Leah woke up early the next morning, early like she usually did, but this time it was more due to jitters rather than habit. This morning marked the first day of her new job which had her riddled her with nerves. One calming thought, however, was that she had already worked for her new boss before in the past, so she already knew what to expect working for him again.
Leah was a paralegal at the law firm her new boss and his brother shared in Oklahoma, until a few years ago when he split off from the Oklahoma firm to start his own down in Arlen. When it came time for Leah to start a new life and move away, it was easy for her to transition to the Arlen firm.
Finding a job was one less thing to stress about, at least.
Her house was pretty much all put together now, with most boxes unpacked and most furniture set up how she wanted it. The place was really starting to come together. She was certain it would soon feel like her actual home and not just a place she was occupying.
It was lucky this house popped up for sale right around the time she was beginning her house hunt. She viewed a handful of houses in the Arlen area, but none were quite as much what she was looking for as this one. It was quaint with charming character, and in a nice neighborhood. Plus it had a pool in the backyard as an added bonus.
She sat in the middle of the living room floor, preparing a comfortable position to meditate and focus her mind for the day ahead. She needed to get back into the swing of doing yoga, Tai Chi, and running like she used to, but today was just one small step at a time.
Later that morning, when the sun was beginning to rise higher, she left for her car to head into the office for the day. The apple brown betty was placed safely into the passenger seat. She hoped Peggy's baking skills would be enough to impress an office of new coworkers.
Leah noticed, two houses down, one of those alley guys getting into his car, too. It was some flashy muscle car Simon had taken an interest in. She wondered if she should say hi to him, or even introduce herself to him, but he didn't seem to look in her direction.
Oh well.
Boomhauer had seen the new girl leaving for work earlier that week, dressed in cute, office-y clothes and her hair pulled back in a bun. Definitely had that hot secretary vibe...but Boomhauer had to shake that thought out of his head.
He had to keep shaking out those thoughts throughout the course of the week as she continued to pop up unexpectedly, like when she jogged around the block and past his window in fitted yoga pants. Or when she appeared out from behind Dale and Nancy's fence, wearing cut off shorts, after talking with Nancy about rose bushes.
Under other circumstances, Boomhauer would have gone over to her and introduced himself by now. Maybe even immediately after the moment Hank told them all she was single and living by herself. He knew what lines he'd use on her, the charm he'd cast, and he knew she'd probably end up in his bed later that night.
But then he wouldn't likely call her again, even ghosting her if he had to. One night stands were kind of his thing.
He liked it that way.
Therefore, he was keeping her at a distance, strictly neighborly and nothing more. And besides, he didn't want to go against Bill, who was going to try and ask this girl out, or whatever it was he did to women, anyway.
One evening, later that week, Leah was walking the perimeter of her yard, seemingly surveying the area within it. Boomhauer and the rest of his friends were in the alley watching her, mostly because there was nothing else to look at.
...alright, and because she had on those cut off shorts again.
"I'm going to go talk to her," Bill decided, with a determined expression on his face.
"About what?" Hank asked with uncertainty, "You need a game plan first."
"She looks like she might need help with something. I can offer her my services."
Dale laughed. "No woman wants your services."
"I have to figure something out. Someone like her won't stay single for long…"
Bill trailed off as he was making up his mind. Then he set his jaw and marched across the street to Leah as she was in her backyard.
The angle of Leah's fence hid the two of them from view of the alley, so Boomhauer, Hank, and Dale shuffled over sideways to see through the gap. They couldn't hear what was being said from across the street, but Leah seemed to be smiling in any case.
"Do you think it's going to work?" Dale asked them, eyes fixed on Bill and Leah.
Hank took in a breath, stalling his response. "That Leah is a nice girl. And Bill is a nice guy, we all know that. He just, uh...well, he goes about it the wrong way sometimes."
Boomhauer thought of Bill's nearly nonexistent confidence, which certainly was a prime factor in his failure to interest any women. Bill felt worthless and it showed, which was a turnoff for anybody. But he still tried, one rejection after another, he still kept at it. Clearly the confidence was there, he just needed to tap into it.
"I think he's losing her," Hank remarked. Leah was looking quizzically at Bill, who seemed to be rambling on and stumbling over his words.
Boomhauer sighed. "I'll take care of it." Boomhauer to the rescue.
He made to cross the street, but stopped short when Hank spoke.
"Don't steal her though, alright, Boomhauer? Especially not right in front of him."
Boomhauer knew Hank was thinking about that incident with Marlene-a woman Bill had been interested in, and yes, Boomhauer stole her right in front of Bill.
But that ended up crashing and burning into a festering pile of shit, anyway.
Boomhauer shrugged back one shoulder, as if shrugging off Hank's worry, and joined Leah and Bill in the poolside backyard.
"Oh...you're here," Bill said, annoyed. Boomhauer ignored him, and nodded hello to Leah.
"Hi," she said, brightening back up again. There was a pause before she introduced herself to him. "I'm Leah."
"Boomhauer," he replied.
She was certainly attractive from the distances Boomhauer had been viewing her from, but finally seeing her up close was something else entirely. Her sweet face was friendly and receptive, her nose was cutely pointed, and those striking green eyes held a dreaminess in them. Her blonde hair was twisted into its usual braid, pulled over a shoulder that was freckled from the sun. She had an ethereal air to her, spiritual yet grounded, a woman of the earth.
No doubt about it, she was beautiful. And that was a thought he couldn't shake out.
