Pushing Leaves Towards the Sun

At 11:30am, the doorbell rang, which was weird considering all the people who had a key and let themselves in. Billy and Lindy lived on South Water Street, close to The Fallout Shelter, literally down the road and across the Byram River where they had their rock and roll roots and still occasionally performed. Plus, they weren’t too far from Manhattanville College where Billy was finishing his degree, and Westchester County Airport where Billy was learning to fly and their friend Roxie controlled air traffic. Friends dropped in from the road and the river. This combination made their starter home busier than Grand Central Station. Billy never lived in a house without naming it and this was no exception—Band Central Station, or any shortened combination of the full term.

Lindy got up, threw on a robe, and descended to the front door—which was really on the side of the house. Band Central was built on a hill descending down from the street to their dock on the river. “Who’s there?” she inquired as she reached the last step.

“Candy-gram” was the reply.

“Who’s there?” she repeated, this time with a smile.

“Candy-gram, ma’am,” came the expected reply.

Finishing the bowtie to hold her robe closed, she opened the door, raised her hands in mock-shock, and exclaimed, “You’re not a candy gram; you’re a land shark!”

“Spy and Roxie both repeated, “Land Shark,” and started tickling Lindy.

“You bums both have keys, why did you bother ringing the bell?” Roxie stepped in and answered, “Spy never gets tired of that Saturday Night Live joke. Sorry.”

“No worries. Time to get started with the day anyway. Make yourselves at home. Billy’s still asleep and I need to jump in the shower.”

Spy grabbed a bundle of grocery bags from the small landing outside the doorway, then followed Roxie in and said, “I’ll get breakfast started as soon as I unpack this food. Roxie can finish unloading the car. By the way, school’s out. Did she tell you we’d be staying for most of the break? From the look on your face, I’m guessing not.”

Roxie looked at Spy and said, “Just because you’re on school break doesn’t mean we all are; some of us still have to work.” She turned to Lindy and added, “It’s the only way we can afford to be together on a single income and afford his DVM degree. Learning to fix animals is no cheap hobby!”

Spy announced, “You’re an animal Roxie, and I don’t want to fix you, I want to ravage you.”

She replied, “Too late, I’m already fixed, so ravage away!”

Lindy pointed to the first floor guest room door behind the stairs and said, “Go to your room, both of you!”

Both Roxie and Spy laughed, gave each other a kiss, and then Spy started unpacking groceries while Roxie went to get their remaining luggage.”

Lindy went back upstairs. Billy hadn’t moved and still looked like a big lump in the bed. She shed her robe, stepped into their bathroom, and turned the shower on full hot. Now that Lindy was a homeowner, she made Billy set the hot water heater at the perfect, not-quite-scalding temperature so all she had to do was turn it on and it was already set. She didn’t get the extra volume of mixing in the cold, but saving water was also a plus.

Lindy climbed in, leaving the bathroom door wide open. Billy could sleep through a war, but he was well tuned to the sound of the shower water running. It was his favorite wake-up call. He opened his eyes to a squint and could see Lindy’s body soaping up through the clear shower curtain as the steam started lowering the visibility. Even her silhouette was beautiful. Lindy worked out to keep her body in stage presence form. Letting Billy watch her shower was such an easy way to make him happy. She loved to do it and it had become a habit. Waking up used to be the worst part of Billy’s day; now he enjoyed it, as long as it wasn’t too early. Focusing on Lindy soaping up the full length of her 5 foot 7 inch body took the edge off his transition from sleep back into the real world; in fact it got enough of his attention to get him slowly out of bed.

“Got room for two in there?” Billy asked as he slid the shower curtain aside and stepped in. She was conditioning her long, straight auburn hair.

He reached around and pulled her close. The water crashed down on their heads as they locked lips, sealing them from getting any soapy water in their mouths. Finally, her hair thoroughly rinsed, Billy pulled them out of the water stream and eased his grip enough so that he could look into her eyes. “Thanks for letting me sleep in, babe. You know I don’t respect myself in the morning, which is why I love to sleep ‘til noon.”

“You just love to sleep. You don’t need excuses,” she replied.

“Truer words were never spoken.”

Lindy reached between his legs and said, “Your special wake-up call is a little later than usual. I’ve already been up for awhile. But, I see you are too, now. I did promise you a nooner.”

Billy licked an endless stream of water from her neck and firm breasts, then he slowly dropped to a knee as he traced her flat belly and continued his journey down. Billy licked her like she was made of chocolate. He met his quota of eight glasses of water for the day ingesting shower water. Lindy held on tight with both hands gripping his sandy brown hair. She guided him to all the places where she really wanted him to explore. Billy’s hands and fingers were also free to roam and continue where his tongue left off. Finally it was Billy’s turn to lock his fingers in her hair and she arched her back in anticipation of accepting him. The only interruption to their love making was when Lindy turned off the water as the temperature started dropping.

The cold water was welcome after they finally finished. Both toweled off and started getting dressed. Lindy was the first to speak, “Spy came back with Roxie. They’re downstairs making breakfast.”

“They’re probably doing what we just did. I suspect their diversion from the kitchen to the guest room will cause breakfast to be late. I don’t smell any bacon yet.” Billy sniffed the air for added effect.

“Well, if that’s the case, then we can give them a hand in the kitchen,” Lindy offered.

