They each had to make several meals and get to Level 2 Mixology before 4:00 p.m. the next day. Since Alice was already Level 5 in Mixology--because of her enthusiasm for the subject--she got to work making meals, while Kelly practiced making drinks.
Dude had finished practicing guitar for the night, and needed 1 more Friend to be promoted, so sat down and kept Kelly company.
He was dying to tell her what had gone on with Lou and Regina earlier in the evening, but didn't dare ruin Derek's surprise about the house.
Derek came back from the hours-long daily workout he needed for his job, and sat down at the bar with a plate of food he'd gotten out of the fridge.
"So, pretty lady," Derek said, turning to Kelly, "how'd the big first day of work go for you?"
"Pretty well," Kelly answered, but she sounded a bit tense. "Both Alice and I got promoted. And I think Alice will get promoted again tomorrow, but I probably won't. She's 4 levels ahead of me in Mixology, and I haven't even started preparing meals today, and she's already made four. AND she's gone to bed."
"Kelly, Kelly, Kelly!" Derek cried, getting up from his seat.
"I don't want to see you stressed out. I think you should go to bed right now and get a good night's sleep, and then get a fresh start in the morning."
_______________
Thursday morning, while Kelly was still sleeping, Derek took several of the Utopians to see his new house (and to do some free work on it).
"Wow--this kitchen is awesome!" Alice exclaimed. "Kelly's going to LOVE this!"
Derek had bought a bed and had it delivered, and he and Dude set it up ("Nice color!" Dude razzed him),
and Regina and Alice unrolled a rug,
hung some curtains and set up a couple of lamps, to try to make what was actually the dining room into a temporary master bedroom that Kelly would like.
Derek and Dude painted the walls of the new bathroom,
and Bill--who'd bought a woodworking table for his own house, but had had it delivered to Derek's front yard--was finishing 2 more barstools to go along with the one he'd already made for Derek.
The guys brought the barstools inside,
and Regina went outside to talk to Bill. "Derek says he has to leave for work soon, because it's almost noon."
"So, I guess that means HE'S not helping US work on OUR house today," she added.
"No, not today," Bill answered. "But he'll help eventually. Once he moves in here, and is just across the street from our house, he'll have no excuse. And--hey--at least we have Dude today. He doesn't have to go in to his job till 5 p.m."
"You mean 'Mr. I-don't-want-to-injure-my-hands' is going to help you build a wall?" she teased, as Derek walked behind her, leaving for his job as a Module Cleaner.
"Later, dudes!" Derek called out cheerfully. "I owe you!"
"You certainly DO!!!" Bill said over his shoulder.
Bill finished the knife block he had been making for Kelly,
and he and Dude carried the woodworking table across the street to Bill and Regina's house.
They managed to muscle the table up to the second floor,
then put up a bathroom wall. "All you have to do is hold stuff and steady it, Dude," Bill had reassured him. "I'll do all the hammering and nail-gunning, etc."
Meanwhile, Regina and Alice discussed the layout of the future kitchen/dining space.
"We really need more windows here," Regina observed. "Sure, I'd just be looking at the stacks of shipping containers across the canal, but, still...."
The guys finished the wall upstairs, and hung the bathroom door.
Alice and Dude had to leave for their jobs late afternoon.
Regina cleaned up the construction debris in what the couple had decided would be their master bedroom, and started refinishing the floor,
while Bill crafted a bathtub for them. "I should be really good at these by now," Bill claimed, "because I've built a couple dozen of them so far!"
Regina was very tired by the time she finished, but she had been keeping in mind that she and Bill couldn't have a bed until the floor was done. 'Keep your eyes on the prize, girl,' she told herself.
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