I can't believe it's already Saturday morning. The car wash starts shortly and we are all very excited to get this done. Trystan has been at my house every night this week spending time with DJ and I. We've cooked dinner together, made posters, and he and DJ even spent time in the yard throwing the ball around. It’s been an amazing week, but I have to admit I’m a bit scared of my feelings for Trystan and I think DJ is starting to feel the same way.
Today we're all jumping into his truck and heading over to the store for the big fundraiser. I'm lucky he has a truck because we have a lot to transport. We have a table for the bake sale plus everything we need for the car wash.
When we pull up, we find Lori and Misty are already here. They start helping me unload the back of the truck. “Briggs is inside dealing with some stuff, but he’ll be out for the carwash.” Mason and DJ take the hoses over to the side of the building to attach them, while Misty and I set up the table with the plastic tablecloth for the bake sale. We put the bake sale at the beginning of the lineup that way people can have a snack while they wait. Lucky for us there's a tree for shade because it's a beautiful day. It's supposed to be in the low seventies, and Lori has a ton of chocolate for us to sell on top of all the baked goods.
Parents are arriving and, as instructed, the boys are all wearing their team caps. "Okay, everyone gather around please," Trystan calls out.
He waves everyone over to the bake sale table. "Thank you all for being here today. We're going to divide up into teams, and we'll rotate where the boys work so no one is stuck in the same spot for the day. DJ, you're starting out on the hose. Mason and Ethan, you're going to each take a position on one side of the car and soap them up. Vincent, I'll have you watching the boys soap the cars to ensure they do a good job." He continues on giving everyone their assignments. He puts three boys at the street, two of which are Mason's little brothers. They came out to help. Briggs is going to stand with them to try to get cars to stop. Billy will make sure that Noah does a good job of rinsing the cars off.
We all break up and go to our stations to get the car wash rolling. Trystan pulls a ten from his wallet and puts it into my bucket. He gets into his truck and pulls up to the car wash. The boys are all excited to be washing the coach’s truck which is covered in mud from his work site. DJ begins squirting it down and 'accidentally' squirts Trystan. The boys all start to laugh. Trystan nods his head with a tight grin. "Be careful. You may start something you can't finish." They all wave him off and continue to wash the truck. A car pulls in behind it, and Trystan tells them it's time to get serious. He gets back into the truck and pulls it around so they can continue on with the next car.
We may be in a small town, but we're surrounded by two larger towns and are lucky to be getting a lot of patrons who are driving through. It's been quite busy, and the kids are having a blast. Trystan rotates them about every hour so they all have a turn at holding signs and washing cars. The bake sale is also going over well. The parents really came through with their donations. We have everything from mini breads to cookies, cupcakes, and brownies.
I'm totally thrilled with how the day is going until a sports car pulls in and a chick climbs out wearing a short skirt, heels, and a skimpy top. I know from the way she’s approaching Trystan that she has to be his ex. I start making when way over, when she walks over to him, hands him some money, and tells him to make sure they take good care of her baby. She runs her perfectly sculpted nail down his chest. The jealousy I feel is like nothing I've ever felt before. I put my arm around Trystan, and rest my head on his chest.
"Hey, baby. Is this the chick who cheated on you?" I give her a cheesy grin.
Trystan chuckles and says, "That it is, sugar." He kisses me on the head. The look on her face screams disgust.
She steps back from him, looks me up and down and spews, “That’s our business, not yours.”
I look at her, shocked. “It’s my business because Trystan is my man now, so you can take your ‘baby’ and pretty little self on out of here.”
"Who do you think you're talking to? Trystan and I go way back."
I put my hand up to stop her. "Yeah, I heard. Back far enough that you cheated on him while he was away training to defend his country, and now that he's moved on you're bent. Well, guess what, you need to move on because he has."
She gives me an evil grin. "We'll just see who will be moving on." She climbs into her car and squeals her tires as she pulls out of the parking lot without getting her car washed.
I look up at Trystan and shake my head. "I’ve seen rats the size of cats. If she thinks she scares me, she’s crazy."
He shrugs. "Who knows what's going through her head, but if she thinks this stuff is going to help her get me back, she really is nuts because she's pissing me the hell off."
"We'll deal with that later. We have more cars coming in." Trystan goes back to collecting money from patrons, and I go back to the bake sale table where Misty is standing.
"That woman has balls bigger than most men." Misty shakes her head with her hands on her hips.
"Tell me about it. Can you believe she thought it was a good idea to show up here and flirt with him in front of me?” I shake my head. “Clearly she doesn’t realize I’m a New York girl. I may want country life, but I’m a city girl through and through. I’m not taking her shit.”
