Chapter IX
—Overview—
Janae and JB just finished moving from Schenectady, New York to Houghton, Michigan so Janae could finish her Doctorate in Computer Science at the Michigan Tech University. After weeks of searching and living at the campground they found a Lahti rental, a victorian red 2 story house on top of a rock face overlooking the town below. JB found a job at the Perkins in town as a manager which allowed them to afford the place together.
Janae took the Bravada and went yard sale shopping after dropping JB off at work. She drove over to Chassell and found a cute small round table and few chairs, and a three person couch with kick out leg rests. She stopped by Kurkish furniture and picked up a mattress, and stopped by Walmart and picked up a saw, hammer, nails and other carpentry tools, then she drives over to the lumber yard and picks up some more material.
JB gets a ride from his friend Clarke, and heads home after as 12 hour day. The sun is still up, when he gets home, and sees Janae sitting in the back yard with the new tools. She is trying to cut some lumber up. “What are you doing?” Janae looking at him “Trying to make a bed frame!” JB starts laughing “You’re doing it all wrong Janie!” Walking over to her, he grabs the saw out of her hand. “You never try to saw wood with it in your lap, you will hurt yourself!” Taking a look at all the lumber in the yard “Don’t you think you went a little over board?” Janae shaking her head. JB blurts “here, you have more then you need for a frame, in fact lets make a set of carpenter horses!” Janae looks at him strangely. JB smiling, “remember my father owns the biggest Cabinetry business in Minnesota, a child picks up a thing or two.”
After crafting two sets of carpenter horses, JB sets them up a few feet from another and lays a large piece of plywood on it. Putting all the tools on top of the makeshift table. “There, now you have a proper work place for an aspiring carpenter!” Janae looks at him with a stink eye “Smart ass!” JB chuckles and starts walking into the house “I’m grabbing a shower and some food! I’m beat!” Janae snaps, “You’re not going to help?” JB stops in his tracks, pauses, and continues into the house.
Half hour later he comes walking out of the house in grubby clothes smelling like lavender and coffee. Janae blurts “What the fuck JB, I told you not to use my shampoo.” JB shakes his head, “you didn’t get anything else!” Janae responds “Oh yah, sorry!” JB looks at her, “why dont you go up and make some dinner, ill finish this up. Don’t worry I already took measurement of the bed, you forgot to bring the tape-measure out with yah.” Rattling it at her and chuckling. Janae grunts and stamps off humiliated, JB couldn’t help himself, chuckling and shaking his head.
Three hours later JB walks into the house with a shallow rectangular box, with one by one cross beams at the base. Janae looks at it with anger “That’s not a box spring!” JB ignores her and takes it up the stairs to the bedroom. He trots up and down the stairs a few more times carrying boxes, with make shift drawers. Setting it up with four boxes on the corners, he puts it in the middle of the wall, so each side had a set of drawers. Setting the box spring on top of them, then the mattress. Yelling down the stairs “Janie get up here!” Janae comes walking in, She is shocked by what she sees “I didn’t realize what you were doing! This is Awesome!” JB smiling “Yup we each have a side with our own drawers!” Janie pounces him. JB snickers, and trying to get a word out between kisses “There is enough lumber … …out there … …to return … …get your money back, … … …or I can probably whip … …up a couple of shelves for the bedroom”
That night the two of them sat out on the rock face with the new lawn chairs and their two huskies Tanner and Dusty watching the traffic pass on by . Janae grabs JB’s hand and lookas at him, “ do you think this is going to last?” JB shrugs, “No one knows the answer to that question for all we know tomorrow one of us could be hit by a truck.” Janae grimaces “Why do you always have to be so negative?” JB chuckles “That is not negative Janie, that is being a realist, someone who doesnt dream but someone who can be hopeful but accepting reality for what it is.!”