"I'm trying to decide where to plant my rose bushes and my begonias," she explained over Boomhauer's speechlessness, "I didn't have much space for flowers at my old house, so I'm excited to have a real garden here."
Boomhauer nodded.
Slightly behind Leah, Bill was jerking his head towards the alley, giving Boomhauer an irritated look. Leah was too busy looking at Boomhauer to notice.
Filling in the silence, Leah continued on. "I hope your block captain won't mind my grass being so long for the next few days." She dug at the yard with her sandaled foot. A thin gold chain hung delicately around her ankle. "The lawn mower I'm having delivered won't be here until Monday."
Boomhauer opened his mouth to speak, but Bill hurried in first.
"Oh, Hank won't mind!" Bill assured her, "And I can mow your lawn for you if it would make you feel better." He looked eager, ecstatic to have an opening to be useful to her.
"Thank you, but that's alright. It's just for a few more days, anyway." She smiled at Bill, appreciative of his offer.
"It's no problem at all! My lawn needs mowed anyway, and yours is right next door. I can just drive my mower right over after I finish mine and get it nice and trimmed for you."
Leah thought for a moment, conflicted. "Well, he did hand me that big block charter, and there was a whole chapter about lawn criteria…" She didn't want to do anything to get on Hank's bad side, and it was clear he took lawn upkeep very seriously. She figured she was already going to lose some points with him tomorrow at the barbecue as it was, and she couldn't afford to lose any more.
"Hank knows you're still getting settled," Bill assured her, "But I'm happy to mow your lawn. That's what neighbors are for!"
"Thank you," Leah smiled at him, "I'm glad all the neighbors on this street are so friendly. I didn't know much about this area when I started house hunting here."
"What brings you to Arlen?" Bill asked.
"Well, an old boss of mine moved here and started up a new law firm. I was able to get a job working for him again, so I bought a house here."
Boomhauer wondered why she moved states, but figured maybe the pay was better here. He did notice, however, she averted her eyes when responding.
"We're glad you picked Rainey Street," Bill gushed, "It's certainly gotten a lot nicer with you here. And more beautiful, of course..."
Boomhauer mentally rolled his eyes and looked around Leah's yard, settling on the inground pool. Bill continued spewing out different compliments and words of positivity. Leah seemed to be taking it in stride, at least, but also appeared to be losing interest.
"How's the pool?" Boomhauer abruptly asked, cutting Bill off.
Boomhauer wondered if that was a sigh of relief.
"Actually, I've been having trouble with it."
She crossed over to where the pool's pump and filter were housed. Boomhauer hesitated before following her, keeping a short distance between them. Bill practically bounded after Leah, disregarding Boomhauer.
"When I was looking at this house, before I bought it, the pool was working. But now I don't think the pump is working at all. I've tried messing with it and even watched some videos on it, but I'm not confident enough to work with electricity." She demonstrated the issue to them, pointing out the breaker, timer, and switch in the metal housing unit. Boomhauer leaned in to get a better look, and immediately knew what the issue was.
"Do you guys know of a good electrician?" Leah asked them.
This time Boomhauer answered before Bill could speak.
"I used to be an electrician," he told her.
"Really?" She beamed at him, looking impressed.
"Yep…" Boomhauer nodded, still scrutinizing the breaker. "I know how to fix it. I think I have the parts in my garage still."
"Wow! Thank you." She smiled at him again, soft lips and sparkling eyes, and Boomhauer suddenly realized how closely he was standing to her. He shifted back a little to put more space between them.
Leah started to speak again. "I can pay you for-"
"No. It's fine. As Bill says, it's the neighborly thing to do."
Bill looked annoyed, probably because Boomhauer had come in and taken away Leah's attention for several minutes now.
"Well, thanks. I'm glad to have your help. And yours, too, Bill." Bill perked up at being addressed. "Hopefully I can offer you guys something neighborly someday."
"Don't mention it," Boomhauer dismissed, "I'll come by and get your pool running tomorrow."
"And tomorrow I will mow your lawn!" Bill declared, "I'd mow it now, but the block charter says no lawn mowers running after 7 PM."
Leah said goodnight to them, as the sun was barely a sliver above the horizon now. Bill seemed like he was making to stay with her longer, but Boomhauer yanked him back out to the alley.
Hank and Dale were still waiting for them, beers in hand.
"So? How'd it go?" Hank asked when they approached. He handed the two of them beers of their own.
"I think I'm in love," Bill sighed. Boomhauer rolled his eyes again and turned to Hank.
"She's worried you will get after her about her lawn. Her mower hasn't been delivered yet. Bill offered to mow it for her in the meantime."
"So she respects a well maintained yard…" Hank looked into the distance thoughtfully. He seemed to approve of her worriment.
Bill scowled, "Yeah, and Boomhauer of course had to come try and take her away."
"I didn't try and do anything. We saw you fumbling so I came to help you."
"Well, you didn't have to offer to fix her pool. I could have done that for her, too."
"You don't know shit about electrical work. I'm not going to let you electrocute yourself just to try and impress somebody."
Dale puffed out a cloud of cigarette smoke as the other two bickered. "I kinda agree with Boomhauer, though, Bill. What if this chick ends up being crazy? It's probably better to not dip your pen in the Rainey Street ink."
"She's not crazy," Bill dismissed, "She's very nice."
"You've known her for like five minutes."
Bill just shrugged as he sipped more beer. "The eyes are the window to the soul. And there was something very genuine there."
Dale scoffed, of course, but Boomhauer knew what Bill was talking about.
He saw it, too.