Misty throws her head back in laughter. "Look at you defending your man. I love you, girl.”
"Damn straight, and back at you." I wink at her as some patrons come over, so we both go back to work selling what goodies we have left. People have been very responsive to helping this team so we're getting low on stuff, but that's a good thing.
The day is winding down, and I couldn't be prouder of my boys. They've all worked very hard today, and I didn’t get one complaint about switching jobs or doing something they didn't want to do. Stella and I took a few minutes to talk about getting everyone together for a cookout after the shed is built to celebrate their success. We'll announce at the next practice what our plan is.
"Good job, boys. This is the last car then we're done!" They all cheer excitedly over their hard work.
Misty and Stella are closing down the bake sale table. There are only a few goodies left, and we're out of water. When they finish, Lori and Vincent come over and join them while the kids finish up. Briggs is watching the boys as they finish up drying the last car. When it pulls away, I call everyone over.
"Great job today, everyone! You all did an amazing job, and I'm proud of you. You've all worked hard, and this bucket of money shows it. It looks like we have raised more than enough to build the shed. Maybe we can even get some new equipment." The parents all begin to clap. "Let's get this place cleaned up, and we can all go home and enjoy what's left of our day." The boys run to the car wash area and begin collecting the sponges and towels. At first, I think they're trying to hurry up so they can get out of here, but I’m wrong. I turned my back on them and that was a mistake. I suddenly see the parents step to the side, and I quickly discover it's because the boys decide to take the two soap buckets and dump them over my head. I'm now soaked with soapy water.
I turn around with a shocked look on my face, but I make a bee-line for the hose and lucky for me, I beat them to it. I pick it up and spray each of them with the cold hose water. They all run squealing like pigs, shouting that the water is cold. "I warned you to not start something you couldn't finish." Those who have parents here are hiding behind them. "Don't be a chicken, come out of hiding!" I shout to them, but more parents are starting to show up for their kids. "Y'all are lucky your parents are here, and I don't want you to go home too wet." I disconnect the hose from the building and throw it into the back of my truck. Some of the parents look amused and some don't look too thrilled that their kids are wet, but I shrug it off because in reality, they’re all a bit wet from washing cars anyway.
Once everyone is gone, we decide to head back to Stella's. On the way, we stop at the store to pick up some burgers. When we finally arrive at her house I grab the bags. "Do you want me to start the grill?"
"Sure. I'll season these burgers and meet you out back."
When she comes outside, the grill is ready. She has four burgers on a platter seasoned and ready to go. "I'm excited to get the shed build done. Do you think the boys will enjoy doing it?" she asks, setting the platter down on the table.
I shrug. "It's not always about enjoying it. It's about donating time to do what needs to be done. This is their community too, and they need to learn the importance of keeping it clean and in good shape."
She nods. "I can agree with that."
"Don't get me wrong, I think the cookout afterward will make it worth their while and make it more fun for them, but the work comes first."
"I'm excited to learn how to build it," DJ announces as he comes outside in dry shorts and a t-shirt.
"I'm glad." I place the burgers on the grill while Stella grabs a pencil and some paper. She's so organized, she's writing everything down that we’ll need for the cookout. I don't need to worry about a list of what's needed for the shed because Rick will take care of that. I even spoke to the guys at work about breaking up into teams with the boys. One team will build the floor, and the other teams will build the walls. Then when that's done the guys and I will build and install the roof. We don't want any of the kids on ladders with tools.
DJ and Stella start discussing food, and it turns into an argument over what's necessary for a cookout full of growing boys. "Mom, you have to have a variety of chips. You can't just get plain. You need stuff like Doritos and Sour Cream and Onion, you know—flavors." I can't help but chuckle.
"I'm sorry, sugar, but he's right. You need some variety." DJ puts his fist out to me. I bump with him and a huge grin spreads across his face.
"All right, all right, so we'll have a variety of chips. What else do you boys like?" She runs down her list of stuff, and we add a few more small things like pickles and some special condiments. Pleased with her list, we all sit down to dinner. She tries to convince me I need to make a team list to pair everyone up for the build.
"Baby, I think your list is a good idea, but we've spent the entire day with the team. It’s time for family." I hand her the container of pasta salad we picked up at the store.
"You're right. I'm sorry." She takes some and gives a little to DJ who doesn't look all too thrilled, but he bites his tongue and dives into dinner. The rest of the conversation revolves around what we should do for the rest of the weekend and what DJ has coming up for school this week. We're becoming a family, and I couldn't be happier.