Yes master, p.13
Yes, Master, page 13
“What are you doing?” I yelled in a whisper when I reached the girls. I reached up and pulled her hand down.
“We are getting rid of the weeds like you asked us to! Look! We are already done!” Vila replied excitedly, sounding as though I should have been able to tell.
“You are most certainly not pulling weeds right now! That would require you to touch them, not wave your hand at them while it glowed!”
“We may not be pulling them, but they're still going to be gone when we're done, so what's the problem?” Andi looked a bit confused as she blinked up at me. I reached down and picked up one of the magically fallen weeds. I held up the end of it so the girls could see.
“This weed is cut,” I hissed at them a little.
“So?” Vila replied innocently.
“Sooo,” I overemphasized. “that means that it is going to simply grow back. You have to pull weeds out so the roots are no longer in the ground, or they just spring back up. Plus, the roots will shoot off and create even more weeds. Your little magic cutting act will simply create more work for me to do next week!”
Both girls stared up at me for a minute and then looked at each other. They shrugged their shoulders, and Andi raised her hand in the air and snapped her fingers. Suddenly all of the fallen weeds were upright and in the ground again. I sucked in my breath and quickly turned my head towards the house to see if there was a figure in the window, hoping internally with everything in me that Gladis hadn't been watching. I didn't see anybody standing in the window, so I was able to let my breath out and calm down a little before I turned my attention back to the girls. They were both smiling up at me.
“All fixed!” Andi said happily. She turned to Vila. “This time, make sure that the roots come out with them.”
Vila raised her hand again, and it started glowing once more. She started waving her fingers as she had been before, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the same green lights only now they were bouncing four feet up out of the ground. I grabbed her hand with both of mine and pushed it down. I was stunned, frustrated, and confused all at the same time.
“What are you doing? You can’t do that!” I told her through clenched teeth. Andi must have finally heard the rising anger in my voice and put a hand on Vila’s shoulder. When they looked up at me, both of their expressions were serious.
“I am pulling them out by the roots now so that there won't be extra weeds next week, like you said,” Vila explained to me quietly. She almost sounded a little scared, and I instantly felt bad. My intent was not to scare the girls but to keep their magic hidden. I took a deep breath and let it out to restore a calm demeanor.
“Thank you for listening about the weed roots,” I stated calmly. “However, what I mean is that you can't use magic to pull the weeds! What if someone had seen you?”
“Who is going to see us? There is a fence all around us,” Andi asked.
“There is a fence all around us except where the house is,” I pointed out. “Gladis likes to look out her kitchen window to see how I am doing and often brings iced tea or water out to me. I didn't see her in the window, thank goodness, but if she had been, we could be in a big mess right now!”
Andi immediately turned and smacked Vila on the arm. “What were you thinking?” she asked her as though she had just caught Vila eating a cookie before dinner time.
“Are you kidding me?” Vila hissed back, returning Andi’s smack to the arm. “You kept complaining about how slow we were going. This was practically your idea!”
“It absolutely was not!” Andi said haughtily. “Just because I said it was slow-going didn't mean that you had to use magic! You should have known better!”
Vila’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “So, by you standing there pointing out any weeds that I had missed, you were telling me not to use magic to speed up the process?” Vila’s voice was dripping with furious sarcasm.
“Well, I figured if you were going to do it anyway, I might as well make sure that you did it right!” Andi shot back, sticking her nose in the air.
“Here!” Vila seethed. “If you are so concerned about the quality of my magic, let me demonstrate that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Time for you to go back into the money clip!” Vila pulled her hand out of mine and raised it up in the air.
“You WOULDN’T!” Andi gasped with disbelief.
“Oh, I WOULD!” Vila’s fingers came together, but I was able to reach up fast enough to bring her hand down before she snapped her fingers.
“Both of you just calm down!” I barked at them. “Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down!”
They both looked at me with furrowed brows and tightly pursed lips. Vila pulled her hand away from mine once again, and both of them crossed their arms. I was relieved when they huffed at each other and turned in opposite directions, pouting to themselves. My irritation drained away, seeing how cute the two of them were when they were mad at each other. Regardless of my amusement, however, I needed to make sure to rein them in so that there was no more fear of them exposing their magic. I took hold of Vila’s arm and gently turned her toward Andi. I repeated the process with Andi.
“Ladies, there is no reason to be angry with each other,” I started. I saw both of them start to open their mouths in protest but kept going before they had a chance. “The problem is not the use of magic to be more efficient. The problem is the use of magic where people might see you. It was a simple mistake and not one to get too upset over, but only because it worked out that you weren’t caught.”
Each of the girls looked out of the corner of their eyes at each other without moving their faces. Then they looked back at me.
Andi shifted on her feet a little. “We’re sorry, Bennett,” she told me, her entire body relaxing slightly.
Vila looked at her and relaxed as well. “Yes, we are sorry,” she echoed.
