Preparations

“Hello in the house!” Jeff called as he pushed the front door open. There was no reply, but he could hear noises from down the hallway. He picked his way through various items of building and decorating equipment until he reached a closed door. There was a loud hissing sound from the other side of the door and he had to knock really hard to make himself heard. The hissing stopped and the door flew open.

There stood Terry, covered in sweat and wearing only a pair of camo shorts and trainers. “G’Day, Jeff. I wasn’t expecting you until this arvo.”

Jeff grinned, pointing at his watch, “G’Day, Terry, it IS this arvo.”

“Shit, I’ve been fighting this bloody paint all day. Musta lost track of time.” He turned to switch off the power steamer and pick up a towel. Jeff couldn’t help but look; Terry was a fine figure of a man. His body carried various scars, but Jeff thought they made him look even more manly.

“Get you a drink, mate?” Terry asked, smiling to himself at the look on Jeff’s face. “There’s beer in the fridge or soda.”

“Beer would be great, thanks.”

Terry dried himself off with the towel and threw it into the laundry room as he passed it. He grabbed two tinnies from the fridge and walked out to the back porch, handing one to Jeff as he sat on the swing seat. Jeff sat on a lounger close by and too a swig from his beer.

“So, how’s it going in there? It was like a sauna when you opened the door.”

“Yeah, I guess I should have checked the weather report before I started. Didn’t realise it was gonna be a scorcher today. It’s worth it though. The pressure steamer is certainly getting rid of the paint faster than sanding. Luckily Toni used water based so it’s a dream.”

“You still gonna leave it natural?”

“Sure am. I had a mate take a look and he says it looks like it’s native Aussie wood, probably Red River Gum. Once the paint is all off and it’s left to breathe a bit, he’ll recommend which oil to use to bring it to its best.”

“It’ll look great when it’s done, mate. Maybe you can put some indigenous art work on one of the walls.”

“I’ve already thought of that, Jeff. I’ve spoken to Mrs. Bindi and she’s coming to have a squizz late next week. That should give me a chance to get it all cleared up. Hopefully she can advise about the rest of the place as well, I’ve heard she’s an interior designer now as well as a top artist.”

“That she is, mate, and a very good one too.”

“You know her, Jeff?”

Jeff blushed a bit before replying. “I call her ‘mum’, Terry. My partner is her son.”

“Small world,” Terry smiled. “Do you have any of her work?”

“Yeah, she gave me some beautiful wall art, and Seb’s house was designed completely by her as a gift when he moved here from Coffs.”

“Ah, maybe I could wangle an invite before her visit so I can see her work first hand instead of via the Internet.”

“I can arrange that. How about dinner on Friday?”

“Great, my social calendar is pretty empty right now, it’s a date. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself, mate. Seb loves cooking for guests.”

“Righto, lets get down to business then, you got the plan and figures for me?

Jeff picked up the backpack he’d brought in with him and took out his laptop. Terry was impressed with the presentation, and the costing was spot on. He’d already told Jeff he had the job, but if he’d had any doubts at all, the work he’d put in on the plans and the costs would have swayed Terry in his favour.

“What about the tiles, mate; any joy?”

“I think I found just the thing, Ter,” Jeff grinned, opening the pack once more. “Take a look at these.”

He showed Terry a couple of 9”x4” wall tiles, one with a border, then picked up a stone 12”x12” floor version that co-ordinated perfectly. Terry took them from Jeff and walked into the bathroom. He placed the border tile about five feet from the floor.

“What ya reckon, Jeff, that seem about right to you?”

Jeff watched as Terry placed the tile. It looked perfect to him. “You’ve got a good eye, Terry, that looks about right. I can get the same border design in the Terrazzo tiling for the floor, or we can just go with the speckled sample.”

“The speckle it is, mate; we’ll just do one row of borders around the walls. You sure we can get the suite in the pale grey to complement these?”

“You sure you need mum to come and advise you, Terry? It sounds like you know just what you need here.”

“Hey, the ensuite is all mine, but there’s another bathroom and all the other rooms she can play with if she takes on the commission.”

“You want us to invite her to dinner on Friday too?”

Terry was quiet for a minute. Was he ready for female company? He didn’t think so, even if it would be semi-business. He hoped he wouldn’t offend Jeff with his reply. “Would you mind if I’d rather you didn’t, mate?”

Jeff understood, but made light of it. “No worries, we don’t want her to know you’re after a sneak preview now do we.”

Terry put his hand on Jeff’s shoulder, “Thanks, Jeff, for understanding.”

“Seb will be please too, mum always tries to take over the cooking when she visits. So, back to business. I’ve got some paperwork for you to read through and sign, if you would.”

Terry took the pages and read through them. He was getting more impressed with Jeff the more he got to know him. He’d printed out the order, estimate, including labour, and a short contract that they would both sign. Terry wondered how many one-man businesses were as thorough and competent as Jeff seemed to be.

Signing on the dotted line, he handed the papers back to Jeff who did the same, handing Terry his copy and smiling. “I’ll put the order in tomorrow, mate. When I went to look at the tiles I saw the colour suite you wanted and it’s all in stock, right down to the chrome furnishings. I had them put the tiles by as they had just about enough of them all, including a couple of boxes extra. I’ll keep any leftovers back at my place so that if there are any accidents we’ll have replacements on hand.”

“You think of everything, Jeff. When can you start the preparations?”

“Well, if you don’t mind using the other bathroom, I can start ripping out day after tomorrow. I can organise a skip delivery tomorrow. Having French windows and a balcony in the bedroom makes it a lot easier, I can fix up a chute, save me trying to drag the stuff down the stairs.”

“I’ve got nothing on right now, I can help with the manual stuff for you, let you do the technical bits with the pipes and all.”

“Ta, Terry. Tell you what, if you give me a call when the skips arrives, I’ll come over tomorrow and we can make a start. It will give you a break from that sauna of yours.”

Terry laughed and agreed. He led Jeff back downstairs, and they said goodbye at the front door. Terry watched him drive off, then turned back down the corridor to continue his battle with the paint. He was determined to get it finished before the skip arrived the following day.