When he crawled out of his truck, Garth looked almost as beat as I felt. He never just crawled out of his truck. He leapt, jumped, leaped, or peacocked out of his truck, kind of the way he did everything else.
“It’s hell getting old, Jess,” Garth called as I tried to peel myself out of my own truck without appearing as though every muscle in my body had been ripped to shreds.
“Can you imagine how much hell it’ll be when we’re actually old?” I replied as I approached the front steps.
Garth’s nose curled. “Shit, why the hell did I pick ranching as my chosen career? If I had been smart, I’d have gotten into something where I could sit at a desk all day.”
“I think desk jobs just mean getting different kinds of body aches.”
“Yeah, plus, can you imagine me in a suit and tie?” Garth kicked his boots against the bottom step of the porch, sending chunks of dried mud and pieces of dried grass to the ground.
“No,” I said, doing the same to my boots. Their place was still in sorry straits, but Josie treated it like a pristine country club. Mud and dirt was not allowed. “No, I cannot.”
“So much for paying for delivery, right?” Garth nodded at the washer and dryer on the porch. “‘Actually, sir, delivery just includes to the front door. Delivery and Install includes bringing the appliances inside and installing them,’” Garth rattled off in a high-pitched voice. “Small print sons of bitches.”
“And you mean you, with all of your charm, couldn’t coax them into making an exception?” I shook my head, knowing that when those delivery drivers had left yesterday, their impression of Garth Black was the opposite of charming.
“Yeah, well at least I’ll know for next time that delivery means half-ass.”
Garth and I moved to the washer first. We were both of the mindset that you start with the hardest-slash-heaviest task first.
“Thanks for the tip. Since I’ll be needing to order only a half dozen appliances soon.”
“Make sure you pay the extra for delivery and installation though, because I’m sure as shit not going to help you haul a double fridge into that place of yours.” Garth grinned across the washer at me as we crouched into position to get a good hold on it.
“It’s good to have good friends,” I repeated his words before we heaved the washer up and moved it.
Josie had already thrown open the door, and she directed us down the hall and into the laundry room like she was bringing in a 747 from the runway. “Looking good, looking good. Nice and easy.” She flagged us over to the wall where the washer and dryer were going. “Garth, your side is off balance. Jesse, you look like you’re going to pass out. Please don’t do it before you get my washer safely into place.”
I shot her a smirk before letting out an exaggerated yawn. “About to pass out any moment is how I look all the time, Josie. Don’t worry. Your washer is safe with me.” And it was. It felt as heavy as if we were trying to move Garth’s truck down a football field, but we managed it. Something about being exhausted all of the time meant my strength had been diminished by half lately.
“Dryer?” Garth panted at me once we’d moved the washer into position.
Garth had said he’d work on getting everything hooked up tomorrow, and I was relieved. I wasn’t sure I’d make it through hauling the dryer in, let alone hanging around to finish hooking up two appliances I didn’t have any experience installing. My mental fortitude was gone, out the door, totally useless when it came to reading instructions or figuring out what two plus two times two equaled.
By the time we’d made the second trip with the dryer, my heart felt as though it would explode from the day’s efforts and from what felt like all of those sleepless nights coming to one sum total of unparalleled exhaustion. After scooting the dryer into position, I sat on the ground and leaned against the dryer to catch my breath. I planned on resting for a few seconds before taking off, but my eyelids finally won that war I’d been battling for the past hour.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been passed out when my phone went off, but from the feel of my shoulders and neck, it was longer than it should have been. “Hey, Rowen.” My voice sounded like I’d been sleeping for a week instead of a half hour. “Sorry I’m so late. Things ran late at our place, and I think I just fell asleep against Garth and Josie’s new dryer.” I blinked a few times to clear my eyes and found a blanket had been tossed over my lap and a pillow was on either side of me—to either keep me from tipping over or to catch my head if I did, I wasn’t sure.
“You sound beyond exhausted, Jesse,” she said, sounding almost as tired. “I don’t want you crawling into your truck and driving like that. Why don’t you see if Garth and Josie will let you spend the night, okay? If you need the leverage, tell Garth he’ll owe us when he sees what I’ve picked out for his bride’s bedtime wear.”
I chuckled, but it was all throaty with sleep. “No, I want to come home to you. I want to see you. I’ll be fine. Really. I feel better already with that cat nap.”
I didn’t. I somehow felt worse, but I couldn’t tell her that. What got me through these long days was the promise of crawling into bed with her at the end of them. She was my quiet, peaceful refuge, and even though I spent more nights awake than I did asleep, I always rolled out of bed the next morning feeling recharged.