“Okay! That's better,” I started. “Now, how about this? Since I have gathered the idea that the two of you end up competing at most things you do together, why don't you start at opposite ends of where the weeds are and see how fast you two can reach each other in the middle? At that point, you would finish pulling the weeds and get to celebrate together.” I was fully prepared to pitch my idea in a different way, but surprisingly, the girls looked at each other and smiled.
“Yes!” Vila said to Andi, suddenly excited. “How do you want to celebrate when we finish?”
“How about that high-five thing?” Andi proposed, jumping up and down and clapping.
“Perfect!” Vila agreed. The two of them split up and headed opposite sides of the yard to start once again pulling weeds. Their little spat had ended so quickly I almost thought for a moment that I had imagined the whole thing. I could not help but smile to myself and shake my head.
“You were the one that said ‘yes’ when they asked to tag along!” I whispered to myself, humorously. Although I wasn't quite halfway done mowing yet, I decided to go to the shed and grab a rake and rake up the grass I had already cut. On my way back from the shed, I looked up to check on the girls and instantly felt like I was watching a movie on fast forward. They were pulling the weeds at hyper speed.
“AHEM!” I said loudly! They both stopped and looked at me. I shook my head and mouthed ‘zero magic’ at them. They each covered their mouths with one hand and started giggling guiltily. They simultaneously held up their hands to give me the ‘okay’ symbol with their fingers and went back to pulling weeds at a normal pace. If nothing else, they consistently proved that nothing about life would be boring with them around.
We managed to get through taking care of the rest of the yard without a magical incident. I showed them both how to use a weed-whacker and took some extra time to teach them how to trim rose bushes that Gladis had planted along the edge of the house. It surprised me to find out how fascinated the girls were with the thorns on the roses. They kept gently touching them and then calling the other over because each was convinced they had found the sharpest thorn and wanted the other one to test it out. By the time we were finished, both girls had dirt all over them, including smudges on their faces. When Gladis saw them, she smiled warmly and brought them each a warm, damp towel to wipe down with.
“They remind me of my daughters when I was teaching them how to garden,” Gladis reminisced proudly. “It’s fun, isn’t it?” I thought about her question for a moment and realized that I had indeed had a lot of fun teaching the girls some things.
“It is more fun than I imagined it would be!” I agreed with Gladis.
Mr. Calla came out and shook my hand. As usual, he tried to pay me for taking care of their yard. As I do every week, I refused his payment with the excuse that I had been in my apartment more than I had wanted and simply appreciated the opportunity to get out and do something physical. I knew they wouldn't be offended at my refusal of payment as long as they felt I had gotten some value from them somehow. When the cab showed up to take the girls and me to the next house, Gladis hugged all three of us, and Mr. Calla shook our hands.
“It was a pleasure having your friends here with us,” Mr. Calla told us. “Feel free to bring them back with you whenever you would like.” He put his arm around his wife, and the two of them waved to us as we walked out of the white picket gate and got in the car.
Andi and Vila were beaming with a happiness that I recognized. Their type of glow could only come from the feeling of a job well done, combined with the satisfaction that they had helped somebody. It was that same feeling that drove me to volunteer my time every weekend.
11
The second yard we worked on went off without a hitch and took half the amount of time as the Calla’s yard. Before I knew it, we were pulling up to old Mr. and Mrs. Pillowa’s place. We had just started walking up the drive when Mrs. Pillowa came rushing out of her house.
“Bennett! Bennett! I'm so sorry!” she cried out. “I can't have you work on the yard. They took William to the hospital. I'm on my way there now.” Unshed tears filled her eyes.
“I'm so sorry to hear that! Is there anything I can do to help? Would you like me to drive you?” I motioned toward her car. She knew that I did not own a vehicle, but I would have been more than happy to drive hers since she was so upset.
“No, no, that's alright,” she started. “I will be fine driving myself. There is a huge favor I could ask of you, however. I have some documents that need to be delivered to my tax accountant. I was supposed to take them there today, but as you can see, plans have changed. Would you mind taking them for me? I'm more than happy to pay for cab fare.”
“Mrs. Pillowa, it’s Sunday. Are you sure your tax place is open today?” I was concerned that perhaps she had her days mixed up.
“I'm sure it is open. They are testing alternative business hours. Just started last month,” she explained.
“In that case, sure! I'm happy to take them for you. No cab fare necessary. Which agency are they going to?” I asked her. She opened the door to her car and reached in the backseat. She came back out with a legal-size manila envelope and handed it to me.
“It will go to Harris Tax Services,” she said. “The address is on the envelope. I really have to be going now. Thank you so much, Bennett. I truly appreciate you.”
“I'm happy I can help, Mrs. Pillowa. Please feel free to call on me if you need anything else. And also, please pass on my ‘get well soon’ to your husband,” I told her as she climbed into her car. She put it in gear, and I watched as she backed out of her driveway while the girls and I stood to the side. She waved after she had pulled out and was driving away. Luckily, Vila had stopped the cab driver from leaving when she realized something was not right. The three of us climbed into the taxi.
