin to cover it.”
“The scheduling and subcontracting are the same,” he said. “There’s a lot more of it, but nothing really new. But all this…? I didn’t have a clue what you’d been dealing with. No wonder you’ve been stressed out lately.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m ready to be done with it. I’m ready for a vacation. A real one.”
“Yeah, I understand. Besides, Erin, Leah, and Mark are supposed be here Saturday.”
“Mmm.”
“And I want you to finish this stuff too,” he added. “For… um… personal reasons.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Wren wants to plan a party for Thursday, after you meet with Granville.”
“Let’s do it Friday,” I suggested. “I still have a ton of work after he signs and seals everything. I have to assemble the drawing packets and make sure the paperwork’s in order.”
“I’ll help,” Trip said immediately. “The girls too.”
“I was going to ask. Thanks.”
“What is it you say?” He grinned. “It’s what I do?”
“Yep, it’s what you do. Anyway, we won’t have anything to celebrate until I— Sorry, we submit everything to the Building and Zoning office.”
“Thanks.” He thought through the schedule and nodded. “I’ll tell Wren.”
“Thanks. So, that’s the business side. What’re your personal reasons for wanting it done?”
“Dude… isn’t it obvious? What do we do at parties?”
“You want to have sex with Brooke. Yeah, I get it, but… why wait? Just do it.”
He snorted a laugh.
“What?”
“Maybe you haven’t noticed,” he said, “but she has the hots for you, dude.”
“She likes you too.”
“She does, but she isn’t ready for an orgy. Not yet, at least. Yeah, we get along okay, and I think she’s up for it, but she’s a lot shyer than you realize.”
I started to tell him that she hadn’t been shy the night before, or the one before that. She and Christy had worn me out. They’d done the same in the morning, to the point where I’d decided that Christy was horny enough by herself. She and Brooke in the same bed were like a firehose and a Slip ’N Slide. It was fun for a while, but sooner or later someone would get hurt.
Then again, Brooke wasn’t the type to start things. She usually needed Christy’s encouragement, although a couple of drinks would do the same thing. A selfish part of me wanted to tell Trip to get her drunk and take advantage of her, but it sounded too much like date rape. He wasn’t likely to force himself on her, but it was still a Bad Idea.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said aloud. “A party sounds good. Wait till then.”
“That’s what Wren thought. And… um…” He considered his next words carefully. “I don’t know how to say this without making you angry, but—”
“Just say it.”
“Christy isn’t helping.”
I bristled automatically but then thought about it. “Yeah. I get it. She wants me to plan the swinging.”
“Why? Your mom and Susan handle the arrangements for their group.”
“Christy isn’t like them.”
His mouth twisted with annoyance, although he tried to laugh it off. “No kidding.”
I suppressed my own annoyance and said, “I’ll talk to her— talk to them.”
“Cool. Thanks. In the meantime, let’s get back to business. Stay here tomorrow and finish everything. I’ll handle the demo and cleanup.” He ducked his head guiltily. “I should’ve done it today. The Bobcat was a good idea. And it’s a one-man job at this point.”
“I feel guilty for letting you down.”
“Don’t,” he said flatly. “Besides, I still feel bad about yesterday. So… let me make it up to you. You make sure we get the permits, and I’ll take care of the grunt work. Deal?”
“Deal.”
We shook hands, which was more camaraderie than anything.
“Now, let’s head outside,” he said. “You have a couple of ladies waiting for you.” He grinned roguishly. “Help them, Pussy-Wan, you’re their only hope.”
“Ugh! Not again.”
“What? You gotta admit, it’s pretty funny. Besides, it fits. You get more pussy than anyone I know. Without trying!” He snorted a laugh. “It runs in the family. And no, you don’t wanna know.” He clapped me on the shoulder and propelled me toward the door. “Time to play ball, Pussy-Wan.”
“You’re mixing metaphors.”
“Whatever. Hustle up. I promised Christy I’d fetch you. And you don’t wanna disappoint your woman.”