Page 24 of Ghost
Chapter Ten
The rest of the daywent by quickly.After lunch, of course, they all lay around like roadkill for about an hour, they were so full.Mason had finally finished pulling down the rest of the old plaster walls, revealing that most of the studs were intact.There were a few that were going to have to be replaced, primarily on the outer walls.He was glad that he’d saved those from downstairs.That would cut some costs.His biggest concern was the floor, but so far it looked as if it was going to be salvageable.
Mason took a step back, standing in the doorway and looking at the small room.“This is...tiny,” he said to himself, or so he thought.
“Yep, that’s pretty damn small by today’s standards,” Mitch said behind him.
Mason looked over his shoulder.“Not sure what to do about it, though.”
Paul came up behind Mitch, peering over his shoulder.“Easy, extend it out.”
Mason walked over towards the back door that went through to the deck which was only about four feet out from the back of the house.“You mean use the deck?”
“Well, you can’t usethatdeck,” Paul replied, pushing Mitch out of the way, causing Mitch to frown at him indignantly.“There’s no way this deck would be up to code, but yeah, and it needs to be bigger I think.”
Mason stepped out.“No, this would all have to be replaced.”
“Oh yeah, for sure, but think about it.”Paul also stepped outside.“You could use this whole deck space for a kitchen and sitting area or eat-in kitchen type deal.”
“It’d make for a cool covered space downstairs, too,” Mitch added quickly as he joined them.“I can see a hot tub down there.Talk about a party place!”
Mason rolled his eyes.“Really?It’s so fucking hot out here, even this late in the day; you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, and you want a hot tub?”
“It’s not hot all the time,” Mitch said.“Besides, you can turn the heat off, ya know.Be kinda like a bubbly swimming pool.”
“It is a thought.”Mason turned to look back at the house.“Could maybe make it like a green house or solarium kinda thing.”
“That would be very cool, but expensive.”Paul looked up and then over the railing.“You could even do a smaller deck out here as well.It wouldn’t take up too much of your courtyard and there is no real yard back here to mess up.Might even put a grill out there.”
“I think it’s a great idea.”Mason looked around for a few seconds.“But it will be years before I can afford to do anything like that.”
“Keep it in mind, though,” Paul said seriously.“We’ll need to think ahead before doing any wiring in here.”
“Will do,” Mason said, still pondering the idea.
“Meanwhile,” Mitch was already going back inside.“I think it’s beer time!”
“Damn, Mitch,” Mason frowned.“Is all you think about is beer?It’s getting pretty old.”
“I need a shower in the worst way,” Paul said, holding his arms out to his sides.“I stink.”
“I think we could all use a shower.I feel as if I’ve lost five pounds in just water weight today,” Mason complained.“Let me just sweep up all this dust before we go.Where’s the broom?”
“Downstairs,” Paul answered.
“Fuck it.”Mason grabbed his dirty, sweaty shirt from the dining room floor.“I’ll get it tomorrow.There’s a cold beer with my name on it.”
* * * * *
The next morning, itdidn’t seem quite as hot as the day before, but it wasn’t cool by any means.Mason had grabbed a few old towels for them all to use to wipe the sweat away in hopes it would keep them a little cooler.
“Wish we had one of those big industrial fans,” Mitch said as he stepped through the front door, following Mason in.
“That would be great,” Mason agreed.“Sorry to inform you though, that isn’t in the budget, not to mention we don’t have any power as yet.”
“Slave driver,” Mitch grumped.“At least it’s cooler downstairs.”
“Not that we’re going to be down there for much longer,” Paul informed him.“We’ve got to get the outside boxes up to date and then start on the kitchen.Speaking of which, have you thought any more as to what you want to do about that, Mason?”