“Do you know where Harris Tax Services is?” I asked the driver.
“Yes. Ever since they started running Sunday hours, you'd be amazed at how many trips I take there!” he replied.
“Great, that is where we are headed,” I told him.
“You've got it, man,” he replied. He was a jolly, middle-aged man who seemed to enjoy his job more than most cab drivers I had met. I made a mental note to tip him extra. I believed that anybody who dealt with people all day long and kept a good attitude deserved a bonus for their service. He stepped on the gas, and we zipped away to make the delivery.
The trip only took ten minutes before we pulled up outside the Harris Tax Services suite. It was pancaked between a yoga studio and a custom art showroom in a strip mall. The girls and I got out, I tipped our driver, and we headed in. Just before I opened the door to the office suite, something occurred to me. I knew who owned this place. The Harris family had a lineage in the city for generations. I went to high school with their daughter, Eleanor. Everybody who knew her called her Lottie. My heart skipped a beat when I thought of her.
She had always been kind to me, even back in school, where she was one of the popular kids, and I was lumped in with the nerds because I preferred computers over football. Back then, I had developed the biggest crush on her, but I had not seen her for years since. An image of her walking down the school steps, tossing her long, raven-black braids behind her shoulders, and flashing that smile of hers that showed perfect teeth and a glint in her dark blue eyes, flashed through my mind. I felt my palms get a little damp. I was surprised to find that I was nervous. I didn't even know if she would be inside, but the possibility of it made my heart start to race.
“Is everything alright?” Vila asked me, bringing me out of my reminiscing.
“Yes, why do you ask?” I replied. I sounded suspicious to my own ears, and of course, the girls noticed. I started to tug on the door, but Andi stopped me.
“What is in there that is making you nervous?” she asked me, her scowl making it clear she was very serious.
“I don't know what you're talking about. Let's just drop this off and go,” I lied. Both girls took a step back, put their hands on their hips, and looked at me with furrowed brows.
“You know exactly what we are talking about, Mr. Bennett,” Andi scolded me. “Now, why don't you let the two of us know what you are talking about?!”
“I really don't know what you think is going on, but I just want to make this delivery so we can go back home. I'm simply in a hurry, and that is all,” I lied again. Vila stepped forward and took me by the hand. The second she touched me, her eyes snapped up to meet mine, and then she looked back over her shoulder at Andi.
“It’s got something to do with a girl,” Vila told Andi. She looked back at me with eyes so piercing that I knew I had to admit the truth.
“Okay, okay,” I told them as I backed away from the door. “Shhh, already!” They pulled me off to the side, and both of them stood in front of me, waiting for an explanation.
“Who is she?” Andi asked before I had a chance to say anything.
“And what does she have to do with this place?” Vila added. I put my hands out in front of me to get them to back up a little.
“Her name is Lottie. I haven't seen her in years, but this is her family's business. I just used to have a crush on her back when I was in school. I don't know why I had an attack of the nerves just now,” I tried to explain.
“That must have been one big crush for you to have it still this many years later!” Andi said. I detected a small amount of excitement in her voice.
“Tell us about her! What did you like about her?” Vila probed. I took a deep breath and let my mind wander back to high school.
“Well, there is the obvious… she was absolutely beautiful. But, more than that, she was nice. She always had a smile on her face and a kind word to say. She never hesitated to help people regardless of their social status, which, in case you do not know, influences a lot of kids negatively during their high school years,” I told them.
“How well did you get to know her?” Andi questioned me deeper.
“We spent some time together on various school projects, ran into each other at a few different school functions, and she would chat with me while she waited for her car to be fixed at a local mechanic shop I used to work at,” I answered. “It was really just years of little bits of time spent with her that resulted in me developing my crush.”
“Well, she must have left quite the impression!” Andi commented. I wasn't sure why she sounded so happy.
“Let’s go see if she is here!” Vila chimed in, matching Andi’s enthusiasm. The girls were adding to my anxiety suddenly.
“Why are the two of you so excited about this?” I asked them both cautiously. They glanced at each other and started giggling.
“We want to meet your dream girl!” Vila whispered as if she was telling me a secret.
“My dream WHAT?” I couldn't believe they thought Lottie was anything more than a high school crush. “What makes you think it’s possible that someone I haven't seen since high school is my dream girl? That makes absolutely no sense!”
Vila giggled uncontrollably. She never took her eyes off me while she nudged Andi with her shoulder.
“Looks like someone's a little defensive when it comes to this Lottie girl!” Vila said to Andi.
“Sure looks that way, doesn't it?” Vila agreed.
“Stop it, you two!” I demanded. Andi’s face suddenly got super serious, and she stepped so close to me that I could feel her breath on my mouth.
“A man's palms don't go clammy while his heart nearly beats out of his chest for just some random crush from high school,” she whispered softly. Somehow, regardless of how quiet she had said it, I felt as though Andi had screamed the truth at me. I stared at her for several long moments before blinking. I took a deep breath and sighed.
