The construction site.

On Tuesday I left the house and drove alone. After a weekend of vacations, all the girls had stuff to do and so did I. I drove to the new house. The lot of the new house, rather.

I was nervous because the crew was already there working, but Luke would also be there so he’d help me deal with everything. Luke said I needed to see how everything was going since it was my house, after all. He was right. The problem was that when I got there, I saw people working, I saw three large shipping containers, I saw machinery, I saw the lot flattened out and the foundation being set… but I didn’t see Luke’s car.

With my heart in my throat, I parked away from the construction site and walked with stiff steps towards it. I… didn’t know who to talk to, or even what to say. And when you walk around feeling like you aren’t supposed to be somewhere, people think you aren’t supposed to be there.

“Hey, hey! This is a private construction site! Get out of here!” A tall guy in blue, dirty cargo pants and black tank top yelled at me. He had a large build, was wearing a blue helmet, safety glasses, gloves and had a shovel in his hand as he aggressively approached me.

“Um…!”

“Didn’t you hear me? Fuck off!”

“Jonas, chill the fuck out, kid!” another voice rang out, louder, deeper. The guy approaching me with the shover, Jonas, stopped and looked back.

The man coming towards us was older, much older. He was also wearing a helmet, this one white, and those same blue cargo pants, but instead of a tank top he had a long-sleeved shirt, if also quite dirty. He was also wearing glasses and had long graying hair, a mustache and a build twice the size of the guy with the shovel.

“You’re telling the damn owner of the lot to fuck off, you fucking imbecile!”

Jonas’ face went pale. He looked back at me, dropped the shovel and immediately apologized. “Shit! I’m so sorry sir! I didn’t mean it! It’s just… You see…!”

The older man stood next to the young man and smacked him in the back of the helmet. “Did you hear me when I said this morning that the owner would be coming?” He looked at me and sighed. “I’m sorry sir. Do you want to give him a good talking to or can he go back to mixing cement?”

I swallowed but **** myself to stand my ground. “It’s fine. It’s my first time seeing you all working, so I kind of expected it. There’s no problem.”

“Thanks, sir!” Jonas said before picking up the shovel and going back to work.

The older man approached me and extended his hand. I shook it, and when I felt how firm his grip was, I matched it. He smiled.

“Real sorry about that. See, we have our secret methods to speed up our work, so the boys are really careful not to let anyone steal them.”

“Yes, Luke told me something about that. Don’t worry, I won’t ask.”

The man nodded. “Thank you, sir. My name is Dale. Dale Moore. I’m the architect in charge here.”

“Oliver Brooks, but you knew that.”

“Yes, Mr. Allen told us you’d be coming.”

“He’s not here yet?”

“No, he seems to be late, but he’s a busy man.”

“Yeah.”

“Please, come with me. I have something to show you.”

I followed Mr. Moore to one of the shipping containers, one that had been refurbished into an office. Inside, he sat down at his desk and turned his laptop towards me.

“We finally have a full 3D model of the house, inside included. It’s just like it was in the blueprints you’ve already seen, but now you can get a better idea of what the final product would look like. Well, mostly.”

I grinned, excited. “Seriously?”

I sat down with Mr. Moore and he practically gave me a virtual tour. The entrance, the rooms, the kitchen-diner, the special areas… It painted a way better picture than the blueprints did, except for one important detail. The walls, the floors, the windows… They were all generic, flat gray textures.

“This was what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mr. Moore said. “The layout is pretty much ready. We even made the changes you asked for and added a couple more bathrooms. But when it comes to indoor flooring, paneling and the like, you have to tell us what it is you want. We can take care of buying the materials, but if you could send us a list of what to use for each room, it’d help us make everything even smoother.”

I nodded. I mean, of course they wouldn’t make those decisions for me. “How would you like me to send you that information? What is it you need?”

“I’ll email you a document, a form for all the rooms. I suggest you go to a large hardware store, look around a get some ideas. Then you can write down the names of everything you need, maybe even take pictures and fill in the forms and attach the photos. If there are any details you need to discuss, you can come straight to me. I’ll be here every day during day shifts.”

I grimaced. “Every day? You… You’re not taking a rest day?”

Mr. Moore smiled. “Don’t worry about me, sir. If a boss doesn’t put in the extra effort, the lazy bums outside start complaining. Besides, we have our methods. And you want this house finished soon, right? Which reminds me, how soon are we talking about? Don’t be afraid to give us a deadline. Mr. Allen said two months, but now that I have you here I’d rather hear it from your mouth.”

Man… The professionalism. I found myself liking Mr. Moore. It was like he wasn’t here just to get a job done. He was here to deliver quality, tailored exactly to his customer’s desires.

“Two months, if possible. I’d like it to be ready for when university starts. We can wait an extra month if there are any issues, though.”

Mr. Moore nodded. “Alright. Thanks for the leniency, but I’ll be sure not to tell the lads outside. They get complacent when they know the deadline isn’t actually the deadline.”

I chuckled. “You know your people.”

“Been working with some of them for over 10 years! Ahaha! Don’t worry, sir. They’re good and take their jobs seriously. You’ll get your money’s worth, I promise you that. Quality even in the smallest details. Your pipes will last you 200 years and your walls will endure earthquakes and tornados!”

I smiled at him but shook my head. “Would you mind giving me real numbers and examples instead of exaggerations?"

Mr. Moore blinked, but soon he smirked. “Sorry. I guess talk like that would make a family man uneasy. It’s not that big of an exaggeration, though. We always make sure to install sturdy pipes, so you shouldn’t be having plumbing issues unless you’re throwing things other than shit down the toilet. We also follow building standards used in seismic countries. We don’t get many, if any strong earthquakes around here, but it can happen. It’s nothing special, just how we always operate.”

“No wonder Luke trusts you all so much,” I told him.

“We’ve worked with him on many projects, some much bigger than that new hotel of his. Hopefully, if you ever need something else built, you’ll consider us.”

“We’ll have to see how the house turns our, won’t we?”

“Hahahah! That’s a good answer, lad!” He reached out and gave me a hard pat on the shoulder. “Come, let me introduce you to the team! Ah, but put on a helmet, first.”

He passed me a white helmet. “Do the colors mean anything?” I asked.

He smirked. “White is for the bosses.”

We went out and I greeted the team, shaking the hands of all 20 of them. They seemed like a lively bunch.

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