“I feel like I’ve already had breakfast, but eggs and bacon sound great too.”

It turns out that Spy was just getting started in the kitchen. Whatever was in the water upstairs was in the water downstairs as well. Spy’s brown mop top and Roxie’s darker brown ponytail were both wet, explaining why the hot water had run out.

Billy asked Spy before he took a big swig of OJ straight from the container, “No big plans for the holidays?”

Lindy interrupted, “Use a glass, Billy. It’s too late for me, but Spy and Roxie don’t want your germs.”

Billy crushed the container and then threw it across the room for a swish into the waste basket. “Last of the old carton, honey bear. I’m making room for Spy’s new groceries.”

Lindy glared at him. “Find another term of affection, bonehead. You know that one is taken.”

Spy used this moment to reply, “Roxie and I are taking it easy. No big travel plans. She’s actually working overtime and has me on a tight budget so we can eventually buy a house like you guys. This place rocks!”

Lindy blushed as she replied, “It’s small, but we love it. You can drop a snowball on our roof from the Interstate 95 overpass, but that’s so high up that we hardly hear the traffic, even at night. There’s nowhere else we can have river access to Long Island Sound that we can afford. It feels like we’ll never be done fixing this place up, but having the house plus the boathouse for the band to practice in was too perfect to pass up.”

Roxie looked out from the combined kitchen/living room arrangement down towards the detached boathouse and behind that to the dock. Dog’s Boston Whaler was winched up out of the water and protected with a snow covered tarp. She originally thought his boat would be stored inside the boathouse, but she knew now that space was reserved for the band. Their sunfish sailboat and a couple of kayaks did get that privilege, but got stored up in the rafters and out of the way of the band’s equipment. Roxie longed for life on the water, and thus was a regular tenant in the Band Central Station guest room.

Spy and Billy made a great breakfast team and Roxie helped Lindy clear the dishes into the sink afterwards.

Billy picked up the phone and dialed the number for the repair shop where he’d left his Jeep. It took nine or ten rings for them to answer. “Gus speaking,” was the informal greeting.

Billy inquired, “Gus, this is Billy Shepperman. I had my Jeep towed into your lot before you opened this morning. I had a breakdown on I-80. Wondering if you got my note and had a chance to look at it?”

“We got it. We got a work order for you to sign too. When are you coming by?”

“Well, it’s a haul for me to get up there and you’ve got my broken foul weather wheels. I wasn’t planning on riding my motorcycle that far in the snow. What options do I have?”

“You have a fax machine?”

Billy contemplated, then replied, “There’s one where I work.”

“If you can get there,” Gus continued. “I’ll fax you what you need to sign. We’ll do a work-up on your Jeep and we’ll only charge you for labor while we look. We’ll call before we put in any parts.”

Billy knew that The Fallout Shelter’s office phone and the fax were only one digit apart, so he rattled off the number by heart.

Gus added, “The sooner you get it to us, the sooner we’ll start working on it.”

“Roger that. I’ll head right over there. Call me back at this number when you know what’s wrong. 203-531-1988.”

“Got it. Waiting on the fax. Have a good day.”

Billy hung up the phone and asked Lindy, “Can I help wash the dishes?” as she was drying the last one.

“Perfect timing,” she replied.

He smiled. “What do you have planned for your big day off?”

Lindy replied, “I had rolls of insulation delivered to the boathouse yesterday while you were out snowboarding and before the snowstorm. I thought I’d try and tack some of it up between the studs. Space heaters can only do so much and winter is definitely here in force. You owe me big time for picking you up, so now’s a good time to tell you that you’re helping me when you get back.”

“Great, itchy insulation work. I can hardly wait.”

“I’m the best, remember telling me that?”

“You are the best, Lindy. Now can I use your truck to go over to The Shelter for this fax?”

“No problem. The Ram’s got 4-wheel drive. Just remember that it doesn’t mean you’ll have 4-wheel stop. Once you start skidding, you’re a sled just the same as any other vehicle with locked brakes.”

“I know how to drive in the snow.”

Lindy gave him a skeptical look and added, “I’d say, ‘hurry back, there’s work to do’, but I want my truck back in one piece.”

“I want my Jeep back in one piece too, so I’ve got to take care of this fax first—as much as I’m looking forward to stapling pink fluff in the cold boathouse. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Billy took Lindy’s keys and left; then Lindy asked Spy and Roxie, “What are you kids going to do the rest of the day?”

Roxie replied, “No point going back out in the snow. We can help you with the boathouse for awhile, isn’t that right, Spy?”

“That stuff really itches like crazy. Let me see what I brought that I can do construction in. I think I have the perfect clothes for both of us.”

Snow removal equipment was already plowing and sanding the streets, so Billy had no problem getting to The Fallout Shelter. The fax was waiting for him in the office opposite the long bar. The work release looked pretty standard to him so he signed it and faxed it back. He looked around for Derek, but either he wasn’t in yet or he was over at The Evil Empires with Amy. Billy thought about dropping in for a hot cup of coffee, but he really did owe Lindy a big favor for picking him and Dog up in the middle of the night. Instead, he honked and waved to Amy through the big glass storefront as he drove by on his way out of the lot and back home. She waved back as she spun on a stool. Business slowed way down on snowdays.