AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Three
Jensen
Come Monday morning, the jobsite’s booming. My full-time employee, Jonas, is meeting me here, along with my new hire, Wes. Today’s his first day, and I’m anxious to see what he can do. We have a big undertaking here, but on top of that, we have dozens of other customers to maintain. My after-school kid, Brody, will continue to help with the small mowing jobs, with Jonas’ help, which will leave a big chunk of the heavy lifting here to the newbie and me.
I park my truck amongst the mix of other contractors. There’s a local plumbing operation on-site, as well as a family-owned construction business whose job is the massive kitchen overhaul. Even my sister’s boyfriend, Rhenn, is here with the electrical company he works for. It’s definitely all hands on deck for such a massive a project at the Elliott mansion.
What I don’t see yet is the mini excavator I rented to help dig up some of the overgrown small trees and shrubs. The plan for this week is to clear out a lot of the old landscaping and start fresh. Most of the large trees will remain, though pruned back to be more appealing. The use of the mini is on my schedule for tomorrow and Wednesday, and even though I rented it for forty-eight hours, the company I get it from is good about delivering the machine the day prior.
With my coffee mug in hand, I slide out of my truck and head to the tailgate. I pull my plans and clipboard out and set them down on my makeshift desk, ready to get this huge project started. I ignore the pull I feel to look at the house. There’s nothing there for me anymore, and no reason to torture myself with the memories that house holds.
“Hey, Jensen,” I hear over my shoulder and find Jonas and Wes heading my way.
“Hey, guys,” I reply, sticking out my hand for my new hire.
Wes is a hair shorter than my six foot two inch height and a few pounds heavier. He comes highly recommended by the horse farmer outside of town, where he worked as a part-time hired hand for the last few years. With my business expanding in Rockland Falls and the surrounding areas, I’ve been in desperate need of more help for a while, but haven’t bothered to sit down and actually take the time to hire someone. Instead, I’ve been working myself into an early grave doing most of it alone. Now, with Max in preschool and approaching kindergarten next fall, I want to be able to attend his school functions without falling asleep where I stand.
“Ready to get started,” Wes says, placing his hand in mine and giving it a firm shake.
“We have a large project here. It’s not going to be an easy job to cut your teeth on, Wes, but I think you’ll learn a lot from this one job alone,” I tell him, taking a sip of my coffee from my mug. I practically live on caffeine.
“I’m excited,” he responds with a decisive nod.
“Yeah, it won’t be long at all before you learn Jensen’s favorite phrase is ‘What in the living fuck?’” Jonas laughs.
I sigh, knowing he speaks the truth. When shit starts to go down on the jobsite (and it always does), my reply is always the same. Unfortunately, it’s been a hard habit to break when I’m around Max. I’ve had my ass chapped several times by Ashley when our son comes home and repeats the phrase.
“Let’s hope Wes doesn’t hear that for at least the first few days,” I reply with a smirk.
Jonas blows out an exaggerated gasp. “Try a few minutes,” he teases, making me smile at his goodhearted joshing.
“Whatever,” I reply. Straightening up, I turn to my two full-timers. “We have a massive project. Heavy machinery will be here sometime today, and our first task is going to be to clear the site of everything we’re replacing. There’s some dirt work too, reshaping beds and building a new retaining wall around the entire front,” I say, falling easily into work-mode.
Wes and Jonas listen intently as I go through the plan, detailing the new areas we’re building and what needs to be removed. Jonas will help where he can, but his job this week will be to maintain our current clientele. Sure, there’s a lot of simple mowing jobs, but when you’re spread out over the entire county and everyone has a different schedule, based on their needs, it’s a juggle to keep it all straight.
“Jonas, I’m going to have you help me mark everything with Wes’s help. Then you can head out and we’ll start clearing,” I add, finishing off my coffee and setting the mug in the cupholder in my truck cab. With my clipboard in hand and colored paint ready to go, the three of us head out to start marking.
It takes us just over an hour to walk the property and mark everything out. One of my professors in college suggested the colored paint technique and I couldn’t have been more pleased. It’s a hell of a lot better than trying to decipher codes or markings. The basis of it is I use a few different colors of paint to put an X on the tree or shrub. Red means remove completely, blue means trim, and purple means relocate, and green means leave untouched. It’s a simple system that has never failed when I’ve been off working somewhere else. Jonas knows what needs to be done based on the colored markings.
When it comes time for Jonas to head out, Wes and I throw on our work gloves and get ready to start clearing. I’m in a zone, moving easily in the thick, overgrown weeds and mountains of decaying leaves. This is probably the worst part of any job, but once you get past the physical aspect, I love it. The removal of the old means I’m making way for the new. That’s what I look forward to the most. Getting my hands in the dirt and giving space a new life.
It’s about noon when my phone rings. I almost ignore it, but as the business owner, I rarely afford myself the luxury. I spot Jonas’ name on the screen, drop my gloves, and answer the phone.
“Hey, bossman, we have a problem. Mr. Rhodes showed me some concerning markings on his walnut tree in back. I think you need to take a look at this,” Jonas says, the concern evident in his voice.
“What in the living fuck?” I mutter to myself, rubbing my hand over my forehead. I can already tell this phone call is an issue. No, not the call itself, but the reasoning behind it. That’s never good when Jonas calls me about the health of a tree.
There are several active tree watches in North Carolina right now that are cause for concern, but the fact that it’s a walnut tree tells me it’s bad. The walnut twig beetle is a killer with no pesticides available. If this tree is infected, that means the tree is coming down.
Trying not to get ahead of myself just yet, I reply, “I’m on my way. I’ll leave Wes here clearing. If it looks like we may be a while at the Rhodes place, I’ll send you back here to help him.”
“Sounds good, bossman. Sorry to pull you away from the job,” he says before signing off.
“Shit,” I mumble, sliding my phone back into the clip at my hip.
“Problems?” Wes asks, taking a drink of water and breathing deeply. Clearing is hard work, as Wes is learning real quickly.
“Yeah, there’s something going on with one of the big old trees at one of our clients’ houses. Jonas is concerned. I need to head over and check it out. If I’m going to be long, I’ll send Jonas back over to help you,” I tell my newbie.
